WALDEN GROVE DANCE

Ms. Kristi Lopez began dancing at the young age of three years old in Long Beach California.  By thirteen she had joined a profession ballet company, Dance Alive!, in Gainesville Florida and performed roles with the corps de ballet in The Firebird, Carmina Burana, The Nutcracker, and East of the Sun West of the Moon to name a few.  In 2000, she was accepted to the Jofferey Ballet School in New York to train under the some of the ballet greats.  In High School, Ms. Lopez won scholarships with the New York City Dance Alliance (NYCDA) dance convention, Encore Dance Convention, and won the title Ms. Dance Arizona, 2004 competing at the national level for Ms. Dance USA.  Her Senior solo also won First place at LADF (Los Angeles Dance Force Convention), NYCDA (New York City Dance Alliance), Encore Dance Convention, and took Runner Up at the Encore Dance Convention's National Competition.  In 2005 she was accepted as a dance major at the prestigious University of Arizona's School of dance, one of the top three dance colleges in the nation. During her time at the U of A, she went to Rimini Italy to study with the Rimini Ballet School.  While she was a dance major, she started a second degree and received her BA in Elementary Education from the University of Arizona and was a runner up for the University of Arizona's Student Teacher of the Year (2008). During this time she also took a performing positions with the Todd Wilson Dance Company and Hobo Dance Productions. Throughout college she was hired to teach ballet and technique classes at Dance Studios and High Schools all over Tucson, including A Tucson Dance Company, Savvy Dance Studio, and University Dance Production (UDP). 

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In 2009 Ms. Lopez took her first teaching position (Kindergarten) at Sahuarita Primary School in the Sahuarita Unified School District.  During this time she continued to work with the Sabino High School pom team and the Nogales High School pom team, teaching technique camps and classes for the two groups.  She was the technique coach for the back to back Sabino High School State Championship pom team (2010 and 2011), under the direction of Kerri Lopez-Howell.  

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After teaching Kindergarten for two years at SPS, Walden Grove High School opened within the District and recruited Ms. Lopez to start a dance program.  In 2011 the Walden Grove High School Dance program was born, along with The PAC dance team.  In the short time she has won Walden Grove Teacher of the Year (2014), Sahuarita Unified School District Teacher of the Year (2014), Circle K Teacher of the Year (2015), and Tucson Hip-Hop Teacher Honoree (2017).  

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Since the programs inception, there are now six sections of dance with a waiting list and The PAC has made its mark on the community.  Some of their accolades include, performing in New Orleans for the National School Board Association (2014), '520's Best Dance Crew' (2011-2013), six consecutive hip-hop state championships in a row (2014-2020) with some of the highest scores in competition history, first place at 'Spark the Floor Hip-Hop Competition' (2017), halftime performances for the Phoenix Suns, pregame performances for the Arizona Diamondbacks, four viral youtube videos (Pixar, Wizard of Oz, Harry Potter, and Marvel), and National Television performances on America's Got Talent (3 rounds including  the Live Show round at the Dolby Theater) and Good Morning America (Harry Potter dance).

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This will be Ms. Lopez' 12th year teaching in the Sahuarita Unified School District .  Ms. Lopez is proud of how hard the program has worked in just ten short years, and how the kids continue to put their love for each other before any of their dance technique.