Our Mission
Our Mission is to provide professional dance instruction and instill an appreciation for the art. EDP’s goal is to inspire self-confidence, discipline and respect of the performing arts. We want to provide a solid technical foundation for the developing dancer by advocating the study of Classical Ballet as a foundation to instill an awareness of poise, alignment and technique. Our goal is to give each individual dancer the tools they need to take dance as far as they dream to take it. We believe if you can dream it, you can achieve it! Our instructors will be skilled at identifying the specific needs of each student. We believe in an enriching education, and we recognize that every student has something to offer the arts and the arts has something to every student.
We appreciate that the heart of a dancer is born into many different bodies and the love of dance can take on many different styles. We will develop well-prepared dancers, should they choose to pursue the arts professionally or are college bound. Once a dancer always a dancer.
We will urge each student to strive daily for their personal best, as well as to support one another in fostering a sense of teamwork in the classroom. Dance education contributes to the development of responsible, dedicated, determined, and creative young adults in our society.
Meet the Team
Saydi Sigler, Director and Founder
Saydi has been dancing since the age of 3 years after she first fell in love with watching the Nutcracker Ballet live at the age of 2. She is passionate about dance and has always been committed to the art. Throughout her highs school years, she had no problems missing football games or parties just so she could attend dance class and continue to train. She attended every opportunity she had to attend conventions and learn from different choreographers. Saydi commenced competitive dance at the age of 9 and has won several awards and multiple titles throughout her dance career until the age of 18. She attended Somerset Arts Conservatory for high school, and this is when she was a Varsity “Pantherette“ in the dance team lead by Stacey Swogger and during college she was in the Nova University dance team. Saydi also had the opportunity to be on the FIU dance team.
Saydi has choreographed dance teams groups dances for middle school dance teams and has also choreographed solos and duets. Saydi provides private training for dancers of different levels and ages. Saydi auditioned for the Miami Heat dancers and made it up to bootcamp where she was in the top 30 out of 300 dancers.
Saydi is confident that she can effectively lead classes, coach students and work with parents which will rapidly acquire new clients. Saydi not only plans to teach classes herself but is planning to hire highly qualified professionals to help teach and join forces together with her mother to assist with the day-to-day operations including marketing, scheduling and fee collection. Since Saydi has gathered a positive reputation as a role model for dance students of all ages, she is ready to open her own dance studio, Essence Dance Project.
Ava Sigler, Assistant Director
Ava is Saydi’s younger sister. Ava also dances and started at the age of 3. Ava has just graduated from high school and is still dancing competitively as a Senior. Ava will participate and join the family business by assisting with choreography when she is able to or in town as she will be attending college in Tallahassee starting this August. Ava has been a competitive dancer since the age of 7 and her passion and favorite style of dance is Contemporary.
Myriam Garcia, Manager, Co-Founder
Saydi’s mother, Myriam also known as “Mimi”, is a Property Manager for high end condominiums for 26 years and has been a dance mom supporting her daughters dance career for over 17 years. Throughout those 17 years there have been good and bad experiences which is why she is ready to use her dance mom experience and help form Essence Dance Project to ensure that young dancers are in a positive and safe environment. Providing a safe space for all children wanting to learn the art of dance is Myriam’s goal. Since the dance studio turns into a family it is imperative that parents are also positive and supportive to one another. Bullying in any shape or form will not be tolerated. Myriam will focus on providing dance training in a safe, high-quality studio environment with a strong family atmosphere. In addition to using her dance mom skills, she will be using her experience as a Property Manager to manage the business aspect and assist her daughters.
Dance is in our DNA
The Vedettes & The Dolly Sisters
It started out with my great grandmother, Anita Vazquez, was a famous Vedette (dancer, singer, actress) in Cuba. She was known for dancing Rumba on ballet pointe and for her afro-Cuban acrobatic dances. Her talent and beauty took her all over Latin America and the US which pioneered the path for her daughter, mother, sisters and brothers to leave Cuba and land in Miami in 1959. She helped her sisters join in on the dance journey and they, too, became famous as the Dolly Sisters (twins). They also had fame as one of the twins married Chucho Navarro of The Trios Panchos.
Anita was a single mother in exile and had to start all over again. She was a photographer at Los Violines in Miami and at various publications plus was a dance studio owner and ballet teacher. After the sudden death of her grandson, she gave it all up and became a devout grandmother teaching my mother and her sisters the beauty of Miami through her eyes taking us everywhere she went. Her fierce, unconditional love mixed with her zest for life are what we carry with us and now with me and my journey as a dancer/dance studio owner and human being. She showed us to never give up, have faith, live boldly, be creative, find your own rhythm in life, be a dedicated family member and love every second as if it were your last. She is most likely dancing in heaven entertaining. Thank you, Avi, your memory lives like a flame in our hearts and your legacy will live on through me and the Essence Dance Project. (EDP).