Owners, Faculty, & Staff
Celebrating 25+ years of excellence, Elite Dance boasts a faculty who have been (and in many cases remain) dancers, musicians, singers, teachers, choreographers, and national judges for:
Disney World
1.
The New Orleans Saintsations
2.
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4.
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines
5.
Universal Studios Florida
6.
Six Flags
The Cincinnati Ballet
7.
River North of Chicago
8.
The Boston Ballet
International Dance Organization
LSU Golden Girls
9.
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Dance Xplosion National Dance Competition
Star Systems National Dance Competition
11.
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Church of the King
13.
New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA)
14.
In addition, many of our teachers hold degrees.
15.
OWNERS
EILEEN ARNOLD
Eileen is an accomplished dancer, performer, national judge and a certified teacher. She has performed with such companies as Ballet Hysell, The Affinity Dance Ensemble, Timeless Showband & more. In 1997, Eileen was chosen as a Dance Olympus V.I.P. and was offered the opportunity to travel across the U.S. training with today's most renowned teachers. Following she began to choreograph for numerous casinos along the Gulf Coast. She choreographed the Junior Miss Pageant for many years on a local level.
Eileen continued to study dance and choreography at the prestigious Broadway Dance Center in New York and STEPS on Broadway, while sharing her talents as an instructor for the Energy Source National Dance Camps. She judged multiple dance competitions regionally and nationally, including Dance Xplosion, Fire & Ice, and Stars Systems to name a few, while developing as choreographer.
After much recognition for her intuitive, entertaining, and large scale choreography, Eileen joined the Saintsation organization, where she served for 4 years as the Choreographer and Director for the New Orleans Saintsations, choreographing for crowds of 80,000+ people
Eileen and her husband, Michael, presently own and operate Elite Dance in Covington, Louisiana, one of the north shore's largest, most successful, and nationally and internationally award-winning studios, in business now for 26 years. Among the highest honors received, under Eileen's direction, dancers from Elite Dance took multiple 1st Place Gold Medals for TEAM USA at the International Dance Organization World Dance Competition, a world stage referred to as the Olympics of Dance, featuring 3000+ performers and more than 30 countries held in Belgium and Poland.
MICHAEL ARNOLD
Michael attended NOCCA and trained locally, beginning his career performing with Tulane Summer Lyric Theatre and Delta Festival Ballet. Following, he was contracted for Disney World as a dancer and the prince in Beauty and the Beast, The Kids of the Kingdom castle stage shows, and Pleasure Island as a midnight dancer. He was also under contract as a dancer for Universal Studios, the Miss Florida Scholarship Pageant, which he choreographed statewide for television, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines International, Six Flags, and Hardrive Productions. He was chosen for AIDA on Broadway and is a member of the Actor's Equity Association (AEA). Following his professional career, notably and for multiple years, Michael sat on the judge’s panel for the New Orleans Saintsations. He has judged multiple dance competitions nationally, including Dance Xplosion, Fire & Ice, and Star Systems. His last professional gig included a commercial as a dancer for Tricia Miranda that aired nationally at the Academy Awards.
Michael and his wife, Eileen, presently own and operate Elite Dance in Covington, Louisiana, one of the north shore’s largest, most successful, and nationally and internationally award-winning studios, in business now for 26 years. Among the highest honors received, under the direction of his wife, Eileen, dancers from Elite Dance took multiple 1st place Gold Medals for TEAM USA at the International Dance Organization World Dance Competition, a world stage referred to as the Olympics of dance which features 3000+ performers and more than 30 countries held in Belgium and Poland.
