Directors

Araceli Lopez is in her 24th year as the Star Steppers director.  Araceli is a charter member of Vista Ridge High School and is proud to have established the Star Stepper program.  Araceli is also the director of the Rubies JV Dance Team.  Before joining the Ranger Family, she directed the Running Brushy Silver Stars for three years and was Assistant Director of Leander Middle School for one year, making this her 20th year as an educator in Leander ISD.

Araceli is a former dancer of the Tyler Junior College Apache Belles where she served as Dance Captain.  Araceli is also a proud Leander High School graduate where she was a member of the Leander Blue Belles.  She is a graduate of the University of Texas where she earned a Bachelor in Education.  Recently Araceli was named the 2015-16 Director of the Year by the Texas Dance Educators Association and was a finalist for High School Coach of The Year for 2026 by the National Dance Coaches Association.

Araceli has been married to her amazing husband, Roger, for 25 years.  They have two beautiful girls, Melayna and Acelia.

Julianne Way is entering her tenth year of teaching as the Assistant Director of the Star Steppers and Rubies JV Dance Team. Julianne was raised in Cedar Park, Texas where she attended elementary, middle, and high school in the Leander Independent School District. She attended Vista Ridge High School and was a member of the Star Stepper Dance Team for 3 years and held the position of Captain her senior year.

Following her time at Vista Ridge, Julianne attended Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. During her time at Texas State she was a member of the Strutters Dance Team and held the position of Senior Captain her 4th year on the team. Julianne graduated from Texas State with a BFA in Dance Education. In addition to teaching at Vista Ridge, Julianne is also a teacher and choreographer for many dance teams at various levels in the state of Texas. 

Julianne is looking forward to another of teaching and being part of her alma mater and the Star Steppers organization once again.