Lemoine Academy of Dance is owned by Lisa Lemoine Garner and is celebrating 33 years this year.

At age 2, she began her passion of dance.  In September of 1987, she opened the doors to her state-of-the-art facility. Lisa opened Lemoine Academy of Dance in Hammond, Louisiana with the dream of sharing her love and knowledge of dance with others. Her mission is to provide learning experience and to inspire them to reach their fullest potential in dance training. She is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Lisa attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Choreographic Design. While attending USL, she was a member of the Dance Movement Dance Company. In 1998, she was invited to dance at the NAPTA convention for King World Productions’ Elton John Concert. Lisa has studied dance and received master instruction under the direction of world renowned dancers such as Joe Tremaine, Doug Caldwell, Frank Hatchett and Gus Giordano while also studying with today’s hottest choreographers. Lisa continues to attend and participate in regional and national dance workshops and master classes each year.

She is also the founder of Tour de Force Dance Company, which has won numerous awards. Dancers have received Dancer of the Year titles and scholarships for study in the dance industry. Tour de Force Dance Company has been chosen as one of five dance companies throughout the United States to tour Europe for the Tanzommer Dance Festival and was named by Dance Spirit and Dance Teacher Magazines as a “Top 50 Studios on the Move.”

Lemoine Academy of Dance has produced  New Orleans Saintsations, LSU Golden Girls, LSU Tiger Girls, Ole Miss Rebelettes, SLU Lionettes, and Dancers in  Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York. Lemoine Academy of Dance has been voted numerous years as the recipient of The Daily Star’s #1 Dance Studio Readers Choice Award. Thanks to her, there are over a thousand that have stood a little taller, spoke a little louder and learned the value of hard work.  She truly teaches a child that Anything is Possible! 

Lisa is certified by test to teach and is also a certified teacher for the Twinkle Star Dance Program. Lisa is a member of: Dance Masters of America, Louisiana Association of Dance Masters and the Hammond Chamber of Commerce.

Lauren is originally from Lemoine Academy of Dance, where she also studied with Jean Leigh Academy of Dance.  She toured Austria dancing in the Tanzommer Festival opening for Alvin Ailey and guest performed in shows for the Edge PAC and The Performing Arts Center.  She continued her training attending studios like Edge performing arts Center and the Performing arts center on scholarship and also was able to train with Paula Morgan in California.  She has worked with many choreographers like Jason Parsons, Ray Leeper, Jen Ballard, and Nick Pupillo.  Lauren lived in Chicago for 10 years where she has performed in numerous performances for companies including Visceral Dance Chicago and Melissa Thodos Dance Company.  She then became the rehearsal director for Visceral Studio Company.  Lauren has taught at numerous studios throughout Louisiana and Chicago where her choreography has been recognized both regionally and nationally.    She has choreographed and performed in an event for the Ameriprise Corporation.  Lauren is the company director for Lemoine Academy of Dance and travels as a national director for VIP dance competition.

Staci Montgomery is from Hammond, LA and has studied dance for over 35 yrs. Staci has been trained in tap, ballet, jazz and hip hop. She has been the tap choreographer for Lemoine Academy of Dance for 19 yrs, and has taught from beginners to top competition levels. Her choreography has won numerous top awards both regionally and nationally, and she has one a few Outstanding Choreography awards. Staci received a scholarship to go to the National Tap Dance Day in Dallas, TX where she got to dance with Fred Kelly. She was also invited to dance at a NAPTA convention for Kingworld productions Elton John concert in New Orleans. Over the years Staci has worked with many tap choreographers including Greg Russell, Dianne Walker ,Cory Finn, Gregory Hines and many more.

Chelsea studied dance at Lemoine Academy of Dance  for 15 years and was a member of Tour de Force Dance Company.   She was captain of the Holy Ghost School Sparklers dance team and Co-Captain of the St. Thomas Aquinas Starlette dance team. Chelsea attended college at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette majoring in Public Relations with a minor in Marketing. She was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority and Sigma Gamma Mu honor society. She has choreographed competition hiphop and tap routines and has won numerous high score and overall awards. In  specializing in Hip Hop and Tap  Chelsea enjoys sharing her love of dance from where it all started at Lemoine Academy of Dance. 

Lauren is from Hammond, Louisiana. She trained at Lemoine Academy of Dance for 16 years in ballet, contemporary, tap, jazz and hip hop. She was a 4-year member of the LSU Golden Girls and served as a captain her last two years. She is a six-year veteran instructor for the Universal Dance Association. Also, she is the coach of the nationally ranked dance team, Saint Thomas Aquinas Starlettes. She is currently a speech language pathologist in the Tangipahoa School System. Lauren loves teaching and sharing her passion with others, and she is so grateful for the opportunity to do that at such an amazing studio.

