Our Instructors

 Matt Kellar found dance during his collegiate career at the University of Minnesota in 1989.  After 3 years of social and collegiate competitive dancing, he knew that this was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life and decided to make dance a career.

 He trained with numerous world-renowned coaches with Fred Astaire, Arthur Murray and other independent studios.

  In 2000, Matt moved to Arizona to work for Fred Astaire Dance Studio.  While with Fred Astaire, he trained rank beginner students to high level competitors, taking pride in watching his students become so accomplished.

  His love of dance and success as an instructor allowed him the opportunity to open his own studio.  By 2008, he owned 3 franchises.

In 2012, he and his wife Zhenya left Fred Astaire to start their own dance company. In the beginning of March 2018, Matt and Zhenya opened a beautiful new dance studio, Dream Dance.  

They are looking forward to creating a studio that promotes fun, quality and a sense of community.  They are excited to share their love and passion of dancing with the city of Tucson.

 Zhenya Dokuchaeva was born in Moscow, Russia. She was one of the lead

dancers at the Moscow Youth Ballroom Dance Theater. From age five she

started competing internationally in Latin and Standard. By age twenty one

she was ranked in the top 100 amateurs in the world by the International

Dance Sport Federation.

In 2008, she moved to the United States and made her home in Tucson. She

started working for Fred Astaire Dance Studios as an advanced instructor. In

2011, she married Matt Kellar. A year later, she and her husband opened their

own ballroom dance company, Dream Dance. Now she teaches a variety of

students at all levels. She also serves as a coach and choreographer for other

professional dancers

  At the age of five, Jade was inspired by watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Soon after she began a 10-year journey in ballet, performing with Ballet Arizona and Ballet Tucson. She has a background in theater arts, and education in anatomy and physiology as part of a nursing program at Pima Community College and the University of Arizona.     

She has been teaching dance since the age of 18, with a current focus on Ballroom, Rhythm, and Country.  She is a regular pro/am competitor at national events, performs at Showcase, and has attended Dance Camps across the country.  Jade continues her own education by working with a variety of coaches including national champions.    

Jade is a firm believer in using dance to heal and empower.  She has worked with students using dance to help rehabilitate physical injuries after open-heart surgery, knee & hip replacements, shoulder injuries and spinal fusions.  She has seen the power of dance overcome emotional hurdles including heartache after divorce, death and break-ups.     When Jade isn't dancing, she is spending her time with her two wonderful children, Derrick and Evelynn.

Louisa has been dancing for over 30 years and has recently retired from her role as a Senior Engineering Fellow at Raytheon to pursue her dream of spreading the joy of ballroom dance through teaching. With her amateur partner, Louisa competed throughout the Northeast in International Standard and Latin, and, more recently as a pro-Am in the Southwest in both International and American styles. Louisa also has a passion for social dancing and will be bringing this passion to her series of social ballroom dance classes.

Alan was born in Texas and as a young Air Force brat, lived and traveled around the world. Early on, he was introduced to dancing by his step-father at his Fred Astaire Studio. In 1979, right after high school, he moved to Florida where he became a professional dance instructor. He trained at Fred Astaire, Arthur Murray’s and other independent studios. He also competed professionally for 10 years and garnered numerous national finalist awards. 

Alan enjoys teaching new and high level competition students. When he’s not teaching, Alan enjoys golf and traveling.