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About Us
Who Are We?
CDI is a dance studio located in Encinitas that specializes in classical dance training for all ages. We believe it is important to cultivate a learning environment that is healthy, all-inclusive, welcoming, and fun! We push our dancers to be the best they can be by providing constructive feedback in a positive manner.
What Sets Us Apart?
Well, many things! One is that we don’t compete. Competition is great for many studios, but we would rather focus on instilling the LOVE for the ART of dance in our students, rather than promoting competitiveness and perfectionism. But don’t worry! Your student will get to show their skills at our end-of-year recital.
We also tend to have smaller class sizes, so your student will have a better chance of getting one-on-one attention and a bigger opportunity to grow!
Another aspect that sets us apart is that we make sure only to play appropriate music, teach appropriate dance moves, and choose appropriate costumes based upon your child’s age. We don’t believe in bringing attention to our students’ bodies in a sexualizing or provocative manner at any age. And we don’t encourage listening or dancing to suggestive music containing curse words or questionable lyrics. We pride ourselves on creating family-friendly performances, full of great talent that everyone can enjoy! In other words, you won't be embarrassed to invite Grandma and Grandpa to your child's performance.
What Styles Do We Offer?
We offer classes for all ages in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical, musical theater, hip hop, and acro! Complete with genre-specific technique training, and general flexibility building and strengthening.
Check out our weekly class schedule on our "classes" page.
Recitals and Conventions
We put on end-of-year recitals! We love showing our friends and families what we've been working on all year in a production setting on the big stage. These recitals are celebrations of the students' hard work and passion, and are always open to the public.
We also attend annual dance conventions to provide our dancers with more tools to grow!
Meet Our Instructors
Linda Wilkerson
Linda Wilkerson
Linda Wilkerson
Owner & Director
Ballet I-III, Tap III, Combo Classes
Linda Wilkerson, "Miss Linda", started dancing at the age of 10, and at the age of 14 received a scholarship to attend the American School of Dance in Hollywood. She trained under the direction of Eugene Loring and took master classes from Robert Joffrey, Marcel Marceau, and many others—the same classes as Juliet Prowse, Mary Tyler Moore, and George Chakiris, just to name a few. She went on to own, direct, and teach at Village School of Dance in Los Angeles County for 18 years. VSD won multiple awards, having placed in many competitions at the national level and attended dance conventions in LA, Orange County, New York, and Las Vegas. In 1991, she sold her studio and moved to San Diego where she has owned, directed, and taught at CDI for the last 28 years.
"It brings me great pleasure to give your child the gift of dance and to make this an experience that they will be able to enjoy for many years. Dancing not only builds their bodies physically but mentally and emotionally as well. Now is the time to build our children’s self-esteem and to give them the confidence that we all need in life. A positive environment can only help build that confidence".
Meghan McDowell
Linda Wilkerson
Linda Wilkerson
Hip-Hop II, Musical Theater, Jazz III, Acro
Meghan McDowell started dancing at the age of three and has been a student at CDI since she was eight years old. She was a member of Coastal Academy High School's dance team in her junior year and is currently a contractor choreographer for them, having won multiple awards for "Outstanding Choreography" across various regional competitions. She has also taught private dance lessons as a side business. In 2023 Meghan graduated from MCC with a double Associates in Dance and Liberal Arts, and she is currently in her senior year at UCSD where she will graduate with a B.A. in Dance. One of her greatest joys is being a leader to others so she is beyond excited to be teaching at CDI!
Julia Bender
Linda Wilkerson
Julia Bender
Adult Ballet/Jazz
Julia is a graduate from California Baptist University. She received her Bachelor's of Science in Kinesiology with a concentration in Sports Medicine and is currently working as an exercise specialist at a physical therapy clinic. She started dancing for Miss Linda when she was just 3 years old! Julia has been dancing for 18 years and loves being able to still perform and teach for fun! As an avid athlete and fitness enthusiast, she loves finding different ways to stay in shape and dance is one of her favorite ways to do that.
Ella Siplyak
Katie Fairbanks
Julia Bender
Lyrical I & II
Ella Siplyak has been dancing with Carlsbad Dance Images for six years. She recently graduated San Dieguito Academy High School and is pursuing a career in dance and choreography at MiraCosta College. Her choreography can be seen in CDI end-of-year recitals as far back as 2021. Ella loves to perform and create different pieces, so she is beyond excited to continue teaching her students at CDI!
Katie Fairbanks
Katie Fairbanks
Katie Fairbanks
Hip-Hop I
Katie Fairbanks is a senior at Carlsbad High School and has been dancing at CDI from the age of six. She plans to pursue a degree in dance as she heads off to college next fall. She has enjoyed choreographing for CDI recitals for the past three years. Katie loves working with children and is excited to share her love of dance with them!