Owner / Artistic Director

Savea Kagan received the Holland Scholarship and is attending Codarts University of the Arts in Rotterdam, Netherlands working towards her Bachelor in Dance degree.  She is dancing with Scapino Ballet Company Rotterdam in 2023-2024 season touring with Pinocchio Effect and additional performances. She was honored to receive the 2020 Music Center Spotlight Honarable Mention award with her self-written and self-choreographed solo “17 Things”.  She was on the March/Arpil 2020 cover of Ventura Blvd. Magazine’s issue of Top 10 Teens.  She was a 2019 National Young Arts Winner for Modern/Contemporary with her self-choreographed solo "Tea For Two" and was able to spend a week training with some of the top leading professionals in the industry.  Throughout her pre-professional career, she trained at Degas Dance Studio in Encino, California and LACHSA (Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.)

Over summers and winter breaks she studied with Orsonlina28 (2022 Nunes/Flock, Paul Lightfoot/Sol Leon), Jacobs Pillow 2020 Contemporary Virtual intensive under mentor guidance of Milton Myers,and Didi Veldman with guest choreographers including Francesca Harper, Helen Pickett, Stephen Shropshire, Doborah Wingert, Aszure Barton, Ami Shulman and Hope Boykin.  She has also attended Bodytraffic, Paul Taylor, Hubbard Street Dance Company, Mathew Bourne’s workshop, James Wilton, Jiri Pokorny, Ate9 workshops, and attended full scholarships for Joffrey Ballet, Elements Contemporary Ballet and Idyllwild summer programs.

At the age of 15 she went on faculty at Degas Dance Studio teaching classical ballet, jazz technique, contemporary and modern to ages 5-18 Beg to Adv pre-professional levels.  She knows firsthand what it takes to bring future generations to the next level in an artistic and nourishing environment. In addition she has choreographed award winning solo/duo/trio, ensemble and production pieces for YAGP competition and live concert performances.  As a training dancer, choreographer and teacher she believes in being well rounded and studying all styles to increase dynamics and artistry, exploring movement, and life long learning & personal development.

A native of Los Angeles, dual citizen, and resident of The Hague, Pallas has had a varied and extensive international career as a professional classical ballet dancer. Additionally she has an extensive list of credits as an all ‘round dancer in the entertainment industry, for television, music videos, movies, in modern dance companies, and in musical theatre.

She was the recipient of scholarships from The School of American Ballet/New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Ballet West, and Dupree Dance Academy. As a dancer she has worked with renowned choreographers Daniel Ezralow, Ann Marie DeAngelo, Kenny Ortega, Toni Basil, Paula Abdul, and Bill Goodson to name a few.

Pallas is a passionate teacher, and mentor, who loves sharing her knowledge and expertise with dancers of all ages and all levels, from beginners through professionals. She teaches with love and humor, while maintaining the highest standards, prides herself on being able to teach “anyone” to dance, and is firmly committed to helping her students fulfill their personal potential, whatever their goals may be. She is relentless in her commitment to teaching the “how” of proper, safe, and healthy technique, and incorporates teaching artistry and self expression as an integral part of technique.

In 2018 she earned her certification as yoga instructor under the tutelage of the venerable Lex Gillan at The Yoga Institute in Houston, and is currently nearing completion of her 500 hour level certification. She is a devoted practitioner of meditation, visualisation and mindfulness.

Pallas has an extensive list of credits as a freelance, guest teacher and choreographer in the USA, Israel , and The Netherlands. She mentors and coaches pre-professional dancers for auditions and competitions, restages the classics, creates original neoclassical works, and has choreographed full length musical theatre productions.

With an extensive list of international teaching credits, Pallas is currently on the faculty of numerous dance studios in The Netherlands, guest teaches workshops, and is a guest teacher of open professional ballet classes in Amsterdam at Henny Jurriëns Studio Training Center for Professional Dancers. Her classes are a hybrid, influenced by the best of her own “American Blended” training. She offers a body-friendly barre, emphasizes mindful use of the breath, well dosed exertion/relaxation, unwavering musicality, dynamics, epaulement, fluidity, expression, performance quality, and brilliant petit allegro work, as found in the Balanchine style.

As an arts journalist Pallas produces the YouTube show “Pallas On Air” where she’s had the honor of interviewing many illustrious performing artists, primarily musicians. She has also worked in radio as a guest host on DutchBuzz/ Den Haag FM, KOOP.org 97.1 in Austin, TX, and KONG Monsterrock in L.A.,and online. Pallas is also a singer/songwriter/ actress and has written and co-produced a number of songs.

A native English speaker, Pallas is also fluent in Dutch, and speaks a little Spanish and Hebrew. She considers her greatest achievement to be raising her two beautiful sons.

Oleksandra “Sasha” Heiko - Is a dancer with Ukrainian National Theater of Operetta. She has danced with Complexions Contemporary Ballet Dwight Rhoden “The Great Gatsby”. She is trained in Vaganova Classical Ballet. She attended the KMUAT Ukrainian academy of Dance Serg Lifar (junior specialist), ballet dancer/choreographer. She received her bachelor at Ukrainian National University “Dragomanova” dance teacher/choreographer.

Sasha is a dedicated teacher who wants to build strong classical foundations. She has an attention to detail with helping her students find proper alignment and placement.

Sasha is also a highly skilled piano player. She speaks Ukrainian, Russian, English and German.

Anneke Steller was born and raised in Delft and has been dancing from a young age. Her love for dance started off with classical styles which she continued till the age of 12. Before entering high school, she made the decision to move to a well-known studio in Rotterdam to discover her passion for Hip-hop. She was determined to grow and to learn from different choreographers by taking multiple classes on a weekly basis. Apart from her focus on Hip-hop, Anneke also invested time and effort into learning Afro dance and dancehall.

After a few years of training at this studio, she received the opportunity to teach a weekly Hip-hop class. This experience pushed her to discover her own style and to pass it along to other dancers. Her personal approach to Hip-hop can be described as fluid, with a focus on expressive movements and precise rhythm. She strives to create enjoyable and educational classes, aiming to teach her students the fundamentals of Hip-hop, thereby enhancing their overall dance dynamics.

Furthermore, alongside her passion for dance, Anneke is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in Communication and Multimedia Design at the University of Applied Sciences in Amsterdam. Recently, she successfully completed an exchange semester at Toronto Metropolitan University, further broadening her academic and cultural horizons.”

Ken is a Creative Director / Director with Roger LA, a Los Angeles based creative studio. He is an experienced creative director, skilled in 2D/3D design, animation, compositing, short-form editorial and live-action/VFX direction. He has 16+ years experience running an Emmy Award winning creative business. He is a strong arts and design professional with a background in Journalism and Computer Science.

He has led creative teams, directed commercials, worked on promos, in-show graphics and main titles sequences for projects including:
Jumanji - The Next Level
Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards
National Geographic Brain Games
Just Dance 2021
Mountain Dew Game Fuel
Disney+
NFL Super Bowl
Netflix
History
GEICO
HBO Max
Curiosity Channel

Ken was Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Main Title Sequence in 2019 for the Daytime Emmy Awards. In addition he has won multiple Promax Gold, Silver and Bronze awards.

Ken has been active with Degas Dance Studio from its inception and looks forward to helping Degas International Dance Academy reach its full potential through outstanding marketing and branding.

Ken also operates American Friend BV, an international creative consultancy based in the Netherlands