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Our Faculty
Sandra Young
Lisa Opansky
Lori Flanigan
Justin Moore
Lisa Christian
Lori Christian
Olivia Corradin
Melissa Hansen
Kelly Karolewicz
Alex Minzlaff
Barb Pergande
Mara Buck
Jessica Priebe
Cindy Reid
New This Year
Susan Gartell
Emily
Hansen
David Hovhannisyan
Laura Ksobiech
Rachel
Sayotovich
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2009-2010 Faculty
Sandra Young
is the
owner and director of Young Dance Academy. Originally from Buffalo,
NY, Sandra moved to the Milwaukee area in 1983. She received most of
her dance training in Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Toronto.
She has performed at Shea's Theater
and Studio Arena Theater in Buffalo and at Artpark in Niagara Falls in
community theater productions as well as dance company showcases. She was a choreographer for Unique Dance
Company of Unique Productions in buffalo and formed Unique II a branch of
that company while in Milwaukee.
Over the years, many of her dances have
received Top Honor regional and national awards. Her choreography has
appeared many times on Showstopper Finals nationally distributed videos and
on the Showstopper television show on CBS. Sandra continues to win
regional and national choreography awards and was a finalist in the Jazz
World Congress choreography competition in August 2000. She
choreographed a tap number that was chosen as a finalist for the
Mini Critics Choice Award at NYC Dance Alliance National Finals in July
2006. She most recently won the Junior Critics Choice Award at the NYC
Dance Alliance Regional in Chicago in February 2009 and the award for best
choreography for her mini tap group at the Showbiz regional competition in
Minneapolis in May 2009. Her
choreography has been featured at Summerfest in 2000, 2001, and 2002 in
shows featuring Bob McGrath from Sesame Street. Most recently her
choreography was seen in a Kinderconcert with the Milwaukee Symphony
Orchestra & Bob McGrath in January 2007 as well as in a recent back to
school advertising campaign for Milwaukee Public Schools. She has judged at regional competitions
for Starpower and Starlight National competitions.

Lisa Opansky
has been with
Young Dance Academy for the past 21 years. She extensively trained in
jazz, tap and ballet under the direction of Sandy Young.
Throughout her years as a competitive dancer, she won
Top Honor Awards for her group, trio, duet and solo
performances. She has won numerous scholarship awards at dance
conventions and performed in the opening number of
the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1996. She choreographed
and performed in a New Year's Eve concert with Milwaukee's very own "Love
Monkeys" in 2001. She currently works with
the Technique Intensive and competitive dancers in our program. Over
the last nine seasons her dances have
won many Top Honor awards at the regional and national levels including both
the top senior and junior small group awards at Showstopper Finals in Myrtle
Beach, South Carolina in July 2003. Her dances have appeared many
times on the Showstopper National television show on CBS. She was awarded the Teen Critics Choice Award at
the NYC Dance Alliance regional in February 2006. Her dances continue
to win choreography awards at both the regional and national levels.
Lisa was honored with the Teen choreography award at NYCDA in Chicago in
February 2008 and again in both Lansing, MI and Chicago in 2009. She
was also the recipient of a Showbiz choreography award in Minneapolis in May
2009. She has been
teaching jazz and lyrical workshop classes throughout the country. Lisa has
never-ending energy, enthusiasm and an excellent "choreographic eye" for
dance. Her innovative style makes her classes exciting and fun!
Lisa has been teaching at the studio since 1993.
Lori Flanigan
trained for six years at the Milwaukee
Ballet School and for two years at North Carolina School of the Arts.
She trained with Duncan Noble and Melissa Hayden and graduated with a ballet
major in 2002. While at NCSA Lori performed corps and soloist
roles in Giselle, Paquita, La Bayadere, and
Grand pas de Romantic. She was a company member of City
Ballet Theatre in Milwaukee from 2003-2007. Lori also taught in CBT's
school for four years. In 2004, Lori started teaching ballet at Young
Dance Academy. Recently, Lori started working at Milwaukee Ballet in
the Education Department as the Education Assistant where she does
educational hands-on ballet workshops all over the Milwaukee area that reach
over 20,000 people each year.
Justin Moore
is a former member
of the Milwaukee Ballet Company during the 2002-2003 season and from 1996-1999.
From May 2003 through April 2006 he performed with Ballet Etudes in Mesa, AZ.
In addition, he choreographed for the company, including a full length Peter Pan
ballet. Other teaching experience includes Jeanne's School of Dance and DancEnergy in Mesa, AZ as well as City Ballet Theater and Milwaukee Ballet Company in
Milwaukee. Justin received most of his dance training in Mesa, AZ under
Sharon Meko and through various summer programs on many full scholarships.
Justin works primarily with our Technique Intensive Program dancers. He has been
with Young Dance since the summer of 2007.
Lisa Christian
has been with
Young Dance for 20 years and
has been an assistant teacher for the last 10 years. She was
competitive dancer for 5 years and won many Top Honor awards for her group
work. Lisa attends Cardinal Stritch and is working toward a career as a
registered nurse. Her sunny personality radiates warmth in her classroom! Lisa has been teaching since 2001.
