Sarah Schaper is the founder and owner of In His Image Dance Studio in Tallahassee, Florida. A Tallahassee native, Sarah was homeschooled through high school and went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in Commercial Entrepreneurship from Florida State University.

With over 18 years of dance training in Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, and Modern, Sarah brings a deep well of experience and artistry to her work. She has been teaching dance for over a decade and has had the opportunity to work with several studios throughout the Tallahassee area. While she enjoys teaching all ages, her heart is especially drawn to working with young dancers, helping them grow not only in their technique but also in their confidence, character, and purpose.

Sarah is passionate about training dancers to reach their full potential while never compromising the joy and heart behind the art form. Her teaching style balances discipline and excellence with genuine encouragement. Ballet and Modern are her favorite styles to teach, and she finds deep fulfillment in watching dancers mature in both skill and spirit.

In 2025, Sarah launched IHI Company's first original story ballet, Narnia, bringing to life a long-held dream to create Christ-centered productions that inspire and uplift. She has a gift for creative vision and loves the process of dreaming, developing, and directing meaningful works that resonate with both dancers and audiences alike.

Above all, Sarah is grateful to the Lord for providing her with the opportunity to serve the community through dance. She knew from a young age that God was calling her to pour into the next generation, and dance has always been the vessel through which she fulfills that calling. The heartbeat of her mission is to seek Christ and provide a rewarding, faith-filled outlet for young girls to grow, worship, and thrive.

Halle Jones has been teaching at IHI since 2023. She started dancing at the age of 3 years old and has had a passion for it ever since. She danced acroetitively for majority of her career and is trained in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, acro, and hip hop. Most of her career she trained at Jump Dance Company in Lakewood Ranch, FL. She is experienced with children ranging from ages 1 year old to 18 years old and with kids who have special needs. She absolutely loves dance and how God has shown such faithfulness and love through dance in her life. In 2026, Halle became Acrobatic Arts Certified from primary-level 6 skills. This certification expanded her knowledge on acrobatic arts and helped further her curriculum for acro classes.

Shannon Garcia is excited to be part of the administrative team at In His Image Studio

As a member of the administrative team, she enjoys connecting with families, helping things run smoothly behind the scenes, and creating a welcoming environment for everyone who walks through the doors.

She loves being part of a Christ-centered studio where dancers are encouraged to grow in their faith, build confidence, and develop a love for dance. Seeing students learn, make friendships, and shine both on and off the stage is one of her favorite parts of being at the studio.

Joelle Bass is a creative and passionate dance teacher committed to cultivating high level technique in an uplifting atmosphere. She believes that everyone has a unique story to tell and that God has given us dance as a beautiful way to express it. Joelle was first introduced to dance when she was 5 years old at a praise dance class offered at her church in Colorado. At the age of 12 she felt the Lord calling her to pursue dance as a way to share the Gospel. Joelle began exploring different styles of dance at Monticello Acting and Dance Company under Idy Coddington and Melanie Mays. 2 years later she started taking classes at Pas De Vie Ballet under the tutelage of Charles Hagan and Natalia Botha. There Joelle was pushed to the next level of ballet technique by taking classes in multiple levels 5 days a week. Soon she joined Pas De Vie’s performance company and danced in their yearly performances of The Nutcracker and Spotlight on Dance, performing roles such as Lead Mirliton and Gypsy Girl. In 2020 she attended Ballet Magnificat’s Fall Dance Intensive where she learned excerpts from the production of Deliver Us. She was invited to dance at the Florida State Capital for the National Day of Prayer and leads corporate worship dance at a yearly summer camp in NC. Joelle has a strong interest in injury prevention and sport specific training that has led her to get certified in Personal Training and Progressing Ballet Technique. Joelle started teaching ballet, tap and lyrical classes at PDV while she was still a student there and continues to teach and take classes there to this day. She joined In His Image as an instructor in 2023 and has enjoyed being with the studio as it grows and offers a Christ-centered environment to dancers. 

