ABOUT: CF Dance academy
CF Dance Academy, The Orange County Destination For A Performing Arts Education, prides itself on providing families with high quality dance education and training in a nurturing and encouraging environment. CF Dance Academy currently offers beginning to advanced classes for dancers as young as 2 years old through teen and adult age groups. We offer classes both at our studio location in historic downtown Fullerton, and throughout various cities in Orange County such as Anaheim, Yorba Linda and Buena Park community services departments. CF Dance Academy also offer on-site dance programs at private schools, preschools, and after-school programs throughout Orange County. Our dance programs are all performance-based, rather than competition-based. We strive to provide a nurturing and fun-filled environment for dancers in all age groups, and we emphasize the importance of teamwork as we prepare for our many annual performance opportunities.
ABOUT: The Studio
CF Dance Academy is located on the 3rd Floor of The Williams Building which is situated in downtown Fullerton. CF Dance Academy has 2 large dance studios and is a total of 5000 square feet. Built in 1927 as an Oddfellows Hall, the structure was promptly put into use as a speakeasy. Renovations began to modernize the building for its current use as a banquet venue and dance studio.
ABOUT: Founder, Owner/Co-Directors and Instructors
Cathleen Forcucci - Heideman (Founder)
December 24, 1947 - August 14, 2003
Cathleen Forcucci-Heideman was the founder and long-time director of Cathleen Forcucci Dance Academy (now known as CF Dance Academy). Miss Cathy was a fully accredited teacher with the Cecchetti Council of America and received certification with the Cecchetti Society of America ISTD, their international affiliation. Miss Cathy also taught with the City of Anaheim for twenty-two years. She directed the studio for many years with the support of her loving husband William Heideman. Now, C.F.D.A. is owned and directed by Miss Cathy’s daughters Jennifer Forcucci-Marzluf and Leanna Forcucci-Herron. Our mission is to continue our mother’s legacy of excellent dance instruction.
Jennifer Forcucci-Marzluf, ACUSA (Co-Owner/Co-Director)
Jennifer Forcucci-Marzluf has been teaching dance for over 13 years. She specializes in the instruction of Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Ballroom. Miss Jennifer holds her Associates Teachers Certification with Cecchetti, USA (www.cecchettiusa.org) and has completed her Advanced 1 (Grade 9) Examination. Miss Jennifer continues her teachers studies with Cecchetti USA’s Executive Director, Marnell Himes-Ushijima. Miss Jennifer is currently the Director of CF Dance Academy’s Ballet Intensive Program and submits her dancers for yearly ballet examinations. Throughout her ballet career, Miss Jennifer has attended numerous seminars and workshops, receiving instruction directly from top ballet masters. Miss Jennifer attended the Orange County High School of Performing Arts, where she studied jazz dance and commercial arts as well as ballet. At the age of seventeen, Miss Jennifer became a certified ballroom dance instructor for the Imperial Ballroom, and went on to dance and compete professionally.
Leanna Forcucci-Herron (Co-Owner/Co-Director)
Leanna Forcucci-Herron has been teaching dance for over 21 years. She has taught for several dance studios in Orange County and even worked as the lead ballet teacher for a competing dance troupe in Austin, TX, where she also worked as a professional hip-hop dancer. Miss Leanna has taught many different dance and movement forms including ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, and tumbling. Her specializations are in hip-hop dance and working with preschool-aged children. She currently trains with lead hip-hop choreographers in Los Angeles and tours her CF Dance Academy Hip-Hop Performance Troupe throughout Orange, Riverside & LA Counties. Currently she is director of the largest Hip Hop program in Central and North Orange County and has put CFDA on the map for hosting professional hip-hop choreographers in master class workshops at the academy. She has her B.A. in Child Development and Family Studies from Cal State Long Beach, where she also attended graduate school to work on her Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. During the past ten years, Leanna has directed and taught CF Dance Academy dance programs at preschool and after school programs in cities throughout Orange, Riverside & LA Counties.
