AMY RINK
SPARK DIRECTOR & INSTRUCTOR

Amy Rink received her BFA degree in dance from Towson University. She has performed professionally in NYC as a principal dancer with the Doris Humphrey Dance Company, and has worked and performed with members of the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company and Anna Sokolow. Amy studied with the Trisha Brown Dance Company, STEPs on Broadway, Joy Kellman, 92nd Street Y, Broadway Dance Center, and Dance Space. She has received a number of awards at competitions for her choreography and has choreographed for local school productions.

Amy believes in exposing her dancers to NYC dance, to have her dancers take professional dance classes and see professional dance companies and Broadway shows. She brings professional choreographers to her studio and provides dance festivals, and master classes.

Former SPARK dance students have gone on to dance at the prestigious Baltimore School for the Arts, North Carolina School for the Arts, Pacific North West Ballet, Dominican University of California, the Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory, College Park, Rutgers, and Butler University.

Amy has also been in the fitness industry for over 25 years as a fitness instructor, assistant manager, and personal trainer. She truly enjoys helping people achieve their fitness goals.

KANDACE LECOCQ 
SPARK ASSISTANT DIRECTOR & INSTRUCTOR 

Kandace Lecocq began dancing at the age of 8 and immediately couldn't get enough of it. She concentrated on ballet, modern, jazz, lyrical and ballroom and was the lead role in several of her Company's productions.

Originally from Indiana, Kandace studied dance at Indiana University in their pre-college and collegiate programs. She received her Bachelors in Music and enjoys teaching students how to feel elements of the music to grow their musicality in dance. After college she worked for a prestigious dance studio in Pittsburgh, where she choreographed and taught technique classes. Since moving to Baltimore, Kandace has taught ballet and master classes all around the area. She also adjudicates for dance competitions across the country.

"I am honored to be able to share my joy and love for dancing with so many others who feel the same way. Dancing helps build character, perseverance, dedication and allows you to express yourself in such a wonderful way. Through my teaching I hope SPARK students will learn not only excellent technique but what a gift dancing can be." 

BRET JONES
SPARK EXECUTIVE ENDURANCE TRAINER 

Bret is not only a personal trainer but a competitor in the local Men's physique competitions where he places on the podium every year. He not only trains but also speaks 7 languages fluently, is a classicaly trained pianist, and is an executive with Hilton Hotels.

Ms. Amy was looking for a trainer that could work with the dancers on their stamina and strength. After expressing her needs for her dancers with Bret, he was able and has accomplished the goals set for the Spark dancers. The competition team has improved greatly with the execution of their dances since being trained by Bret. The competition team has had an amazing competition season this year thanks to the added training. 

MARIAH APPLETON
GUEST CHOREOGRAPHER 2022/2023 

Mariah Appleton is a professional choreographer, freelance performer, and dance educator, from Montgomery County, Maryland. She has been training in the art of dance since age two, in various genres including ballet, jazz lyrical, contemporary, tap, improvisation, composition, hip-hop, and modern. She graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance, and Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Mariah has performed with various Maryland based companies, including ROOTED Dance Productions and Kinetics Professional Dance Company, as well as with the Backstreet Boys, at the NFL Pro Bowl. Mariah is a guest choreographer in the public school system in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Hartford, Howard, and Montgomery County. She is a certified Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) teacher. She is currently working with competitive companies, as a rehearsal director and choreographer, focusing on movement quality, technique, and proper education of the body. She has received numerous awards for her choreography in regional and national competitions, in the past decade, and had her work honored in many professional showcases throughout the DMV area. She is very excited to come back and work with the Spark dance family!