Nicole Robinson

Co-Director

Nicole Robinson is a dancer, teacher, choreographer and dance education advocate from Riverside, CA.  She is a graduate from California State University, San Bernardino with a degree in Kinesiology.  She holds a Master of Arts in Dance Education from California State University, Long Beach.   

Nicole is a strong advocate for providing dance education opportunities to under served populations.  She has dedicated her time in education to providing high quality dance training at no cost.  Nicole began the A. B. Miller Dance Program in 1995 and established the A. B. Miller Conservatory of Dance in 2011. Under her direction, the A. B. Miller High School dance program has received numerous grants and support in its mission to increase diversity in dance.  She is the dance specialist for the Fontana Unified School district leading professional development projects and workshops for teachers grades K-6 and is the lead teacher for the FUSD Dance Collaborative which provides dance education for students in grades PK-8 grades.   In 2015, she was named California League of Teachers' Teacher of the Year for Region 10 and was named the 2017 Carlston Family Foundation Teacher of the Year.   

She has served as a team lead for the California Standards Revision Committee in Dance and is a teacher leader for the California Arts Project.  Currently, Nicole is the past president for the California Dance Education Association which is the state wide professional organization for California dance educators and serves on the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee for the National Dance Education Organization.

Aisha Bardge Tanner

Conservatory Contemporary FAculty

Aisha Bardge Tanner is passionate about ALL things dance as she is an active performer, dance-maker, and educator. She is a powerful and soulful mover who utilizes her blended training and practices to radiate light and magic when dancing. She creates dances that make the audience want to get up and join the celebration of movement. She curates space with curiosity and joy through dance for students of any age.

She began her dance training in multiple genres at A.B Miller High School Dance in 2010. After graduating in 2012, she continued her training at Riverside City College where she received her AA in Fine & Applied Arts. Aisha holds a BFA in Dance from CSU Long Beach and a Single Subject teaching credential in Dance from CSU East Bay.

Aisha is the other half of improvisation dance duo, Stephen&Aisha. Over the last decade, they have performed in various spaces in Southern California and Phoenix, AZ. 

Their work centers around themes of joy, celebration of movement, and storytelling. They have different movement backgrounds and it’s clear to see their differences in approach to movement, but when they combine their artistry, it is a beautiful exchange of energy and power. The duo provides a unique blend of insight and entertainment as their work reflects their lives as a black couple.

As community leaders, they host a bi-monthly freestyle session and an event called WE DANCE: open mic for dancers, to create more opportunities for dancers to connect/perform/share.

Aisha is also a principal dancer for Tropicaleiza, a dance and drum company led by Julie Simon. Since 2021, Aisha has immersed herself in this company to impart their mission to “empower women through dancing, drumming, and compelling storytelling”.

Currently, she is a dance teaching artist for the Dance Collaborative, a Fontana Unified School District program led by Nicole Robinson which provides dance education for students in grades PK- 8th grade and serves as the AB Miller Conservatory of Dance Contemporary teacher.  

Anthony Loa

conservatory Jazz faculty, Performance director & Assistant director of Dance

Anthony Loa has been a faculty member for AB Miller High School Dance since 2002. Anthony began his dance training at Riverside Community College, Defore Dance Center and finishing up obtaining a BA in Dance/Choreography from University of California, Riverside. He has danced and choreographed for numerous formal dance concerts and musical theater productions. He currently teaches at Village Dance Arts and is a certified Zumba instructor at various fitness locations in the Inland Empire.

Angelika Lopez

Conservatory Hip hop faculty

Angelika Lopez was born and raised in Southern California she began her dance training at Laura's Dance Academy in ballet, tap and jazz. Angelika was the first graduating class of the A. B. Miller Conservatory of Dance where she furthered her training in jazz, ballet, modern and composition. At the age of sixteen, Angelika founded her own dance company called Breed International Dance Company. Breed performs at private parties, covers all of the Inland Empire, Orange County and Los Angeles areas. As artistic director of Breed, she focuses some of her company’s time on volunteer entertainment performances for different charities and local city events. Angelika was a principal dancer for hip hop based Elev8 crew for two years. She furthered her dance training at the University of California Irvine. She is a graduate of CSU San Bernardino with a degree in Kinesiology. Angelika is currently a guest artist and choreographer at multiple school sites and studios covering the Inland Empire and Los Angeles areas and is working on receiving her Master’s degree and teaching credential at University of La Verne.

Aisha Stewart, intern

Aisha Stewart was born in Harbor City, California and raised in Fontana, California. She began her dance training at the age of 5 with ballet and tap at Terpsichore Gallery Dance Studio and at 9 years old, she pursued hip hop at Shula's Dance House. It was not until her sophomore year of high school that she found dance again. She went on to become a part of the A.B Miller Conservatory Program of Dance for her junior and senior year. Passionate about dance, she decided to continue her training at Riverside City College where she is currently a dance major. She is a former member of the ENVY Dance Company and currently dances with the Riverside based Retrograde Dance company. In the future, Aisha hopes to open a dance studio and teach kids.