Linda Stancill

Instructor, Owner
Linda@SapphireDance.com

Linda, a Richmond-area native, enjoyed 9 years of ballet as a youth, but knew there would never be a profession in it. Curious about ballroom dancing, she began taking lessons. Soon afterwards she entered and completed a training program for instructors at an independent studio in Richmond, VA, (www.dancemastersstudios.com ) where she feels fortunate to have had access to many different teachers and perspectives early in her dance career. She has been teaching dance (some part-time and some full-time) since 2002, and still can't get enough… especially of Cha Cha (her favorite dance).

Debbi Sheldon Richey

Director, Senior Instructor
Debbi@SapphireDance.com

Debbi is a Blacksburg native who, while away at college, fell in love with social dancing. Not wanting to pick a favorite, Debbi tries to dabble in many kinds of social dance including historic, country and western, international folk, and ballroom.

Debbi has been teaching dance for more than 25 years. She began teaching international folk dance at James Madison University (go Dukes!), where she was Vice President of the JMU Dance Theatre. Her career as a professional dance teacher started when she was drafted as an emergency substitute for a sick two-step instructor. After college, she spent some time teaching with the Southwest Virginia Social Dance Society as well as serving the group as President. Currently, in addition to teaching and learning at Sapphire, she organizes a group called the New River Valley Historic Dancers.

When she's not dancing, Debbi does graphic and web design as well as designs and sews costumes and historic ball gowns.

John Caudill

Instructor
John@SapphireDance.com

John joined Sapphire Ballroom through the Junior Ballroom Classes in 2018.  Since then he has been consuming dances as quickly as they are put in front of him.  His favorites include American Tango and West Coast Swing, but he really loves any dance where he can play with the rhythm and get a good lead/follow conversation going with his partner.

Kaleb McKnight

Instructor
Kaleb@SapphireDance.com

Kaleb has been immersed in dance for most of his life. He began ballroom dance in 2018 and has since fallen in love with the art of ballroom dance. His favorite styles are Fox Trot, Waltz, Swing, and Hustle, and particularly enjoys the musical styles that accompany them. He enjoys finding the rhythm of a song and trying to make his dancing fit in with the music.

Lisa Utz

Instructor
Lisa@SapphireDance.com

Lisa began dancing in 2010 when a simple search for “line dancing near me” led her down a wonderful rabbit hole into social dance. A few years later, she began taking lessons at Sapphire, mostly in Swing, and learning about the coolness of partner connection and communication.  Although she stumbled through her early dance experiences, she conquered the learning curve with the help of many teachers and friends.  Now, she hopes to share the same exciting sense of triumph with her students.