Who We Are

The History of Webby Dance Tampa!

Hillary Forst is the founder of WEBBY Dance Company, Tampa Bay. In 2001 Hillary was introduced to the WEBBY family where she began working as a dance instructor for Becky Weber of WEBBY Dance Company, Long Beach, CA. Hillary quickly realized that sharing her love and passion for dance with children in preschools and elementary schools would be her lifelong career.

After two years of perfecting the creative technique of being a WEBBY instructor, Hillary purchased her very own WEBBY franchise in 2003 and moved home to Palm Harbor, FL to make her dream of opening her own mobile dance company a reality. She started her first year with only 10 schools and one dance teacher. As word spread throughout Hillsborough and Pinellas counties about this reliable, professional and caring mobile dance school, WEBBY Dance Company began to grow leaps and bounds.

After nearly 20 years, Hillary Forst sold her business to the caring hands of longtime instructor and friend, Lindsay Burton. Lindsay nows owns and operates WEBBY Dance Company of Central Florida and has expanded to reach children in most of Central Florida.

Our philosophy is simple: To share the joys of dance and movement with children in a fun, loving and nurturing environment. With this in mind, WEBBY Dance Company, Tampa Bay has earned the reputation of being “The Best in Mobile Dance!”

Our Teachers

Owner - Lindsay Burton

Lindsay was introduced to dance at the age of 3 in Lakeland, FL, where she was born and raised. She studied ballet, tap, and jazz at various dance studios in Polk County until she began high school. From there, she joined her high school dance squad and was invited twice to attend the UDA (Universal Dance Association) National Dance Competition. Her squad was also invited to perform with the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders and NBA Orlando Magic Dancers during in-game performances. After graduation, she coached her high school dance squad during summer camp and became UDA certified in conditioning and stretching. Lindsay went on to attend the University of South Florida, where she studied Mass Communications for Broadcasting. There she had the opportunity to create and direct the USF Ice Bulls Dancers. She is also well-rounded in the professional dance community, where she has been a crowd pleaser for the AIFL Lakeland Thunderbolts Dancers, XFC Diamond Dolls, UFL Florida Tuskers, NHL Tampa Bay Lightning Girls, and MLB Tampa Bay Rays Ray Team. She has been asked to choreograph routines for many organizations such as the UFL Florida Tuskers and Tampa Bay Rays. She also worked in Marketing for the Tampa Bay Rays for 8 years. She has currently been a WEBBY Dance instructor in Tampa Bay area schools since 2007. After 15 years of dedication to this company, she was blessed with the wonderful opportunity to take ownership in August 2022. She is absolutely thrilled to continue the work WEBBY Dance Company has been doing in Tampa Bay Area schools for previous 20 years and expanded her territory to cover most of Central Florida.

 

 

Instructor - Wanda Vargas

 

Wanda was born and raised in San Juan, PR were she was introduced to dance at the age of 9.  She began her formal training at the School of Performing Arts - Julian E. Blanco School that specializes in Ballet.  Miss Wanda also trained at Ballet Municipal with the City of San Juan.  Dance quickly became her passion and she was also a part of the Jazz Dance Studio BAILOS, where she performed in numerous events throughout the island.  At the age of 15, her family decided to move to Orlando, FL to pursue their dreams.  One of Miss Wanda’s dreams was to perform at Walt Disney World and in 1996, that dream became a reality.  For the next 8 years, she performed in various shows, parades, and events throughout the parks.  In 2000, she began teaching to preschoolers at a well-known dance studio in Maitland, FL where she continued teaching her passion for dance. Miss Wanda and her husband decided to make a change and moved to Tampa, FL a few years later. Here she became a WEBBY Dance instructor and has been sharing her love of movement in Tampa Bay area schools since 2015. Miss Wanda is also a 500-hour RYT yoga instructor, as well as a certified kids yoga instructor through Kidding Around Yoga.   

