Meet the Stephanie

Studio Owner & Lead Instructor

For Stephanie, dance has always been about far more than learning steps. It is about connection, confidence, communication, and the joy that comes from discovering what you are capable of on the dance floor.

With 17 years of ballroom dance experience, Stephanie received much of her foundational training from her dance and life partner, Tristan—a Fred Astaire-trained ballroom professional, studio manager, and Rising Star Champion. Through years of dancing, teaching, and building a life together, Tristan shared with Stephanie not only his knowledge of ballroom technique, but his understanding of partnership, musicality, and the art of helping another person become a dancer.

Stephanie went on to develop a teaching style distinctly her own. Today, she is a celebrated group-class instructor with more than 100 Top Notch Reviews from students, known for making dance approachable, encouraging, and genuinely fun.

Her work has also been nationally recognized and awarded for the development of adaptive dance curriculum for veterans living with disabilities. That experience further shaped one of the hallmarks of Stephanie’s teaching: meeting students where they are and adapting dance to the individual rather than expecting the individual to adapt to dance.

Her instruction encompasses Ballroom and Latin dance, social dancing, wedding dances, special-event choreography, and adaptive dance instruction. She especially loves introducing beginners to partner dancing and watching the moment when someone who walked in saying, “I can’t dance,” realizes that they absolutely can.

The name Tristan’s Dance Studio carries a deeply personal legacy. After a courageous fight with cancer, Tristan passed away, leaving behind his dance and life partner, Stephanie, and a lifetime of knowledge, memories, and love for the art they shared.

Stephanie chose to carry his name forward through the studio they dreamed of—not simply by preserving what Tristan taught her, but by continuing to build upon it. Tristan’s Dance Studio represents both a legacy and a new chapter: a place where excellent instruction is paired with warmth, laughter, community, and the belief that dancing can enrich every season of life.

For Stephanie, every person who walks through the studio doors becomes another part of that continuing story.

Turning Dreams Into Dances.