Kristen has been teaching dance for over twenty five years and purchased CVDA in the spring of 2009. In addition to being the Owner/CEO of CVDA, Kristen is also the Artistic Director, directs and choreographs for the Company, produces the Nutcracker and the new Mac Nutcracker Suite.

As a teacher, Kristen is known for creating a professional atmosphere in her classes where she works to develop discipline, confidence, leadership, and a strong work ethic in her dancers. Kristen’s main goal as a studio owner and teacher is to help the dancers grow not just as a dancer, but also as a person. “Together with the staff at CVDA, I work to develop the skills and tools each child needs to be successful in whatever life path they ultimately choose.” As a result, CVDA has won numerous Sportsmanship Awards and the Class Act Award three times under Kristen’s direction. “I work to turn out CVDA graduates who are successful, happy, healthy, motivated people with a strong connection to the community,” she says. CVDA Alumni regularly credit her technique classes for developing strong work ethic, focus, discipline, and self-management skills that propel them into successful adulthood. More importantly, Kristen is proud of the love for dance they carried into their next chapters after spending time at CVDA. 

Kristen enjoys a recent step back from being an active member of the business community having formally resigned from numerous local non-profits. She is proud of the work she did in that decade, however she is excited to spend more time in the studio nurturing and supporting the dancers, staff, and dance families. 

Her past leadership roles include President of the Young Professionals of Yamhill Valley, executive leadership council for A Family Place, the Co-Founder of the Community Wellness Collective and Co-founder of Wine Country Pride, and many other networking associations positions. The only non-profits she participates in now is the outwardly inclusive NEW Chehalem Valley Rotary Club and the Newberg Education Foundation.

Kristen is happily married to Francisco Stoller, a local real estate agent. Their number one priority and number one pride is in raising their kids Vada, Riley, and Stella and watching them fly. Kristen was awarded the Chairman’s Award in 2014 by the Chehalem Valley Chamber of Commerce, Early Bird Rotary’s Norm Aldred Ethics in Business Award in 2015, Citizen of the Year for 2018, Volunteer Organization of the Year for 2019 for her work within the Community Wellness Collective, and in 2022, received the Dance Studio Owners Association Impact Award for her annual fundraising efforts with The Nutcracker.

Kristen is proud of her 14 choreography awards, but enjoys watching her children, dancers, and staff receive recognition for their successes even more so than her own.

Teaching philosophy: “I love encouraging students to find joy and self-reliance within their learning process, and challenging them to each become their own instructor.”

Besides competitively dancing for over 10 years, Ashley has preformed on the set of “Portlandia”. After moving to California to continue her dance training, she completed Gigi Torres’s “Establish Your Empire” program and joined Chapkis Dance Family’s professional hip hop company “Prophecy”, going on to perform with them at various events across the US, and competing with them at invitational competitions Body Rock and VIBE (2016) where they placed 3rd. For the past 4 years after moving back to Oregon, she has worked with a small team to put together an annual full length hip hop/urban movement dance show.

Ashley first got hooked on teaching after she starting assisting classes at the age of 15, and began her teaching career at 16. She has coached and taught at The Goddard School, Rose City Rhythmic Gymnastics and Performing Arts Collaborative, various national and international workshops and intensives, and in the Portland area where she is currently a competitive choreographer and instructor.

Charlie Chheath has been teaching Hiphop/Industry Combos for over 15 years, he has choreographed for multiple recording artist and received numerous awards for competitive routines, receiving national recognition from various events and competitions for his work.

He has experience in television, including dancing with performing artists on BET networks “106 and Park”. Dancers who have trained with Charlie have gone on to book industry level work such as appearing on NBC networks “World of Dance” and performing with KPop sensations BTS on America’s Got Talent.

Charlie believes that teaching technique, history and broader skill sets such as stage presence, confidence, performance quality and work ethic, help him develop passionate dancers with authentic ability, style and originality. His ethos is that it is perfectly acceptable to fail but don’t give up, keep moving towards your goals. He tries to make his classes fun and challenging and hopes to teach his students to love the process of working towards their goals, whatever they may be.

Melissa Stockton

Acro Instructor

Newberg

Melissa is very excited to join the CVDA teaching crew! With 24 years of cheerleading under her belt – 10 as a cheerleader and 14 as a coach from youth to the collegiate level, she’s looking forward to bringing her knowledge and skills to the studio. 

Off-duty, she’s all about family time with her husband and three kids, supporting all of their sports and activities. 

Her number one priority in acro class? Safety first! From nailing those spot-on spotting techniques to perfect hand placements and tweaking body positions, she’s all about setting her students up for success. Because in the world of acrobatics, every tiny step leads to big, bold stunts!

