About Our Dance Program

Mrs. Martinez was born and raised in Miami, FL.  She began her training at Ballet Concerto where she studied Ballet, Jazz and Pas de deux.  In addition, she is a product of Miami Dade Public School Magnet Dance student, who attended South Miami Elementary and Middle School.  She had her very first professional ballet company experience at the age of 12 yrs old with.  She continued training through high school at Our Lady Of Lourdes Academy where she was a member of the Dance Team. 

      Mrs. Martinez attained her BFA in Dance at Florida Sate University.  She trained in Ballet with Richard Sias, Anjali Austin, Sheila Humphreys and Suzanne Farrell as well as in Modern with Lynda Davis, Patty Philips, Anthony Morgan and Gerri Houlihan.  She began her teaching career at West Miami Middle School and joined the faculty at Coral Reef High School in 2016.

She is the Ballet Director of our program and instructs ballet technique classes, variations, dance conditioning, PBT certified and composition.  She is currently the Vice President of the DADE Association. She sponsors the National Honor Society of Dance Arts and started the Coral Reef Ballet Company which has competed in the Universal Ballet Competition and at ADA. 

Mrs. Santalo began her dance training at Ballet Concerto where she studied Ballet, Jazz and Flamenco.  She received her BFA from FIU in Dance Administration which lead her to opening a dance program at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy.  Mrs. Santalo continued teaching at Southwood Middle School before settling down and opening the Coral Reef Magnet Dance program in 1997.  She began the Cudettes Dance Team in 1998, attending several competitions throughout the years winning numerous Regional, State and National dance competitions. She has led The Cudettes Varsity and Junior Varsity teams to several National Championships including being 4X champions in 2020 winning Large Varsity Jazz and Hip Hop and Junior Varsity Jazz and Hip Hop.   She was the president of the DADE association for 5 years and remains on the board as a consultant.  Throughout the years, she directed dozens of performances including the full length Nutcracker Ballet and the Halloween showcase "Fright Night".  Her passion is teamwork, unity and school spirit encouraging her dancers to train hard and love their school.  Many of her students have graduated and become professional performers in both the commercial and contemporary world. 

Mrs. Rocha loves art and its ability to question, challenge, push limits, and relate to our everyday lives. She holds a BFA in Dance from the University of Florida, where she

gained invaluable training. Stephanie is currently one of the Magnet Dance Directors at Coral Reef High School where she teaches Contemporary, Jazz, and Choreography/Improvisation. She is also the coach for the National winning team, Dance Alliance.  Stephanie was born and raised in Miami and along with her rigorous studio training, she attended magnet dance schools from Elementary through High School. She is an alumni of Coral Reef High School's dance magnet program and was a part of Cudettes and Dance Alliance. Stephanie has been teaching at Coral Reef since fall 2014; so for her to come full circle has been rewarding. She is currently one of the Magnet Dance Directors at Coral Reef High School where she teaches Contemporary, Jazz, and Choreography/Improvisation. She is also the coach for the National winning team, Dance Alliance. While at Coral Reef, she has directed numerous shows such as The Nutcracker, Fright Night, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and our annual Spring Show Recitals.