Miss Persis Studio Faculty and Staff
Persis Forster
Persis Forster established Miss Persis Studio of Dance in 1954. A graduate of UT Austin with a BFA in Radio/TV, she had a varied background in dance and theatre which included performing, directing, choreography and teaching in all levels of dance and musical theatre. She lived in Arlington with her husband, Jerry, for over 57 years. As a professional actress, Ms. Forster appeared in leading principal roles at Casa Manana, Lyric Theatre in Oklahoma City, Carousel Dinner Theater in Ohio, Lyric Theatre in Irving, Theatre Arlington, Gown Town Theatre and Garland Summer Musicals. Miss Persis passed away in 2021 but we continue to pursue her legacy of excellence.
- Past honors include the Chamber of Commerce Citation for Service Award, the Friend of Youth Award and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from UTA. She was honored with the Women’s Legacy Award for Arts in Tarrant County in 1999 and with the Dallas Dance Council’s “Texas Tap Legend” award in May, 2006.
- She is a Past President of the Texas Association Teachers of Dancing and the UTA Alumni Association.
- Ms. Forster taught in the UTA Drama Department for eighteen and a half years.
- Ms. Forster founded Dance Theatre of Arlington in 1981 and is currently working with the DTA Community Outreach program, “I Am”, at Berry Elementary School.
Persis Ann Forster
- She performed leading roles at Theatre Arlington, Gown Town Theatre, Casa Manana, North Shore Music Theatre outside of Boston, and Lyric Theatre in Oklahoma City.
- Other performances include industrial productions for Incredible Productions and Six Flags Show Productions, where she has also served as director/choreographer of the Crazy Horse Saloon.
- Ms. Forster taught at national dance camps and show choir workshops and is Past President of Texas Association of Teachers of Dancing.
- She is currently DTA Artistic Director over a performing company of dancers which performs around the Metroplex year-round.
Bettie Roeber
Ballet, Cotillion
Bettie Roeber who grew up at MPS and was a student teacher for several years, is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a degree in Fine Arts/Ballet. She was a member of the Fort Worth Ballet and the Dallas Ballet after graduating from Arlington High School. Ms. Roeber performed professionally at Six Flags Over Texas and for Sky Chefs “Tent Troubador” Show, which traveled throughout the United States and Korea. Ms. Roeber also had her own studio on Air Force Bases in the United States and Germany. She has performed in the Spectacular Senior Follies for several years in Dallas.
Dawn Prejean
Tap
Becca Brown
Musical Theatre, Tap, Ballet, and Jazz
Becca Brown is a lifer here at Miss Persis Studio. Apart from her studies in LA and NY, Miss Becca has dedicated her life to the studio, studying from 3-17 years old, and assisting and teaching whenever she’s in town. Becca is an actor and choreographer in the area, having worked for Six Flags Over Texas, Casa Mañana, and other various theatres throughout the Metroplex, including Theatre Arlington across the street. She is also a proud alum of Dance Theatre of Arlington, the studio’s non-profit dance company, which she now helps manage. Becca received her B.S. in Theatre at Northwestern State University, and later studied at the Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York City. At Miss Persis, Miss Becca teaches ballet, tap, jazz, and musical theatre to all ages.
Melissa Martin
Advance Tap
Melissa Martin’s love of dance began at age 2 and has lasted a life time. She grew up dancing at Miss Persis Studio, and was a member of Dance Theatre of Arlington from 6th-12th grade. Now, Melissa is a teacher with a M.Ed in Education with an emphasis in literacy. By day, she teaches English I at Turning Point Secondary School. By night and weekend, she teaches for the studio, is an instructor for DTA, and is a current member of Texas Association Teachers of Dancing. She lives in Arlington with her husband, Kevin, her daughter, Zoe, and their cats.
Mimi Rogers
Pre-School Tap and Ballet
Mimi Rogers joined the faculty at Miss Persis Studio of Dance last year/2022.
She is a recently retired Arlington ISD teacher where she taught Kindergarten and Pre-K for 36 years. She was also the choreographer and co-director for the South Davis Dance Team (4th – 6th grade) for 7 years until Covid hit. Now that she has retired from the district, Mimi continues to work as a teacher in different areas. Since 1998, Mimi has been one of the handbell directors at University Christian Church. She is also a reading specialist for The Reading Connection in Fort Worth. And this year/2023 she joined the faculty at Arts Fifth Avenue in Fort Worth teaching adult Tap classes.
Mimi grew up dancing tap, jazz and ballet on and off all of her life. She has studied with Bruce Lea, Dian Clough West, Gracey Tune, Dale Luna, Larry Howard, Renee’ Boydstun, Texas Ballet Theater and Persis Ann Forster. She was an assistant to Renee’ Boydstun, her current Tap teacher, in teaching Tap at Dian West’s studio for several years, also subbing and teaching summer classes occasionally.
Chloe Cannella Ryer
Jazz, Ballet
Chloe Cannella, a summa cum laude graduate of Dallas Baptist University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Hotel and Hospitality Management, spends her day teaching Dance & Drama at Pantego Christian Academy. On nights and weekends, she can be found teaching at Miss Persis Studio, where she has worked after studying here prior to attending college. Altogether, she has been dancing since age 3 and teaching here since 2015. She was a company member of Dance Theatre of Arlington and is accomplished in jazz, ballet, lyrical and hip-hop. She was a member of the DBU Patriettes dance team and traveled with the college group to national competitions. She was also Captain of her high school dance team and has won numerous awards through the years. Chloe now lives in Arlington with her husband, Rod.
