Teachers
Experienced Masters
Come dance with us and meet the talented and growing team of instructors at Carapace Dance Center. Focusing on teaching exceptional techniques and creating unforgettable experiences, we are committed to our dancers’ satisfaction and success. Continue browsing our staff profiles below to learn more.
Athena Howe
Owner/Instructor
Athena Howe began dancing professionally at the age of nine, launching a career that spans performance, casting, and education. A former SAG member, she has been featured in commercials, sitcoms, and feature films, with performance credits including "You Got Served", 'That ’80s Show", and "American Family". In addition to on-screen work, Athena has danced with award-winning contemporary companies, building a strong foundation in both commercial and concert dance worlds.
Expanding beyond performance, Athena has worked as a casting producer for over 15 years, bringing deep industry insight and a keen eye for talent to numerous projects. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and Dance, combining artistic excellence with a strong understanding of movement science. For the past three years, Athena has owned and operated a dance studio, where she continues to mentor dancers and cultivate the next generation of performers.
Maddie Becker - Ballet
Maddie fell in love with ballet at the age of five; always an energetic kid, ballet made her feel beautiful and strong all while keeping an active body. After spending some time away from the dance world healing her body and mind from injuries caused by overtraining and demanding instructors, that love for ballet came back when she found Carapace Dancer Center. She started to feel that beauty first felt and understood why she fell in love with the art of ballet in the first place. As a teacher, she never wants
her students to feel the way she did about her body. This is why she values strength and control based training rather
than the “aesthetics” side of ballet. She would rather teach her students to have
control with the basics first, then build up the strength to have clean and healthy advanced techniques. She says
“I’d rather see a clean single turn than a strained double.This means putting their health first and training to prevent
injuries. The ballet world comes with a lot of stigma and expectations, but my goal is for my students to see
that ballet is for everyone with every body type, no matter what."