I was born in Brooklyn, New York and my parents moved us to Pacific Palisades when I was two years old. My parents both had Masters degrees in Music and my father, who had grown up in Los Angeles, moved us here for a new job he had been offered in concert management. We started out in a one-bedroom rental house on Embury Street. I would ride my big wheel up and down the blocks of the alphabet streets and met one of my lifelong friends right across the street. When I was five, my mom and dad enrolled me in dance classes at Ebsen’s School of Dance in the Palisades on La Cruz Drive, and my parents also bought our forever Pacific Palisades home on 676 El Medio Avenue. We moved in right before my younger brother, Benjamin was born. It was the most loving neighborhood where we made lifelong friendships. There were so many young families and our corner house stood at the top of the hill from Pali High, where we would spend the next 46 years watching the fireworks with family and friends.
Let’s Share Your Story
Tell us a little about yourself. Where did your story begin, and what led you to the Palisades?
I was born in Brooklyn, New York and my parents moved us to Pacific Palisades when I was two years old. My parents both had Masters degrees in Music and my father, who had grown up in Los Angeles, moved us here for a new job he had been offered in concert management. We started out in a one-bedroom rental house on Embury Street. I would ride my big wheel up and down the blocks of the alphabet streets and met one of my lifelong friends right across the street. When I was five, my mom and dad enrolled me in dance classes at Ebsen’s School of Dance in the Palisades on La Cruz Drive, and my parents also bought our forever Pacific Palisades home on 676 El Medio Avenue. We moved in right before my younger brother, Benjamin was born. It was the most loving neighborhood where we made lifelong friendships. There were so many young families and our corner house stood at the top of the hill from Pali High, where we would spend the next 46 years watching the fireworks with family and friends.
How long have you lived or worked here — and what do you love most about it?
Growing up, I attended Hill and Dale Preschool, Marquez Elementary, Paul Revere Middle School and Palisades High School. At age 17, when I graduated from Pali High, I interviewed for a teaching job for Century Sports Club, located in the 881 Alma Real Drive building. I was hired to teach in a program called “Dance Kids Dance” and designed a class schedule for the fall of 1991. I was Miss Pacific Palisades at the time, and had been teaching a group of high school friends as well as kids that I babysat, so I brought them all over to the new program. I remember the Palisades Post was so wonderful in helping to spread the word about the dance program. In 1992 when I was 18 years old, the club asked me to rename the program, making it officially my own, and Fancy Feet Dance Studio was founded. I signed my own lease in the building, built out and reconstructed spaces when the Sports Club moved, and had been there until the Palisades Fire took the building.
Tell us about your work or your passion — past, present, or future. What lights you up?
The Pacific Palisades Community of people, the children and families are all connected here…it’s truly unlike anywhere. The support and advice I received when I was starting out, from community leaders like Rabbi Steve and Didi Carr Reuben, Joan Graves, and Arnie Wishnick at the Chamber…these friendships have lasted my lifetime. I have taught thousands of students over these 33 years, starting with one generation, and watching as those students now have families of their own. Then they bring their children to Fancy Feet. The Palisades is the definition of community. One of my favorite things about teaching is watching all of my students individually fall in love with dance and gain confidence. They light up in the studio and it’s pure, authentic JOY. Then, they perform and share their passion with others. These kids are so unbelievably resilient. During Covid, they danced on Zoom for over a year, then in the building’s outdoor parking lot for a year. Fancy Feet has performed in every community event we’ve ever been invited to: The American Legion, Town Car shows, polo matches, Community Health Expos, Fall Fairs, 4th of July Parades, Palisades Ho Ho Ho, Optimist Club, Pageants, Women’s Club, Senior Homes, Elementary Schools, to Caruso’s Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting. It has been and continues to be a great privilege to watch generations of students perform and be a part of these historic Pacific Palisades events for over three decades.
Tell us a little about your family, community or what “home” means to you.