Sammy Bruce

Contemporary/Lyrical Instructor

Newberg

Sammy Bruce (she/her), grew up in Portland, Oregon. She has been dancing since the age of 6 and competitively from elementary school through high school, attending All Star Dance Academy and later MVP Dance Elite where she trained in many styles of dance including; Contemporary, Lyrical, Hip Hop, Ballet, Jazz, & Musical Theater. 

In 2018 Sammy moved to California to attend the University of San Francisco where she joined the on campus dance clubs Vitality and Varcity for Contemporary and Hip Hop. She held various executive board positions for these clubs throughout her four years at the university including; Vice President, & President. After graduating she continued to live in San Francisco and taught adult Contemporary and Hip Hop classes at Rae Studios. She then began teaching & choreographing primarily in Hip Hop & Contemporary, as well as Lyrical, Jazz and Jazz Funk for students ages 3-18 at The Performing Arts Academy of Marin.

Sammy is excited to continue her teaching journey where her love for dance began, here in Oregon. Her most important goals as a teacher are to help her students build confidence, have fun and grow not only as performers in the studio but as people in the world.

Aimee Ritchey

Tap Instructor

Newberg

Parker Roman

Ballet & Pointe Instructor

Newberg & McMinnville

Parker Roman (she/her) began her dance training in Chicago, Illinois, at an early age. She received her foundational ballet training at a small, Cuban-based school before continuing her classical studies at The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia. Throughout her pre-professional training, she spent summers refining her technique at renowned institutions, including the Houston Ballet, the San Francisco Ballet, and the Oklahoma City Ballet. 

Following her summer at Oklahoma City Ballet, Parker accepted a contract to dance with the Studio Company. During her time with the company, she performed in a diverse repertoire of classical and contemporary works while actively participating in community outreach programs, sharing her passion for dance across the broader community. 

Currently, Parker is pursuing her degree in Social Work at George Fox University, and she aims to merge her background in dance with her future career in social work. Combining her extensive performance experience with a deep love of pedagogy, she is passionate about encouraging young dancers and guiding students as they develop their ballet and pointe technique.

Michaela Snook

Hip Hop & Adult Class Instructor

Newberg

Michaela Snook (she/her) was born and raised in Southern California. She started dancing when she was 3 years old and participated in competitive teams from early middle school to the end of high school. She attended South Coast Conservatory where she trained in ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and hip hop. When entering high school, Michaela dedicated all of her training to hip hop.

In high school, Michaela joined Aliso Niguel High School’s competitive hip hop club, Dance Appreciation. She was captain of the varsity team for 2 years where she assisted with costuming, cleaning, and choreographing. The head coach of this club was the founder and director of GRV, David Lim. She eventually auditioned for GRV’s junior team, GRaVy Babies. While Michaela was on GRaVy, they placed first at Body Rock Junior 2019.

At the University of San Francisco, Michaela participated in the hip hop club, VarCity, where she was on the executive board for 3 years. During this time, Michaela choreographed a variety of routines on 50+ dancers. While in San Francisco, Michaela coached the Saint Ignatius College Prepatory dance team and choreographed for both JV and Varsity.

She moved to Oregon in the summer of 2025 and became a math teacher at Newberg High School, where she also coaches the dance team. Michaela co-choreographed their Novelty routine and choreographed their hip hop routine for the 2025-2026 school year. With her choreography and cleaning, the Newberg Dance Team achieved a program high score and placed 6th at State with their hip hop routine.

Michaela is so excited to continue to pursue her love for teaching at CVDA! She strives to make her classes and rehearsals a comfortable environment to learn and make mistakes, while also holding her dancers to high standards!

Jolina Wessels

Acro Instructor

Newberg

Jolina Wessels was raised in Forest Grove, Oregon. She began her athletic journey through competitive gymnastics, training for ten years and developing a strong foundation in strength, flexibility, coordination, and body awareness. She continued her involvement in athletics through pole vaulting, competing throughout high school and college.

Jolina’s background in gymnastics and athletics has given her a deep appreciation for movement, technique, and personal growth. Jolina is passionate about helping students safely develop acrobatic skills while building strength, flexibility, confidence, and a love for movement. She is excited to share her experience and enthusiasm with the dancers at the studio.

Sophie Vazquez

Acro Instructor

McMinnville

Sophie spent 10 years coaching recreational and competitive women’s artistic gymnastics in Washington before moving to Oregon to pursue an education degree at OSU in 2024. She is thrilled to return to the world of teaching acrobatics and has greatly missed the joy of helping students build skills, gain confidence, and achieve their goals.

Her passion for movement extends beyond coaching and includes hiking, triathlon training, weightlifting, and yoga. When she’s not staying active, she can often be found in the kitchen pursuing another favorite hobby—baking.

