meet OUR TEAM:

Mary Elizabeth Alfonso is proud to call New Orleans, Louisiana home. Beginning her training at a young age at Rhonda Edmundson School of Dance, she has studied at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, traveled to Greenwich, England to attend the Trinity Laban Conservatoire for Music and Dance, and spent an extensive amount of time participating in the world of the organization of Dance Masters of America. One of her favorite experiences is being a part of the National Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. Her passion for dance lead her to the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi where she received her B.F.A in Dance Education. At Southern Miss, Mary participated in the Repertory Dance Company where she worked and trained with choreographers such as Trebien Pollard, Stacy Reischman Fletcher, Kelly Ferris Lester, and Julie Hammond White. She performed at the American College Dance Festival in Bowling Green, OH and Tallahassee, FL.  After graduation, Mary ventured to Mobile, Alabama where she was the established Dance Educator at Benton Cato Rain High School. During her time there, she created the Velocity Dance Company where her students were given various opportunities to perform around the community. Mary Elizabeth holds a Master of Arts from New York University; she also performed at the Fredrick Lowe Theatre at NYU as a part of the Masters Dance Concert. While in NYC, Mary had the opportunity to work for Joffrey Ballet School both in the studio and in the office under the esteemed Jo Matos, the Director of the Children's and Youth Programs. Mary Elizabeth is a proud member of  the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) and the Florida Dance Education Organization (FDEO). She held a Board Position on the New York State Dance Education Association. Her choreography has won numerous awards and under her direction, the New Light Dance Project has been established as one of the most high demand dance companies on the Emerald Coast. In addition, Alfonso also offers private instruction, choreography, and mentoring. Alfonso Academy is HER and she IS ALFONSO ACADEMY. It’s a passion that was sprouted at a young artist who was determined to offer the ultimate experience as a dancer for all whom she crossed paths with. It is the direct result of a long lineage of hard work, diligence, and tedious efforts. While not in the studio, she enjoys traveling and juggling/spending time with her husband, Adam, and her kiddos Rhett Kristian, Romie Elizabeth, and Reid Anthony.

Miranda Knorr, a native of Rochester, New York began dancing at age three. She received her B.F.A in Dance with a concentration in Performance and Choreography from Coker College,South Carolina. Here, she obtained the opportunity to work with leading choreographers Teena Marie Custer, Adele Myers, Seán Curran, Contra Tiempo, and performed in Trisha Brown’s work, “Set and Reset”. This past year she began expanding her artistic voice, choreographing solo, duet, and group works, as well as a trio, “Color Coating” adjudicated by legendary Chuck Davis. Knorr has performed at the SCDancing Festival, concerts at the American College Dance Festival, SCAHPERD, and Coker College. Giving back to her community, she began teaching her passion for dance at the Richland One High School Dance Festival and taught classes at Coker College, expressing her interest in contemporary and improvisation. Recently relocating to Florida, she continues expanding her artistic style and choreography through intricate movement vocabulary. As Assistant Director, Miranda takes pride in co-directing the New Light Dance Project, Alfonso Academy’s award-winning pre-professional dance company, as well as, our prime Daytime Program, and instructing numerous Evening Program classes.

One of the reasons Alfonso Academy exists. This artist has trained with Mary Elizabeth Alfonso since the beginning. Addie has won numerous awards and titles, but finds true pleasure in developing her creative ventures in dance. She has traveled across the United States and abroad to London to perform. Some of her favorite experiences included presenting her own choreography at IAF Compound Creator’s Exhibit in Los Angeles, CA where she has been part of the Mentorship Program and an apprentice for the IAF Company, under the direction of Chehon Wespi-Tschopp. She feels most at home when she is on a stage improving for an audience. Her Choreography has won numerous overall and specialty award. Addie continues to explore the realms of photography, videography, drawing & painting. She wants to instill her same passion and questions for dance in her students. She continues to train, perform, and pave her own way.

Aubrey Morgan is originally from Slidell, Louisiana and obtained her early training with Giacobbe Academy of Dance. She studied at The School of American Ballet in New York before joining The New York City Ballet professionally at age 16. She danced with NYCB for 5 years, and most recently was an ensemble member of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway at The Majestic Theater in NYC for over 8 years. 

Aubrey has an English Degree from the University of New Orleans, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude, and she has also performed as a Principal dancer with New Orleans Ballet Theater, Los Angeles Ballet and Company C in San Francisco. She was previously a guest artist on So You Think You Can Dance and performed Balanchine's "Man I Love" pas de deux on the popular tv show in 2008. Her other television credits include Fox's "House," "Beverly Hills 90210," and an Under Armour commercial starring ABT Principal Misty Copeland. Aubrey has been teaching young students and conducting master classes across the country for 13 years, and plans to continue teaching the next generation of young, hopeful performers for years to come!

Choreographer, dancer, and event director Mikey Trasoras serves as owner and creator of The Art of Movement Dance Convention, that brings back the heART to dance, AO Summer Intensive, and theACADEMY, an assistant program. Some of Mikey’s choreography credits include the sizzle reel for Hawaiian Style, Sarah Jaffe’s music video “Glorified High,” Ivivva Athletica YouTube video promotions, Radio Disney’s Next Big Thing season 5 kickoff in Hollywood, and for the Texas’ collegiate dance team The Apache Belles. students have appeared on So You Think You Can Dance, Abby Lee’s Ultimate Dance Competition, and X-Factor just to name a few.  Like his freestyle dancing, Mikey’s choreographyis intricate and stylistically innovative.  His keen musical ear and captivating artistic expression of lyrics elevate Mikey as a true artist.  Mikey has been directing dance events for the past 15 years for numerous companies, building their reputation and level of professionalism. 

As a professional performer since the age of eleven, Candace is well versed in what it takes to make it on stage or in front of a camera in the dance industry. In addition to dance, as a model she has worked various industry and runway shows. A few of her dance credits include The Billboard Music Awards, Latin AMA’s, Dance Captain for Dream at the Sandcastle Theater in Guam, and ShowStoppers at the Wynn in Las Vegas.  Experiencing performance first-hand has enabled Candace to be an expert at being a professional dancer. Her innate talent to interpret and communicate through the physical form has given many studios exactly what they needed to win that first overall or receive that call back. 


Candace has captivated, shaped, and nurtured students for over ten years. She engages herself in the world of dance completely.  She is compelled to share this fascination and love for dance with students from all over the world.  From Guam to Canada and in between, whether she is teaching a master class, or setting choreography, her students are left inspired and reaching new levels of potential. 

Currently, Candace is on faculty for Art of Movement Dance Convention. She and her husband Michael co-created AOM’s pre-professional assistant program, theACADEMY. Their 75-member team trains and assists on the Art of Movement tour. She is also an adjudicator for various dance competitions in the US. She can’t think of a better way to share her professional knowledge, broaden minds, and leave a little piece of herself for every student, than The Alfonso Academy.