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Our Story

A New Legacy:

Legacy Dance Studio was born January 2022 out a great love, respect, and passion for CF Dance Academy which came before it. Co-owners Ryan Morris & Skylar Vandenburg both taught at CFDA, and wish to continue the nurturing of dancers in a safe place, while training at a level of excellence. 

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The CF Legacy

Cathleen Forcucci-Heideman was the founder and long-time director of Cathleen Forcucci Dance Academy (now known as CF Dance Academy). Miss Cathy was a fully accredited teacher with the Cecchetti Council of America and received certification with the Cecchetti Society of America ISTD, their international affiliation.  Miss Cathy also taught with the City of Anaheim for twenty-two years. She directed the studio for many years with the support of her loving husband William Heideman.  C.F.D.A.'s ownership and direction then went to Miss Cathy’s daughters Jennifer Forcucci-Marzluf and Leanna Forcucci. CF Dance began with 50 students, and grew to service close to 700 students every year. Their mission was to continue their mother’s legacy of excellent dance instruction, and Legacy Dance Studio plans to do the same.  

Staff

Ryan Morris

Co-Owner / Hip Hop

Ryan began training in San Diego at Formality Dance Academy in 2005 under Phillip Geniza. After training at established hip-hop studios such as Culture Shock SD, Studio FX, and Studio 429, he studied movement and choreography at University of California Riverside. There he got a taste for other dance forms and participated in the GLUCK Contemporary Ensemble. Throughout his dancing experience Ryan has contributed to and competed with various hip-hop teams in the southern California area such as Team Millennium, Academic of Swag, and Soul Fresh Crew. He also directed UCR's competitive hip-hop team 909 Hip-Hop Dance Troupe for multiple seasons. Ryan now teaches at multiple studios in La County, Orange County, and the High Desert training from beginner level students all the way up to those competing at a national level! 

Skylar Vandenburg

Skylar Vandenburg danced at CF Dance Academy for 15 years and began instructing 8 years ago. During her time as a student at CF Dance Academy, she trained in various dance styles including hip-hop, jazz, contemporary, ballet, and tap. As an adult, Skylar continues to train at a professional level with award winning teams in the Hip Hop community; these include VMO, LFG, and Hyphen. She hopes to continue to create a safe space for all ages to dance and have the opportunity to be themselves. 

Co-Owner / Hip Hop / Jazz / Tap / Ballet

Claudia Ion

Hip Hop

Claudia is a hip-hop instructor at Legacy Dance Studio. In 2009, she started her dance training at CF Dance Academy, which included hip-hop, jazz, tap, contemporary and ballet. She’s been teaching all ages and various levels since 2014. As an adult, Claudia has trained with teams within the hip-hop community such as V Mo, Vixens, and LFG. She has her B.S in Child and Adolescent Development, and is continuing her education in hopes to become a schoolteacher. Claudia believes that dance is an opportunity for dancers to push past limits while having fun, and feels honored to be a part of a studio that provides a safe space for everyone.  

Jessica Rocha

Jessica began her training as a young girl and has studied seriously at CF Dance Academy since 2004. She has had the privilege of studying Hip Hop in L.A. with professional choreographers at Edge, Debbie Reynolds and Millennium dance studios. Here at Cf Dance Academy she studies Hip Hop, Ballet, and Pointe. Jessica is a former member of our Bring the Noise Hip Hop Troupe and Fortissimo crews and has had the opportunity to dance in various competitions such as World of Dance, Maxt Out, Vibe Juniors, and Urban Street Jam. In 2012, Jessica passed her Grade 7 Cecchetti Ballet exam and is continuing her training in the hopes of taking her Grade 8 exam, she also received her Teacher’s Certificate 1 in Cecchetti Ballet in 2014. Her responsibilities as Assistant Director include: managing the front desk, stage managing our showcases, organizing most offsite events, and supporting management. She has worked very closely with CFDA directors and has become a very strong instructor as well as office personnel manager. Jessica currently teaches Ballet, Hip Hop, Ballet & Tap Combo, Parent & Me, and Creative Ballet.

Ballet / Tap / Hip Hop

Vanessa Benitez

Vanessa Benitez born and raised in California has been dancing since she was 9 years old. Going between sports and dance classes, she finally found her true calling in continuing her love for dance. Vanessa teaches tap and hip hop to special needs kids.  Vanessa has been teaching Tap for the past 18 years.  She brings a different element by blending her tap with hip hop to bring out “FUNKY TAP”. Vanessa states, “My true inspiration comes from watching my students improve each class, they are the ones that make my ideas come to life!” She hopes to continue to tap for many years to come.

Tap

Kira Molenda

 Ballet /Jazz / Acro / Hip Hop

Damian Kelly

Damian is currently part the Anaheim Ballet Company and has performed in their productions of The Nutcracker since 2016. He has taught ballet classes for Anahiem Ballet as well as in Paramount & Signal Hill. While training in ballet for the last 16 years, he has performed with Disneyland parades, Coast City Ballet, Akomi, & The Dance Co.

Ballet

Lauren Kim

Lauren Kim has been dancing since the age of 18 months old. She started competing with CF Dance Academy in 2015 and trained in many styles: ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, lyrical, and the Cecchetti method of ballet from ages 13-19. She passed her Grade 9 Cecchetti exam and trained in Grade 10. She had danced at CF Dance Academy for seven years and was one of the junior and senior captains of the Fullerton Youth Senior Ballet Company [FYB]. She was also a part of Sunny Hills High School Dance Production all throughout high school and was the captain during her junior and senior years. She is currently the assistant coach of SHHS DP and holds weekly high school dance team prep classes at Legacy to further prepare dancers for high school dance team.
She had also been a part of the award-winning competitive group, Fortissimo, which moved forward to create a concept video about teen suicide. Lauren has also participated in numerous competitions and events, such as Youth America Grand Prix, California Dance Classics, Showstoppers, Kids Artistic Revenue, Urban Street Jam, Maxt Out, Collaborations, Kidz Carnival, and CADTD, where she has received numerous awards and recognition for her group dances and solos. Lauren currently coaches Junior FYB and teaches weekly contemporary and technique classes. She has coached many award-winning soloists and duets and looks forward to continuing pushing her dancers to success. She loves to teach and choreograph and is grateful for being able to share her passion for dance at Legacy. Alongside teaching and dancing, she is currently a full-time attending Pomona College in Claremont, CA where she is studying psychology.

Contemporary / Conditioning 

Miss. Kira started dancing at the age of 3.5. Her classical dance studies include, successfully passing her Standard 1 through Grade 8 Cecchetti Ballet Exams and has also received her TC1 Cecchetti Teachers Certificate. She has competed with Elite teams as a soloist and group dancer. In the field of commercial dance, she has served as team captain on an Elite Hip Hop team for two years and has won multiple awards with this group in addition to 3 other teams. Miss Kira has trained with many industry professionals, was invited to perform at the Carnival Choreographer Ball in September 2019, and has won 1st place overall as a solo jazz dancer at Showstoppers. She is currently choreographing and coaching our Sound Off team. One of the most rewarding things Miss Kira experiences as a dance teacher is the ability to see her dancers grow, not only in their training but also in their personal development.

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