DANCE EXPRESS - Key Persons
Alanna has been an instructor at Dance Express since 2017. She grew up dancing in Bloomington, Minnesota and has been dancing for 15 years. She was on the competition team at her studio for 3 years and was an assistant teacher for 3 years! She has studied many styles of dance including tap, ballet, pointe, jazz, lyrical, kick, and contemporary. She is currently getting a degree in dance and in marketing at MSU. She has a passion for learning, dancing, and teaching and loves sharing it with her students!
Allie Wilson was born and raised in Mankato, MN and started dance at the age of 5. She was a competitive dancer at Dance Express and trained in jazz, tap, ballet, pointe, hip hop, and pom. She was a member of Mankato West Orchesis Dance Team and nominated Co-President. Allie continued her dance education at Minnesota State University, Mankato where she was a member of the Dance Team for four years and Captain her senior year. She was a NDA Collegiate All-American Dancer and her MSU team placed second at the NDA Collegiate National Competition her Junior and Senior years. During her time at MSU, she taught dance to high school students through the Upward Bound Program. Allie was a Pro Dancer for Mankato Dancing with the Stars in 2017 and 2018. She now shares her passion of dance with her daughters and is excited to be back teaching and inspiring dancers at Dance Express.
Annmarie trained in Chicago with Ed Parish and Larry Long and at the legendary Stone-Camryn School of Ballet, followed by study in NYC (Finis Jung, David Howard, Maggie Black), London (Anna Northcote) and Paris (Raymond Franchetti, Gilbert Mayer). She has a BFA from Butler University with a dance major, music and theatre minors. After dancing briefly with Ruth Page's Chicago Ballet, like many of her contemporaries she turned to Europe for a career, dancing in the German opera companies of Oldenburg, Osnabrück, Hagen, and Kiel .
Annmarie taught in leading dance academies in Frankfurt, Germany and Graz, Austria. In Minneapolis, she was on the faculty of the professional division of Northwest Ballet and Minnesota Dance Theatre.
In 1986, she was one of a dozen dancers/choreographers/teachers chosen by the Citizens' Exchange Council to visit the then Soviet Union, meeting with professional counterparts in Moscow and Leningrad (St. Petersburg). As a choreographer, Ms. Drake is known for her reinterpretation of the classics, and use of multimedia. Her choreography has been presented at the Theater Kiel, Walker Art Center, and the Minnesota Dance Festival at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. E-mail: Info@DanceExpressMankato.com
Meet the new ARTISTIC DIRECTOR! Brennon Madrid is a native Coloradoan where he trained under the direction of Lyndzi Barnes at the critically acclaimed "Summit Danceworks" in Colorado Springs. He is a graduate of "KU" (University of Kansas) earning a degree in dance. Brennon has had the privilege of working with Thodos Dance Chicago, Lindsay Hawkins from MADCO in St. Louis, LaneCoArts, Justin Giles from Soulescape and most recently a full-time dancer/performer with Regina Klenjoski Company.
Dana Duberry has been a dance instructor at Dance Express since 2015. She trained at Dance Express for 15 years prior to her teaching career. From assisting over four years, helping Donna in the office, and working multiple camps throughout the summer she has gained expertise and a passion for teaching. During high school, she was a captain for her Dance Team at Mankato West High School. In addition, she was on the National Honor Society for two years and has been listed on the Deans List at Minnesota State University Mankato. Dana is very enthusiastic about her teaching and loves making everyone feel welcomed.
Dani Eustice has over 20 years of experience in the dance and spirit industry. She has held many roles and gained extensive knowledge as a manager, coach, staff trainer and educator. Dani's expertise lies in Choreography, where she has choreographed winning routines for various colleges around the country. She is a former head instructor and master choreographer for UDA (United Dance Association) and has been head coach for Hawaii Pacific University. Her award winning choreography has earned her national recognition.
Danielle has been dancing for as long as she can remember, enjoying all styles. She grew up dancing in Saint Cloud, MN with Company North Crest where she trained in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, modern, and hip hop. Danielle was also on a dance team for three years for a semi-pro football team, the Granite City Renegades. She attended college at Mankato State University, Mankato where she received a talent grant for her dancing, and was able to continue her training in modern, improv, ballet, tap, jazz, partnering, and Afro-Cuban. Danielle graduated with honors and a BS in Dance, along with Health and Physical Education. For the last four years she was an instructor and choreographer at Sharri's School of Dance in Waseca, MN where her main concentrations were with hip hop and competitive dance. Danielle has a daughter named Adeline, and teaches Health and Physical Education for the WEM school district in Morristown, MN for grades 5-8.
