Grace. Dedication. Love.
Our Creed
Dance class is a privilege, not an expectation.
I am thankful to my parents, I am grateful to my teachers.
Every time I come to class, I try to be the best that I can be.
I do not compare myself to others, or cause others to feel inferior.
I will encourage, respect and inspire my fellow classmates.
I am made in the image of God and my body was create just right.
I will never stop dreaming, believing or achieving my goals.
I am a dancer; watch me soar!
Our Team
Petit Allegro is bringing the excitement of dance to homeschoolers in southeast Michigan!
We offer Ballet, Pointe, Praise, Jazz & Preschool classes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays in Canton, MI.
Classes begin in September, run throughout the school year and commence with a recital in the spring.
Our annual recital is a professional level production.
Our History
Before Petit Allegro LLC, we were formally known as Palaestra Dance Team. Our dance program first began in 2007 at Palaestra, Inc. which is a non-profit group which meets weekly at His Church Anglican in Livonia, Michigan. Homeschoolers ranging from K-12th grade gather to participate with other homeschooled children in extra curricular classes like art, foreign language, music and science.
Click here to learn more about Palaestra Inc.
By 2017, our dance program had outgrown the space at the church, so moved to an off-campus location at a nearby dance studio. Our team now rents space inside of Elite Dance Force studio in Canton.
In January of 2021, Petit Allegro LLC commenced; giving our dance program a larger capacity to meet the demands of an expanding schedule and growing student body. We are still very close with Palaestra, Inc. and treasure our ongoing friendship and support for one another.
Community Outreach
Each Fall semester, our team partners with Heart 2 Hart Detroit to provide food, clothing, hygiene products, and helpful information to Detroit’s homeless and needy population. Our goal each season is to match the number of Blessings Bags to the number of students we have that year. Click here to learn more.
Our dance team has also held community dance performances at local nursing homes and hospice care centers to share the beauty of dance with our senior citizens and their families.
Founder & Director
Christina Kilpatrick
Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Praise, Preschool
Miss Christina has been training in Ballet, Pointe, Jazz and Praise dance for over twenty years. She is the founder and Artistic Director of Petit Allegro LLC (formally Palaestra Dance Team) and has been leading the program since 2007. Christina is a STOTT Pilates certified instructor and a certified Personal Trainer through The National Academy of Sports Medicine.
She was also the director of choreography several times for summer musicals through Oakland Homeschool Music. Her favorite musicals to choreograph were Mary Poppins, Fiddler on the Roof and Annie. Christina first began teaching praise dance classes at her church at age thirteen and has been teaching nonstop ever since! She directed the Earth to Eternity praise dance ensemble for six years and then went on to become a company member of a Grace Dance Ensemble. Before she launched Petit Allegro, she taught at several studios and gyms including Piazza Dance Company, Pulse Fitness and Balance Pilates Studio. In 2022, she took on a new role as Mama to a sweet baby girl, L.
Christina LOVES teaching dance!
"Growing up, I switched dance studios a lot. One place didn't focus on good technique, one had mean girls and one had costumes that were too revealing. Being homeschooled myself, I never felt like I belonged at any studio because I was always the new kid. When I started Petit Allegro, I knew exactly the kind of program I wanted to create: a warm and non-competitive atmosphere for dancers to learn solid technique alongside encouraging classmates. I am so proud of this company and my desire is to help each student achieve their best!"
Petit Allegro Instructors
Grace French
Grace French was raised in Michigan and has been studying the art and sport of dance for over 22 years. She attended the University of Michigan where she studied dance and business and graduated with a Bachelor's of Business Administration. Her training includes ballet, pointe, modern, contemporary, lyrical, composition, and improvisation. Grace has over 13 years of experience choreographing for professional dance companies and students across the state, including pieces that were accepted into the Michigan Youth Arts Festival, and multiple pieces performed at the Power Center in Ann Arbor. Grace has been teaching dance since 2012, and before that was a teacher’s assistant at her studio. Her background is rooted in classical ballet, studying with the American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet, and the Rock School for Dance Education. As the founder of the 501(c)3 non-profit The Army of Survivors, Grace is a globally recognized advocate, consultant, and speaker for athlete rights and trauma-informed coaching. She serves as an Advisory Board member for International Safe Sport, International Safeguards for Children in Sport, and has served on expert advisory committees for the International Olympic Committee, FIFA, and Apple Inc. Grace is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.
Ballet, PrePointe, Pointe
Alicia Pomponio
Ballet, Lyrical Praise
Alicia Pomponio has been training in ballet, pointe, contemporary, modern, and worship dance (lyrical praise) for over 10 years. She studied at Northville Ballet Theatre for the majority of her training, but her love for dance started when she trained with Miss Christina as a student in middle school at Palaestra Inc.! She has also trained at Christina’s Adult ballet, Eisenhower Dance Company and Wayne State University. Alicia loves to perform anywhere she has the opportunity, whether that’s church services, music videos, or in other productions such as Choreographer’s Showcase, American Ballet Theatre, Project dance, or Company One at Wayne State University. She loves to teach ballet and pointe technique and has a passion for teaching contemporary and lyrical. Alicia is also trained in STOTT Pilates.
What Alicia loves most about teaching is watching dancers learn new ways to move and perform. She strives always to help the dancers fall in love with dancing and excel in their own unique way because each dancer is beautiful and wonderfully gifted to share God’s gift of dance!
AnnaMaria Hart
AnnaMaria Hart (Miss Anna) began her dance training in NJ where she built a strong foundation in classical ballet, tap and jazz. She participated in ballet and tap syllabus exams and danced in a full length Nutcracker every year. In NYC she danced at Broadway Dance Center, Steps on Broadway, and she studied modern dance in the Professional Studies Program at the Limon Institute. As a professional dancer, AnnaMaria traveled the world performing on numerous cruise ships. She was also in the tap dancing hit, 42nd Street, on Broadway, in Moscow, Russia. Some of her favorite musical theater credits include West Side Story, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Guys and Dolls.
Miss Anna loves teaching and choreographing. She has taught in many studios and has judged dance competitions across the US. She is also a classical pilates instructor, personal trainer, TRX instructor and certified health coach.
Ballet, Jazz, Preschool
Lisa Cousino
Office Manager
Lisa is a homeschooling mama of 3, who loves to use the phrase "chaos coordinator." She loves meeting new people and is an avid reader. Her daughter has been attending Petit Allegro since she was 3 and is in love with dance! Lisa came on staff as office manager in 2022 while Miss Christina was away on maternity leave and the team is incredibly grateful to have Lisa with us. She is helpful, friendly and organized and is such a blessing to our company.
"Petit Allegro has been hands down the best studio for loving environment, friendly teachers and parents as well as being supportive of all the dancers in general."