Shari Scott-Sawyer - Program Director

Shari put on her dance shoes at the age of two and has been dancing ever since. She has been teaching dance for over 15 years. Shari has been working for Guardettes since the fall of 1999 and in her tenure with the team has served as a performance team instructor, a competition team instructor and director and currently serves as the Program Director. Shari received her Bachelors degree from the University of Maryland, College Park and her Master’s degree and Teaching Credential from Cal State University, Long Beach.

Brittaney Phelps

Brittaney gained a passion for dance at the age of two when she took the stage for the very first time. She began taking classes with various different studios until she found one she could call home, The Guardettes. She proudly served the team as both captain and soloist for several years. Brittaney also danced for Pacifica High School being one of the members of their first competition team. Not only does Brittaney enjoy dancing, but she has a love for cheerleading as well. She cheered competitively throughout high school winning two national titles. Brittaney began teaching at the young age of seventeen. She is currently pursuing her college education at Orange Coast College in hopes to obtain a degree in Child Development. Brittaney currently serves as the junior competition team coach as well as a performance team coach.

Chandra Ayanputra

Chandra began her dance career at the age of 3. She continued dancing at California State University Fullerton where she was a member of the National Championship Dance Team. In 2006 Chandra joined the Laker Girls squad. Realizing her true passion for dance, Chandra transferred to the University of California, Irvine to pursue her degree in Dance. Chandra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from UCI in 2010. This will be Chandra’s fifth year on staff with Guardettes. Chandra currently serves as the senior competition team coach and competition hip hop team coach.

Laura Fellenz

Laura has been dancing since the age of 6. She started her dance career with Guardettes and danced with the team till she graduated from high school. Laura served as both a team captain and soloist during her tenure with Guardettes. Laura is currently pursuing her college education at Orange Coast Community College where she continues to take dance classes. Laura is starting her third year as a performance team coach.

Shannon Cuykendall

Shannon Cuykendall, originally from Iowa City, received her MFA from University of California, Irvine (UCI) in June 2011. In 2006 she received her BFA in Ballet Pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma (OU).

Shannon has trained at many prestigious dance schools such as, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Nutmeg Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, and Milwaukee Ballet. Additionally, she has taken master classes with prominent teachers and dancers such as David Howard, Desmond Richardson, and Ethan Stiefel. Shannon has performed in many classical ballets including: Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Paquita, and Giselle. In August 2009, Cuykendall traveled to Ghana, West Africa and performed with the Ghana Dance Ensemble.

Shannon danced with the Fort Wayne Ballet Company and was also full-time faculty at the Academy of Fort Wayne Ballet in Indiana from September 2007 to August 2009. In 2006 she taught dance classes in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the Jasinski Academy of Dance, the Tulsa Ballet: Center for Dance Education, and the Carey Robbins School of Dance. Cuykendall has experience choreographing at both a professional and student level. She has had two commissioned works: Unraveling Time (2008) for Perpetual Motion in Oklahoma and Swan Fake (2007) for Abilene Ballet Theatre in Texas. During the summers of 2006 and 2007, Cuykendall worked as the Resident Choreographer for Burklyn Ballet Theatre in Vermont. In June 2009, Shannon collaborated with musicians in Frigiliana, Spain and created the work, Birth of Color, which premiered inside the Nerja Caves on June, 27, 2010.

Summer Robbins

Summer has received her degree from Duke University where she majored in Psychology and minored in Dance and Biological Anthropology and Anatomy. She was awarded a full scholarship to study with the Alvin Ailey Dance Academy summer intensive program. She was awarded the Julia Wray Award for excellence in choreography through Duke University Dance Program and the Clay Taliaferro Award for excellence in dance technique through Duke University. She also received the Benenson Award which awarded her funds to pursue an independent dance project to explore professional dance opportunities which allowed her to train intensively at Edge Performing Arts Center in LA. Summer was the dance team captain at Duke and lead the team to a national ranking of eighth place at NDA Collegiate Competition.

Joey Goldberg

Presley Bates