Judges

Rob Healy

Rob Healy, a Boston, MA native, earned his BA in Dance from Dean College. He is the Co-Owner and Founder of Soarin’ Forces Acrobatic Dance Company. Early in his career, Rob performed in numerous professional musical tours and regional theater productions, including A Christmas Story, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, and Guys and Dolls. His positive spirit and passion for teaching make him a highly sought-after instructor and choreographer, dedicated to making a meaningful impact on his students’ lives.

Beyond his accomplishments as a dancer, Rob is widely recognized as a distinguished teacher and choreographer. In 2024, he was honored as the Star Dance Alliance Teacher of the Year. Many of his students have gone on to perform with major league sports dance teams, earn top awards, victory cups, national titles, and prestigious scholarships. Rob is thrilled to return as a judge for the Star Dance Alliance.

Violet Oropeza

Violet Oropeza has been involved in the dance world for over 20 years, as a dancer, teacher, and choreographer. She studied under renowned mentors such as such as Nancy Gell, former soloist of the New York City Ballet, Kelly Dent, former soloist with the Bristol Ballet, Miriam Oropeza, former soloist of Mexican Ballet de Bellas Artes.

Violet Oropeza has refined her craft through the RAD education program. Her extensive training includes the Cuban, Russian, English and Balanchine methodology. Throughout her career, Ms. Oropeza has danced leading roles, including the “Sugar Plum Fairy” in The Nutcracker, the “White Swan” in Swan Lake, and “Carabosse” in Sleeping Beauty, among other notable classical works like Paquita, Peter Pan, and Carmen. Ms. Oropeza is proficient in multiple dance styles leading workshop worldwide in Germany, Czech Republic, Albania, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, France, and Belgium.

Wendy O’Byrne

Wendy began her training with the Robertson’s School of Classical Ballet (Seacoast Ballet Company) under the direction of Colleen and Larry Robertson. Wendy’s interests shifted to musical theatre and she had the privilege of choreographing and performing for Seacoast Repertory Theatre, Palace Theatre, Ogunquit Playhouse, North Shore Music Theatre and several other regional theatre companies. Wendy moved to Boston to continue her dance training and became a member of MAVI Dance, Unyted Stylz, and StreetHYpE. In 2010, Wendy founded Contemporarily Out of Order (COOco), a contemporary company aimed to create performance opportunities for children and adults under a professional setting. Wendy is currently the Director for COOco, Assistant Director of Boston University’s Summer Reach Program, co-Director at Rise Dance Studio, and a choreographer at Seacoast Repertory Theatre. In addition to her studio commitments, Wendy is proud to be a member of the Sambanismo Academy where she is furthering her studies in House dance.