Residency Faculty | Competition Team Instructor | Specializing in Ballet, Technique & Mult-Genre training

Tayah Bonney is a professional dancer, dance instructor, and national award-winning choreographer with experience in ballet, contemporary, jazz, lyrical, and musical theatre. She recently completed a professional season with Unbound Dance Company in Columbia, South Carolina, under the direction of Caroline Lewis-Jones, performing in two company productions and appearing in eight works throughout the season.

Tayah began her dance training at a young age and went on to train extensively in South Florida. She trained at Stars Dance Studio in Miami, Florida, under Victor Smalley and Angel Armas, as well as other accomplished faculty and professional choreographers. She also studied under former Miami City Ballet principal dancers Illiana Lopez and Franklin Gamero, developing a strong foundation in classical ballet alongside her training in contemporary, jazz, lyrical, and musical theatre. Her competitive dance background includes regional and national recognition, scholarship opportunities, and extensive training across multiple styles.

As an educator and choreographer, Tayah has worked with dancers of varying ages and levels, from beginner through advanced and competition-level students. Her teaching focuses on developing strong technical foundations while encouraging musicality, artistry, performance quality, confidence, and individual expression. As a choreographer, she creates original work tailored to each dancer’s strengths, abilities, and artistic voice, with a strong understanding of what makes a piece both technically successful and compelling on stage.

Tayah is passionate about creating a positive and encouraging environment where dancers feel both challenged and supported. She believes strong technique and artistry go hand in hand and strives to provide dancers with thoughtful, constructive feedback that helps them grow not only as performers, but as confident and well-rounded artists.