Kayce Schaffer received her classical ballet training from a myriad of accomplished teachers, including Dawei Zhang, a former member of the Shanghai Ballet who coached Rasta Thomas and others to the top prizes in international ballet competitions. She has also trained in pointe, jazz, lyrical, tap, hip hop, ballroom and musical theater and has been featured in a multitude of productions. She has danced practically every role in "The Nutcracker", including 'Fritz' at age 13 and the 'Sugar Plum Fairy' at age 17. Highlights of her musical theater career include 'Winthrop' in "The Music Man", and   "Cassie" in "A Chorus Line". Kayce highly enjoys being a featured dancer/dance captain and/or choreographer for a show. A few of her favorites have been: "Pippin", "Aida", "The Pajama Game", "Kiss Me, Kate", "Victor/Victoria" and "Me and My Girl". She was invited to be part of the Broadway Theatre Project where she studied with Desmond Richardson, Ben Vereen and Ann Reinking. Along with having fantastic teachers growing up, a summer spent with BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio really shaped how Kayce views teaching.  She believes in strong technique that works with the body's natural alignment in order to avoid injury and promote a healthy mind and body.  Kayce was the Studio Manager of Joy of Motion Dance Center, Bethesda for many years. She has been passing along her love of dance by teaching and choreographing in the Metro DC area for the past 20 years. 

 

Ryan Schaffer fell in love with theater in middle school, though started to be serious about the arts in high school where he was the president of his drama club and the Northern Virginia Representative for the International Thespian Society as well as performing in every show staged from his freshman to senior years including 'Billy' in "Anything Goes" and many other leading roles.  He was also in show choir where he competed in many competitions.  Continuing his love for theatre, he went to VCU to continue his study of the arts.  Once out of college, he came back to his Northern Virginia roots.  An accomplished singer, Ryan's favorite roles include 'Seymour' in "Little Shop of Horrors", 'Joseph' in "Joseph...Technicolor Dreamcoat", 'Snoopy' in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown", 'Bill' in "Me and My Girl" and many many more.  Perhaps his most humorous moment was when he was cast as 'Troy' (a 16 year old) in "High School Musical" at the ripe old age of 32. His day jobs have included being the Regional Manager for a financial company and the CFO for a home improvement company. In his spare time he is a volunteer firefighter. 

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Combined, Ryan and Kayce have been in over 25 professional musical theater productions but perhaps their favorite show was when they met and fell in love during their production of "Show Boat". Kayce played the comedic lead 'Ellie' to her future husband's 'Frank'.  Over 12 years of marriage and 2 amazing kids later, they have a strong desire to continue to make the arts a part of their lives.