Samantha Simpson first found her love for dance at the age of 3. Throughout the years she has had training in ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, lyrical, contemporary, and pom. At the age of 10, Samantha started dancing competitively with her studio in the Chicago land area. While with her studio, she was part of the national title winning groups for both lyrical and hip hop at Star Quest Nationals. During her years as a competitive dancer, Samantha had the opportunity to attended many dance conventions and be trained by some of the dance world’s most famous choreographers. Some choreographers that had influenced her the most were Michael Schwandt, Sonya Tayeh, Twitch, Tyce Diorio, Kenny Wormald, Lauren Gottleib, and Shane Sparks. She was also invited to perform during the BCS college football bowl game halftime show for two years in a row. During high school, Samantha was part of the varsity dance team all four years and competed with the team at state as well. Samantha previously worked for Universal Dance Association, teaching thousands of high school dance teams technique and dance combinations. Samantha recently graduated college from Eastern Illinois University, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology with a focus in Exercise Science. While attending college she was part of the universities Pink Panther Dance Team performing at football games, basketball games, community events and competing at the college dance team nationals. She was captain of the team her junior and senior year. Samantha is excited to be in Austin and share her love and passion for dance at Greater Austin Dance Academy!