Sarita's Dance Studio, Inc.

Sarita Zúñiga, President/Artistic Director

Sarita Zúñiga, President/Artistic Director has been in the dance and fitness field for over 60 years. She taught aerobics, dance, & wellness classes at Brooks AFB, Kelly AFB, Lackland AFB, Palo Alto College, Harlandale High School, Southwest General Hospital, Bexar Metropolitan Water, Guarantee Bank, the University of Incarnate Word & more. She has been featured on P.M. Magazine, IDEA Today, San Antonio Express and News, San Antonio Business Journal, The Cutting Edge, Olé, Canal 41, WOAI TV, La Prensa, Connexion, and Rumbo for her leadership and success in the fields of dance and fitness. In 2006, she was honored by the South San Antonio Chamber of Commerce for community leadership and for making a positive impact on the Southside. In 2007 & 2014, she was the Rehearsal Coordinator for the Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker during their performances in San Antonio, TX. In addition, she was named in the National Directory of Who’s Who for Executives and Professionals.

In 2014, Congressman Pete Gallegos presented Sarita with a Congressional Award for providing valuable dance training to San Antonio’s Southside residents for 34 years. Sarita is the Founder of Alegría Dance Company, a pre-professional dance company for talented dancers who would like to experience what it is like to dance in a professional setting.

Marina Walton, Assistant Director

Marina Walton is the Assistant Director for Sarita’s Dance Studio, Inc. and Alegria Dance Co. She has trained in Ballet, jazz, ballet Folklorico, modern, and tap since 1992. Marina was a member of the San Antonio Metropolitan Ballet in 2004. She enhanced her dance education with intensives, including Ballet Austin, The School of Rock in Philadelphia, the Joffrey Ballet Workshop Texas, Jazz Dance World Congress in Chicago, & Ballet Hispanico in New York. In addition, Marina continues to be a cutting edge dance instructor by attending dance teacher programs such as Rhee Gold, The Pulse, & Dance Teacher Web, which are held around the country. Marina graduated from the University of Incarnate Word with a Bachelor of Arts in Education. She earned a Master of Arts in Education with a concentration in Instructional Technology from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Marina is currently an Instructional Designer at Trinity University. Marina's role includes instructor mentor and the communications coordinator for Sarita's Dance Studio, Inc.

Bryony McCullough

Bryony McCullough is the Ballet Director at Sarita’s Dance Studio, Inc. Originally from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Bryony McCullough began her professional ballet training at the North Carolina School of the Arts at age 11. She was accepted into their high school dance program in 2005 and continued her studies there through her senior year. Upon her graduation in 2009, Bryony began a traineeship with the Richmond Ballet. While there, she was casted in several of the company’s productions including The Nutcracker, Giselle, and Romeo and Juliet by Malcolm Burn. She later joined Ballet West’s trainee program in Salt Lake City where she performed in multiple company performances including Anna-Marie Holmes’ Don Quixote and Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella.

In 2011 and 2012, she had the privilege of touring with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet as a guest artist in their production of The Nutcracker under the artistic direction of Tom Mossbrucker. She joined Nevada Ballet Theatre as a trainee in 2013 and performed in many of the company's productions including Coppélia and Swan Lake Act II set by renowned ballerina, Cynthia Gregory. Ms. McCullough joined Ballet San Antonio as an apprentice in 2014 and was promoted to the Corps de Ballet in January 2015 under the artistic direction of Gabriel Zertuche. Her performance repertoire includes Ballet San Antonio’s productions of Rubies by George Balanchine, The Whistling by Dominic Walsh, Romeo and Juliet by Ben Stevenson, and Sleeping Beauty in which she performed the leading role of “Carabosse”. Bryony has been a ballet and pointe instructor at Sarita’s Dance Studio, Inc. for over 6 years where she currently teaches ballet levels 0-6 as well as all pre-pointe and pointe classes.

Eliza Castillo

Eliza Castillo has been dancing for 18 years. She started training at Sarita’s Dance Studio, Inc. in 2011 in ballet, tap, jazz, ballet folklorico, pointe, and contemporary.

Eliza has a Bachelor's Degree in Dance Education, Performance & Choreography from Texas State University. She is an instructor for the Generation NEXT Contracted Services Program through the Tobin Center of the Performing Arts. Through this program, she teaches ballet folklorico and other dance genres at the Young Women's Leadership Academy.

Eliza currently teaches preschool dance, ballet folklorico 1, Alegría Jr. 2, & Alegría Jr. Co. at Sarita’s Dance Studio, Inc.

Kirsten Crandall (Contractor)

Kirsten Crandall (Contractor) took her first dance class at the age of three and has been dancing ever since. She attended Texas State University, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Studies where she graduated at the top of her class with multiple honors and awards for excellence in her field and her choreography. She performed with the modern dance troupe Merge Dance Company while at Texas State. She has trained in ballet, jazz, modern, and contemporary dance styles. She has taught all levels and ages of each since 2012, including at Sarita’s Dance Studio, Inc. for five years before relocating out of state to follow her husband’s military career. She has loved the art of dance since she was a small child and loves to share that passion for movement with others.

Nadia Padron (Contractor)

Nadia Padron earned her training in Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Jazz, contemporary and Ballet Folklorico. She joined the Alegría Dance Company at Sarita’s Dance Studio, Inc. in 2012. Nadia has trained extensively in her ballet career with summer intensives at Sarita’s Dance Studio, Inc. and with Joffrey Texas Ballet Summer Intensive. In 2022, Nadia graduated from Texas A&M University San Antonio with a bachelor’s in psychology. Nadia is also a certified yoga instructor and is currently instructing at the House Of Rythom. Nadia is our Ballet/Tap 0 teacher at Sarita's.

Rose Rodriguez - Administrative Assistant

Rose Rodriguez joined Sarita's Dance Studio, Inc. in 2016 as the Administrative Assistant.

Rose has extensive experience in supporting the office manager & studio owner by providing them with consistent clerical support and customer service. In addition, she maintains the filing systems in accordance with the company's established procedures & protocols. She is a highly approachable individual who has a pleasant attitude and a willingness to make a positive mark.

Vanessa Toscano - Administrative Assistant

Vanessa Toscano has 7 years of customer service experience. Vanessa Toscano joined Sarita's Dance Studio, Inc. in June 2023, as an Administrative Assistant.

Vanessa is a smooth and efficient administrative assistant with 7+ years experience that will improve our customer service. Vanessa exceeds expectations with her skills to improve our Dance Supply Shop both online and in person. Her friendly attitude and wiliness to give it her all is a positive addition for our dance studio.