Our Team

All of our trainers are certified fitness professionals who share a passion for dance, fitness, and creating a healthier dance world.

Alex Gonzaga

Founder and Head Coach

Specializations

-NASM Corrective Exercise Specialist

-NASM Certified Personal Trainer

-NASM Performance Enhancing Specialist

-NASM Stretching and Flexibility Coach

-NASM Sports Nutrition Coach

Alex’s professional career with companies like Atlanta Ballet, Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre, and esteemed guest companies worldwide showed him firsthand the physical demands of elite performance. But after experiencing a severe, career-altering ankle sprain, he realized how under-resourced the dance community was when it came to proper conditioning, cross training and recovery.

That turning point sparked a lifelong commitment to dance science and human movement. In 2018, Alex created Proteus Fitness to bridge the gap between high-level athleticism and dance artistry. Through continuous education, research, and specialized certifications, he has made it his life's work to study biomechanics and injury prevention specifically tailored to dancers.

Today, Alex uses his advanced training and deep industry experience to coach hundreds of students, professional artists, and companies across the globe. He focuses on empowering dancers through education, helping them build physical versatility, protect their bodies, and achieve peak performance for the long haul.

Katherine Dial

Specializations

-NASM Certified Personal Trainer

-NASM Corrective Exercise Specialist

-STOTT Pilates Instructor

-Mobility Coach

Katherine Dial grew up dancing with The Dance Center in Tampa, FL from the age of 5. She went on to dance professionally with The Brandon Ballet from 2017-2020. During her time as a professional dancer, Katherine experienced some injuries which eventually led to the end of her professional dance career but sparked her interest in rehab, strength, and conditioning. She went through Stott Pilates training and certification as well as being certified through NASM in Corrective Exercise and Personal Training. She now works as a full time personal trainer where she specializes in “post rehab”, helping clients and athletes who are returning from physical therapy after a surgery or injury. Her passion for ballet has grown into a passion for helping others perform their best whether in daily activities, sports, dance or fitness.

Cinnamon Dizon

Specializations

-NASM Certified Personal Trainer

-NASM Corrective Exercise Specialist

Cinnamon began her lifelong love of dance when her orthopedist recommended ballet as a form of physical therapy when she was just three years old. She has been a dancer for over fifty years, a dance educator for thirty-six, with a career spanning many realms from professional ballerina, competitive ballroom, cruise ship performance, studio owner, choreographer and teacher, to musical theater director. She currently teaches ballet, strength and conditioning, and choreographs musical productions at Orbit Arts Academy.

After a significant foot injury she began cross training to keep her body in the best condition possible whilst rehabbing her foot, awaiting the moment she was released to dance again. Once she was back in the studio she recognized how much cross training impacted her dancing for the better even after a years absence. This ignited a passion for the benefits of cross training as a means to continue to dance optimally with less injuries as the body ages. She began training with Alex in 2020 and simultaneously studying to become a certified personal trainer. Through Alex’s encouragement, she has become not only a NASM CPT, but also a Proteus Fitness trainer! Cinnamon says it is an honor to be a part of such an amazing team training dancers to be the best they can possibly be, with a better understanding of their bodies and how they work.

Hailey Flanagan

Specializations

-NASM Certified Personal Trainer

Hailey was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia and began dancing at the age of 5. She quickly fell in love with being on stage and began training at Georgia Metropolitan Dance Theatre. From there, she moved to Cincinnati to join Cincinnati Ballet's professional training division and was later promoted to their second company. In her two years of CB2, she had opportunities to work with renowned choreographers and hone her craft all before being sidelined by a labral tear and hip surgery. This injury provided her the opportunity to re-learn everything she thought she knew about her body, as well as inspired her to join Proteus and commit to the life of health and fitness.

She then accepted a company contract with Dayton Ballet under the direction of Brandon Ragland in 2023. Since then, she has had the privilege of dancing numerous principal roles and feels the strongest she’s ever felt while dancing and attributes that to her cross-training with Proteus. Inspired by her work with founder and owner Alex Gonzaga, she was encouraged to become a certified personal trainer through NASM and is beyond excited to share her passion and knowledge with the dance community.

Christian Clark

Specializations

-NASM Certified Personal Trainer

-NASM Corrective Exercise Specialist

-NASM Youth Exercise Specialist

Born and raised in Atlanta, Christian Clark began his dance training at the age of eight under the direction of Robert Barnett. His dance career has spanned twenty years, working as a principal artist with the Atlanta Ballet, and as a principal guest artist with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet & the Orlando Ballet. Clark has performed leading roles in iconic ballets like Swan Lake, Giselle, Roméo et Juliette, and Dracula to name a few. He has danced works by world-renowned choreographers such as Twyla Tharp, Ohad Naharin, Alexander Eckman, Liam Scarlett, Yuri Possokhov, Jorma Elo, Stanton Welch, Wayne MacGregor, and Jiří Kylián. In 2017, Clark co-founded Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre, where he currently serves as a dancer and educator. Christian has a passion for teaching and has been a guest instructor at the Greater Atlanta Christian School, Agnes Scott College, and Kennesaw State University, as well as a co-director of Atlanta Ballet’s professional summer intensive. Clark has been training with Proteus Fitness since its inception and is thrilled to be joining the team as a NASM Certified Personal Trainer. 

Faith Wiercinski

Specializations

-NASM Certified Personal Trainer

-NASM Certified Nutrition Coach

-NASM Performance Enhancing Specialist

-Barre Fitness Instructor

Faith Woodyard is from Baltimore, Maryland. She graduated from George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology. She received her early dance training at Carroll County Dance Center & Ballet Conservatory under the instruction of Megan Logee, Bat Udval, Paul Wegner, and Jessica Huebner. She was awarded Top 12 in the classical category at Youth America Grand Prix, finalist at the Kennedy Center Ballet Master Class Series, and performed with American Ballet Theatre at the Kennedy Center. Faith attended summer programs, many on scholarship such as American Ballet Theatre, Carolina Ballet, Richmond Ballet, and American Repertory Ballet. She was a Trainee with the Richmond Ballet, American Repertory Ballet, and second company member of American Repertory Ballet. In 2021, Faith was a faculty member and guest performer with Carroll County Dance Center and was a guest performer with Misako Ballet. Faith joined Florida Dance Theatre as a company artist for the 2022-23 performance season. Faith is passionate about health and fitness. Alongside Faith’s professional dance career she started her own private coaching business, where she offered one on one personalized training sessions. She is excited to work with more dancers and help them gain strength that will help improve their dancing.

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