Studio Leadership
Elaine Gaylor - Artistic Director
As one of the owners of Classical Movement, dance is a second language to Elaine. Her dance career has spanned over 25 years and includes 12 years of professional performing and decades of teaching and setting choreography. During her career, Elaine performed works by many of ballet’s most influential neo-classical choreographers, including Christopher Fleming, Septime Webre, Mark Diamond, Jerome Robbins, and George Balanchine.
She began her classical ballet training in Cincinnati, OH, under the direction of Anneliese von Oettingen, one of the founding members of Cincinnati Ballet. At the age of 12, Elaine was accepted into the pre-professional division of The Washington School of Ballet, where she trained under internationally renowned teacher Lupe Serrano, while dancing in productions with The Washington Ballet, under the direction of Mary Day.
Elaine later returned to Cincinnati and trained with ballet greats Mark Diamond, Patricia Rozo, and Sheila Cohen, graduating from the School for Creative and Performing Arts in 1997, and performing works by Peter Metz, Rene Micheo, and other members of Cincinnati Ballet. Elaine was also a recipient of the Corbett Mayerson Award in 1997
Upon graduation, Elaine accepted a full scholarship to attend Wright State University, earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance performance, while performing with Dayton Ballet. During her time in Dayton, Elaine trained under acclaimed teachers such as Jon Rodriguez, Dermot Burke, Karen Russo, Gregory Robinson, and Suzanne Walker; touring throughout the United States and exploring her new found love for contemporary dance in New York & Chicago.
She then concluded her performance career with Dance Alive National Ballet in Gainesville, Florida as a principal company member and a board member to the company. Shortly after, she transitioned to teaching, sharing her professional experience and giving the gift of dance to future generations. Prior to opening her own studio, Elaine spent 5 seasons training the pre-professional division at Brevard Ballet Academy and served as the head of the contemporary program. She also served as Chairman of the Board for Brevard Ballet Youth Company.
Looking towards the future, she is excited to continue her passion for teaching by providing a training program in a technically diverse collective of elite instructors for students dedicated to the art of dance.
Tesi Boyd- Artistic Designer
As one of the two owners of Classical Movement, Tesi has a rich background of experience and insight. Raised by fine artists, Tesi has spent her life traveling the world exploring, surfing, and studying art. She was a competitive gymnast for 15 years and brings her dedication and discipline for sport to the forefront. In 1997, she left Florida to formally study art in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Upon returning to the States, she furthered her education at Rollins College in Winter Park and then graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Digital Art Design from Full Sail University.
In 2002 she received her Real Estate license. Having purchased her first Real Estate property when she was 19, she has bought and sold properties for decades. Now, as a Broker of Venture Investment Properties and Management, she combines her design and Real Estate background to create one-of-a-kind properties for residential and commercial clients. Included on her list of projects is the Classical Movement studio- the largest ballet facility on the Space Coast.
Yaimara Lopez - Conservatory Division
A native from Cuba, Yaimara Lopez began her ballet education at the early age of 5 years old, followed by professional training at the Ballet National School in Havana, under the guidance of renowned teachers such as Fernando Alonso, Ramona de Saa and Martha Iris Fernandez . She joined the Cuban National Ballet in 2008, where she danced under the technical and artistic direction of Alicia Alonso and Ballet Masters such as Fernando Alonso, Loipa Araujo, Aurora Bosh, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Azari Pliseski. In 2010, she joined the Laura Alonso Ballet where she performed repertory that included soloist roles in The Nutcracker, La Fille Mal Gardee, Don Quixote, La Bayadere, Romeo and Juliet as well as participation in International Tours in France and Mexico.
She moved to the States in 2014 where she started dancing with the Cuban Classical ballet of Miami and also with Florida Grand Ballet. Under the direction of Michael Pink, she joined Milwaukee Ballet in Wisconsin where she had the opportunity to work with well known choreographers such as Trey McIntrye and Septime Webre. In 2016, she moved to Arizona, where she taught and choreographed for different Ballet schools in the valley. She also is certified with Boston Ballet as an adaptive dance instructor. She is passionate about helping kids to find their authentic selves not only as dancers but also as human beings.
