Gwyn De Frances Kilshaw brings her expertise, creativity, passion and sense of humor to the teaching profession.  She began dancing at the age of 7 receiving her training from her mother, Cathy De Frances as well as world renowned teachers in Chicago and Los Angeles.  She taught at St. Aloysius School for 6 years and was the Cheerleader Coordinator for 2 of them.  She performed in the BRLT production of "A Chorus Line, has been a guest teacher and choreographer for other studios in the area and around the country.   She has choreographed and judged for many of the area high school dance teams and has traveled all across the country for 23 years as an experienced adjudicator for dance competitions. She is a member of the Jones Creek Business Association and supports the BR Police and Fire Depts.  Gwyn is married to Gary Kilshaw.

Angie De Frances Snow has been trained in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern, Pointe and Contemporary.  At the age of 12, she was the youngest student accepted to the North Carolina School of the Arts which she attended alone for a summer of intensive training.  She was a St. Joseph Academy cheerleader and a Catholic High Bruinette.  She was selected as an American All Star Dancer for Super Bowl XX1 and a dance ambassador to the Bahamas and NY. Angie was the 1992 Miss Dance of Dixie and Miss DEA. She taught at St. Aloysius for 3 years, and was the choreographer of the Parkview "Silver Steppers" for 2 years.  She has been a guest teacher and choreographer for local studios and Southeastern University. She has judged for the LSU Tiger Girls and local dance teams as well as adjudicating for Dance Competitions on the national level. Angie has won numerous regional and national choreography awards. She is a member of the Ascension Chamber of Commerce and volunteers for the Arc of Ascension. She is a certified dance teacher through Dance Educators of America. She is married to Mike Snow and has 3 children. A true advocate for Dancers Against Cancer.

Colleen Babin comes to De Frances after fulfilling her lifelong dream of owning her own dance studio, Colleen's Studio of Dance Arts for 9 years.  She is the Office Manager of the Prairieville location and the Office Manager for the Dance Force Competition Team.  She brings over 25 years of dance training including intensive training in the competitive arts.  She is excited and overjoyed to be a part of the De Frances family as these three ladies have been her mentors and friends for many years.

K LeFeaux LeBourgeois began dancing with De Frances 28 years ago.  She is the Office Manager of the Coursey Baton Rouge location and loves being a part of the studio!  She was a member of Dance Force her senior year.  K graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.  She is a registered nurse at Our Lady of Lake on the Pediatric Oncology and Hematology unit.  K is the proud mother to River Michael and Briar Gray with her husband Michael.

Monika Guiberteau found her love for dance at DeFrances Dance. She was a member of Dance Force and with her solo won Miss Starlight, Miss Nexstar and Miss DanceXplosion. After graduating from St. Joseph’s Academy, she studied dance at Oklahoma City University. Since then Monika has been a dancer at Walt Disney World, in the hit film Pitch Perfect, on the Disney Channel, and has toured multiple times overseas as a magician assistant and dancer for The Grand Illusions of Rob Lake. She also has worked as an actress in commercials, tv, and film. However, dance will always be a part of Monika’s life. She’s won 3 choreography awards and takes pride in teaching the art of dance to her students. It was through dance she learned life lessons such as: dedication, determination, perseverance, discipline, teamwork, self confidence and the value of hard work. 

Lauren Knight is a graduate of St. Joseph's Academy and Louisiana Tech University.  She was a Catholic High Bruinette for 3 years and a Louisiana Tech Regal Blue for 5 years, as well as serving as co-captain her last year on the team.  She has trained in dance for 16 years, one of which were at De Frances and spent 4 years as a Dance Force member.  Lauren has taken classes and learned from many professional dance team coaches at Pro Dance in Las Vegas with The Regal Blues.  She received a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and is now a Corporate Billing Specialist for Plantation Management Company in Denham Springs.

Rita Olivier is a fourth grade teacher at Our Lady of Mercy.  She danced with De Frances for 25 years.  She taught classes and was the Office Manager at the old South Choctaw location for many years.  Rita is married to Micah and has 2 children. Cate {who is named after Miss Cathy De Frances} and Jude.  She danced with the Krewe of Tucumcari from 1999 - 2010.  Rita is excited to be teaching again at De Frances.

Kelsey Richard has been dancing since the age of 2 years old. She grew up dancing at De Frances Academy of Dance, where she was a Dance Force member for 10 years. Kelsey is a graduate of St. Joseph’s Academy and the University of Southern Mississippi. She was a Catholic High Bruinette for 3 years in high school. She was a Dixie Darling at Southern Miss for 4 years, and was captain for her last year on the team. Kelsey earned a Bachelor of Liberal Studies degree and has now moved back home to achieve a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at FranU starting this fall. In the future, she wants to become a nurse. Throughout her years, Kelsey has trained through all styles of dance under the De Frances studio and she is looking forward into joining the staff of De Frances Academy of Dance to share her love of dance with children! 

