The Team
Who We Are
Christy Hernandez
Executive Director & Senior Dance Staff
Christy Hernandez is the Founder and Executive Director of Dance 4 Joy Ministries. She is a professional nonprofit leader, mentor, speaker, dancer, master teacher, choreographer, and producer in Southern California, holding a BA in Creative Arts and Dance from San Jose State University (SJSU - 1992) and a teaching credential in Elementary Education from California State University Fullerton (1993). She is currently gaining her CFRE Credential and Coursework in Nonprofit Management from UCI. She has performed and taught dance professionally in the OC and LA area for the last 33yrs. As Executive Director, Christy now leads Dance 4 Joy as it trains up to 250+ students a week through classes, workshops, camps, and outreach projects. You can see Christy's most recent interviews on Stories In Progress with Angela O'Neill - Episode 16 - Dancing with Purpose and Creating Sacred Beauty produced by Family Theater Productions.
(714) 287-6886
Susi Beck-Gifford
Artistic Director - Senior Dance Staff
Susi Beck-Gifford is a graduate from Loyola Marymount University with a BFA in dance. She lived in NY for 8 years dancing and teaching in all styles of dance. Susi always lets her knowledge as a certified GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® instructor inform her teaching and help her students build a solid foundation to achieve longevity in their careers. She is dedicated to the proclamation of the Gospel in all dance genres and currently teaches ballet, modern, jazz, choreograph, and musical theater at Dance 4 Joy!
Mike Michaud
Director of Development
As the Director of Development at Dance 4 Joy, the biggest part about my job is building relationships. I think that as God puts me in the position of communicating with others about our ministry, it moves me to be more patient focused, allowing the Lord to lead me to do His work. He puts me where I need to be. Seeing is believing and believing is seeing. My hope is for Dance 4 Joy to continuously grow and develop into something truly amazing as we train up the next generation to proclaim the Gospel in DANCE!
949-300-6564
Alex Armesto
Director of Marketing
& Communications
Alex Armesto leads Marketing & Communications at Dance 4 Joy Ministries, blending cinematic storytelling, design, and community experience to amplify the organization’s mission. He develops integrated campaigns across web, video, email, and social that highlight Dance 4 Joy's voice, celebrate community impact, and invite donors and families into the story. Alex partners closely with program staff to translate complex initiatives—classes, events, campaigns, systems, and more—into clear, compelling narratives. Above all, Alex’s work is rooted in purpose, shining a light on the transformations that D4J provides, and supporting more people to find lasting, internal joy & love through movement.
Natasha Desai
Director of Administration
With over 18 years of experience in business administration & office management, Natasha brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise.
Her background includes roles in executive assistance, project management, and event planning, making her an invaluable asset to our team. Natasha's natural leadership skills, exceptional communication abilities, and dedication to fostering positive relationships enhance our mission and support the growth of our programs. Say hi at our front desk!
310-490-0694
Ruth Okey
Senior Staff
Ruth Okey has been dancing since the age of 4. She has trained with excellent teachers in Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Redlands, Costa Mesa and Freiburg, Germany. She has studied Ballet, Jazz, Modern, and Tap. She continues her ballet training currently in Irvine. Ruth is a member of the National Dance Educator’s Association and recently attended their annual conference. She has been choreographing works and dancing for worship services for over 20 years, and has loved teaching at Dance 4 Joy for the past 6 1/2 years. Some of Ruth’s favorite verses are Ephesians 2:8-10. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Erica Villalpando
Senior Dance Staff
Erica Villalpando graduated Summa cum laude with her B.A. in Dance and Theater from Chapman University, her A.A. in Dance/Humanities from Mt San Jacinto College, received her Pilates certification from Aline Conditioning and Barreworks certification from Yogaworks. Erica is currently adjunct dance faculty at Golden West College, has taught at Orange Coast College, Chapman University, Cal State Long Beach and at a multitude of dance and Pilates studios in the OC and LA area. Erica is currently company rehearsal director and dancer for the professional modern company, Nannette Brodie Dance Theater and teaches at Dance 4 Joy. Erica would like to thank God for all of her success, her husband Alex, son Elijah and daughter Isabella for their love and support.