Dancing from a very young age, Ballet quickly became one of Valerie’s passions. For almost 14 years, she trained at Arabesque Dance Works in Lausanne, Switzerland, her hometown. Under a British teacher, following the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) program and yearly examination, Valerie progressed to pre-professional level in Ballet, while also working on Jazz, Pointe, and some Tap. She danced 6 days per week, from after school until the evening, teaching younger girls and taking classes. She often spent summers in England taking part in intensive Ballet camps and competitions. Years later, Valerie discovered the beauty of a style of dance closer to contemporary and lyrical while attending l’Ecole de Danse Beatriz Borrajo in Lausanne. 

Since moving to Tallahassee in 2006, Valerie earned a Master's degree in Public History at FSU, got married, brought five awesome children into this world, and has most recently been homeschooling them. Thanks to In His Image Studio, Valerie got the opportunity to re-enter the magical world of dance. 

With all of her girls now taking classes at IHI, Valerie is looking forward to continuing to share her love for dance AND for the Lord while being part of a wonderful community!

From her first plié at the age of 4, Jenna was captivated by the beauty, discipline, and joy of ballet. For the next two decades, she trained exclusively in classical ballet under the direction of Ana Jacobs, founder of Dance Divine School of Ballet in Ocala, Florida.

As a pre-professional member of the studio’s Light of Joy Ballet Company, Jenna danced leading roles in original Bible-based ballets and taught dozens of students of all levels. Later, as the company's ballet mistress, Jenna choreographed original works, ran full company rehearsals, and assisted backstage during performances. Some of her students have since embarked on professional dance careers with companies such as the Nashville Ballet and Enoch Contemporary Ballet.

Jenna stepped away from dance for several years to study journalism at the University of Florida, launch her career, get married, and start a family. In 2019, she served a stint on the board of directors at The Tallahassee Ballet. Now in her second year of instructing at In His Image, she is thrilled to be living out her calling to teach ballet and share her love for Jesus.  

Eleanor Stewart grew up training at Mobile Ballet in Mobile, Alabama, under the instruction of Katia Garza, Israel Rodriguez, Sydney Adams, Zoe Todd, and Raley Zofko Zampieri, among others. She studied classical ballet in the Russian and Cuban methods, with additional training in contemporary ballet and Broadway style jazz. Upon joining the Mobile Ballet company, she had the opportunity to perform many roles, including "Myrtha" in Giselle; "Clara", "Dew Drop", and "Arabian" in The Nutcracker; "Belle" in Beauty and the Beast; and "Wendy" in Peter Pan. In 2020, she competed in the international ballet competition Youth America Grand Prix, where she placed in the top 24 out of more than 125 competitors. Ms. Stewart is an American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum certified teacher and has studied ballet pedagogy under Raymond Lukens and Franco de Vita. She has taught throughout the southern United States at dance schools in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. As the host of The Bookish Ballerina Podcast, she loves spreading the joy of ballet to others through discussion of ideas relevant to arts leadership, science, and their relationship. She was also a corps de ballet dancer at The Tallahassee Ballet from 2022-2026, where she performed in multiple classical, neoclassical, and contemporary works, including Kathryn Karrh Cashin's Swan Lake, Cinderella, and The Nutcracker. She is looking forward to her second season sharing her love of the Lord and of ballet as an instructor at IHI.

Jillian began dancing at the age of four at Dance Theatre of Broward in Davie, Florida. She continued her training throughout high school at That's Dancing in Lake Worth, Florida, developing strong foundations in lyrical, contemporary, jazz, hip hop, tap, and musical theater. As a performer, Jillian has appeared at Miami Heat and Florida Panthers games, as well as numerous community events throughout South Florida.

