Mrs. Stefanie Cooper
Director
 Plano East Golden Girls

Stefanie Cooper is the Director of Golden Girls Drill team at Plano East, Rettes Director at Clark High school and Dance Teacher.

469-752-7270 Extention 9201

Early Dance:  Stefanie began studying dance at the early age of 2 and moved into the competitive dance scene at the age of 8 years old.  She took from many local studios in the Dallas Ft. Worth area including; Jill Rejeanne’s of Irving, Dana’s Dance Academy of Irving, Dana’s Dance Studio of Southlake, High Society Dance Studio of Garland, and Power House of Dallas.  Stefanie was an officer on the competition team for High Society for 4 years until she became an officer of her high school dance team, Southlake Carroll Emerald Belles, in 1996.  She held an officer position for 3 out of her 4 years on the dance team serving as a Social Officer Historian, Junior Lieutenant, and Senior Lieutenant. 

College Dance:  Upon graduating in May of 2000 she received a dance scholarship to attend Kilgore College in Kilgore, Texas.  While attending Kilgore Stefanie was an active member of the dance department and dance company as well as holding an outstanding GPA and a position on the Dean’s List for 2 semesters.  Stefanie transferred from Kilgore to Texas State University-San Marcos for her sophomore year of school in 2001 where she became a line member of the World Renowned Texas State Strutters.  As a Texas State Strutter there were numerous local performance opportunities as well as international performances.  Stefanie was among a select few that toured the Czech Republic, Austria, and Germany in the spring of 2001 performing as the sole entertainment group at a championship soccer tournament in Germany.  Her free time was spent volunteering with local charities with her sorority, Chi Omega and studying Dance and Education year round.  Stefanie completed her dance requirements in the fall of 2003 which enabled her to begin her student teaching at Hays High School with the Hays Highstepper’s.  Stefanie graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Dance Education from Texas State University-San Marcos in May of 2004.

Professional Instruction:  Stefanie’s first teaching position was held at MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas.  She was a dance instructor of Dance I, Dance II, and Dance III/IV as well as the Varsity Director of the Cardettes.  Under Stefanie’s direction the Cardettes were named Grand Champions Overall at the North Texas Winter Classic.  The Cardettes also received numerous specialty awards such as; Judges Award, Showmanship, Outstanding Technique, Outstanding Choreography, Crowd Pleaser, and Best Prop Overall.  Stefanie resigned from MacArthur with a heavy heart to relocate with her husband to Garland area where she became the Plano Clark Cougarette director and dance teacher.  The 2005-2006 Cougarettes had an incredible year of growth and achievement her first year as director.  The Rettes were invited to perform at the Texas State Capital this past spring where they received an Award of Excellence.  While directing the Cougarettes she was named the Assistant Director of the Plano East Senior High Golden Girls.  Mrs. Cooper worked along side Ms. Frary the entire year to bring the team to a new level of dance technique, style, and performance ability.  Gold Dust, an elite dance company of Golden Girls, was under the direction of Mrs. Cooper throughout the year.  This group has become well known for their energetic, dynamic, and cutting edge choreography and performances.  May of 2006 Mrs. Stefanie Cooper was named the Head Director of Golden Girls.  The 2006-2007 Golden Girls line is near the maximum for membership at 66 dancers for the first time in 5 years.  Mrs. Cooper plans to be in Plano as a dance team director for an extended period of time!  We are excited to see the Golden Girls perform under her direction this year!