STAVNA ACADEMY INSTRUCTORS
SHANNON McCONVILLE: OWNER & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR ›
Shannon fell in love with dance at a very young age. Originally from Tennessee, she began her training at the City Youth Ballet with Susan Pace-White. She has trained all over the country with many of the nations most distinguished artist including David Howard, Edward Villella, Gelsey Kirdland and Alonzo King. She received a B.F.A from Radford University with a concentration in performance and choreography under the direction of Frano Jelincic and Dagmar Kessler. Upon graduation, Shannon became a principal dancer with the San Diego Ballet. During her time with the company she had the opportunity to dance various lead roles under the direction of Robin Morgan and Javier Velasco. After moving to Virginia, she is proud to have founded the Stavna Ballet, a non-profit dance company in December of 2010. In 2012 she opened the Stavna Dance Academy, becoming the offiial training school of the Ballet. Most recently, Shannon was awarded one of Richmond's 2013 "Top 40 under 40".
JENNIFER KLOTZ: BALLET, JAZZ, & CONTEMPORARY ›
Jennifer Klotz grew up dancing in her hometown of Allentown, Pennyslvania where she studied various stayles of dance including Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Contemporary and Tap. Jen is a graduate of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA where she earned her BFA in Modern dance performance under the direction of Donna Faye Burchfield. upon graduation Jen moved to Richmond, VA and began her teaching career with Stavna Ballet in 2013. In addition to teaching at Stavna, Jen is an adjunt professor at John Tyler Community College and is a Barre fitness instructor in the Richmond area. She has had the pleasure of performing with the Stavna Ballet in their productions of Snow White, The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland and most recently has been cast as Peter in Peter Pan!
APRIL BOND: BALLET, CONTEMPORARY, JAZZ ›
April Bond, born in New Jersey, began her dance journey at the age of six, exploring a variety of styles that would shape her early artistic foundation. At 12, her love for ballet had become undeniable, prompting her to dedicate herself fully to a career in the art form. Her ambition led her to train at the Academy of Dance Arts under the guidance of Shayne and Nick Mishoe, as well as mentors such as Michelle Symos, Elanee Nowell, Bridget Trochiano, Viorica Stampfel, Sori Gottdenker, Weis Van Houplines, Kat Leibe, Victoria Green, Jessica Totaro, and Chris Bloom in her time there. Her talent and dedication were further honed during summer intensives at the American Repertory Ballet, where she eventually completed their prestigious two-year trainee program. She is very excited to teach this year with the Stavna Ballet!
ELIZABETH WOODINGTON: BALLET, JAZZ, TAP, MODERN ›
A resident of Midlothian, Virginia, Elizabeth began her career at Stavna Ballet during the first year they were open. After graduating college, Elizabeth went to Florida Southern College to continue exploring her love of dance. She graduated from Florida Southern College, where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography with a Minor in Exercise Science. Under the tutelage of Erin LaSala Phillips, Sadie Lehmker, Alex Jones, and Leah Pinder, Elizabeth was able to have access to many performance opportunities. She is very excited to be an instructor again this year at Stavna Ballet, and is looking forward to the next season!
AMIL GIUNTI: BALLET, JAZZ, MODERN, HIP HOP ›
Amil Giunti (she/her) is a performer and choreographer from Chesterfield, Virginia. She started her training at Pilates Dance and More at the age of 2 where she learned tap, ballet, and jazz. She then trained at the Latin Ballet Of Virginia for 11 years doing jazz, musical theater, ballet, hip hop, flamenco, capoeira, latin jazz, salsa, bachata, cha cha cha and afro Caribbean. She played the lead role for four years in the annual Christmas show: Legend of the Poinsettia. In 2021, she graduated from Thomas Dale High School Specialty Center for the Arts. In her time there she went to the Regional Governor's School Summer program at Radford University her sophomore year. Amil will be joining the staff at Stavna Ballet Academy for their 2025-2026 season teaching jazz, hip hop, modern and ballet. Amil is also a company member of MOORE Contemporary Theatrics first season. She is excited to continue her teaching, choreography and performance journey.