During her undergraduate career at Florida State University, Jillian was a member of Level Dance Company, a student-run performance team. She choreographed for the company each year and has also choreographed high school musical theater productions of Cinderella, The Addams Family, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Jillian is passionate about creating a positive classroom environment that fosters student growth, builds confidence, and inspires a lifelong love for dance. 

In August 2024, Jillian graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Music Therapy. She is deeply grateful for the opportunity the Lord has given her to be part of this studio, where she has the privilege of teaching, mentoring, and encouraging students in a Christ-centered environment.

Caroline started training at Contempo School of Dance in Tampa, Florida when she was two years old and danced competitively with them for 13 years. She has received many years of ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, hip hop, and contemporary training, and started competing her own choreography when she was 16. She has opened for the Radio City Rockettes and trained briefly with the Joffrey Ballet in both ballet and contemporary. She began teaching in high school and has now been with In His Image since 2022. 

Outside of dance, Caroline is involved at City Church and serves on their guest services team. She graduated from FSU in 2023 with her bachelor’s in Behavioral Neuroscience and will continue her PhD in Counseling and School Psychology there. Dance has always been a big part of her life and she is excited to use such a beautiful art form to glorify God and raise up laborers in the next generation. 

Bailey started her dance journey with Melbourne City Dance Center (now, We Dance Academies) in Melbourne, FL. Here, she was taught ballet by the highly acclaimed principal dancer, Artem Yachmennikov. Under Yachmennikov’s artistic direction, she became a company member of Melbourne City Ballet Theatre, performing, teaching and choreographing for school performances.

In 2018 and 2019, she danced alongside the National Ballet Theatre of Odessa performing soloist roles in The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake such as The Courage Fairy, Maids, and Neapolitan Princess, and corps de ballet roles such as Forest Nymphs, Mazurka and Swan Corps. While at Melbourne City Dance Center, Bailey attended the Bolshoi Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and MODAS Dance summer intensives, and competed in the Valentina Koslova Competition in NYC, and the American Dance Competition in Tampa, where she won a Scholarship from Ajkun Ballet Theater. 

During Bailey’s senior year of high school, she accepted a trainee position at Orlando Ballet where she performed choreography from Directors Robert Hill and Jorden Morris. At the end of the year she suffered a ligament tear in her foot and was forced to stop dancing. Bailey now attends Florida State University majoring in French and Communications. She can’t wait to be back in the studio meeting and passing on her love of dance to new students. 

Sadie is eighteen years old and will begin the Cosmetology Program at Lively Technical College this fall. As the seventh of eleven children, she has spent her life surrounded by kids and has developed a genuine love for working with them.

After moving to Woodbridge, Virginia, Sadie began ballet at the age of nine and quickly discovered her passion for dance. When her family moved to Florida, she joined In His Image Dance Studio in 2021, where she found the perfect opportunity to combine her love for dance with her love for God.

Sadie began assisting classes at In His Image before stepping into a teaching role during the 2024–2025 dance season. She has trained in ballet, pointe, lyrical, and contemporary, and her passion for dance continues to grow with each new opportunity to learn and teach.

Sadie is honored to share her love of dance with her students and hopes to inspire them to use their gifts to glorify God through movement. She is excited to help each dancer grow in both confidence and technique while creating a fun, encouraging, and Christ-centered classroom.

Alyssa Haisman grew up in the Chicago area and has been dancing since the age of four. She trained from ages 4 to 18 at Arlington Dance Academy, where she studied ballet, modern, and jazz. As a member of her studio’s performing company, she had the opportunity to perform works by professional choreographers from the Chicago dance community, including artists from Giordano Dance Chicago through the Giordano Choreography Project.

In June 2023, Alyssa attended the Florida State University Summer Intensive and quickly fell in love with the program. She is now a BFA Dance major at Florida State University. During her time at FSU, she has performed in the Festival of the Creative Arts (2024) and Days of Dance (2025). In the spring of 2026, her first choreographic work, Pathos Internum, will premiere at the Days of Dance Concert. She is also excited to be studying dance in Paris in the summer of 2026 through FSU International Programs. 

