Dana Schuster
Dana has danced from the age of 3 through college. Dance and education have always been a special part of her heart. Dana attended Northern Illinois University to obtain a degree in Special Education and a minor in Dance Education. She has additional education in Behavioral Analysis and Autism. Combining her passion to help students with disabilities have as many opportunities as possible and her love for dance has always been something she has dreamed about.
Tammy Thompson
Tammy began dancing at the age of 2. She went on to compete in dancing with ballet, tap and jazz for a few years regionally and nationally. She competed nationally with her high school dance team the Joliet Steelpaws. She has won individual awards for All American Dancer each year. Tammy majored in psychology at University of Phoenix concentrating in child psychology. She loves to combine her knowledge of dance with how children learn to make their dance experience safer and more fun. It is her dream to own this studio and give everyone a chance to dance and provide an affordable and family feeling atmosphere.
Jacquie Voss
Jacquie is a fun-loving mother of four who has been in the theater and music atmosphere for many years. She has been in numerous productions over the years including "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" "Hairspray" and her personal favorite, "The Wizard of Oz". Jacquie also taught music to pre-school and kindergarten students, and has supported her daughters as a dance and theater mom for over 20 years. She has been a cantor for the choir of St. Jude in Joliet for the last 25 years. Currently, Jacquie is the Executive Business Office Administrator in Patient Accounting for Northwestern Medicine as well as the founder of the online craft store Periwinkle Creations.
Sophia Gourley
Sophia has enjoyed dancing since the age of two and has been dancing competitively since the age of five. She is a cast member for Danceon Chicago which is a non -for-profit dance organization for anti-bullying. She was a featured performer on "Wrist Bands" music video which was about changing perception and inclusion. It was choregraphed by Mikey Winslow ( Hamilton) and Karlee Ferreira (Hamilton). She has assisted along many different teachers for the last 6 years and has learned so much. Her favorite style is contemporary and jazz, but she is also trained in ballet, pointe, tap, tumbling and hip hop. She continues to follow her love of dance by being part of the varsity dance team at Joliet West and teaching her students.
Keira Gestel
Phaelon Voss
Shelbi Voss
Olivia Drumm
Keira doesn't know a world without dance! At 17 tears old, she already had 14 years of formal training. She currently trains in all styles to ensure she stays well-rounded and in a state of constant growth and learning. Keira currently assists Dupree Dance Convention and more recently at Activate Your Artistry, giving her industry experience beyond the classroom. She also enters competitions and conventions as a dancer, with each one contributing more to her already impressive list of accolades. Her passion for creating and choreography is newly discovered, and she looks forward to using her passions and talents to inspire and teach the next generation of dancers.
Phaelon began studying dance at 3 years old. She competed for her studio's company and had the opportunity to study with renowned dancers and choreographers from across the country. Phaelon continued her love of dance with the Illini N Motion Dance Team at the University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign. Since her collegiate years, Phaelon has been an instructor/choreographer for studios in the area. Along with dance, she has a love for the theater. She continues taking classes when she can, as dance is always evolving and she wants to ensure that she is providing the best education to her students.
Shelbi is a Chicago based singer, dancer and actress. She recently graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign with B.S in Journalism and a minor in Theatre. She is currently represented by DDO Artists Agency, Chicago. Throughout her college experience she performed in numerous theatre productions both on and off campus. Shelbi was also a founding member and teacher for Electricity Dance, a musical theater dance organization to help students focus on technique, style and performance in dance. Visit shelbivoss.com to learn more!
