Dance Terrific  

Meet Our Studio Directors:

                   Terri Baker,                     Artistic Director

Terri was a high level award-winning competitive gymnast for 13 years, as well as, trained in Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Lyrical, Pointe, Hip Hop, and Production.  She received many dance competition awards from well-known dance competitions.  Terri graduated Cum Laude from California State University, Fullerton with a BA in Dance and a minor in Business Administration.  Terri was awarded the Robert Christiansen Dance Scholarship and received the Donald R. Henry Award for Academic Excellence in Theatre and Dance.  She auditioned and was chosen to perform in 8 of Cal State Fullerton’s dance theatre productions (every show she auditioned for she was accepted.)  She choreographed and qualified to have staged, several pieces for Cal State Fullerton as well as, local gymnastic demonstration teams.  Terri was a member of Jigsaw Modern Dance Collective for several years until she opened Dance Terrific, with her partner and mother Karen Baker.  As a professional teacher, she has been instructing students for seventeen years.  She has created hundreds of award-winning dance pieces for both recitals and competitions, including Funeral March winner of the prestidged High Gold Award in one of the hardest genre; Ballet.



          Karen Baker,         Director

Karen attended Cal Poly, Pomona majoring in Business Administration.  She is married to her husband Tom, is the mother of two children Jeff and Terri, and is the proud grandmother to granddaughters Samantha and Brooklyn and grandson Jason Baker.  Karen’s business experience includes working for Cal Poly Pomona’s Accounting Department in the Accounts Payable Division, a receptionist for 13 departments of the Deans Office for the School of the Arts, and worked for a major retail corporation in their regional office in the Real Estate Department.  She was a substitute health aide, teacher’s aide for Special Education children, as well as a Girl Scout Leader for more than 5 years.  She was a member of a Demo Team who performed yearly at local area amusement parks, as well as, participated in adult gymnastics. In addition to handling reception, running the studio and front office, she uses her over 30 years of teaching experience to teach classes at Dance Terrific.