Rachel Pickett
Bookkeeper, Cotillion
Candy Richter
Guest Teachers
Anne Bowling
Ballet & Jazz
Anne Bowling grew up in the Rio Grande Valley and began her dance training at Harlingen Ballet Center studying all forms of dance with an emphasis on ballet. She then attended the University of North Texas and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Arts and Science degree in Dance. During her time in Denton, Anne was also a principal dancer and soloist for Denton Civic Ballet Company. Following graduation, Anne taught dance in California and founded the Huntington Beach Ballet Company in Huntington Beach, California. Recently, the company celebrated their 25 th Nutcracker season. She then served as Studio Director of Melba’s School of Dance in McAllen, Texas and was the Artistic Director and Choreographer for McAllen Dance Theatre for twelve years. Anne came to Hebron High School in 2007 to serve as the Assistant Director and teach dance classes and now serves as the Director of the beautiful and talented Silver Wings. This is her eleventh year here at Hebron. Anne currently serves on the Board of Directors for Texas Association Teacher’s of Dancing where she has been a member for the last 19 years. Anne has been married to her husband Bill for 27 years and they have two children Blake and Holly.
Kelly Joeckel
. Tap & Jazz
Kelly Joeckel has been at Miss Persis Studio since 1993. She graduated from Texas Tech in 2010 with a degree in Electrical Engineering and works as an engineer for Oncor Electric Delivery. Kelly is the current Treasurer and Company Manager for Dance Theatre of Arlington and is a current member of Texas Association Teachers of Dancing. Kelly lives in Dallas with her husband, David, her two daughters, Mary and Molly Kate, and her son, James.
Mycah Butler
Ballet, Jazz, Tap
Mycah Butler grew up dancing with Miss Persis Studio and Dance Theater of Arlington. She has been dancing for 19 years and does not plan on stopping any time soon. She has returned to the studio after attending Texas A&M (whoop!) where she studied Kinesiology and Dance Science. Mycah is currently studying to be a Physical Therapist for amputee patients as well as pediatric sports. Her next dance goal is to join a dance team for one of the DFW sports teams after graduation. In her spare time, Mycah likes running, working out, and will talk about her German Shepard all day if you ask her to.
Quinton Winston
Hip Hop
Our Hip-Hop instructor Quinton first joined our staff in 2011. In 2012, he headed to Los Angeles, CA to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. While there, he was represented by Clear Talent Group taking on jobs with Samsung and Geico. Between 2014 – 2016 he would choreograph and perform in an international tour with his friend Dawin, known for his hit single “Dessert”. 2016-2017 he worked as a lead in the Broadway Musical – After Midnight (picked up on the Norwegian Escape Cruise Ship) touring through the Caribbean Islands. Quinton then decided he was ready to settle down – he moved with his wife, Bermarie, and daughter, London, back to Arlington, where he would reconnect with Miss Persis Studio to train and teach all over the DFW. He specializes in Hip-Hop and Breakdancing and is currently on staff at Booker T Washington High School for the Performing Arts in Dallas.
Martha Parshall Richards
Ballet
Martha was born in Tokyo, Japan, but grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. She began her dance training in tap, ballet and jazz with Ed Holleman and Larry Howard who had both worked under Bob Fosse. Later, she studied with the Dallas Metropolitan Ballet, Eric Bruhn, Letitia Gray, Francelle Fuller, and also at the School of American Ballet, the official school of the New York City Ballet, for four summers under full scholarship. Martha began dancing with the Fort Worth Ballet at age 15 while still attending Western Hills High School. She has also performed extensively in musical theatre as a member of Actor’s Equity Association. Her professional credits include Connie Wong in “A Chorus Line”, Eliza in “The King and I”, Liat in “South Pacific” with Cathy Rigby, and Charity in “Anything Goes” with Van Johnson. Martha was the dance instructor at Columbus (IN) East High School and choreographed for the CEHS theater department musicals. She is certified in Pilates instruction through Body Arts and Science International and offers private instruction. She is currently working towards her 200 hour yoga certification with an emphasis on aerial yoga.
Lori Woods
Jazz, Musical Theatre
Lori Woods has been the head of the Dance Program at Lamar for twenty-one years. She has an Associates Degree in musical theatre from Mt. View College and a Bachelors Degree in Theatre from Texas Wesleyan University. She grew up dancing at Miss Persis Studio of Dance and Dance Theatre of Arlington where she also began her teaching career at the age of 15. During her high school and college years she sang and danced in shows at Six Flags Over Texas in the Southern Palace Theatre which led to a great career on the stage performing at local and regional theatres. Some of her favorite rolls include Charity in Sweet Charity, Bebe in A Chorus Line, Velma in Chicago, Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, Paulette in Legally Blonde and Lorraine in 42nd Street. She also taught at the Dallas Summer Musicals School of Musical Theatre, TCJC College For Kids, JTM School of Performing Arts and Casa Manana. In addition to her teaching and performing career she also served as the resident choreographer and casting director for Eclipse Entertainment LLC where she wrote, cast, choreographed and performed in numerous industrial and corporate shows all over the United States. In her extra time she serves as a foster parent for Tzu Zoo Rescue saving the world one lucky dog at a time.
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