SwitchDanceStudio Diana Schmelzer

Diana has been dancing consistently since she was 9 years old and has had a passion for dance all her life. She began training with Carol Peterson and Marie Stinette in San Jose California and earned her Bachelor's Degree in Dance at San Jose State University under the directorship of Mina Garman and Janie Scott. During that time she appeared in and choreographed many musicals such as "West Side Story" and "A Chorus Line". Musicals, choreography and dance instruction became her new passion.

After graduating from SJSU she became the assistant director for the Melissa Draper Dance Company and eventually moved to So. Lake Tahoe, California where she opened her first studio "LightSong School of Dance". After directing and teaching ballet, jazz, lyrical, hip hop and tumbling there for seven years, she moved to Chino Valley, Arizona where she currently resides.

For the past eight years Diana has been the Owner and Executive Director of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prescott and Chino Valley where she taught all forms of dance with jazz and young dancers being her area of focus. During that time she also directed and produced dozens of full scale Broadway Musicals such as "Beauty and the Beast", "The Sound of Music", "Fame", "Alice in Wonderland", "West Side Story", "Seussical the Musical" and Footloose". Now under the direction of Leo Gallegos, Diana will continue to teach dance and is excited at the opportunities that lie ahead of her.