 

Instructor - Shelley Loadwick

 

Ms. Shelley has been teaching dance for over a decade in the Tampa area. She was awarded a scholarship to train and dance with the Baltimore Ballet, and has also danced professionally with the Tampa Ballet Theatre. She has performed in many classical and contemporary ballets such as Swan Lake, Coppélia, Don Quixote, La Bayadère, Chopiniana, Dracula, Carnival of the Animals, and Alice in Wonderland. Ms. Shelley has participated in numerous community events such as the Drive Electric Tampa Bay, which promotes the benefits of electric vehicles, the Aveda Institute Tampa Bay fashion show for breast cancer awareness, the Gold Star Mother’s and Families’ Day Ceremony to honor the fallen and their families, and the New Seeds Festival, a celebration of women’s history through dance, song, and words. She specializes in teaching all ages and levels in ballet, as well as pointe (including pre-pointe), and classical variations. She is certified in the three levels of Progressing Ballet Technique; an innovative conditioning program assisting dancers to achieve their best through understanding the correct activation of muscles, and proper alignment and weight placement. Ms. Shelley joined our WEBBY Team in 2018 and absolutely loves teaching ballet & creative movement to encourage creativity, and foster a child's love for movement, music and dance.

 

Instructor - Abagail Queen

Miss Abagail's Bio coming soon!

 

 

Founding Franchise Owner -Hillary Forst

Hillary Forst

Hillary began her dance training at the young age of 3 in Palm Harbor, Fl. She has studied ballet, tap, jazz and modern from various dance studios throughout the country. In high school, Hillary began training under Patricia Mcnally of Patricia Ann Dance Studio in Dunedin, Florida, where she joined The Company and began performing in local showcases. She has a B.A. Degree from Florida State University, Majoring in English Literature with a Minor in Dance. Hillary has a strong background in musical theater and has performed at Florida State Studio Theater, Tides Dinner Theater, Royalty Theater and the Straz Center for the Performing Arts. In 1997 Hillary was casted as a parade and show performer at Disney World in Orlando. She also portrayed many character roles at Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Anaheim such as Belle, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, May Poppins, Esmeralda, Cruella Deville and The Evil Queen. She was also featured in a commercial for the Party Express Parade in Tokyo, Japan. Hillary has been a part of the WEBBY family since 2001 when she began her teaching career for WEBBY Dance Company of Long Beach, Ca. In 2004 Hillary moved back home where she founded WEBBY Dance Company Tampa Bay and continued to pursue her love of dance instruction in preschools and elementary schools in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. In August 2022, she closed this magical chapter of her life and "passed the baton" into the loving hands of Lindsay Burton. We thank her for all of the amazing contributions to Tampa Bay area children during her 19 years of operation and countless lives touched with this wonderful company she founded. 

Veteran Instructor- Lia Kluis

Lia Kluis

Lia has been dancing and performing for over 25 years. As a young ballerina she studied the Cecchetti Method of ballet. She loved to perform in any play or musical she could get her hands on. She also had a strong love for the flute and split her time equally. When she was a student at Tarpon Springs High School Leadership Conservatory of the Arts, she was a member of the Marching Band, Wind Ensemble and Winter Guard. As a member of the Marching Band she performed in front of crowds in the thousands. As a member of the Winter Guard she was on on the flag line, weapon line and the dance ensemble. While she was in the Wind Ensemble she was principle flute and a regular soloist.The ensemble performed in many prestigious Halls. In 2000 she and the Wind Ensemble were invited along with 9 other Wind Ensembles from around the country to play on the stage of Carnegie Hall. After High School she went on to Florida Southern College to pursue a degree in Religious Education. There she continued her love of dance and decided to share it with others, she began teaching dance at local churches. While in college she also worked for the Walt Disney Company as a cast member. In 2004 Lia returned to Palm Harbor and found herself at WEBBY Dance company. She had realized her passion. She knew this was the perfect place for her. She was teaching over 200 children a year, choreographing many of the dances children learn today and training new WEBBY teachers. Lia quickly became a household name at WEBBY Dance Company and the Office Manager.  In August 2022, she decided it was time to hang up her ballet shoes and retire from teaching. She truly loved every minute of her "job" during those 18 years and loved touching children’s lives everyday. We thank her for dedicating nearly two decades of her life to enriching children's lives through her passion for movement and her caring, nurturing heart is unmatched.