I met my husband, Michael Scott Tillman in 2002. We were married in 2004 in a ceremony that included one hundred of my dance students, who danced in a processional in our wedding. We had twin daughters in 2005, Emma and Mattie, and then had our third daughter, Zoe in 2009. While I already knew how special growing up in the Palisades was, there is something about watching our three daughters grow up in this beautiful community that has made my heart for our hometown grow even more. The way the Palisades families have embraced our family with love every step of the way speaks to the kind of people who live here. There is such a sense of deep family love and roots here. That love has continued through every milestone. Emma and Mattie are now juniors at UCLA, having attended Palisades Elementary, Paul Revere, Pali High, and Santa Monica College. And Zoe is now a sophomore at Palisades High.
What’s something unique or special about the Palisades that you’ve experienced firsthand?
Our girls grew up in our two bedroom condo on Haverford Avenue, so their “backyard” was the entire village. They skipped up and down Antioch street and Swarthmore. They played in the Village Green and read books on benches by the library. They played at the Palisades Park, Simon Meadow, and in Grandma Fay and Papa Bob’s backyard on El Medio Ave. They rode bikes all through the alphabet streets and down to the Via Bluffs. My daughters had so many friends and family in all of these “backyards”, stepping out of their businesses and their homes to say hello, watching them as they grew up. It’s as if the entire backyard was the Palisades. And that was the BEST possible backyard.
Community Favorites
Is/Was there a local business that makes you feel nostalgic or rooted here?
I have so many memories of the many places that made the Palisades feel special that it is impossible to name just one place that makes me nostalgic. I’ve watched so many businesses come and go, but many of the locally owned businesses ~ they wove the unique fabric of the village.
Who’s the most interesting or inspiring person you’ve met here in the Palisades?
For me there isn’t a single person, but there is a list of people that come to mind from my most formative years as a teenager. People like Rabbi Steve and Didi Carr Reuben, Chayim Frenkel, Joan Graves, and Arnie Wishnick that were community leaders that guided, supported and inspired me along the way.
Fire Reflection
What stands out most from your experience?
In our condominium complex, all of our neighbors had doors open helping one another. My husband ran around to check on and update everyone, and we focussed on keeping an eye and being with our 91 year-old neighbor while I jumped in the car to go and make certain that my 84-year old dad was preparing to leave. It was frantic and scary. There were phone calls and texts, and people checking on everyone everywhere. It was and still is surreal.
Was there someone — a neighbor, local hero, or group — that really made a difference for you during or after the fires?
After finding a temporary place for my dad to move after losing his home, my family made it a mission to find a place for all of our kids to dance. We needed to lift our community’s spirits. We needed to be together. I would say that my heros are my husband and daughters, and Tim Marschall and Jim Knybel from TMC Construction. Tim’s daughters grew up dancing with me. I called Tim and said I found a temporary space and asked if he could build it out for me into a dance studio. Once we had the green light, TMC had it built in 11 days ~ demo, walls constructed, floors installed, mirrors, paint, everything. My daughters, husband, and I spent every waking moment of every day coordinating, ordering, planning, emailing, scheduling….while also juggling moving 3 times and schoolwork. On weekends, we reached out to all the kids and held rehearsals in rental spaces, got together in Santa Monica parks. We all needed each other. Fancy Feet opened its new temporary location at 924 Colorado Avenue on February 24th, 2025.
What did the experience teach you about the Palisades or about yourself?
This experience has taught me that you can easily be crushed by the weight and severity of everything, but if you can pull yourself up and out just enough…and if you have people surrounding you that believe in something as much as you do, then you have to fight with everything you have to build it back. You have to bring people together. You have to try and hold your head up high on all the days that you possibly can. I cannot wait to bring Fancy Feet back home to the Palisades if and when there is a space for us. The Palisades is and has always been my home and my community.
A Few Fun Ones
What advice would you give to others — in life, work, or being a good neighbor?
Be kind to one another. Be supportive of each other. Don’t be afraid to reach out and let each other know you are there for one another, and that you appreciate them.
What’s something about you that would surprise most people?
Most of the original teachers at Fancy Feet, who started teaching with me in the 90s, are all still teaching at the studio. I’ve known some of them since middle school! My best friend, Patty, is the studio office manager, and we have been friends since the age of 16!
Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?
I can see myself continuing to run the studio with my family, hopefully back in our hometown, with the next generation of students.
Business Link
https://www.fancyfeetdance.com