For over 25 years Donna has managed the DXP office. She is the "glue" that holds Dance Express together. She is always calm, cool and collected and seems to always have the answer to every question. Parents love her and the students adore her. Donna has one daughter, Sara. She has danced with DXP starting at the age of 4 and continued through her graduation performance & senior solo. Donna is a founding board member of Dancing with the Mankato Stars. She is passionate about giving back to the community and making Mankato an all around better place to live!
Emily Navara has been a dance instructor at Dance Express since 2016. Emily could not be more in love with her job and who she get to share it with! She has been dancing for 17 years, was an assistant teacher for 6 years. She was trained in jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical, contemporary, musical theater, hip-hop, pom, and kick. She grew up in Forest Lake, MN where she danced at a competitive studio called The Dance Factory and was apart of the Forest Lake Dance Team for 4 years. She danced for the dance team here at MSU for 2 years where she received a national championship title in 2016.
:)I started dance at the age of 3 at Hudson Dance Academy in Hudson, WI where I grew up. I danced there competitively for 6 years and trained in ballet, pointe, tap, hip hop, lyrical, jazz, contemporary, and modern dance. I was also on the Hudson High School Varsity dance team where we were Conference Champs, Regional Champs, and State Champs. I was also an All-State Finalist for my self-choreographed solo. I just finished my sophomore year of college at Mankato State University where I major in Marketing. I love teaching children of all ages and love sharing the love of dance with them all!
My name is Emma Forsyth and I'm so excited to share my love of dance with Dance Express. I am currently a student at Gustavus Adolphus College and plan to double major or minor in dance. I have been dancing for ten years, with the last eight years competitively. My favorite style of dance is musical theatre.
Jasmine has been an instructor at Dance Express since 2019. She grew up in South Korea and Canada, moving to the United States at age 13 and training in the studio ever since. She graduated in 2019 and is currently living in Minneapolis studying as a second year at Mankato State University. She has always had a passion for choreography and loves all styles of dance but her favorite styles are contemporary and funk jazz. Jasmine is beyond grateful to be a part of the DXP FAM and always will be. She loves teaching, sharing the love of dance and most of all, being a positive supporter for all of the dancers!
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while. You might miss it."-Ferris Bueller
Jaydan grew up dancing competitively in Winona, Minnesota and am currently studying dance at Minnesota State University, Mankato as a Bachelor's of Fine Arts major! She is trained in ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, musical theatre, hip hop, and modern dance. My favorite thing about being a teacher is watching my students find and develop their own artistry. As a teacher I strive to inspire my students, but also learn from my students and be inspired by them. I am so excited to be apart of the DXP family and I cannot wait to learn from the community and grow as a person and a dance teacher!
Job Titles:
- Artistic Director - Competitive Line Instructor
Jennifer is the Artistic Director for Dance Express and was born and raised in Sioux Falls, SD where she trained and taught at Main Stage Ballet and Dance Academy. In high school, she was a part of her schools Dance Team and outside of school and studio dance, she competed in dance and cheer on an All Star Competitive team. Along with dance, she was involved in sports such as basketball and track & field. Jennifer received her B.S. in Dance and Sports Medicine from Minnesota State University-Mankato in 2011 and while there she danced for 4 years on the MSU Dance Team, as well as performed and choreographed for several of the Dance Departments concerts. Jennifer has been a company member of Breaking Boundaries Dance, Threads Dance Project, has worked with The Ordway on their production of "Cinderella," and currently dances with Borealis Dance. Jennifer has won First overalls and Choreography awards at Masquerade Dance Competition, Triple S Dance Competition, Majestic Dance Competition, Legacy Dance Championship, and Midwest Starz National Competition. She feels so fortunate to have the opportunity to teach, inspire, and continue to develop such amazing dancers.
Job Titles:
- Ballet Director
- Jessica Alstad Ballet Director
Jessica Alstad Ballet Director Jessica Alstad has been teaching graded ballet and pointe classes more than a decade. She began her training at Southwest School of Dance, Marshall, MN. During her high school career, she competed at the regional and national level for Dance Olympus and Statewide Dance Competitions in ballet, jazz, tap, musical theater, lyrical, and modern dance. She received several elite titles in solos, duets and small groups at Dance Olympus Nationals. Highlight performances included coveted roles as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Clara in the school's annual Nutcracker production, which she performed alongside professional company members of Minnesota Dance Theatre, Duluth. While on a Dance Management scholarship to Oklahoma City University, she completed a two-year tenure and performed with the OCU Spirit Dance Company and Liturgical Dance Company, under the artistic direction of Jo Rowan. Coursework for her dance minor was completed at Minnesota State University, Mankato where she performed with MSU's Theatre and Dance Department in their bi-annual student showcase. Currently, Jessica continues her dance education at Zenon Dance Company, as well as performs, choreographs, and teaches at Fine Arts School of Ballet, Mankato. Her choreography has been performed at the historic Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul and displayed in productions of the Nutcracker, Miracle on 34th Street The Ballet and multiple community-based stage shows. Jessica believes ballet is the root of all dance genres and strives to instill in her students the importance of controlled technique, strong dance vocabulary, and appreciation for classical artistry.
