Christina Sefara

of Republic Dance Center & Republic Edge | Company/Recreational instructor & choreographer | Founder of Republic Edge X-Track and the CDS Program

Christina is a native Houstonian who is extensively trained in all styles of dance as well as acrobatics, theater, and voice. She has over 15 years of teaching experience and has been the Director of Republic since it's inception in 2018. As Artistic Director, she oversees the vision and direction of the program and is a lead teacher and choreographer for Republic Edge. Christina enjoys teaching master classes throughout Houston and judges dance competitions across the country on both a regional and national level for Starpower, Kids Artistic Revue, and Rainbow National talent. Her choreographed pieces have earned numerous choreography awards, national championships and two Industry Dance Awards official nominations. She is grateful for her years of professional dance experience but has truly found her calling with dance education. Her students have gone on to receive acceptance into Kinder High School for Performing Arts, prestigious D1A college dance teams and programs, and some have gone on to become professional dancers, dance teachers and choreographers themselves. As collegiate dance began to explode, Christina founded the RE College Dance Series program to give her dancers the specific additional training they need to pursue the highest level collegiate teams. Her main focus has always been to instill a love and passion for dance in her students and she's made a commitment to ensure they have all the tools needed to be successful in any dance path that they choose. Christina is passionately committed to teaching at Republic, loves her students and enjoys continuing to educate herself on the constant evolution of dance. 

Artistic Director

Carlynn Laurie

of Republic Dance Center & Republic Edge
Company/Recreational instructor & choreographer 

Carlynn was a member of the contemporary dance company, NobleMotion Dance. She has completed two contracts with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, including a featured dancer in their production of Hairspray. Regional Theatre Credits include, The Wizard of Oz, The Little Mermaid, Cabaret, Beauty and the Beast, Cats, Pippin,Divas thru the Decade,and Hello Dolly. Carlynn is a nationally recognized choreographer and teacher and has been teaching since 2008. She also judges for Stage One Dance and Miss Drill Team Texas. Carlynn loves being a part of Republic and has also enjoyed teaching musical theatre for the Republic Edge EXCLUSIVE industry program. 

Co-Director

Rachel Green

Company/Recreational instructor & choreographer

Rachel grew up dancing at North Harris Performing Arts where she received excellent technical and artistic instruction from “Dance Today’s Top Ten Dancers to Watch” – Dawn Dipple and Houston’s own Amy Cain. She quickly advanced and was assisting instructors in classes, learning valuable experience with teaching a variety of dance students and learning how to choreograph. Further dance instruction was received while studying at the HSPVA and with Marlana Walsh at the Houston Met and Kingwood Dance Company directed by Amy Duncan. Rachel also contributes much of her success to her study with top choreographers such as Mandy Moore, Tammy Dyke and Peter Chu. Rachel competed both regionally and nationally in dance, achieving top honors and awards from both competition events and conventions, even advancing several rounds in auditions for “So You Think You Can Dance”. She performed professionally with The Houston Met, Round Rock Entertainment, J&D Entertainment and Physphonia Dance Company and soon discovered her love for teaching young dancers, so embarked on owning her own studio for five years. She has spent the last nine years working as a teacher and director for Stacy’s Dance Studio in Kingwood, Texas. Rachel is looking forward to a new challenge where she knows that she can rely on her 18 years of teaching experience, her professionalism and her love and enthusiasm for teaching dancers of all skill levels.

Jessie Harrell

Company/Recreational instructor & choreographer

Jessie Harrell grew up in Memphis, TN where she trained in jazz, hip hop, contemporary, lyrical, and ballet on the competitive company at Studio 413. She then went to college at Middle Tennessee, where she began teaching and choreographing for her peers and competition dance teams. After college, Jessie danced professionally in Nashville, TN with FreshTalent Group and taught at Millennium Dance Complex. She later went on to train in Los Angeles and was apart of KreativMindz Mentorship Program, under Antoine Troupe and Kolanie Marks. From LA, she moved to Atlanta, GA to continue gaining knowledge of the dance industry from many incredible artists and also taught at Groov2Musik Studios, under D-Ray Colson. Jessie now resides in Houston, TX and has 13 years of teaching experience, focused in hip hop, contemporary, and jazz. She is so excited to continue to share her knowledge and passion for dance and mentor the younger generation!

