Meet the Faculty
Eric Coffman
Founder
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Eric was introduced to dance by his mother, an accomplished dancer herself. By age 10, Eric was taking ballet classes every day, in addition to playing tennis, doing gymnastics, and swimming. At age 15, he won a Ford Foundation Scholarship to the San Francisco Ballet and began dancing with that company the following year. Eric later moved to New York City, where he danced with the Robert Joffrey Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. From there, he joined the renowned Royal Danish Ballet, and was the first foreigner to be chosen to dance leading roles. He went on to dance in movies, TV shows, night clubs and opera houses in 22 different countries. Eric passed away in 2008, and the studio remains his legacy to the Treasure Valley.
Anne Sakolsky-Basquill
Director/Owner
Teen Ballet, Ballet IV, Ballet V, Beg/Int. Pointe, Beg/Int. Adult Ballet, Int Adult Ballet
Anne started her ballet studies as a child at the Miami City Ballet School in Miami, Florida. By the age of 14 she became a member of the Ballet Royal, a regional civic ballet company based out of Orlando, Florida. When on break from the company she studied at Jacobs Pillow with Margaret Craske, Ted Shawn and Norman Walker; the Washington School of Ballet in Washington DC, and the North Carolina School of the Arts. During her university studies she danced at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. After graduation she continued to dance professionally in Texas, New York, California and Germany. Anne has been teaching ballet since 1977 throughout the US and Germany. She has been teaching at Backstage since 1995.​
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Dana Chamberlain
Ballet III, IV
Miss Dana started her dance studies in Mississippi. She has taught in Wyoming, Louisiana, and New Zealand. At the Natchez Ballet Academy she danced the pas de deux of Chinese and the Sugar Plum Fairy in the local productions of the Nutcracker. In addition to teaching Ballet she has led workshops on the use of movement and dance in prayer and worship. Miss Dana has been teaching Ballet at Backstage since 1997. We are fortunate to have her as a member of the Backstage family.
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Kristal Garland-Smith
Lyrical III, IV, Stretch, Turns & Leaps II, Strength and Conditioning, Beg Ballet Ages 9-13, Director - Senior Company
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Kristal Garland-Smith was born in Moses Lake, Washington danced with the Ballet Academy of Moses Lake for nearly all of her training throughout her childhood. She began dance at two years old, and formally started training in ballet at the age of six. Kristal began teaching ballet classes at the age of fifteen, and has been teaching all ages and genres of dance since. Before making the decision to attend the University of Idaho’s dance program, Kristal danced with a small modern company named Impact Dance Project that focused on dance outreach and performance opportunities for members and young children in the community that may otherwise not get the opportunity to dance. Kristal graduated from the University of Idaho with a Bachelor’s of Science in Dance and a certification in Pilates training from BASI Pilates in 2016.
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Emily Misner
Intermediate Adult Tap
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Miss Emily has been dancing since she was three years old. She studied dance at Weber State University and at Boise State University. She has performed in many showcases and with Idaho Dance Theater. Miss Emily has been teaching for 10 years and likes watching her students learn and grow. Backstage Dance Center welcomes Miss Emily to our family.
Taylor Mocaby
Acro IIII/IV Hip Hop I, III, IV, Director - Junior Company
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Miss Taylor started her dance training at Backstage Dance Center in 2002 studying ballet, jazz, hip hop, lyrical, acro and tap. As a student she danced competitively for the nationally ranked Black Diamond Dance Team from 2011-2015. Taylor is a proud graduate of Backstage’s Teacher Training Program and has been teaching and coaching since graduating in 2015. We are honored to have Miss Taylor directing our Junior Company dancers this year.
Alexa Bouvier
Combo Ballet/Tap Ages 3-4, Ballet I/II Ballet III
Miss Alexa has studied dance in Idaho, California, New York City, Boston and Germany. She received her younger training under the instruction of Backstage founder, Eric Coffman. While going to school in Boston, MA she taught at Dance Connections in Windham, New Hampshire. Her goal as an instructor is to have her students grow into strong and more confident individuals, both on and off the dance floor, while still having fun.
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Lydia Sakolsky-Basquill
Adv. Contemporary, Jazz II,III,IV,
Studying dance both nationally and internationally from a young age, Miss Lydia graduated with an AA in dance from New World School of the Arts in Miami, FL. From there she continued her dance training at both Arizona State University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance re-staging classical and contemporary works throughout her studies. Since returning to Boise in 2011, Lydia has performed and choreographed for Ballet Idaho, Boise Dance Co-op, and Idaho Dance Theatre. Her choreography has received numerous awards in competitions nationwide. She is also director of Project Flux, an improv based contemporary company. Lydia is excited to teach for Backstage in memory of her mentor, Eric Coffman.
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Julia Rector
Hip Hop II, Tap II, Turns & Leaps I, Acro I/II, Director, Mini Company
Miss Julia began dancing at Backstage Dance Center in 2010. She studied Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hiip Hop, Contemporary, Lyrical, Acro and Competition dance. She simultaneously competed on two nationally ranked dance teams; the Backstage Dance Center teams and the Meridian High School Warriorettes. Julia proudly led the Warriorettes as captain her senior year. She is a graduate of our teacher training program, and received her Module One Acrobatics Arts Teacher Certification in June, 2020. We are excited to have her and her warm hearted teaching style.
Lisaun Whittingham
Tap III/IV, Broadway Dance, Beg Adult Tap
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Miss Lisaun came to us from southern California. She began her dance/singing career at 19 on cruise ships and in amusement parks. She has performed throughout the world with Holland America Line, Royal Caribbean, Princess and Tokyo Disney. She has worked for every equity theatre in Los Angeles and has worked with Reba McEntyre and Michael McKean, among others. She has taught Ballet, Tap and Jazz at many studios in southern California, and was Ballet Director at Huntington Beach Ballet. We are thrilled to have her join the Backstage family. Miss Lisaun is looking forward to sharing her knowledge with our students.
Ellie Sullivan
Hip Hop I, Adult Hip Hop
We are excited to welcome Miss Ellie, from Tri Cities, Washington. She has been dancing since she was four years old, and has concentrated on Hip Hop and Tap since she was 9. Her previous teaching experience was in Kennewick, WA. Currently she is an officer in the BSU Bronco Dance Club, and is eager to share her knowledge and love of Hip Hop.