Joseph Svihel, born and raised in Minnesota, began dancing at the age of 6 with Southwest School of Dance in Marshall, Minnesota - instructed by Charlotte Wendel. By the age of 12, he started taking classes at River Valley Dance Academy in Chaska, Minnesota. There he studied Ballet, Lyrical, Hip-Hop, Jazz, and Modern under the guidance of Kirsten Iiams, Gena Caughey Buckley, Michael Matthew- Ferrell, David Pellinen, and Rachel Svihel. Joe graduated from the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point Class of 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance. He had the wonderful opportunity to perform at the American Dance Festival twice following his graduation. First, in 2019, for their showing of Footprints where he danced Esplanade by Paul Taylor (re-staged by Michael Trusnovec); and then again in 2022 for the premiere of Bender choreographed by George Staib. Joe has recently been accepted into graduate school at the University of Minnesota - Mankato as an MFA Candidate in Dance choreography and performance.
Kallie specializes in many styles including: jazz, ballet, pointe, contemporary, lyrical, hip hop, high kick, and pom. Her training includes River Valley Dance Academy in Chaska, MN and The Dance Warehouse in Chanhassen, MN. She is a former captain of the Chanhassen High School Dance Team and presently a 3rd year of coaching the JV team. Kallie is a 4th year member of the National Champs, Maverick Dance Team, has served as a captain for 3 years. Kallie is very energetic and has a true passion for dance.
Karenna Ruley has been dancing at Dance Express for 15 years. She has been an assistant for 7 years, and has moved up as an instructor. She is a dedicated, passionate teacher that holds her students growth and dance education to high standards. She also helps out in the office, and is an instructor for the birthday parties here at Dance Express. Karenna has also been a mentor for 5 years and a member of the National Honor Society, Dance Arts. She is currently in her senior year at Mankato East High School. In addition, she is a Senior at
Mankato East Dance Company for 2 years. Karenna loves to share her passion of dance with others and is excited to be teaching!
Karli Turner graduated from Maple Grove Senior High where she was captain on their dance team. She has been a competitive dancer with ballet and pointe as her specialty since the age of 9 years old. She is a student at Minnesota State University Mankato and is a current member of their dance team. Karli has trained under the direction of Ballet Master Katie Johnson for many years and is excited to bring her ballet and technique training to the dancers at Dance Express.
I began dancing at age 2 and danced competitively at The Dance Factory in Forest Lake, MN for 12 years. I have been an assistant teacher and mentor for 5 years. I have trained in and taught all styles that are offered here at Dance Express. I am currently attending school in Mankato studying exercise science. As a teacher here at DXP, I have been amazed with the growth of all our dancers and cannot wait to see what this season brings!
Kaylee Diefenderfer has been a dance instructor at Dance Express since 2017. Kaylee danced at Dance Express for 15 years, became an alumni, and then became a teacher. From a young age Kaylee had a passion for dance. Through being an assistant teacher in high school, and working numerous camps she fell in love with teaching. She maintains a positive classroom atmosphere and encourages students to do there best. In high school she was in National Honor Society, National Honor Society of the Dance Arts, and graduated high school as Salutatorian of her class. Most recently, she has been on the Deans List at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Kaylee has trained in numerous styles, although she has a special spot in her heart for tap!
Kristin Elsbernd has graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato. She has received her Exercise Science Major and Dance Minor and soon will be heading off to get her master's degree. She previously studied dance at Woodbury Dance Center and competed with them for 9 years. Kristin was also Captain of Senior Company for her team. She loves to take workshops to expand her dance knowledge.
Maddie Stuart is a BFA Musical Theatre student with minors in Dance and Film Studies at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She has been a dancer for about 16 years of her life and has been trained in many different styles, her favorite being tap. She was a competitive dancer and competed with Eleve Performing Arts Center for six years. She had the wonderful opportunity to also be trained in gymnastics for ten years, and to compete in it for five years. This is Maddie's first year teaching at Dance Express, and she is very excited!
