Rachel Wade, Director

Rachel Wade is the Director of the Arlington Heights High School Dance Department and hails form Denton, Tx. Upon receiving her B.F.A. from Texas Christian University's School for Classical and Contemporary Dance, Mrs. Wade went on to become the  Co - Assistant Director of Denton City Contemporary Ballet before coming to Heights in 2011. Mrs. Wade has danced professionally with Muscle Memory Dance Theater, Epiphany DanceArts, CholoRock Dance Collective and Impulse Dance Project. She has also had the opportunity to be a Rehearsal Assistant for the TCU School for Classical and Contemporary Dance. Passionate about advocating for dance in the Metroplex, Mrs. Wade is a founding member of Further Dance Fort Worth, an organization committed to growing the dance community in Fort Worth. Mrs. Wade is the recipient of the Bates Dance Festival Teacher Fellowship Scholarship and the Dance Council of North Texas' Glenda Brown Choreography Scholarship. 

Emma Beavers, Assistant Director

Emma Beavers received her Masters of Arts in Teaching Dance from Texas Woman’s University (TWU). At TWU, Emma researched and created a curriculum that weaves together bullying prevention strategies with dance. Emma received the largest transfer scholarship Texas Christian University (TCU) offers and graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in Sociology and a minor in Movement Science. Before attending TCU, Emma studied Ballet, Modern and Jazz at Kilgore College. While studying dance Emma was also a Kilgore College Rangerette. During her tenure with the organization, she successfully auditioned to be one of the organizations elite performers (a Swingster) and was elected to serve as an officer. Following her time at Kilgore College, Emma began working for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (DCC). During her tenure with the DCC, Emma performed around the world traveling to countless cities in the United States, London, Mexico and Canada. In her second and third season she began to lead rehearsals, teach and represent the organization as a model and ambassador. Emma performed on several USO tours (traveling to Korea, Japan, Guam and Hawaii), television shows (including Making the Team, Good Morning Texas, Big D NYE, Access Hollywood, Kris, E, HOY, and NFL Network) and she performed with various vocal artists (including Kenny Chesney, Blake Shelton, Pit Bull, Neal McCoy and the country music duo Big and Rich). Emma is passionate about dance education and feels that it is one of the greatest ways to enrich the lives of students who attend public schools.

Jackie Millan, Assistant Director

Jackie Millan began her dance training at a young age in Fort Worth, TX. She graduated Magna cum laude with her BA in Dance from Hunter College in New York City with department honors in dance and an academic scholarship. While at Hunter she had the opportunity to work with artist such as Vicky Shick, Kendra Portier, Jennifer Nugent, and more.  She also interned with Parsons Dance during her time at college. After graduating, she danced with MWest & Company and Bolly Dhamaal Dance in New York. Since returning to Texas, she has danced with imPULSE Dance Project, Cholorock Dance Collective, and has presented work as an independent artist. Mrs. Millan has taught dance in New York, New Jersey, and Texas. She is currently the Assistant Director of Dance at Arlington Heights High School, Director of Dance at Monnig Middle School, and on the dance faculty at Texas Dance Conservatory. She is also a certified im=X Pilates instructor. She completed National Dance Institute’s Teaching Artist Training and has continued to develop as a dance educator through workshops with Associated Dance Teachers of New Jersey.  Mrs. Millan is the recipient of the Bates Dance Festival Teacher Fellowship Scholarship. She also received a scholarship from Dance Council of North Texas to attend Dance Teacher Summit in NYC in recognition of her contributions as a teacher in the dance community. She is committed to sharing her love of dance with her students and to continue growing as a dance educator.