Virtual Guest Coaching

Angela Futato is the Varsity Spirit Dance State Director for the Southeast Region. She is also a dance music editor for Sounds Like That and the UDA Summer Camp music editor. She is a former Lindenwood University Lion Line dancer and a two-time national hip hop champion from St. Louis, Missouri. She was a coach for The St. Dominic Crusaderettes in O'Fallon, Missouri for 3 years and later moved to Orlando, Florida to pursue dance performance with Hardrive Productions. Angela became the Dance Director and Head Coach of the nationally-ranked Mane Attraction Dance Team at Oviedo High School for 6 years. She has been an instructor and choreographer for the Universal Dance Association for 9 years and has taught both nationally and internationally. She has taught and choreographed for nationally ranked college and high school dance teams throughout the country and has judged at regional, national, and international championships.

Brittani Richards is in her fourth season as the Head Coach of the University of North Texas Dancers. She previously coached at Florida State University, where she was the head dance coach for the Golden Girls Dance Team from 2014-2017. She is the Varsity Dance State Director for Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico for NDA and UDA.

Brittani has served as an instructor for NDA, and a former accredited national judge for both NDA and UDA. She has danced professionally for the Dallas Cowboys Rhythm and Blue Dancers, and has over 10 years of post-collegiate dance and coaching experience. A native of South Florida, she now resides in the DFW area with her husband.

Nicole has over 25 years of dance and competitive dance team experience. She is nationally known for her choreography and coaching ability. Nicole was a scholarship dancer at Jimmie Defores Dance Center in Costa Mesa, and a member of the Tremaine’s Dance Company in Los Angeles with Marguerite Derricks. Nicole is a graduate of UCLA and a former UCLA Bruin dance team member. She was also a former instructor and Program Director for the United Spirit Association (USA) for 10 years, and continues to be a head judge for high school, collegiate, and all-star National competitions. Nicole danced two seasons for the Disney California Angels performing at Anaheim Angels home baseball games. Her credits also include production and choreography for the American Bowl in Mexico City with Ricky Martin, the Paris and Austria NFL Tours, the Pro Bowl in Hawaii, and numerous pre-game and half-time shows for NFL, NBA and College teams. Nicole has choreographed for numerous NFL, NBA, WNBA, CFL, and Arena Football Pro-dance teams including the Laker Girls, San Diego Charger Girls, San Francisco 49er Gold Rush, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings Fast Break, Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, and New England Patriots to name a few. Nicole was a featured choreographer at the Pro-Dance Convention for NFL and NBA dance teams for several years. She has coached several nationally ranked college and high school dance teams, and has been featured in many LA dance projects and national commercials. She has been teaching dance and coaching students for years, and her teams have won numerous national titles, 7 consecutive USA Spirit National Championship titles, USA Dance National title, NDA National Championship title and UDA National Dance Team Championship title in Orlando, Florida. Other awards include Innovative Choreography, Superior Showmanship, Grand Champion, and Technical Excellence. She was name “Coach of the Year” at the California State Championship in 2014 & 2016. Nicole was the Dance Director/Head Dance Coach of the Santa Margarita High School Pom team for 8 years and created their Jr. Eagle mentorship program as well. Nicole is currently the Dance State Director in the west region for Varsity Spirit where she oversees and manages their three dance brands - USA, UDA, and NDA. When not at a Varsity dance event, you can find Nicole at a dance convention or competition with her studio, Pave School of the Arts, where she teaches dance multiple times a week and coaches teams in their competition program. Nicole has a passion for training dancers to be at their personal and team best, and she loves sharing her experience and knowledge with her students. Nicole lives in San Juan Capistrano with her husband and three kids.

Stephanie grew up dancing at the age of 2 in Chicago, Illinois. Stephanie was honored to be part of the Gus Giordano Junior Competitive Company growing up. As a competitive young dancer, she was inaugurated into the Hall of Fame and has won numerous overalls as a soloist, duet and company team member. Through her competitive upbringing, she also won several scholarships at conventions touring the area. She was trained by great members of the Chicago Dance Community including, Lizzie MacKenzie, Nick Pupillo, Jayde Howard, Penny Knox and Fury Gold. Stephanie has also had the opportunity to assist several master teachers, including her favorite, Stacy Paydo at local conventions.