Evelyn Carmona

Instructor

Newberg

Evelyn Carmona joined CVDA in 2014 and has spent eight years on the Performing Company. She has taken part in the academy’s Nutcracker for 11 years, a tradition that has shaped her love for performing. Evelyn got her start in Beginning Ballet and Beginning Acro, where she first fell in love with dance. She’s excited to work with the younger dancers and hopes to pass on not only her love for movement but also the confidence to shine on stage and in everyday life.

Hi there! I’m incredibly thrilled to be teaching at CVDA this year. My journey with dance began 11 years ago at this very studio, where I first took a pre-ballet/tap/jazz class and fell in love with the art form. Over the years, my passion for dance has only grown stronger. I’ve had the opportunity to assist in various dance classes and, last year, I became a part of CVDA’s Apprentice Program.

During my time at CVDA, I’ve had the privilege of dancing in The Nutcracker, taking on roles such as Clara, a mouse, a baby flower, and Dew Drop, among others. The studio has been a second home to me, providing a welcoming and supportive environment that allows me to express myself creatively and develop valuable life skills. 

I’m looking forward to sharing my knowledge and passion with the students and helping them discover their own love for dance. It’s a fantastic feeling to be able to contribute to their learning journey and watch them grow as dancers.

Joseph Hall-Conley was born and raised in Southern New Jersey. At age six he began training with the Vineland Regional Dance Company. While there he trained under Kim Chapman with focuses in ballet technique, partnering, and contemporary choreography. During this time he also attended Boston Ballet’s summer intensive, training under Christopher Anderson for two summers. Before leaving for college he spent his senior year training primarily in ballet with First State Ballet in Delaware under Pasha Kambalov. From there, he went in to the classical ballet program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Studying under Misha Tchoupakov, Ilya Kozadyev, Susan Jaffe, among many others, he graduated in 2022 with a BFA in classical dance. Since graduation he has been teaching and is very excited to continue in Oregon!

Hi! I’m Sophia! I am a Sophomore at Newberg High School and I’m currently talking a bunch of animal and science classes to try and become a vet! I have always had a huge passion for dance ever since my first dance class at 2 years old. I started dancing at CVDA in 2015! I joined the competitive dance team in 2017.

I’m so excited to be taking classes, assisting and teaching Pre Ballet/Tap/Jazz this year. My goal is to create a fun and engaging environment in my class.

Outside of dance and school I love to hang out with all of my friends and my 4 siblings. I also love to play with my 3 dogs

Mckenlee has been dancing for over 10 years and began her dance journey at just two years old. Throughout her years of training, she has developed a love for many styles of dance, with contemporary and hip hop being among her favorites. Dance has always been an important part of Mckenlee’s life, and she is excited to share her passion, creativity, and experience with the next generation of dancers at Chehalem Valley Dance Academy!

Hi! I’m Rylie Edwards, and I’m currently a performing company member, assistant, and teacher here at CVDA. I’m a freshman in high school taking classes within the healthcare pathway. One thing you will always hear me talking about is dance. Ever since I was little, it was clear that dance was my true passion. This will be my eleventh season on the competition team. For the 2026-2027 season, I’ll be dancing at both locations and competing on the performing company team at each one.

Riley Coats Ogrenics

Company Choreographer

Riley started working as an admin at CVDA in Newberg in the fall of 2021. She has been dancing at CVDA since she was around 2 years old. She began competing and performing in CVDA’s production of The Nutcracker when she was 5 years old. Being surrounded by such amazing instructors and getting to assist and apprentice with them is something that really made her want to teach. Her teaching philosophy is that every student will have their own dance journey and she is there to help them in any way that she can.  Her most used phrase is “good job!” Something that she wants teachers and students to know about her is that she loves teaching and that it has been a dream of hers ever since she was little! 

Bridget Derville-Teer is a born and raised CVDA alumni. She competed under CVDA for eleven years before graduating in 2018. After graduating, she moved to New York City to pursue a career in dance and choreography.

She was featured on season fifteen of So You Think You Can Dance, making it to the top forty dancers. She returned to the show for season sixteen and made it to the top fifty.

In 2017, she earned a spot in the top twenty for the title of Senior Female Best Dancer at The Dance Awards. Bridget is currently in the contemporary company, MarInspired; The Storytellers, under the direction of Emmy award winning Marinda Davis. Bridget performed in her full length show, “UNbreakable” in 2019 for the annual “Dancing Under The Stars” summer performance at the Scera Theater.

She also performed with MarInspired as the guest company at Young Choreographer’s Festival in New York City. Bridget has kept up her training by taking part in Broadway Dance Center’s Professional Semester program.

Bridget’s biggest dream is to choreograph for movies and television. She has been pursuing choreography since she was fifteen.

Thanks to her mentor, the owner of CVDA, Kristen Stoller, she has been graciously given the opportunity to choreograph competitive pieces for CVDA for the last three years. Bridget loves giving back to CVDA as much as she can because of all the wonderful things this studio has done for her.