Taryn has been an active professional in the dance industry for over twenty five years.   Taryn’s vision for Avanti Dance Company was to create a performing arts facility dedicated to excellence in artistry, technique and professionalism, which is evident in her own training and teaching philosophy.   With a forte in Jazz, Tap, and Contemporary and strong integrity for precision and style, Taryn has been a sought after guest instructor/choreographer at many studios and high school dance programs.  Taryn’s choreography has been featured at the Student Dance Concert at UC Santa Barbara, Youth American Grand Prix Finals in New York, and has been recognized with many top placements at various regional and national competitions. 

Taryn performed professionally for over eight years as a company member for with “Rhapsody in Taps” under the direction of Linda Sohl-Ellison.  Although Taryn enjoys performing, her true happiness is found in choreographing, teaching and connecting with her students.  She loves to highlight the unique skill sets of each dancer she works with, while giving them new, unfamiliar movement to push them out of their comfort zone and reach new levels. 

Taryn encourages her students to believe in themselves and that anything can be achieved with passion, dedication and hard work.  Taryn’s students have gone on to obtain college dance scholarships and win prestigious awards such as the Music Center Spotlight Award and the Young Arts Scholarship.

Administrative Director/Co Founder

Juli connection to dance began at a young age, when she developed an early foundation in movement and discipline taking ballet, jazz and tap.  As she grew older, her focus shifted to the competitive horse show arena, where she competed from the age of 10 through 24. She credits much of her success in competition to the skills first developed through dance—body awareness, confidence, focus, perseverance and the ability to perform under pressure.

Years later, dance became an important part of Juli’s life once again when she introduced her two daughters to the art form at a very young age. Both went on to dance competitively for more than a decade and are now accomplished dance educators themselves. Experiencing the dance world as both a student and a parent gave Juli a unique appreciation for the profound impact a strong training environment can have on a young person.

Her passion for the dance industry extends far beyond performance. Juli believes dance has the ability to shape children into confident, disciplined and hardworking adults. The lessons learned in the studio—commitment, accountability, resilience, teamwork and striving for excellence—are skills that remain with students long after their years of dance training have ended.

Juli also brings more than 30 years of business operations and management experience to AVANTI. Prior to opening the studio, she spent more than 20 years managing and owning businesses throughout Orange County. That experience has been instrumental in developing AVANTI into an organization that combines professional operations, exceptional training and a strong sense of community.

AVANTI is truly a family endeavor. Juli operates the studio alongside her husband, John Dean, Co-Owner of AVANTI Dance Company, who brings 35+ years of experience in finance to the business. John oversees AVANTI’s behind-the-scenes financial operations, helping provide the strong foundation necessary for the studio to continue growing and evolving.

But his role rarely stops there. John has become AVANTI’s resident problem-solver and jack-of-all-trades, lending his skills to everything from IT and technology to facility projects, building props for performances and more. Much of what keeps AVANTI running smoothly behind the scenes bears John’s fingerprints—even if families may not always see it.

Together, Juli, John and Taryn have built AVANTI with the belief that a successful dance studio should offer much more than classes. Their vision is to create a premier training environment where young artists are challenged, supported and inspired to reach their fullest potential—both as dancers and as people.