She is a former dancer, captain and coach for the University of Illinois Illini Dance team. Stephanie has choreographed and consulted for several high school and college competitive dance teams, including both national and world champions.

Some of Stephanie’s larger accomplishments include performing live on the MDA telethon featuring Jerry Lewis. Stephanie was honored to be a choreographer for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade 2013 and 2014 and London New Year’s Parade from 2012-2017.On top of these accomplishments, she has also choreographed for the Bullskidz half-time show in 2018. In 2014 she was also invited as the master teacher for the University of Minnesota recruitment clinic. Stephanie has received the “Choreography Award” in the Line Division in 2018 at Hall of Fame. She also the technique coach at Maine South High School for the past 9 years and joined the coaching staff for Glenbrook South in 2018 focusing on their jazz choreography and training.

Currently, Stephanie is still traveling teaching and judging both nationally and internationally. She has traveled across the U.S., Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Mexico, Japan, Finland, Chile, Scotland, Colombia, Norway, Australia & Ecuador teaching many children of all ages/backgrounds. Stephanie still works internationally as an instructor for Universal Dance Association. She was also part of their renown collegiate staff for Universal Dance Association for the past 13 years. Currently, she is an ICU (International Cheer Union) Certified Judge and has been on the judging panel the last 3 years at the ICU World Championship.

Stephanie’s full-time career is with UDA as the State Director for IL, WI, MN, SD, ND and IA where she continues to share her passion of dance with many teams in the area.

Brian is the founder of B2 Cheer and Dance which merged with Varsity Spirit in 2019. He is currently the program director for UCA-B2 camps and a V!ROC choreography director. Brian has been involved in the cheerleading industry for over 20 years as a cheer and dance judge, rule interpreter, event producer, choreographer, junior high - collegiate coach, coaches education presenter and instructor. He served as the spirit coach and coordinator for Ouachita Baptist University's spirit program from 2008-2015. Brian is a graduate from the University of Arkansas with a BS in Mathematics and from Arkansas State with a MS in Education.

Brian has 25+ years of involvement in the spirit industry on school, collegiate, all-star and professional levels. He is a current NCA Staff & Head Instructor (24 Years). Brian has been a member of The University of Oregon Graduate & Cheer Captain, NBA Portland Trailblazers Jam Squad Dancer and an All-Star Gym Owner (8 Years). He is the NCA Summer Curriculum Choreographer and National & International Championship Choreographer. Brian has been involved as a Varsity University Speaker, Varsity Cheer & Dance Judge and The Dance Worlds Judge.

Cameron began cheering in college at Weber State University and helped the team win the 2009 NCA College National Championship. He then continued his cheerleading career and education at Brigham Young University. He has worked for UCA for 12 years as a staff member and head instructor and currently serves as the State Director for Utah and Idaho. He began working for V!ROC in 2013 and has helped teams across the country win multiple state and national titles including UCA and USA National Championships. In addition to his State Director and V!ROC Director duties, Cameron is a certified Varsity All Star judge and speaker for Varsity University conferences. He loves working with athletes and coaches to develop new skills, technique, and working with all different styles of choreography/ cheerleading. Fun Fact: Cameron is a 4-time Power Tumbling and Trampoline National Champion. In 2005, he was a member of the US World Team and placed 10th at the World Championships.

Frank has been a part of Varsity Brands for 9 years, starting on NCA Staff in 2012. Currently, Frank serves as the NCA State Director for New York and Pennsylvania and UCA State Director for Upstate New York. He is one of the head coaches at Pennsbury High School. Frank currently resides in Philadelphia, PA.

Gillian has been a part of Varsity Brands for 14 years. Currently, Gillian serves as the West Florida NCA & UCA State Director as well as the Assistant Brand Manager for V!ROC. She cheered at the University of Delaware, where she was the 2008 UCA National Partner Stunt Champion and a gold medalist of the 2011 USA Team. For 5 years, she was the Assistant Coed Coach and Head All Girl coach at the University of Delaware where she led the coed team to 2 back to back National Champions (2014 & 2015) and started the 1st STUNT team leading the program to 3 final four finishes. Currently, she coaches the Coed Cheerleading team at the University of South Florida and currently resides in Tampa, FL with her husband and 1 year old son.