Courtney Cavin - Conservatory Division
Courtney Cavin, DPT, grew up in Jacksonville, FL where she attended Douglas Anderson High School of the Arts and was accepted into the Dance Theater performing group her senior year. She continued to dance in college, receiving a minor in dance from The University of South Florida. She trained classically under the ABT curriculum with The Florida Ballet. She performed corps and soloist roles in Swan Lake, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, and Coppelia. Courtney’s love for dance has only grown and evolved as she continues to teach, dance, perform, and provide preventative and rehabilitative services as a Dance Medicine Physical Therapist.
Dr. Cavin graduated from The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences with her Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2020. Her personal background as a classical ballet dancer is what makes her an expert in her field. She understands the unique biomechanics of dance movement and the physical demands placed on each aspect of a dancer’s body. She advocates for proper and safe dance training to minimize risk of injury via injury prevention seminars, pointe-readiness screenings, and as a ballet, certified PBT, and certified 4Pointe teacher.
Courtney is pleased to be joining CMC instructing in ballet, PBT, strength & conditioning and jazz. She will also be available for one-on-one pointe-readiness screenings, and evaluation and treatment of any dance/non-dance related musculoskeletal injuries. Any dancers interested in scheduling a Physical Therapy evaluation can reach Dr. Cavin via our studio administrator.
Hannah Duarte - Academy Division
Hannah began dancing at age 11 at a small town performing arts studio in Mount Horeb Wisconsin. After the first few ballet-jazz combo classes she was forever hooked on classical Ballet. She then went on to perform in Forte Studios student dance company “X-Tension Dance Company” for their second and third seasons, performing around the region as well as at several dance competitions. After discovering her love for ballet, she went on to finish her formal ballet training at the School of Madison Ballet in the Balanchine technique in Madison Wisconsin. Since making the shift to teach ballet, Hannah strives to inspire a genuine love for storytelling through dance in her students, while instilling proper foundational technique.
Laura Serrano - Academy Division
Laura Serrano, MPH, grew up in Merritt Island Florida where she began dancing at the age of 3. She studied ballet, modern, lyrical, and jazz for 15 years. She studied pas de deux from age nine and studied pointe for over ten years. Under the direction of Elizabeth Bevilacqua, she studied various ballet methods including the Royal, Vaganova, French, Cecchetti, and Bournonville systems. She attended multiple Florida Dance Masters Conventions with exposure to dynamic forms of dance and methods of teaching.
Her interest in medicine, biomechanics, and physiology led her to study Exercise Physiology on the pre-med track at Florida State University. She later got her Masters in Public Health to further gain perspective of individual vs population health, as she will be applying to medical school in the coming future.
She returned to dance during her Masters program and began assistant teaching with Mrs. Bevilacqua and Mrs. Townend. She was instructed by Deborah Townend, who learned from Irine Fokine for many years. She was certified to teach Ballet through the Florida Dance Masters and became an FDM member. Utilizing her background in physiology, she teaches with an emphasis on injury prevention and the need for at-home methods of self-care of the body and feet.
Nichole Stone - Office Manager
Nichole Stone is a local homeschooling dance mom with a passion for music and dance. Nichole was an educator at No Limits Academy after completing her degree in Psychology at Florida Institute of Technology and her Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a special emphasis in Special Education and STEM at Concordia University. Nichole was the Office Manager for another local studio, We Dance Academies, prior to its close. Nichole also works for Melbourne Dancewear where she gets to meet dancers from all over Brevard. Nichole enjoys volunteering as an Assistant Coach in swim, gymnastics, and cheer for Special Olympics teams in Brevard County.
Nichole looks forward to meeting all of our dancers and families and working diligently to support the dance community at Classical Movement.