Monica Bird (Ballet, Tap, Jazz)
Monica Bird has been dancing with CF Dance Academy under the instruction of Cathleen Forcucci-Heideman, Jennifer Forcucci-Marzluf & Leanna Forcucci-Herron for 14 years. She studies ballet, pointe, tap, modern, jazz, and hip hop. During her senior year in high school, Monica participated as one of the captains of the Canyon High School Dance team. As dance member and team captain she has competed against many other high schools in California and has taken home many trophies and national titles. She has also attended many dance camps and seminars and has been instructed by professional choreographers. Also, she regularly attends Millennium dance studio and The Edge Performing Arts Center in Hollywood, CA where she is trained by professional chorographers and dance professionals. Monica has taken her grade four, five, and six Cecchetti ballet exams. Monica currently teaches classes for CF Dance Academy at the Fullerton Studio, Ladera Ranch, and Anaheim Community Centers, teaching ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop.
Keelia Flinn (Modern)
Keelia Flinn began taking dance classes at age nine through a small studio in Minnesota. For seven years she studied jazz, lyrical and tap dance; three of which were spent competing in statewide competitions. Senior year in high school, Keelia left her hometown to attend the Perpich Center Arts High School in the Twin Cities. There she studied dance and was introduced to ballet, many forms of modern dance, yoga, techniques towards choreography, and dance improvisation. The Arts High Dance Company traveled to several schools around the state teaching the importance of art integration in classrooms. The Company was also given the opportunity to perform with local Minnesota Professionals in the 2005 Best Feet Forward Festival. After graduation, Keelia moved to the west coast to attend California State University Fullerton where she is a double major of dance and theater. Working towards her B.F.A. in dance, Keelia continues to take technique classes in ballet and modern dance as well as lessons towards exploring her own expressive movement through dance improvisation. Keelia started off substituting for CF Dance Academy classes, and now teaches the modern class.
Vanessa Benitez (Tap, Hip Hop)
Vanessa Benitez born and raised in California has been dancing since she was 9 years old. Going between sports and dance classes, she finally found her true calling in continuing her love for dance. Vanessa teaches tap and hip hop and been taught by nationally acclaimed instructors. She has been teaching Tap for CF Dance Academy for the past 3 years and has recently began teaching hip hop for CF Dance Academy's community classes. She brings a different element by blending her tap with hip hop to bring out "FUNKY TAP". Vanessa states, "My true inspiration comes from watching my students improve each class, they are the ones that make my ideas come to life!" She has participated in 2005 Hip Hop International, continues her education in hip hop by taking workshops/classes in LA. Such choreographers she has taken from are Teresa Espinosa, Shane Sparks, Leslie Scott, Dave Scott, and many more. She hopes to continue to tap and dancing hip hop for many years to come. One thing she likes to emphasize to her students in her hip hop classes, "Hip Hop is not just a dance, it's a lifestyle."
Melissa Ciucki (Ballet, Tap, Jazz)
Melissa Ciucki started taking dance since age three at a small studip in San Diego, Ca. She studied jazz, lyrical, ballet, and tap dance till she graduated from high school at age 18. Melissa competed nationally with Leah Walker Dance Studio from age five to eighteen, primarily in jazz and lyrical dance. While attending classes at Leah Walker in San Diego, she also taught and assisted younger classes for jazz and tap dance. After high school Melissa decided to move out of San Diego and attend California State University Fullerton as a Dance Major. She is currently taking classes in jazz, modern and ballet at Cal State Fullerton. As she begins her Senior year working toward her B.A. in Dance with a Minor in Kinesiology, she also plans on attending graduate school for a Masters Degree in Kinesiology. She is now teaching ballet and tap classes here at CF Dance Academy and you will see her also helping at the front desk.
Jana Taylor (Ballet, Tap, Jazz & Lyrical)
Jana Taylor recently graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Dance with a Ballet Emphasis, and minors in French and Art History. At BYU she performed and toured for three years with the university’s two ballet companies. In 2006, Jana received a grant from the Office of Research and Creative Activities to choreograph a contemporary ballet piece, for which she later received the Phi Eta Sigma 2007 Outstanding Performing Arts Award. Jana also published an article on contemporary dance in the 2007 BYU Dance Journal. She began dancing in Las Vegas, NV, where she trained in the Royal Academy of Dancing ballet technique as well as many other styles: modern, jazz, lyrical, tap, character, and swing. She is passionate about choreographing and especially teaching, as she has been teaching many styles of dance to all ages for seven years. Jana is very excited for the opportunity to teach at CF Dance Academy this year!
Yvette Pena (Office Assistant)
Yvette Pena is responsible for supporting the management and teaching staff at CF Dance Academy.