Currently, Hank serves as the UCA Kentucky State Director and a V!ROC Director. Hank has choreographed over 100 national championship routines for NHSCC, NCA High School Nationals and Varsity All Star over the last 20 + years. Hank graduated from the University of Kentucky and currently lives in Lexington, KY.

James is the Head Coach at Sacramento State University & Head Coach at Oak Ridge High School, taking them to a national championship title in 2020 at the NHSCC. He has been with UCA for 15 years and is the current State Director for Northern CA and Northern NV. James was a member of the U.S. National Coed Team USA in 2013, winning a gold medal at ICU and represented Varsity Spirit at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Nicole has been a part of Varsity Brands for 15 years. Currently, Nicole serves as the Georgia and South Carolina State Director for Varsity Brands and is responsible for ALL brands within the state. She cheered at Slippery Rock University on the coed team from 2005-2010. She is the current head coach of the national championship program at The University of West Georgia in Carrollton, Georgia. She is also the assistant coach for the US National All Girl Team. Nicole currently resides in Carrollton, GA.

Rica Charleston has been a part of Varsity Brands for 10 years. Currently, Rica serves as the Communication and Operations Director for The Urban Cheerleading Experience. She cheered at the Grambling State University and has a background in all-star cheerleading with Cheer Athletics out of Plano, TX. Rica has multiple NCA and UCA game day championship titles on the state and national level. She is a currently a game day choreographer based out of Dallas, TX and coaches at Dallas Carter High School. She loves coaching different styles of cheerleading, and has worked with teams like Baylor University, Grambling State University and more. When she isn't coaching, she is at home spending time with family and her dog Coco.

Robby is the Universal Cheerleaders Association Northwest State Director (WA,OR,AK). He is the current Head Cheerleading Coach at Mount Si High School (Snoqualmie, WA) receiving multiple awards including UCA High School Game Day National Champion, UCA High School World School Division Champion and 9x Washington State Champion. He is a Washington State Cheer Coaches Association - Hall of Fame Inductee, Washington State Cheer Coaches Association - Program of Year Recipient, Universal Cheerleaders Association Head Instructor and served as captain of the nationally ranked University of Washington Cheer squad.

Ryan has been a part of Varsity Brands for 13 years. Currently, Ryan serves as the Tennessee State Director for Varsity Brands and is responsible for ALL brands within the state. He cheered at Hofstra University, under the direction of Christine Farina and Matt Jones, and was part of the 2010-2011 National Championship team. He is the current coach of the national championship program at Houston High School in Germantown, TN. Ryan currently resides in Memphis, TN.

Sarah has been a part of Varsity Brands for 11 years - starting on NCA Staff. Sarah attended college out west - graduating with a Bachelor of Science from Arizona State University. Currently, Sarah serves as the UCA and NCA State Director for New Jersey, Delaware and West Virginia. Sarah is also currently the Head Cheerleading Coach at Pennsbury High School in Bucks County, PA for both the Game Day and Competitive all-girl teams. In her three years coaching the program, she has led her team to two bronze medals at NCA High School Nationals, top 5 at PIAA State Championship and a Suburban One League title.

Stan Tabor has been a part of Varsity Brands for 33 years. Currently, Stan serves as the UCA & NCA Arkansas State Director. He cheered at Arkansas State University then went on to coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock where they were ranked top 5 in the nation. Stan continues to choreograph for state and nationally ranked competitive game day and performance teams all over the country, and he has mixed music nationally and internationally.

Tsutae has been a part of Varsity Brands for 13 years. Currently, Tsutae serves as the West Coast Cheer State Director for the USA. She was an acrobatics and tumbling gymnast at the University of Oregon and a 2x NCATA National Champion. She previously head coached collegiate acrobatics and tumbling as well a collegiate cheer and dance at multiple universities/colleges in MI, PA and CA. She is currently the advisor of a high school spirit program in Southern California.