Meet our Instructors

Heidi Adams

Mrs. Heidi Adams is the Artistic Director of the River Region Ballet School of Dance and a 4-year-old head start teacher at George Washington Carver Early Learning Center in St. Charles Parish. She graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University earning a BGS with a concentration in Education, Management, and Performing Arts. Her education was furthered with a Master’s Degree from American College of Education. Mrs. Adams started her training at Johanna’s Jazz in Motion at the age of 2. She continued many years of training at Images Dance Studio in Destrehan, LA and furthered her study at Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport, LA.  At the age of 11, she joined The River Region Ballet as a full member and went on to dance in works of The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Cinderella, Coppelia, Giselle, La Bayadere, Sleeping Beauty, and many others. Mrs. Adams has performed with Escaped, Images, River Region Drama Guild, The Swing Dance Club and at the Red River Dance Festival. Some of her favorite roles include Uncle Tom in The King and I, Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty, and The Mellon Harker in La Boutique Fantasque.  

Elizabeth Birkel

Elizabeth Birkel found her passion for dance at the young age of 18 months, when she put on her first pair of Tap shoes and found her voice through her feet. She started her training at CDSD The Dancers Studio in Metairie, Louisiana. There she competed for 6 years and earned many titles with her team and studio. Elizabeth then went on to train with New Orleans Ballet Association and put on beautiful ballet productions. For 2 years she took a turn and began to learn and compete Irish Dance. She returned back to studying Contemporary, Jazz, Tap, Ballet and Hip-Hop and began as a Teachers Assistant. For Elizabeth’s junior year of high school, she made her way to Dancetera, where she served as a a class demonstrator and Teachers Assistant for 7 years. Elizabeth attends Southeastern Louisiana University where she is working towards her Major in Criminal Justice and Minor in Contemporary Dance. She is overjoyed to be able to share her passion of dance to her students at the River Region Ballet School of Dance! Ms. Birkel currently teaches Tiny Tot Jazz, Primary Jazz, Lyrical and Contemporary. 

Connie Bourgoyne

Connie Bourgoyne is a former gymnast and cheerleader. She attended Southern Indiana Gymnastics. Connie started her career as an instructor in 1988 where she worked in after school gymnastics recreation programs and Tumblebus in New Albany Indiana. In 1993, she started teaching at Tops Gymnastics in La Place, La. In 1995 Connie was invited to Indianapolis, IN to participate in an ad hoc committee to develop the Kinder Accreditation for Teachers. There she became the first KAT accredited instructor in the state. Connie launched her own Tumblebus in 1997 and also began teaching tumbling for St Charles Parish Community Education. From 2012 to 2021 Connie has been the tumbling instructor and also the 20-21 studio operating manager at Dancetera in Norco. She is certified in Safety/Risk Management through USA Gymnastics and has completed the MELPD and Preschool Fundamentals Theory. Ms. Bourgoyne currently teaches Tiny Tot Acro, Intermediate Acro, and Advanced Acro.

katelyn fitts

Katelyn Rodrigue Fitts started her dance career at Johanna’s Jazz in Motion at the age of 2. The following year she began dance at Images Dance Studios under the direction of Susan Ferrara Burke until she went to college in 2006 at Louisiana State University.   During that time, she took a 6 year hiatus in dance to pursue a collegiate track and field career as a pole vaulter, as well as a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Arts for Communication Sciences & Disorders. Upon completion of her degree, she returned to the St. Charles Parish area to work as a speech therapist in the St. Charles Parish Public School System and to Images Dance Studio to dance with Susan Ferrara Burke until her retirement in 2015. Throughout the years, she has enjoyed dancing in River Region Ballet’s productions of The Nutcracker, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, and many more. This is Katelyn’s sixth year teaching ballet and pointe at River Region Ballet School of Dance. She teaches because she loves sharing her gift, passion, and love of dance with all of her students - especially her daughters. “Nothing is better than watching your students on stage pour their heart and soul into their performance. After months and years of their hard work and dedication, it is so rewarding to see our performers light up the stage and bring their characters to life.” Mrs. Fitts currently teaches Pre-Pointe, Beginner Pointe, Intermediate/Advanced Pointe, Elite Ballet/Pointe, Primary Acro and Elite Acro.

Jae Hinton

Ms. Hinton currently teaches Primary Ballet/Tap, Intermediate Ballet/Tap, Pom and Itty Bitty Tumble. 

Violet keller

Violet Keller is the tap and hip-hop instructor for River Region School of Dance. For years, she has trained dancers of all levels in ballet, tap, jazz, and more. Violet has been a member of the River Region Ballet, Inc. Jr/Sr Company since 2007 and has been in many productions of The Nutcracker, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, and more. Violet loves sharing her passion for dance and her outstanding creativity with dancers of all ages. Above all, Violet believes in allowing every dancer the ability to express themselves and to reach their fullest potential. Ms. Keller currently teaches Advanced/Elite Tap and Hip-Hop. 

Laura Sullivan

Laura Sullivan is a native of Destrehan and the River Region Ballet, Inc. Junior and Senior Company Director. She has completed her third year as a Special Education Teacher at Albert Cammon Middle School after graduating from Mississippi State in the Spring of 2020. Laura was 2 years old when she stepped foot into her first dance studio. She performed in her first River Region Ballet, Inc’s. production (Cinderella) in 2004.  Laura fell in love with performing and decided to study at Images Dance Studio under Susan Ferrara Burke for 10 years. Laura enjoyed many years performing in a variety of roles in RRB’s annual production of The Nutcracker, as well as Sleeping Beauty (Diamond Fairy), Thumbelina (Ms. Mouse), Fairy Gardens (Lilac Fairy), La Boutique (Doll), Peter and the Wolf (Peter) and many more.  Laura discovered teaching at the age of 13 as an assistant at Images Dance Studio.  For her senior year of high school, Laura taught the 3 & 4 year old class at the River Region Ballet School of Dance. While attending college, she continued teaching at Divine Dance in Starkville, MS for students ages 2 to 13.  In the past, she taught ballet and pointe to the advanced class (ages 11-17) at Dancetera. Ms. Sullivan currently teaches Tiny Tot Ballet/Tap.

hannah weber

Hannah Virginia Weber was born in Norco, Louisiana. She had a passion for performance and art from an early age and soon found herself immersed in dance. She continued to follow this path by enrolling at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts for high school while also attending various local dance studios. Ms. Weber attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where she studied with such choreographers as Alonzo King, Larry Keigwin, and Janis Brenner, and graduated with a BFA in contemporary dance in 2009. From 2010 until 2012 she worked with Cirque du Soleil on their show Iris in Los Angeles as a dancer and a main character, appearing on The Tonight Show and the Oscars. In New York, she performed with various companies, including Sarah Berges Dance, the Moving Architects, Sans Limites Dance, Salvatore LaRussa Dance Theatre, as well as others. Ms. Weber also served as resident choreographer and dancer with Periapsis Music and Dance. In 2020, she moved back to Louisiana, where she is leading, creating, and facilitating, the new dance program for St. Charles Parish Public Schools. She is excited to be teaching at River Region Ballet, and looks forward to sharing her experience, knowledge, and love for dance with her students. Ms. Weber currently teaches Modern