Dance Faculty

Howard W Blake High School of the Arts - Dance Faculty

Albena Arnaudova - Dance

Albena Arnaudova is a co-director of the Blake Department of Dance currently teaching Ballet, Dance History, Kinesiology and Dance Aesthetics. She began formal ballet education in her native country Bulgaria. From 1978 until 1981 she continued her training on a full scholarship at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy – Moscow, Russia. She holds a Bachelor Degree in Dance Performance Cum Laude from University of South Florida and Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction Highest Honors from University of Tampa. She is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 7 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.

Mrs. Arnaudova danced professionally with the Bulgarian National Ballet for fifteen years, touring extensively throughout Europe, Asia and North Africa. Her repertory includes roles in most of the classical ballet repertory. In the US she continued her professional career with Dance Project Baroque Company performing at the Connecticut Early Music Festival, Lincoln Center Library in New York, Florida Dance Festival among others. From 1997 - 2004 she was an Adjunct professor at the University of South Florida and artistic director of Tampa Bay Repertory. Since 1996, she has been teaching extensively throughout the Bay area. Some of her students dance professionally with National Ballet of Canada, Alvin Ailey II, Dance Theater of Harlem, Huston, Nashville and Richmond Ballet and attend schools such as School of American Ballet, Boston Conservatory, Fordham University, Julliard, and University of the Arts.

Mrs. Arnaudova is an active member of the Florida Dance Education Organization Board of Directors, Florida Dance Performance Assessment co-chair, Reviewer for Raise to the Top Performing fine Arts Assessment, recipient the Teacher Incentive Grant from the Arts Council in Tampa FL, recognized at Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers and others.

Kelly Rayl - Dance

Kelly Rayl is the Modern Faculty at Howard W. Blake High School for the Arts Dance Department in Tampa, Florida. She has a M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction, B.S. in Chemical Science, a minor in psychology and a B.F.A. in dance performance from the University of South Florida. While attending USF she received numerous talent scholarships and the Bill Hug Choreography. Her choreography has been presented at the Fall Dance Concert at USF in, the American Collage Dance Festival, National High School Dance Festival and New Grounds Concert. She wrote and managed a project called “Natures Beauty as an Expression of Art” which was supported by the Mayors Beautification Grant, CANDO. INC, City of Tampa and the Polk County School Board. Kelly performed the multiculturalism, interdisciplinary, collaborative project “Visions of Peace” at the Theater Dejazet in Paris, France in 2005. She is also a recipient of the Hillsborough teacher incentive grant. Currently she is the RTTT Performing Fine Arts Assessment of Florida, Co-Chair of the Florida Dance Performance Assessment, an active member of the National Dance Education Organization-Florida Chapter, dancing with Moving Current Dance Collective, and enjoying the world of motherhood.