Gracie Lee

Company Tap instructor

Gracie Lee is a dynamic musical theatre performer, choreographer, and educator originally from Dallas, Texas. She has performed and choreographed in a wide range of regional productions. serving as Dance Captain and creating original choreography in both Golden Age and modern musical theatre styles. Gracie is also a Broadway Alliance alumni, collaborating with Broadway directors and creative teams, she has expanded her performance into TV and film, including projects on Netflix, and HBO Max. Her foundation in dance is extensive, with competitive training in tap, jazz, ballet, contemporary, and lyrical dance. She competed nationally at conventions such as JUMP, NUVO, Youth America Grand Prix, and The Dance Awards, earning multiple solo titles and recognition as a Top 10 female Best Dancer and a finalist at Youth America Grand Prix. Throughout her competitive career, she performed works by Emmy Award-winning choreographers and continues to draw from their mentorship. Beyond performance, Gracie has contributed to program development and choreography, assisting with the Boys Dance Too initiative, staging ensemble works, and creating original solos. Her experience in both competitive and conservatory environments informs her approach as a dynamic and technically driven instructor. After deciding to pursue Musical theatre, Gracie graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City with an integrated degree in performance. She also brings expertise in vocal performance and music collaboration, including work with the American Songwriter Association, integrating her skills as a performer and educator to write music for film.

Jenica Turner

Company Ballet instructor

Jenica Turner is a dedicated dance educator and accomplished performer with over 20 years of teaching experience in the competitive and recreational dance industry. A proud graduate of the prestigious New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA), Jenica built a strong foundation in technical training and performance, which led to a successful career as a professional dancer across both concert and commercial stages. Known for her dynamic teaching style and attention to detail, Jenica has trained dancers of all ages and levels, helping them develop into confident, disciplined, and expressive artists. Her classes emphasize strong technique, musicality, and performance quality, while also encouraging creativity and growth.

Jenica has guided numerous students to success in competitions, auditions, and professional work, and she is passionate about passing on her knowledge to the next generation of dancers.

Now based in Houston, she is committed to inspiring and empowering young artists in the local community, shaping the future of dance one student at a time.

Samantha Slauter

Company Pom & College Dance Series instructor

Samantha grew up dancing in Houston, Texas. She is extensively trained in all styles of dance as well as acrobatics and ballroom. Earning multiple national titles during her competitive years, she is passionate about training dancers to translate competitive success into artistic careers. At age fifteen, she began assisting classes and shortly thereafter, she joined the Republic Edge staff, where she trained their competitive students. After graduating high school, she was accepted onto the prestigious Texas Tech University's dance team and competed on the UDA stage. She continued her competitive career on the Florida State University's Golden Girls dance team, on which she was awarded "rookie of the year". In her final season with the FSU Golden Girls she was honored to be named MVP and received the golden nole award. Now that Samantha's collegiate career has come to a close, she's accepted a position to judge for Kar and Rainbow national talent dance competitions and has also earned a position as a Clutch City dancer for the NBA team, Houston Rockets. Sam is excited to head up the collegiate program at Republic where she will train their dancers weekly in pom, game day and collegiate dance team technique.

Angelica Mendoza

Company Ballroom instructor

Angelica is a native Houstonian who began dancing at the age of eight. She has been training extensively in Latin and Ballroom dancing for the past 18 years. She began assistant teaching at age 15 and has continued her teaching career ever since!

Throughout her years of training she was also apart of an elite dance company that competed in regional competitions like Showstopper, KAR, In10sity, and many more placing first in categories. She has also competed in national Latin and ballroom competitions and placed overalls in the Ohio Star ball, Vegas open dance challenge, Texas LoneStar ball, and Millennium dancesport championship.

Angelica has performed in various shows and events that have included Mario Lopez, Mayor Sylvester Turner, Harlem Globetrotters, Dancing with the Stars’ Karina Smirnoff, and worked alongside ten-time World Latin dance champions Riccardo Cocchi, Yulia Zagoruychenko, and Andra Vaidilaite.

Recently she has taught as a guest instructor at conventions and masterclasses for Dance Masters of America, HTX connect 713, and numerous dance studios throughout the Houston area!

Christina Sefara, Carlynn Laurie, Rachel Curtis, Jessie Harrell, Heidi Morris, Lauren Gilley, Traci Aldridge, Randa Smith, Kaylan Branch, Reagan C, Daniela S, Lola C, Atley R, Maddie G and Lesedi B

recreational faculty