Faculty

Dianne Robbins

Dianne has 32 years of dance experience as student, demonstrator, competitive dancer, choreographer, director and coordinator. Growing up in a small town on the border of Arkansas and Texas, Dianne began dancing at the age of 5 as a talent for a national pageant system. She knew from the start that dancing was going to be her life's desire. Although she enjoyed dancing on stage her true passion is teaching. Knowing how important her instructors were in her life was the driving force for her to achieve her goal of one day giving back to other dancers the experience she had grown up with.

Ms. Dianne began assisting and "demonstrating" as it was call in those days, for classes at the age of 12. At the age of 16 she was instructing and choreographing for her own classes, dancing in the community ballet and dancing competitively. Dianne received her full dance teacher certificate and was certified by members of the Texas Association of Dance in 1988. In 1989 she moved to Pensacola and in 1990 opened Five Flags Dance Academy fulfilling a life long dream. Although Five Flags offers a full dance program including a competition team, the main emphasis of the studio is not on competition but on instilling a love of dance and giving those interested an opportunity to perform.

Over the years she has had the opportunity to dance and work with many top names in the dance industry, but it is the students that have had the biggest influence over her life. Nothing is more rewarding than having former students return because they want their own young children to experience growing up at Five Flags Dance Academy to continue with the tradition of passing dance from one generation to the next.

Amanda Baldwin

Amanda began dancing at the age of eight. By the age of fourteen she was assisting in classes and at sixteen was instructing several classes on her own. She participated in the teachers training program at Five Flags Dance Academy and now is instrumental in running the day to day operations of the studio as well as heading up the preschool program. Tap is Miss Amanda's favorite subject although she is a beautiful dancer in all disciplines. Miss Amanda is a charter member of Five Flags Dance Academy and of the first competition team which began in 1998. She still attends workshops and fills in when needed in a competition piece.

Carrie Michelle Fox

Carrie began showing a love for dance at any early age. She has now been dancing for twenty-two years. Carrie grew up in Saraland, AL where she studied dance at Robinson's School of Dance and Mobile Ballet. She was a member of the Lynn Robinson Dancers for twelve years.

Over the years she has competed and performed at many dance conventions around the country, local nursing homes, fashion shows, and even on local television shows. Carrie has earned numerous awards for her talent. To name a few: 1st runner up to Sr. Miss West Coast Dance Explosion (Mobile, AL); Top Soloist at Showstoppers in Mobile, AL; awarded various convention scholarships (Tremaine, West Coast Dance Explosion, Dance Makers, etc.); Parade of Stars at Masquerade; Star Solo award at Stage One Nationals; Mobile County Jr Miss talent winner; accepted to and attended Joffrey Ballet School in New York for a summer intensive, and was chosen to be an instructor for the Universal Dance Association. While in college at the University of Alabama, Carrie earned a spot on the nationally ranked "Crimson Cabaret" Dance Team and took dance courses each year. In addition to her passion for dancing she has been teaching dance over the past nine years. Ms. Carrie has taken from a wide variety of professional dancers, which has given her a well-rounded background.

Ms. Carrie has recently moved to Pensacola where she immediately began looking for a new home to share her passion for dance with others. She is excited and anxious to get her dance shoes on and start dancing with her new students at Five Flags Dance Academy. Ms. Carrie hopes that each and every one of you will have the same experiences she has had with many years of dance!

Kristen Mettes

Kristen Mettes grew up in Kansas City where she began dancing at the age of 2 under her mothers instruction. She is now in her 25th year of dance and has never looked back. Ms. Kristen is well educated in all forms of dance specializing in ballet, tap, jazz and lyrical. She has competed since the age of 5 on a national level at competitions including Showstoppers, Dance America, Hollywood Vibe, Company Dance and Dance Caravan. Having competed herself, she understands what a dancer needs to be competitive in this market.

As an instructor, she has won many awards including Best Choreography, Most Entertaining, High Score, Teachers Choice, Best Costuming, and Judges Choice. Ms. Kristen has danced all over the U.S. under the instruction of professionals including Gus Giordano, Paula Abdul, Patricia Dickenson, Debbie Dee, Barry Youngblood just to name a few.

"I feel that God has blessed me in the art of dance. I wake up every morning and go to a place of work that I love. I don't really feel I can call it a job because I adore working with kids and teaching. This is what I do, it's what I am."

Along with teaching, she has also been trained in vocal, gymnastics, and musical theatre. Kristen has coached dance teams on a state and national level and enjoys choreographing for school dance teams when she has the opportunity.

This is Ms. Kristen's second year at Five Flags, and she looks forward to building an even stronger competitive program and working with the dancers for many years to come!

Kristen Dixon

Kristen Dixon began her dance training in a studio at the age of three. She continued to expand her dance background performing on nationally recognized dance teams throughout middle school and high school. In 2006, Kristen received her BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography, graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi. There she studied a variety of modern and ballet techniques and performed with the Repertory Dance Company. Kristen has received instruction from some of the most respected artists in the industry including but not limited to Pilobolus, Urban Bush Women, Shapiro and Smith, and the editor of Dance Magazine, Wendy Perron. Her choreography has been performed on stage by toddlers through college students, and featured in multiple lecture demonstrations. Mrs. Kristen's classes are athletically driven, with an intent to excite and motivate (not to mention, wear out) her students. She is excited to bring her knowledge and passion for dance to share with Five Flags Dance Academy's own dancers.