Melissa Zervas Hahne
Dance Staff
Melissa Zervas Hahne began dancing at the age of three under the teaching of Charlotte Lyke at Bartlesville Civic Ballet. After meeting her teachers and mentors, Soili Arvola and Leo Ahonen at the age of 11, she knew she wanted to dance professionally. Melissa began her freelance career at the age of 18, traveling with Soili and Leo to dance major classical solo and principle roles in Oklahoma, Washington, Texas, Philadelphia and Phoenix. While still freelancing, she received her formal training at Texas Christian University’s dance company under Fernando Bujones and ballet master Li-Chou Cheng, and graduated with a BS in Kinesiology. Melissa went on to Philadelphia Dance Theatre teaching in PDT’s pre-professional division under the artistic direction of Joy Delaney Capponi. After Melissa, her husband, and three children moved to the Phoenix area to start a church, she continued her professional career with Terpsicore Dance Company and began working closely with Daniel Baudendistel, former American Ballet Theatre and Joffrey Ballet principle dancer. In 2014, Melissa founded and was acting Artistic Director of Southwest Ballet Theatre, a pre-professional school and non-profit performance theatre, until Melissa’s family relocated to Newport Beach, CA in 2019, where her husband took a new call to be senior pastor of Redeemer Church of Orange County. Desiring to rebuild her ballet career in teaching after COVID, Melissa is excited to join Dance 4 Joy teaching classical ballet. She is also the Director of Choreography for Bartlesville Civic Ballet, her home dance studio. Melissa is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.
Mary Thomas
Dance Staff
Mary Thomas has been dancing with Dance 4 Joy Ministries since 2007 and she trains in tap, jazz, ballet, and choreography, although she is most passionate about tap. In addition to her training at Dance 4 Joy, Mary studies consistently with professional tappers Leah Silva and Linda Sohl-Ellison. She has also studied with leading tap artists such as Sarah Reich, Aaron Williams, Melinda Sullivan, Jason Janas, Sam Weber, Ted Louis Levy, and many more. Mary is also a member of Reverb Tap Company. She has been teaching at D4J since 2016 and enjoys sharing her love for dance with all of her students.
Katerina Ballsmith
Dance Staff
Katerina Ballsmith started dancing at the young age of five with Bethel Ballet Academy. She danced with that studio for 13 years. She joined Dance 4 Joy in 2015. Although most of her training is in the art of ballet, she also has experience in other styles including jazz, modern, lyrical, and hip hop. Along with her background in dance, she has enjoyed opportunities to choreograph for many ministry opportunities. She enjoys training annually at the Youth Praise Dance Conference and Dancer in Me Conference for many years. Katerina started teaching with Dance 4 Joy in 2017 and delights in continuing to share her passion of ballet and worship with her students.
Thomas Fallon
Senior Dance Staff
Brett Thomas Fallon (Thomas) is blessed to be a senior dance instructor of Dance 4 Joy Ministries. Fallon has been training in dance since the young age of 4 and began his dance teaching at the age of 19 years-old in Erie, Pennsylvania where he was born and raised. Fallon holds a dance degree from Point Park University and has ministered in dance at a diversity of performance venues including theaters, community outreaches, film, and open concerts in Times Square, NYC. Fallon has founded and established successful dance companies on the east coast where he served as a dance ambassador for thousands of students and countless community members. At the beginning of the global pandemic, Fallon obediently left his life on the east coast with his wife Gloria and step-children Oesya and Eva, to build God’s Church in Orange County, California. Fallon is currently building as the lead Pastor of The OMEGA Church and the headmaster of The OMEGA Leadership Academy, a private school located in Orange County. Glory be to God!
Madeleine Schmidhauser
Dance Staff
Madeleine has a BS in industrial engineering and a minor in dance from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. Her favorite college memories include dancing with Orchesis Dance Company, choreographing pieces for the dance department, and taking classes such as dance teaching methods and dance composition. Prior to college, Madeleine attended Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) in Integrated Arts, while studying tap, jazz, lyrical, ballet, and hip hop. She began teaching over 6 years ago and continues to train in a multitude of styles. Dance 4 Joy has been an absolute blessing with opportunities to teach, train, learn new styles of dance, engage in outreach, and assist with marketing.
Hannah Glavinic
Dance Staff - Team Teacher
Hannah has been dancing since eight years old. After letting go of gymnastics, she tried a tap class taught by Christy Hernandez and fell in love. Hannah has trained in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, and hip hop for the last nine years! Her passion blossomed and she later began teacher training and assistant teaching at age thirteen. She now also uses her substantial music training to lead worship during outreaches alongside dance to bring Christ even more so into her active life.
“For in Him we live and move and have our being…” Acts 17:28a
Dori Rakhshani
Dance Staff - Team Teacher
Dori Rakhshani is a dancer, singer/songwriter, surf coach, performer, and choreographer. Dori grew up dancing with Dance 4 Joy Ministries, where she developed a strong foundation in
tap, jazz, ballet, and musical theater dance technique.
In 2023, Dori Rakhshani became the Showchoir Choreographer for the Fountain Valley School District Show Choir program. In Spring 2024, Dori Rakhshani graduated Summa Cum Laude from California State University Long Beach. As a dance teacher, Dori strives to incorporate her passion for teaching, surf coaching, and various art forms to steward a safe and engaging environment for beginning to intermediate dance students.