Allyna Villarios
Jordyn Gura
Kayla Jones
Allyna began dancing in Orlando,FL at the age of 2 1/2... that is where her love for dance blossomed and never stopped. She has trained in ballet, Jazz, contemporary, hip hop, tap, dance team, musical theater, ballroom, Argentine Tango and more! At age 8 she began competition dancing with her studio placing/receiving scholarships at numerous competitions/ conventions. Through this time she workshopped with many choreographers like Mia Michaels, Tyce Diorio, Misha Gabriel and Joe Tremaine just to name a few. Eventually she branched out to Competitve Dance Team and went to UDA nationals at ESPN Walt Disney World all her years in high school placing in finals every year with the team. After graduating performing never stopped, auditioning became her life along with contract after contract. Allyna was blessed with opportunities working full time in entertainment with both Univeral Studios Orlando as well as Walt Disney World! She has the pleasure of performing in Bill & Teds Excellent Halloween Adventure, Universal Mardi Gras, Universals Macys parade, Universals Superstar parade, Disneys televised castle debut, Disneys fantasmic as Pocohontas, Disneys Jungle Book ALive with Magic, Disneys Bollywood Beats as a show host and dancer, along with many many more. Over the years, Allyna has worked many gigs in between allowing her to be features in films and live performances with upcoming artists. She has performed with Insomniac Events Entertainment and traveled across the world performing with famous artists like Kaskade, Diplo, W&W and numerous more. Allyna started teaching at age 13 and since moving to Illinois she was inspired to pass on her knowledge and experiences with our dance youth. She wants to help dancers not only shine on stage by bringing their technique but most importantly show them how to perform and leave their heart on stage. She wants to encourage dancers who choose to have a career in the dance field that it can be done and help prepare them for the industry and auditioning. She is so excited to share her gift and love for dance with this generation and ones to come
Jordyn has been dancing for 15 years and has been dancing competitively for 5 years. She has been a part of our community dancing on the Minooka dance team for all four years of high school. She brings so much dance knowledge and creativity to her classes. She is excited to be sharing her knowledge and love for dance with all of her students.
Anastasia Pistorius
Anastasia has been dancing for 9 years. She is continuing her training at a primarily hip-hop studio. She continues to train in all styles of dance to stay a well-rounded dancer. She competes in a pro-level travel team which has won many first overalls. She is the president of her school dance club. She choreographs multiple routines from solos to large groups. She is excited to bring all of her knowledge to share with her students.
Kayla's passion of dance started at the age of 2. By the age of 6, she was already studying many forms of dance such as tap, jazz, ballet,hip hop, contemporary and acrobatics. She was asked by her teachers to join the competition team and has been competing ever since! Kayla has even won a special dance scholarship from Twitch! She has won countless awards for her storytelling and performance onstage. She has won many scholarships for her dancing. She holds the Miss Teen Power of Dance title for 2022. She has now found her passion for teaching dance and is excited to begin this journey.
Rylee Mielke
Olivia Drumm is a classical and mainstream dance student, competitor and teacher. She trains in Chicagoland, New York and Los Angeles. Olivia has placed at YAGP and attended NYC Finals four times. She has earned numerous first overalls, scholarships, titles and judges awards for power, artistry and technical excellence. Olivia has appeared as a guest artist in Pointe Magazine's Video of the month, the Fox Valley Showcase and the Fox Valley Nutcracker. She was chosen as a Discount Dance Model Search finalist twice and a Pointe People Mentee Program Finalist, as well as a regional scholarship winner for several dance conventions. Olivia is a Ballet in the City Ambassador alumni and models for the Chicago Blackhawks, UDMA and Revolution Dancewear. She represents Allegro Dance Boutique and Honeycut Dancewear. Olivia spent summers training at Joffrey Ballet, Plainfield Dance Academy and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. She performed in an original piece entitled Shadows and Light choreograohed by Zippora Karz ( former NYCB soloist and current repetiteur of the Balanchine Trust) which appeared in the Ballet in the City anniversary restaging of the Ashley Bouder Project in Akron Ohio. Olivia performed the role of Clara in PDA's Nutcracker, as well as in an original piece created by Maeghan McHale for the 9th Chicago International Dance Forum. Most recently, Olivia was honored to perform in Talia Favia's Final Chapter at the El Portal Theater in Los Angeles. Olivia is thrilled to work with costume designers Diane Schaubach of DQ Designs,Caryn Wells of Caryn Wells Designs, Grishko, LVR Designs and Bahar Carmichael of 2DieFor Costumes, as well as photographers all over the country including Sharkcookie and Jordan Matter. She performs solo works by Jessica Brewster, Leandra Groth, Nathan Lopez and Talia Favia. Olivia loves to teach, empower and create with her students.