Faculty

Vanessa is a native Houstonian and began her study of dance at the age of 3 with Emmamae Horn in Houston, Texas.  She was auditioned and selected to join the Allegro Ballet company at the age of 11, and traveled abroad to Poland, Scotland, England, and Austria as a soloist.  Vanessa attended the University of Oklahoma on a dance scholarship.  She studied at San Francisco School of Ballet, The Joffrey Summer Workshops and with many outstanding master teachers.  She is the Director of Allegro Academy of Dance and Allegro Ballet, and has been on staff at Allegro Academy of Dance since 1982.  She worked side by side on many projects with her mother, Glenda Brown, including the Glenda Brown Choreography Project from 2001-2021, until her passing in 2021. She taught dance at Village School for 22 years, and several other schools in Houston.  She coordinated the first Regional Dance America National Festival held in Houston, in 1997, and was on faculty for the RDA/SW Festival in 2001.  She also serves as Director of Stars of Tomorrow International. 

Vanessa is honored to carry on the legacy left by Emmamae Horn, Peggy Girouard, and Glenda Brown.

​​​​​Carla was born in Mexico City and was trained in ballet in the Royal Acadey  of Dance (RAD) system. She studied under Jennifer Johnson, Andrea Andraca, Carlos Lopez, and Sergio Vicenzio, among others. Mrs. Capetillo presented RAD examinations to the Advanced level, and she attended several summer programs in Toronto, Canada, and Mexico City. She danced semi-professionally with the Ballet San Angel Inn in Mexico City. She started as a teacher assistant to Mrs. Andraca who trained her as a teacher for many years, and was teaching her first RAD group for examinations at the age of 19. She is currently a Teacher with Registered Status for the RAD, as well as a Mentor and the Practical Training Supervisor for the Southwest for the Teaching Certification Program of the RAD. Mrs. Capetillo received her Bachelor’s Degree in Pedagogy from the Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City. She has teaching experience of over 25 years. She developed a Creative Movement program for a school in Mexico that she has been updating and implementing in several studios, which works as a basis for the RAD Pre-primary level. Mrs. Capetillo moved to Houston in 1995 with her husband and three sons and has been teaching in studios around Houston since 2000. She is also a certified Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) teacher. This is Carla’s 24th year at Allegro.

Lyndsay Lunsmann Del Rio has studied dance over 30 years. She studied primarily at Abbott’s

Performing Arts Center in Houston for 16 years, under Paula Abbott and Kristen Belknap Vickers

and was apart of the teaching staff for 5 years. Lyndsay also studied at Cypress Academy for 8

years. Lyndsay was an 11 year member of the Abbott’s Competitive dance team and was

awarded Miss Starbound 2004 & 2005 and was awarded “Future Star Award” and was featured

in Dance Spirit Magazine. She attended the High School and Performing and Visual Arts in

Houston for 2 years where she studied dance and then graduated from Cypress Falls High

School. In high school, Lyndsay performed in 3 musical performances at Theater Under the

Stars (TUTS) between 2003-2005 including Brigadoon, A Chorus Line, and Singin’ In the Rain.

After high school in 2005, she worked for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines as an entertainer/dancer.

Then, she attended Sam Houston State University, graduated with honors in December 2009

with a BFA in Dance. While at SHSU, she received the prestigious Mary Ella Montague

Scholarship for outstanding dance major. After college, Lyndsay performed with a modern/

contemporary fire infusion dance company called ChinaCat Productions for 3-4 years. Since

2010 to present, Lyndsay has taught dance all around Houston and has choreographed many

competitive routines. In February 2023, Lyndsay had a baby girl named Kenley and can’t wait

for her daughter to be introduced into the dance world.

Cammie Aven is an alumni of the College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University,
graduating with a BFA in musical theatre with a dance emphasis. She has trained and performed in the greater Houston, New York, and Chicago for the past 19 years, and is excited to continue to share her passion in the city where it began. She specializes in choreographing and teaching ballet, tap, and musical theatre. Cammie is very excited to be a part of the Allegro Ballet family, and continue her passion in the community she grew up in.

Otilia Gonzales was born in Cuba and began her dance training at an early age. She has danced professionally at The Opera Theater Company Rodrigo Prats as well as Ballet De Camara De Holguin in Cuba where she performed a vast repertoire. She founded Otiberodance in Cuba where she was Artistic Director and Choreographer from 2006-2012. After a move to Ecuador, she founded Varietes Ballet Academy in Quito where she taught classical ballet and pointe.

After moving to Houston, she began teaching at InTempo Dance in Katy. She now joins the Allegro family.

Glenda began her dance training in Beaumont, Texas where she was a Melody Maid.  She was on faculty at the Emmamae Horn School in Houston.   She was Co-Artistic Director of Allegro Ballet of Houston and Allegro Academy of Dance.  Ms. Brown was a founder and director emeritus of Regional Dance America.  She served as president of Regional Dance America/Southwest from 1981-2001.  Prior to RDA, she served on the National Board for National Association for RDA and was elected national president of RDA 1995-2000 and coordinated the first Regional Dance America National Festival held in Houston Texas in 1997.  She was coordinator for RDA/SW.  She directed the RDA National Craft of Choreography Conference from 1987-2001, and founded The Glenda Brown Choreography Project in 2001.  She has served on the dance panel for the Cultural Arts Council of Houston and the Texas Commission on the Arts.  She has served on the Advisory Board of Dance Teacher magazine, The Austrian Alps International Arts Festival, and was also Director of Stars of Tomorrow.   

Miss Glenda left this earthly stage in April 2021 

to dance in heaven with the other angels.