Haley is originally from Hammond, Louisiana, where she studied and competed with Lemoine Academy of Dance for 16 years. She began assisting at Lemoine at age eight and continued assisting and training until her senior year, where she taught her first class. Haley previously studied at Tulane University, majoring in Dance while also on the Pre-Med Track, and is now attending Southeastern Louisiana University and is on the Lionettes Dance Team. Haley is very excited to be back at her home studio, pouring into dancers who are eager to learn and to increase their love for dance!

“My hope is to give my students a fun and safe place to grow their dance skills, their social skills, and their love for dance.”

Caitlyn was born into the dance studio life at Lemoine Academy of Dance and began dancing at 18 months and competing at the age of five.She studied ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, lyrical and contemporary. She has had the privilege of attending and participating in a number of national /regional conventions and competitions in places such as New York, Las Vegas, Orlando, and Los Angeles. Individually, she received many dance scholarships and titles through dance organizations such as: LA Dance Magic, New York City Dance Alliance, West Coast Dance Explosion, Company Dance & Hollywood Vibe. She was a member of the dance team at the Holy Ghost Catholic School and St. Thomas Aquinas High School where they have been ranked as one of the top dance teams in the nation . She was also captain and named an All-Star. Because of her experience, she is confident that her students will grow in more ways than one while in her class. Caitlyn received her Bachelor of Science Degree with emphasis in Kinesiology at University of Louisiana in Lafayette. Caitlyn is currently an Adapted Physical Education teacher in Livingston Parish. Most importantly, Caitlyn hopes to give her students a fun and safe place to grow their dance skills, their social skills, and their love for dance.

“One reason why I love teaching dance is to share something that I’m passionate about with the kids and watching them grow throughout the year.”

Marti Albarado I have been training in dance for 17 years. I was member of the Lafayette high danceteam for 4 years serving as co captain my junior year and captain my senior year. Currently, I am attending Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond where I am majoring in Early Childhood Education and part of the Lionette danceteam. Looking forward to my second year with LAD.

“I am so blessed to be on the Lemoine Academy of Dance staff!”

My name is Kylie Ruiz and this is my second year teaching at Lemoine. I have danced at Lemoine for 16 years and have competed for 12 years. I was on the Holy Ghost dance team for 4 years and on the Saint Thomas Aquinas dance team for 2 years.

DJ Galloway started her professional dance training at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) during high school. After high school she was accepted into Alvin Ailey's Independent Studies Training Program in New York City, where she moved to and trained for one year. During her time in the Ailey School, she was selected to do a performance under the direction of Matthew Rushing, Ailey II Artistic Director, alongside the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater first company. After her training at Ailey, she was accepted into Arova Contemporary Ballet, in Birmingham, Alabama as a company apprentice. During her year as an apprentice she was selected as a soloist for TedX Birmingham, a national event, alongside the band "Warjacket" under the direction of Jamorris Rivers, Arova's artistic director. The next season she was promoted to company member.  DJ was also selected to choreograph on the Arova Contemporary Ballet Company, for their choreographers showcase, after submitting her work. Dj now choreographs for several dance studios and dance companies around the country, and teaches regularly at competitive dance studios in Louisiana.

Sara Radka started dance at age 10 at Dance Academy West before moving to New Orleans and studying at the New Orleans Dance Academy in 2013. In 2015, she joined Lusher Charter Highschool’s Certificate of Artistry in Dance Program where she trained under Erin Healan and Nicole Buckles in both modern and ballet. Sara, also began her pre-professional ballet training at Live Oak Dance under the direction of Jarina Carvalho. She attended prestigious summer programs at American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, Ballet Chicago, and Kansas City Ballet. In 2017, she was invited to attend the Kansas City Ballet’s Daytime Pre-Professional Training Program. Sara moved to Kansas City and had the great honor of training under Grace Holmes, Rachel Nye,  and Demitry Trubchanov. At Kansas City ballet she intensely studied not only the art of ballet but also, jazz, contemporary, character, and modern. Sara graduated from Kansas City Ballet’s School in 2019 and joined the Marigny Opera Ballet as an Apprentice. Later that year she was promoted to Company Dancer. Sara has continued her education by becoming a certified Progressing Ballet Technique teacher and attending ABT’s Teacher Training Program. Sara is also the proud owner of R6 Dancewear, a dancewear and custom costuming company with a goal to create a space for every dancer to feel confident and beautiful.