Faculty

Stacy Atkins-Salazar is a native of Humboldt County.  She is the owner and director of the No Limits Dance Academy, has a Master’s Degree in Psychology, was a Psychology professor at College of the Redwoods and is a happily married, mother of 3 grown children.  

Since the age of 5 Stacy danced and trained with local teachers including Sally Stevenson, Shirley Atkins, Cindy Savage and the late LaVerne Krei.  Outside of Humboldt County, Stacy trained in the Bay Area and Los Angeles.  As a teenager Stacy participated in numerous regional and national dance competitions and workshops.  Her professional dance and film credits include dancing as a professional tap dancer in San Francisco with Rosie Radiator; choreographing and consulting for “An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn” (Staring Aubrey Plaza, Emile Hirsch, Jemaine Clement, Matt Berry and Craig Robinson); and appearing in commercials for Good Year Tires and Bass Pro Shops.  

Stacy established the No Limits Arcata studio 2000.  In 2010 No Limits expanded to McKinleyville and then in 2015 added an upstairs studio to the Arcata location.  Dancers from No Limits have had the opportunity to participate in many exciting activities including:  Dancing in professional shows; dancing and acting in movies, commercials and videos; dancing in the opening ceremonies for the Special Olympics; dancing in college companies; and teaching master classes.  Stacy has spent the majority of her life training dancers, attending dance competitions, producing quality dance performances and feeling blessed to be doing what she loves… dancing!

Amethyst Sinn is the assistant director and a dance instructor for the No Limits Dance Academy. She has been teaching and creating choreography at NLDA since 2005. She has a background in fitness including personal training, Buti Yoga, Pilates and group fitness classes. Amethyst knew by the 2nd grade that her passion and carrier would be dance when she choreographed and taught her classmates a tap dance for their school musical, Oklahoma! 

Amethyst attended her hometown university, Humboldt State, and received a Bachelor's Degree in Interdisciplinary Dance Studies. She trained at various local dance schools but her primary dance education came from No Limits Dance Academy. Her passion for dance led her to start teaching at NLDA in the 8th grade. She competed and then went on to choreograph for the NLDA Dance Team. Amethyst took a two year hiatus when she moved to teach dance in Santa Cruz and San Jose. She has worked with recording artist Adrial Diaz as a choreographer and backup dancer. She has organized commissioned dances for fundraisers and flash mobs. Amethyst also represents NLDA in numerous community events.

Amethyst's senior college project, "Signal the Shake", received the Outstanding Senior Award for Excellence in Choreography at Humboldt State University. Her piece was selected for the HSU dance concert “Of Breath and Body”, won the Audience Choice Favorite award and was selected for the HSU Recruitment Tour. 

As the Assistant Director of No Limits Dance Academy, she blends her creative skills with the operations of the business. Amethyst strives to inspire her students and instill lifelong confidence through dance.

Irene Treesong 

I began my ballet training at the age of 5 at a Royal Ballet Academy school in Luxembourg.  That is when I fell in love with movement as a way of expression. Later I studied with  Germaine Ballou, of the Denishawn Dance Company, and my most inspirational teachers of all, Rosemary Valaire of the Royal Ballet, and Yvonne Mounsey of Balanchine’s Ballets Russes, when I was a member of the Westside Youth Ballet.  Additional dance training included Pacific Northwest Ballet and Hartford Ballet.  More recently, as my final performance as a dancer, I danced the part of the Queen Mother in Arcata’s New World Ballet Cinderella in 2010, where I had a solo, pas de deux and miming parts.  

I’ve been teaching ballet since 2000, when I began a small dance program in Somes Bar and Orleans. Then I joined Dream Quest Youth Center in Willow Creek, where I have been running a year-round ballet program, including several summer dance camps. I am honored to join the No Limits team and look forward to working with all the talented young people at the studio. 

Stella Bourke

 My name is Stella Bourke and I have dance experience in Hip Hop, Afrobeats, contemporary, ballet, jazz, and Irish Dance. I started dancing when I was around 5 years old doing competitive Irish Dance. I went to the Western Regional Oireachtas competition once to perform in a group, and twice to perform solo. I also performed at the Warrior’s halftime show for Irish Heritage Night three years in a row. When I was 13, I started doing Hip Hop and contemporary. I became a well-rounded Hip Hop dancer, being well versed in East and West coast styles, and earned myself the nickname “All Styles” from one of my mentors. I have extensive knowledge of the history of Hip Hop as well, and I bring that expertise into each of my classes. Styles I focus on in Hip Hop are Popping, Locking, Gliding, Waving (funk styles), Krump, Breaking and New Jack. I also do Waacking and Vogueing. Not long after getting into Hip Hop and contemporary I started doing ballet and jazz as well. Later, I went on to become part of a contemporary company called Body Language. Currently, I am double majoring in dance and psychology at Cal Poly Humboldt and plan on becoming a dance/movement therapist. 

Terra Sandell

Angela Shumard