Meet the founder,
Sara Shoals has been helping dancers level up their skills for over 10 years. Through strategical cross training, dance specific strength training, and extensive knowledge in anatomy and exercise science, she has developed programs that help dancers build overall functional strength, become more stable and explosive, improve their flexibility, and achieve their dance goals, safely. Sara earned her Bachelor's in Dance with a Kinesiology minor at Texas Women's University. Upon graduating, she became a certified personal trainer (CPT), a certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS), Performance Enhancement Specialist (PES), Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES), and Exercise Recovery Specialist. She continues to evolve and do amazing things in the dance industry!
My Story
As a late starter in the field, I always struggled with confidence to pursue dance. For as long as I could remember, I always wanted to dance.. During my younger years, living in a single parent household, my mother couldn't afford to put me in dance classes. But that didn't stop me from continuing to purse this passion. I remember following along to Micheal Jackson on youtube... LOL. Along with very vintage ballet class DVDs. And any opportunity that I had to take a class, I absorbed like a sponge. Fast forward to high school, I continued to be self taught. Mainly because I was too embarrassed to go train at a studio. So many girls my age have been training since they were 2, and I didn't feel anywhere close to as good as they were... But, I was fortunate enough to be a part of a great dance program at my high school, where I worked my hardest to improve my skills and became part of the drill team my Senior year. Upon graduating, I knew I had a fire inside me to pursue dance at a professional level. This lead me to begin strength training. I created SOO many exercises that were dance specific to the skills I wanted to achieve. I also began my journey, training intensively in ballet and modern every day of the week for 4-12 hours a day. I became a member of a pre-professional dance company that allowed me to travel all across the United States, taking professional classes from places like Alvin Ailey, Joffery, Broadway Dance Center, Gibney, Hubbard Street, Alonzo King, NYCB, Boston Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and more. During my time in college, I continued to strength train and achieved so much recognition from colleagues, who thought I have been dancing my whole life! I strongly believe that my journey, as a self-taught, late bloomer, has allowed me to now help build dancers from the ground up because I remember what it took me to go from 0. The amount of analyzing, studying, experimenting that I have done through the years has brought me to create Next Level Dance Training. I want to give ALL dancers an opportunity to become more confident and excel in the dance industry.
Trinity Duhon
Assistant Coach
Trinity has a diverse professional background, blending her passion for dance with a strong academic and focus on physical therapy. Starting at age three, she trained with Laura’s Dance Dynamics, excelling as part of the competition team until her freshman year of college. After graduating high school, she pursued a degree in dance at Sam Houston State University earning a minor in dance before switching her major to kinesiology with a focus on clinical exercise science (pre-physical therapy).
Trinity transferred to Texas Woman’s University to complete her undergraduate studies and plans to continue her education in physical therapy school after graduation. She aims to specialize in pediatric physical therapy and eventually open her own practice, working with a range of ages from newborn to college athletes. Alongside her academic endeavors, Trinity has coached dance since the age of 16 and is now a physical therapy technician, demonstrating her dedication to both fields.
Additionally, Trinity’s talent as a dancer was recognized with multiple awards, including four dance competition titles and the prestigious "Dancer of the Year" title at her studio during her senior year.
Outside of her professional work, Trinity enjoys spending time with her family and maintaining her fitness, which aligns with her passion for physical therapy and dance.