Dance Express is so excited to welcome "Miss Madison" to our teaching staff! Madison comes with a variety of experiences, including being current captain of the Minnesota State Mankato Dance Team. She trained at Bridget's Dance Conservatory (Austin, MN) for many years where she currently choreographs and teaches. She is a welcomed home town favorite instructor. Madison is versed in all styles dance, with Contemporary and Jazz being her strongest. She is anxious to work with the talented DXP dancers.
Marissa has been an instructor at Dance Express since 2018. She grew up in the studio dancing from the age of three up until she graduated in 2018. She is currently a Junior at the University of Minnesota, and a third year member of the U of M dance team. She loves all styles of dance, but her favorite style would have to be lyrical. Marissa is so grateful to be a part of the Dance Express fam. She loves teaching and sharing her passion for dance with her students!
Megan Fuerstenberg has been an instructor at Dance Express since 2018. She grew up dancing in Savage, Minnesota and has been dancing for 7 years. She was on the competition team of her studio for five years and was an assistant teacher for three years. She has studied many styles of dance including contemporary, lyrical, jazz, tap, hip hop, musical theater and ballet. She currently attends MSU and plans on majoring in K-12 dance education and minoring in marketing. Dance has been a huge part of her life and she loves to share her passion of dance with others
Megan grew up dancing in Mankato and graduated from MSU with a Bachelor's Degree in French and English. Her plan was to teach high school until she realized teaching dance was her true passion. She taught dance for 5 years before taking a break to be home with her kids, but now she couldn't be happier to be back in the studio. She has experience teaching all ages from toddler to adult in all styles at the recreational and competitive level. Her favorite thing in the world is sharing her passion for dance with her students and watching their own passion develop and grow.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Owner / Director of Dance Express and Is a Native to Mankato
Mitzi Roberts is Owner/Director of Dance Express and is a native to Mankato, Minnesota. She has been a dance educator for over 30 years. She is a member of the Professional Dance Teachers Association and is certified through Dance Educators of America (Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green) She is proud and honored to a member of the "More Than Just Great Dancing" affiliation. Her field of expertise is Tap and also specializes in preschool dance but enjoys teaching all styles and ages. Her students have won numerous awards at both the regional and national level. She has enjoyed choreographing for the local high school musicals including Mankato West, Mankato East, and Mankato Loyola. In 2012 she founded "Dancing with the Mankato Stars" which is a celebrity fundraiser, raising over $650,000 for the American Red Cross and continues to be an active producer and board member. In 2015 she founded the "Angels of Breast Cancer" which is a non-profit group committed to providing emotional and financial support to women and men going through treatments of breast cancer. Mitzi is a cancer survivor and is determined to use this minor set back as a way to educate and give back to the community. She is also a busy Mother of 2. She feels blessed to have so many wonderful people in her life that help to make Dance Express such a leader in the dance community.
Mitzi is available for consult for questions or concerns about your child's dance education.
Molly Kay Stoltz is a performing artist specializing in rhythmic dance forms and music/dance collaborations. She currently performs with Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theater under Susana DiPalma as a flamenco dancer, with Flying Foot Forum under Joe Chvala as a dancer/singer/actor, and with Kaleena Miller Dance under Kaleena Miller as a tap dancer. She has presented choreography at the Bryant Lake Bowl and the Off-Leash Area Art Box, was the first virtual Hinge Artist in Residence in Fergus Falls through Springboard for the Arts, and is currently a member of the Certamen Artist Development Program through Flamenco Vivo in NYC. A UMN summa BFA Dance graduate, she now teaches the tap program at her alma mater and to other youth and adult students in the Mankato area.
Mykayla has been a dance instructor at Dance Express since 2020. Although she has been dancing at Dance Express for the past 15 years. Mykayla has worked her way through the assistant program since 6th grade to become a teacher. Over her years of dance training, she has become very familiar with tap, jazz, lyrical, hip-hop, contemporary, ballet, and pointe. Even though she loves all styles of dance, ballet and pointe has to be her favorite. Mykayla looks forward to sharing her passion for dance with young dancers.