Olivia Hamilton has been dancing since the age of 3 years old. She grew up dancing at DeFrances Academy of Dance and was a member of Dance Force for 11 years. She is super excited to be back teaching at what she considers her second home. Olivia is a graduate of St. Michael the Archangel High School, and during her time there, was a member of the St. Michael Dance Line. She is currently a full-time student at Louisiana State University and is studying Biochemistry with a minor in Business Administration. At LSU, she is a 4th year member of the nationally ranked LSU Tiger Girls Dance Team and is currently serving in her 2nd year as captain. During her time on the team so far, the Tiger Girls have taken home 2 national bronze medals in the D1A Hip Hop division. After graduating from LSU in May of 2021, Olivia plans to attend graduate school to pursue a career in research, and of course, continue sharing her love of dance through teaching.

Allison Oubre has loved dancing since the age of 3. She trained at DeFrances with Ms. Gwyn, Ms. Cathy and Ms. Angie and credits her love of dance to them.  Allison was fortunate to be part of the inaugural ballet class at Runnels High School with Mary Camille Maddox.  She continued to study dance at LSU and received a minor in dance.  During college, she performed with the LSU dance ensemble, Of Moving Colors, and BRBT. Allison is the current Program Manager for the McLindon Family Foundation, which is a local nonprofit that provides adaptive bikes to children with special needs. 

Jennie Mayo Zeller began her journey with DeFrances when she was 3 years old, way back in 1978!  Until the age of 18, DeFrances was her second family.  At 18, She was accepted and attended Oklahoma City University where she studied performing arts and education.  She then graduated in 1999 with a degree in Early Childhood Education.  Her husband, Kraig, and she moved back to Louisiana to begin their careers and start a family.  As she began her teaching job at South Live Oak Elementary, DeFrances welcomed her back as an instructor.  Jennie taught at De Frances until family life grew to be too hectic.  Now that her children are older, 17 and 14, she is back and beyond excited to be able to share her knowledge, love, and passion for the art of dance. 

Rachel Knight is a graduate of St. Joseph’s Academy and Louisiana Tech University. She has been dancing since the age of 2. She danced competitively on Dance Force with De Frances for 10 years, was a Catholic High Bruinette for 4 years, and was also a part of Louisiana Tech’s dance team for 3 years. While at Louisiana Tech, she served as the head coach for the Choudrant High School dance team. Rachel has taken classes from many famous choreographers and dancers including NappyTabs, Sabrina Bryan, Shandon Perez, and members of the Jabbawockeez. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Child Development and Family Science and is currently working as a behavioral therapist for kids with autism at BIG. 

Lindsey Lanehart has been dancing with DeFrances Academy of Dance for 10 years. For 3 of those years, she was a member of Dance Force. On Dance Force, she competed at competitions and attended dance conventions across the South. Along with dancing at the studio, Lindsey assisted/demonstrated at DeFrances for 4 years. Lindsey is a graduate of St. Joseph’s Academy, where she studied and took dance classes as an elective for 4 years. At the end of each semester, she performed in the dance show put on by the dance program. Lindsey will be attending Louisiana State University in the fall and will be studying Business.

Julianna {Jules} De Frances has been dancing since she was 3 years old. She was a member of the competition team, Dance Force, for 4 years. Jules has danced at both studio locations all her life until she graduated from Dutchtown High School in 2021. She will be a full time student at Southeastern Louisiana University this fall. She looks forward to becoming a Defrances Staff member and showing her love and excitement to all the children that her grandmother and aunts have passed on to her!

Chloe Foster has been dancing for 15 years and competed for 9 of those. She was a member of Dance Force for the last 2 years. Chloe was named Mark Of Excellence Performing Artist Senior Title Winner and Contemporary Solo Master for 2022. She graduated early with distinguished honors from Dutchtown High School in December of 2021. She is attending Louisiana State University studying Psychology Pre-Med in hopes to earn a doctorate to become a Clinical Pediatric Psychologist. Chloe has been assisting at the Prairieville location and is excited to add the Baton Rouge studio to her schedule. She loves working with kids and enjoys being able to share her dance passion with them. Chloe was honored to volunteer her time to The Arc East Ascension by helping Angie De Frances choreograph and teach the special needs adults their routine as well as perform herself with Dance Force. 

Caitlin Malone has been dancing since the age of 2 years old. She is a graduate of Parkview Baptist School where she was a Silver Stepper all four years and served as captain her senior year  She recently graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University with a Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders and is currently pursuing a Masters of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Southeastern to become a Speech-Language Pathologist. She has experience working with dancers from the ages of 3 to 18 and is thrilled to bring her love and knowledge of dance to DeFrances.

Hailey is a sophomore at LSU majoring in Kinesiology with a concentration in Human Movement Science.  She is a on the Pre-Occupational Therapy track in hopes of becoming a Pediatric OT.  She is a 2nd year member of the LSU GOLDEN GIRLS and is a Universal Dance Association staff member where she teaches dancers of all ages and abilities all over the US.

Hailey began dancing at the age of 5 and has danced competitively for 13 years.  She was a DeFrances Dance Force member for 8 years and awarded Dancer of the Year in 2017.  

In high school, Hailey was a member of the Catholic High School Bruinettes for 2 years and a St. Joseph's Academy Red Stepper for 2 years.  During her time as a Red Stepper, Hailey served as Co-Captain and Captain where she led the team to their first National Championship.