Alyssa earned her Progressing Ballet Technique certification in Spring 2025 and has since begun teaching her peers through a “Monday Morning on the Mat” series. She also attended the Visceral Dance Chicago Summer Intensive in 2025, where she learned and performed repertoire under the direction of Nick Pupillo.

At FSU, Alyssa trains daily in technique classes under faculty including Ilana Goldman and Caleb Mitchell. She has developed a strong passion for dance science and plans to continue studying the field at the graduate level. 

Alyssa has always loved teaching and strives to embody the FSU School of Dance motto, “Do it with love,” in every class. As a faithful Catholic Christian, she is committed to sharing the love, joy, and peace of Jesus with all of her students. She brings a unique dance science perspective, incorporating conditioning and anatomy into her teaching. Alyssa is so excited to begin teaching at In His Image this fall!

Emma discovered her love for dance at the age of 8-years-old while training at a small studio in Woodbridge, Virginia. Now a high school Senior with nine years of dance experience, she has continued to grow both as a dancer and a teacher. 

After moving to Tallahassee in 2020, Emma joined In His Image in 2021, where she has trained and danced for the past five years. She has been trained in Ballet, Pointe, Contemporary, and Lyrical, and has gained valuable teaching experience by assisting in classes including Acro, Tap/Jazz, Ballet, and Lyrical. She is passionate about sharing her love of dance with her students and is excited to continue teaching classes and encouraging the next generation of dancers. Emma is incredibly grateful for the opportunity to share the joy of dance while using it to glorify and worship the Lord. 

Hannah Garcia has been dancing since the age of five. Beginning her education at The Wildwood Ballet, she switched over to The Tallahassee Ballet two years later and has been there ever since. In 2023, Hannah began taking classes at In His Image along with joining the In His Image dance company. Hannah's first love is ballet, but over the years she has obtained experience in many other dance styles that she also enjoys, including jazz, contemporary, and hip hop. Hannah loves being able to honor the Lord by dancing, and she's excited to continue her dance education at both The Tallahassee Ballet and In His Image Dance Studio. 

     Hannah has had experience at being an assistant teacher for years. After assisting at a couple other studios in town, she began assisting at In His Image, and in 2024 she had the opportunity to co-teach a class for the first time. Not only does Hannah love sharing her knowledge with younger dancers, but she's privileged to be able to share her love of Jesus in this way. Hannah is thrilled to continue teaching in the coming year!

During the few opportunities she had to dance as a child, Harley absolutely fell in love with it. Being from a homeschooled family of eleven, with her parents working in youth ministry, she never had many chances to get official dance training when she was younger. So after years of saving up, Harley was finally able to help pay for her first real dance classes at 13.

She moved to Tallahassee in 2021, and, after trying some other studios, Harley joined In His Image in 2023 and assisted teaching whenever she could.
 

She has taken many different dance classes and is continuing to grow in her dancing at IHI, focusing mainly in ballet, contemporary, and pointe, but enjoys dabbling in lots of other styles such as acro, jazz, lyrical and any other dance she has the opportunity to try. Harley has been blessed to be a part of the studio's company and getting to dance lead roles in IHI's original story ballets.

She has been working with kids for as long as she can remember, whether at church, nurseries, dance, or even babysitting. She is so thankful for all of the opportunities the Lord has given her for dance and is excited to pour back into the girls at IHI!

Ever since she could walk, Annabelle couldn’t stop dancing.  At two years old, she took her first ballet/tap class at Dance Express in Tolland, CT, where she continued dancing for years.  She then trained at Études de Ballet & Co. in Naples, FL, where she was a member of the company, as well as the competition team.  She competed in numerous styles, including lyrical, contemporary/modern, musical theater, and ballet.  At the age of 10, Annabelle was blessed to be selected as a Fusion Star with an opportunity to perform at nationals, as well as a scholarship and invitation to MENINA Entertainment’s Hollywood Summer Tour, a two week professional development program in Hollywood, CA.  