Natasha Friedges began her dance career at The Dance Factory in Forest, Lake Minnesota at the age of 3. She danced at the Dance Factory competitively for 8 years while serving as Captain for 3 years. Natasha trained in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, musical theatre, hiphop, and pom winning multiple Grand Championships. Natasha was also a part of MSHE Productions performing at numerous events including the Minnesota Fringe Festival and The Lab Theatre. During high school, Natasha was on the Varsity Jazz and Varsity Kick Forest Lake Dance Team for 4 years where she was Captain, came in 1st place for 5 Conference Championships, was 2x recipient of All Conference and 2x recipient of All Conference Honorable Mention, along with numerous other awards. Natasha was also a part of the Junior Varsity and Varsity choreography teams for Forest Lake Dance Team all four years she was on the team. Natasha is currently a sophomore at Minnesota State University, Mankato majoring in Nursing. Her freshman year, Natasha was on the MSU Dance Team where the team placed 2nd in the Nation for Jazz and 3rd in the Nation for pom with UDA at ESPN WorldWide of Sports in Orlando, Florida. Natasha also traveled with the rest of the MSU Dance Team to Mckinney, Texas to cheer on Maverick Football in the NCAA D2 National Football Championships. Along with dancing, Natasha is fluent in Spanish, works as an Adult Model with dance costume company Kelle Company and also works as a Certified Nursing Assistant. Natasha is so very excited for the upcoming dance season with Dance Express!
Nick Wayne is a 2002 graduate of Bethany Lutheran College, where he majored in Music. In May 2004 he earned his Master of Music Degree in Vocal Performance from Minnesota State Mankato, and has taught as an adjunct faculty at Minnesota State Mankato, Gustavus Adolphus College and Bethany Lutheran College. In addition, he served as Musical Director for MSU's Mainstage productions of Man of La Mancha, Urinetown and Beauty and the Beast plus Highland Summer Theatre
Job Titles:
- Instructor
- Recreational Program Director
Nicole Busch (Mueller) has been a dance instructor at Dance Express since 2011 and has grown up dancing at the studio since age 3. Along with teaching, she oversees our recital based classes and coordinates many of our summer camps. Nicole graduated with honors from MSU Mankato with a bachelor's degree in Art. She is also a graphic designer for Tailwind Group in Mankato and loves being able to share both her love for dance and graphic design with Dance Express.
Job Titles:
- Instructor
- Competition Team Director
Olivia is the Competition Team Director here at Dance Express. She is a talented choreographer who has won many choreography awards at National Competitions. She specializes in Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical, and Hip Hop. Dance has always been her passion. She started teaching her senior year of High School, while also being a dancer herself here at the studio. Olivia thoroughly enjoys being a part of our DXP family, and prides herself on pushing our dancers to their greatest potential. Dancing has helped shape her as a human being, as well as an artist, and she is motivated by teaching students the artistic beauty of dance and the lifelong lessons that come with it.
Paige Tomasko has been a dance instructor at Dance Express since Spring 2018. She trained for 15 years at NRG Dance Center/Kincade Dance Industries, and was a dance mentor for three years while at the studio. Paige has trained in jazz, tap, ballet, pointe, lyrical, contemporary, musical theater, and hip hop. She grew up in Maple Grove, Minnesota and was on the Maple Grove Dance Team (MGDT) for 5 years. She was captain her senior year, and won two state championships in jazz while with the team. She is a senior at Minnesota State University Mankato and is on the Maverick dance team for the 2018-2019 season. Paige loves to dance and loves helping others discover and express their own passion for dance.
Peter Snyder Peter Snyder quote - "One can never perfect ballet. There is always something to do better." Peter had been dancing for 11 years when he joined the Dance Express faculty. He started in 2009 at Dance Express. Since then, he has gone on to dance across the country. For most of his time dancing Annmarie Drake was his director. He has had training in many forms of dance including Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, and Ballet. He has competed in YAGP three times with classical variations. He now dances at Ballet Royale Minnesota under Rick Vogt, and he is very excited to teach.
I began dancing at Dance Tech studios at the age of 3, then moved to Dance Factory in forest lake, MN, and finally finished my high school dance career at Northern Force Dance Company in Blaine MN. I have trained in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz and lyrical, contemporary, and more. While dancing in the studio I was on the Forest Lake Dance Team for 4 years. After high school, I then came to Mankato, where I was on the MSUDT for a year, competing at UDA nationals in both Pom and Jazz. After my year there I transferred to the University of Minnesota, where I was on the premiere dance team for 2 years which is the club team there, we competed at a smaller UDA competition in Minneapolis. While attending school at U of MN, I coached the Forest Lake dance team JV jazz and kick. I am now attending MSU, and double majoring in criminal justice and psychology.
Shelby Voight Shelby has been a tumbling instructor at Dance Express since 2018. She is currently a second-year graduate student at Minnesota State University, Mankato where she is pursuing a career in speech-language pathology. She previously worked at Mankato Area Gymnastics School (MAGS) for 3 years teaching classes, coaching four competitive teams, and doing private lessons. She has continued to research drills, techniques, and ways to spot in order to help dancers continue to reach their tumbling goals. Whether your dancer has tumbled before or not, she can't wait to work with them and see what this season brings!