Meet The Team
Co-Founder
Heather Steel
A Native of Houston, Heather trained under Lynette Mason Gregg at The Royal Academy of Fine Arts since age 4. She Danced Professionally with the Bay Area Houston Ballet & Theatre for four seasons, during which she performed featured roles including the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Swanhilda in Coppelia, Cinderella in Cinderella, Lucy in Dracula, Carmen in Carmen, and several company works. Her Choreographic work for BAHBT includes Hairspray, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and several mixed programs. In New York she performed in the Moving Beauty Series Dance Festival and Sans Limit Dance Collective. Returning to Clear Lake with her husband, Travis Kirk Coombs, to raise their beautiful daughters, she enjoys being home at The JETPAC (Juxtapose Emphasis Theatre & Performing Arts Center) as Artistic Director and as Company Manager and choreographer for Juxtapose Arts Collective.
Ballet
Melissa Ludwig
Melissa Ludwig received her early training from the School of the Grand Rapids Ballet Company and has enjoyed an extensive performance career. She has danced professionally with the Grand Rapids Ballet Company, Milwaukee Ballet, and Ballet Austin. She joined Bay Area Houston Ballet and Theatre in 2012 as an Artist in Residence. While dancing with BAHBT, Ms. Ludwig enjoyed performing roles such as the Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty, the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, Sugar Plum, Snow Queen, and Rose in The Nutcracker, Lead Vampire in Dracula, The Dying Swan, as well as the soloist in Mujeres and Bolero.
Ms. Ludwig has danced with Juxtapose Arts Collective in many different performances since its inception in 2016. This past season she had the opportunity to set Giselle Act 2 on the Juxtapose II dancers and was honored to accept the role of Ballet Mistress with the company for the 2018-2019 season.
Ms. Ludwig was cast as the Stepmother and the Autumn Fairy with Misty Copeland in Open World Dance Foundation's production of Cinderella at the Hobby Center. She alos toured these roles with OWD, performing with ABT Principals Devon Teuscher and Cory Stearns. Ms. Ludwig has also performed as a guest artist as Firebird in The Firebird, Myrtha in Giselle, and Big Swan in Swan Lake, all staged by Charmaine Hunter.
Ms. Ludwig is currently the Dance Program Deputy for the Juxtapose Emphasis Theatre and Performing Arts Center, and the Youth Program Principal for Vitacca Vocational School for Dance Montrose.
Ballet & Tap
Jenna Westall
Jenna started her dance journey at 2 years old. Ballet and Jazz being her main focuses led her to Royal Academy of Fine Arts, where she became a more serious dancer. Jenna trained pre-professionally alongside professional dancers in world renowned works by Luis Fuente, Ayman Harper, and Kevin Cahoon. Once graduated, Jenna took a more freelance approach to a dance career. She signed with talent and modeling agency Neal Hamil Agency, there she worked with big brands such as M.A.C, Dillard’s, and No Cow Protein Bars. Jenna has had the privilege to be an in-house professional dancer/choreographer for Juxtapose Arts Collective for the past 6 years. Jenna would like to thank Heather Steele for allowing her the opportunity to grow in a new passion for choreography. She would also like to thank her past instructors for instilling a strong knowledge in technique and performative skills.
Tap
Xavier Alcala
Xavier Joseph, is a professional tap dancer and up and coming country music artist from the great state of Texas. From a young age Xavier grew up being very well
rounded in the arts studying dance, singing, acting, and martial arts to name a few. His training experience includes Ballet, Tap Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Hip hop, Country Western and Musical Theater. He has studied under some of the best dancers in all areas of dance; some of which include Ben Stevenson, Li Cunxin, Clara Cravey, Acia Grey, Tony Merriwether, Jason Samuel Smith, Derick Grant, Mike Minery, and Anthony Morigerato just to name a few.
He has performed in a number of main stage productions in Houston, TX, at Theatre Under the Stars, including Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Urban Cowboy, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Camp Rock the Musical and My Son Pinocchio as well as multiple shows with the Bay Area Houston Ballet and an off-Broadway show in New
York City titled Slide. Growing up he traveled all over the country competing in various entertainment competitions, coming in as national champion 4x for his tap routines.
At 15, Xavier joined a country western swing dance group known as the "Elite Wranglers". Being on this team introduced him to the amazing world of country music
and his obsession with the genre quickly grew! After attending his first country concert (Brad Paisley), he knew he had found his forever passion. Shortly thereafter, he began practicing guitar to grow his arsenal of skills.
He has recently completed a two year recording contract and has release two singles, “Long Overdue” and “Gotta Be Bad” both of which quickly became top 75 Texas charting songs. He is currently traveling all over Texas doing radio interviews and performing live shows.
You can follow his journey and get the latest updates by checking out any of the below social media platforms.
Musical Theatre
Travis Coombs
Travis Kirk Coombs is a Houston native and actor/director/playwright. Travis originated the role of "Rock" in "Moonshine" (now "Shucked") at Dallas Theatre Center. Off-Broadway: Honestly, Abe (Abe) and Piggy Nation (Swing/Guitar) . Favorite regional credits: Tick, Tick...Boom (Jon), Big Fish (Will), Hairspray (Link), and RENT (Mark). Travis has directed over seventy musicals, produced albums, is the composer of Sole Mates: The Musical and is the songwriter for several artists, including himself, on streaming platforms worldwide. Travis has his BFA in Theatre from Texas State University. He has two kids, Larkin and Lorelei, with choreographer Heather Steele. Together they own and manage The JET-PAC, a theatre/dance academy in Houston. Travis is a proud member of Actors Equity Association and the Dramatist Guild.