Annabelle danced at In His Image for her last two years of high school and was a part of company.  She also took contemporary at Dance Fusion.  Annabelle furthered her training by attending Florida State University, Renovate Ballet, and Artistry Dance Alliance summer intensives, refining numerous styles and gaining valuable experiences.  She also has choreographed multiple solos and group performances for showcases and auditions.  

Annabelle loves every style she’s trained in, gaining extensive knowledge along the way.  She has training in contemporary, ballet, jazz, lyrical, Horton, pointe, musical theater, contemporary partnering, and improv, in addition to experience in hip hop, contact improvisation, soca, tap, and African fusion, among others.  

Annabelle now attends Florida State University as a finance major.  The Lord laid teaching dance on her heart from a young age.  She enjoys sharing her knowledge and experience with dancers and watching them grow.  Annabelle is passionate about dance as prayer, praise, ministry, and testimony, and loves sharing that joy with others.

Laura Green started dancing at age 3 at Wildwood Ballet and age 5 at The Tallahassee Ballet. In 2024, she began dancing at In His Image, taking classes along with joining the Company. Laura continues to dance at In His Image and the Tallahassee Ballet to this day. While classical ballet is her favorite, she also has experience in contemporary, jazz, tap, and hip hop. She loves dancing and glorifying God through it.

Laura has also had experience in assistance teaching starting at age 11 at In His Image. She is excited to begin co-teaching in the fall of 2026 and is grateful for the opportunity to pour into younger girls to help them grow in their skill and love for dancing and the Lord.

Isabel Lin began dancing at a young age and spent some of her early years training and competing in various dance styles. At the age of 10, she began training at Pas de Vie Ballet under the expert instruction of Charles Hagan and Natalia Botha here in Tallahassee, Florida. She continues to train there today while also teaching the Creative Movement class, and she is thankful for the many opportunities she has been given to grow both as a dancer and an instructor. Isabel enjoys performing in Pas de Vie Ballet's annual productions of The Nutcracker and Spotlight on Dance, experiences that have deepened both her passion and appreciation for the art of ballet. Over the past couple of years, she has also had the opportunity to assist and substitute in a variety of classes at In His Image. She is excited to continue growing as an instructor and to pour into the next generation of dancers. Isabel is grateful to God for faithfully leading her every step of the way. She is thankful for the incredible teachers, mentors, family, and friends who have invested in her life and is excited to invest in her own students’ lives.

Sarah Jacobs began dancing at the age of three because she was always in awe of her older sister Lauren. Wanting to follow in Lauren’s footsteps, Sarah quickly discovered her own love for dance. At five years old, she joined Stacy’s Dance Factory’s competition team, where she fell in love with performing and being a part of a team.

When she turned 10, Sarah joined the competition team at Art In Motion Dance Studio, where she began to develop her technique and explore dance on a deeper level. She trained in many styles like ballet, tap, contemporary, modern, jazz, and hip-hop. During this time, she realized she had a passion for ballet and contemporary dance.

Under the guidance of Natalia Monero-Bean and Tricia Trimble, Sarah had the opportunity to attend Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) ballet competitions from the ages 13-17. Throughout this experience, she was able to perform many ballet variations and contemporary solos, which further developed her love for ballet and performing.

Sarah began teaching and assisting classes at Art In Motion during her sophomore year of high school. She has taught tap, ballet, pointe, lyrical, jazz, contemporary, and musical theatre classes.

Sarah is entering her sophomore year at Florida State University, where she is pursuing a BFA in Dance with a minor in Education. She is also starting her first season with the Tallahassee Ballet and is beyond excited to learn and perform with the company.                                                        Sarah is beyond grateful for the opportunity to teach at In His Image this upcoming season and looks forward to sharing her love of dance with her students!