The Team
Who We Are
Denise Dominguez
Founder & Dance Director
With over 20 years of dance experience, Denise is a passionate artist, mentor, and educator whose journey through movement has been marked by dedication, discipline, and heart. Trained in a wide range of styles—including ballet, hip hop, jazz, lyrical,tap contemporary, folklorico, and ballroom—Denise has cultivated a rich and versatile foundation that continues to influence both their artistry and teaching.
Starting as a competitive dancer, Denise earned numerous national titles and top overall placements, establishing a name as a driven and accomplished performer early on. During high school, Denise served as a committed member—and three-year captain—of the varsity dance team, where leadership, creativity, and teamwork took center stage.
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The transition from student to educator began with an opportunity to teach at a local studio, a moment that sparked a lifelong passion. For the past eight years, Denise has dedicated themselves to teaching dance, viewing the classroom as more than just a place to train—it is a space to inspire. For Denise, teaching is about creating lasting impact: being a role model, building confidence, and showing students the power of movement as a tool for growth and transformation.
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Driven by the belief that dance can shape the future, Denise founded Adagio Academy of Dance with a bold and beautiful mission—to change lives through the art of movement and create a positive ripple effect for generations to come
Valeria Vargas
Dance Instructor
A Professional Dancer with 14 years of experience in ballet, jazz, hip hop, heels, and contemporary.
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A state and national champion and experienced in music video productions and training with nationally and internationally renowned dancers.
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Valeria is also currently pursuing a dance career at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) with a concentration in Performance.
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Valeria is passionate about sharing the love for dance and continuously growing as an artist.
Annaliesa Gonzalez
Dance Instructor
Dancing since she could walk!
Annaliesa has dipped her toes in tap, folklorico, jazz, davidic, irish step, hip-hop and modern dancing before finding her favorite of all, Dancesport.
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Annaliesa started 20 years ago with basics in Waltz, Cha-Cha and Salsa and fell in love. Since then she has danced with some of the best teams in the city, and went on to dance and compete nationally with Aggie Dance Sport Team at NMSU. Annaliesa has been teaching for over 15 years, and choreographing for 12 years. Annaliesa has taught at several studios around El Paso creating award winning competitive routines, conducting workshops, social dance nights and assisting with technique critiques.
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Annaliesa’s favorite sayings happen to be “You don’t have to know how to dance, it’s my job to teach you. You just have to try!” and “If you can walk, you can dance. The rest will come.”
Mischa Avila
Dance Instructor
Hi! My name is Mischa and I am so excited to be teaching with Adagio and to meet all of my amazing students! I started taking classical ballet classes when I was 8, but I really began to fall in love with it and take it seriously when I was 11!
I spent around 4 years at the Radiance School of Ballet in Dublin, CA, training extensively. I went en pointe when I was around 14 which made my passion for ballet and dance even stronger! When I moved to Fort Worth, Texas, I participated in the Texas Ballet Theatre’s summer intensive and continued to study ballet at local studios! Then when my junior year of high school came around I auditioned for drill team and was a varsity member for two years!
I trained in various styles, including jazz, lyrical, contemporary, pom, kick, and much more! Throughout my career I’ve had the opportunity to teach at dance camps and assistant teach at studios! Dance is my first love and I can’t wait to share it with all of y’all!