Acting
Laurel Powell
Laurel Powell is the Head Director for the Dickinson High School Theatre Department. This is her 25th year teaching at DHS. Throughout her teaching career she has taught Theatre Arts 1-4, Theatre Production 1-4, Technical Theatre, and the Special Programs Theatre class. As well as teaching, Mrs. Powell has directed a variety of shows including numerous award winning One Act Plays that have been seen at the 4A, 5A, and 6A UIL Area and Region Level. As well as directing UIL One Act Play, she is also the UIL Prose and Poetry coach. In 2009-2010, she was named DISD Secondary Teacher of the Year, representing Dickinson at the Region IV level. She is involved with International Thespian Society, TETA, Alpha Psi Omega, Phi Mu and Southwest Theatre Association. She holds a BA from Lyon College and a MA from the University of Houston. As well as teaching, Mrs. Powell can be seen on stage & directing in area Houston and Galveston Theatres where she also performs. Laurel’s pride outside of theatre are her two amazing and talented children!
Jovians
Kathy Pubentz
Bio coming...
Audition Prep
Alyssa Pubentz
Ms. Alyssa graduated with her BFA in Musical Theatre from The University of Tampa in 2021. She founded the Squire Series at JET-PAC in 2019 and has directed each year since. Her directing credits include Little Women, Be More Chill, Bonnie and Clyde, Ride the Cyclone, and 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
She has performed at Dollywood, directed across Houston, and has worked with several Broadway casting directors in NYC, in programs such as Open Jar Institute and Broadway Artists Alliance. She is so excited to share what she’s learned to our students!
Vocal Production
Aura Alden
Aura Alden is a highly accomplished vocal performance graduate from Texas State University, where she honed her skills in performance and developed a strong passion for vocal anatomy and technique. With a deep understanding of the intricacies of the voice, Aura is dedicated to helping aspiring singers unlock their full potential and achieve their dreams of becoming acclaimed vocalists.
Drawing from her extensive experience performing and coaching with renowned opera and symphonic organizations, Aura brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her teaching. She has worked with individuals from all walks of life and has helped them develop a strong vocal foundation, expand their vocal range, and master the art of expressive singing.
Aura's students have gone on to achieve remarkable success, earning spots in prestigious choirs, theaters, and opera companies such as the Houston Grand Opera, Tuts, and TMEA All-State choirs. Her personalized approach and keen attention to detail have proven invaluable in helping her students overcome vocal challenges and reach new heights in their musical journeys.
She is thrilled to be at Jet PAC sharing her passion for music with the next generation of young performers!
Contemporary
Coltin Snyder
Coltin Snyder grew up in Tooele, Utah and began his dance training at age 7 with N- Step Dance Academy. Coltin then attended the Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts (SLSPA), where he came under the instruction of Bethany Hansen, Michelle Armstrong,
and Jessie Metcalf-McCullough. These three influential women helped Coltin gain the flexibility, control, work ethic, confidence, and so much more needed to carry his career to the professional level. Upon graduating SLSPA, Coltin was fortunate to receive an invitation to attend the prestigious University of Arizona (UA) School of Dance, where he graduated summa cum laude with a B.F.A. in dance and a B.S.B.A. in accounting in May of 2021.
During his time at UA, Coltin trained under professionals such as Amy Ernst, Michael Williams, Sam Watson, Tamara Dyke-Compton, and several other esteemed faculty. He was also very fortunate to perform in works and experience repertory by Martha Graham, Frank Chavez, Paul Taylor, Larry Keigwin, David Parsons, and several other world-renowned artists. While at UA, Coltin also studied and completed the Fletcher Pilates Foundational Program. He spent over 600 hours training in and observing Pilates with Kyria Sabin, Deborah Mendoza, and Martha Eccles-Ramirez to gain his Pilates certification.
In September of 2021, Coltin joined Vitacca Ballet, under the direction of Kelly Ann Vitacca, as an inaugural company member. Since joining, he has worked with industry professionals such as Hélène Simoneau, Robyn Mineko Williams, Ethan Colangelo, Garrett Smith, Sean Aaron Carmon, Autumn Eckman, and several others. He is in his third season with the company and looking forward to the opportunities and experiences the future holds for him. In addition to his work with Vitacca Ballet, Coltin has guested at Kingwood Ballet in Kingwood, TX, Kennedy Dance Theatre in Clear Lake, TX, Juxtapose Emphasis Theater in Clear Lake, TX, and Ballet Centre Utah, Inc. in Murray, UT.
Choreographically, Coltin has had his work showcased at schools and studios in Utah, Idaho, Arizona, and Texas. He has also taught master classes and instructed at workshops at Vitacca Vocational School for Dance, SLSPA, Ballet Centre Utah, Inc., Stansbury High School, and Studio One AZ to name a few.
Coltin is currently on faculty at Juxtapose Emphasis Theater and Performing Arts Center (JETPAC), where he serves as a Contemporary faculty member. He continues
to seek out new teaching and choreographic opportunities at schools and studios across the United States.