Staff Bios

Corine is the owner of Planet Dance Studio and also the owner of Planet Dance Boutique in Bakersfield.  Her artistic and sales career began in Los Angeles working for clothing designers and later becoming one of their models.  She became a certified instructor for California Aerobics’ Dance Company where she became the top instructor in Aerobics, Kick Boxing, and Step Aerobics in Delano, McFarland, and Richgrove.  She would later become certified under Reebok.  While working a full time job as a medical biller, she attended Bakersfield College studying Child Development all while holding her aerobics’ classes in the evenings.  Her three children Jill, Jacob, and Christine all took dance in Delano, where she also became a preschool ballet instructor.  Corine is married to Dr. Vincent Matera and together they have 5 daughters, 3 sons, 4 grandchildren, and 2 dogs.

Jacob started dancing at the age of six and continued for the next 7 years being the first boy to compete for his local studio.  Jacob has been the tap director since the beginning and currently works with the preschool classes, hip hop classes, and directs the Galaxy Teams.  Recently, he has danced in a hip hop crew for Studio 661 performing and competing.  In 2005 Jacob became a professional hairstylist and has been featured in multiple Fashion and Bridal publications and blogs nationally and internationally.  He has been on set for multiple music videos and was key hairstylist for the independent film “Daemon 9.”   Jacob’s most recent can be found on the cover of “Trendy Bride” magazine. Spring 2015, he participated in LA Fashion Week for multiple Fashion Designers including Christina Milian and Aden Marq.

Jill has been dancing for 32 years taking classes and competing locally and collegiately in pointe ballet, ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, and modern/contemporary.  She was also a cheerleader for 7 years in high school and in college.  Jill coached the SJSU Cheer Squad and later became the head coach for a high school in San Jose where they became National Champions.  She is a ballet, hip hop, and jazz instructor for Planet Dance as well as a choreographer for the competition teams.  Jill is an alumnus of San Jose State University where she received her Master’s Degree in Counselor Education and Bachelor Degrees in Psychology and Dance.  She later returned to school and received a second Masters and credential in Educational Administration.  Currently, Jill is a K-12 counselor for at risk youth working for KCSOS at the court and community schools.  Jill lives in Bakersfield with her husband DJ and two children, Derek and Drake.

Veronica has been a part of Planet Dance for 10 years. She’s performed in 8 recitals doing tap, jazz and hip hop routines. She has taught preschool ballet for past 6 and is in her 4th year teaching level 1 ballet. She also currently teacher assists ballet, hip hop and jazz classes.  Her daughter Isabella dances for Planet Dance taking jazz, hip hop, and ballet. Isabella represents the studio as a member of Galaxy, the studios competition dance team.   Veronica loves the art of dance and is excited to share her passion with the kids.  Veronica uses her experience as a former kindergarten teacher to engage the kids in a fun, structured environment where they learn the beginning fundamentals of dance.  Veronica lives in Shafter with her husband Danny and two children, Isabella and Ian.

Vickie has been dancing for over 25 years training in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical, and hip hop. She has been a part of professional dance crews in Southern California such as Kaba Modern, Funkanometry, and Mavyn. With these groups she was able to share the stage with performers like Jabbawockeez and Black Eyed Peas, and work for companies like Nike and the Bravo Channel.  Vickie also worked at Disneyland for 4 years. There she was a dancer in the Disney parades and stage shows. Now, Vickie’s focus is on teaching and running her own studio. She’s been a teacher/choreographer for Planet Dance for 12 years and now owns and operates Studio 661: Dance and Music school in Delano for 6 years with her fiancé James Rowley.

Choreographer: Christine is a classically trained tap, jazz, and ballet dancer with experience ranging from studio work to theatre and film. She was an American Dance Idol Finalist, a dancer in the film American Son starting Nick Cannon, and a Bakersfield JAM Dance Team Member for the NBA Development League. Christine’s studies continued throughout the state of California to include fitness, salsa, hip hop, cheer, and break dancing in the early 2000’s. During that time, Christine began teaching private dance lessons to the youth in her community and has continued instructing students ages 3 and up for the past 11 years. Her work experience evolved to include choreography for events, pageants and multi-disciplinary dance instruction in that time. She was the lead instructor for several after school programs throughout the Bakersfield area, participated in the development of her family’s dance company, Planet Dance, in Wasco, CA and was positioned as their Ballet and Jazz Director for the past 5 years.
Staff Bios