Lori Christian
has been dancing at Young Dance Academy
since 1988 and has been an assistant in the classroom for the past 11 years.
She was a competitive dancer for 5 years and won many Top Honor awards with
her group work. Lori was chosen and subsequently attended
"Beginnings", a theater workshop in the New York City where she received
training in theater, voice and dance in 1999. Lori now attends MATC
and is majoring in dental hygiene. She has been teaching at the studio
since 2001.
Olivia Corradin
comes to us from North Muskegon, MI and is
currently attending Marquette University majoring in Biochemistry.
She received most of her training at Spotlight Dance Academy in Grand
Haven, MI and is well versed in the areas
of ballet, tap, jazz, modern, lyrical, contemporary, pointe and hip hop.
She has studied with master class teachers all over the country through
dance conventions and summer intensives. She has assisted and taught
her own classes at Spotlight and choreographs for the Spotlight
competitive troupe on a regular basis. She is the founder and artistic
director of Pure Dance Marquette and is currently teaching ballet classes to
the Oak Creek High School pom pon squad. She has been teaching at Young
Dance since March of 2007.
Melissa Hansen
is a graduate of Oak Creek School where she
spent all 4 years on the pom pon squad which placed within the Top 5 squads at
the Disney All Star Talent Tour in Florida. Melissa has danced at Young Dance
since she was 4 years old where she has studied all forms of dance. She is
currently an assistant coach for the Oak Creek East Middle School poms team for
the second year. Melissa attends Alverno College majoring in Early
Elementary Education while minoring in creative arts and dance.
She is a member of the Alverno Dance Team and an assistant preschool teacher at
Early Childhood Education Center in Oak Creek. Melissa has been teaching since 2007
and is excited to be teaching pom pon and hip hop classes with her sister Emily
this year!
Kelly Karolewicz
danced at Young Dance Academy for years
before becoming a UW Madison student and subsequent graduate. She is a
former competitive dancer and taught classes at the studio for 3 years
before college. She is currently employed as a probation and parole
agent. Kelly is a member of the Oak Creek Junior
Miss committee. She has choreographed for the OCJM program since 1995.
Her choreography for the 2002 Wisconsin State Junior Miss program earned the
award for Best Choreography. Kelly took the 2005-2006 season off to have her first baby,
Bennett, born in October 2005. She returned in the Fall of 2006 and continues
to share her love and enthusiasm for jazz dance.
Alex Minzlaff
has been dancing at Young Dance for the past
21 years and had been an assistant teacher for 3 years before she began
teaching 9 years ago. She was a competitive dancer since the beginning
of the competitive program. Her performances over the years had won
her many first place and Top Honor awards at regional and national
competitions all over the country. She graduated from Marquette
University. Alex is known for her
professionalism and her adaptability in all situations and is currently
employed as an HR assistant at InterFaith Older Adult Program. She has been teaching at Young Dance since 1999.
Barb Pergande
returned to Young Dance with a degree in
Hospitality and Tourism Management from UW Stout. She is a former
competitive dancer from 1995 to 1998 and won many awards for her group work.
Barb was an assistant and a teacher for several years before continuing with
her education. She is currently the office administrator for BBJ
Linens. Barb loves working with dancers of all ages, especially teens!
She has been back at Young Dance since 2003.
Mara Buck
is so excited to be
back at Young Dance! She danced at the studio since age 9 and was a competitive
dancer beginning in 1997 winning many awards for her group work. She recently
graduated from UW Madison with a degree in Elementary Education and is currently
teaching first grade at Riverside Elementary in Menomonee Falls. She loves
to work with dancers of all ages. Mara has been back teaching at the
studio since 2008.
Jessica Priebe
has danced at
Young Dance for the past 13 years. She has been assisting classes the last 5
of those years and calls tap her favorite. Jessica currently attends
Wisconsin Lutheran College and is majoring in Art Restoration. Jessica
continues to shine with her amazing footwork in Young Dance advanced tap
classes. She is an asset to our
teaching staff. Jessica has been teaching since 2008.

Cindy Reid
has "lived" at Young Dance most of
her life. She has been a competitive dancer since the young age of 6 years
old and has never looked back. She has won numerous awards for her solo,
duet, trio and group work and continues to do so. She was one of the top 5
females in NYC Dance Alliance Mini Outstanding Dance competition at their
national finals in 2004 and was the Junior first runner up at the NYCDA
National finals in 2005. She continues to win numerous
scholarships at dance conventions each year. Cindy most recently
appeared in a commercial for Masterlock. Teaching is her passion and she loves working
with dancers of all ages. Cindy has been teaching at Young Dance
Academy since 2008.
Welcome our new faculty this year:
Susan
Gartell
began her dance career in Chandler, Arizona. There she studied under Nadja
Lagenhorst and Sharon Meko as part of Ballet Etudes. She continued her
training at the University of Arizona on a scholarship as a dance and
political science major. Susan then spent two years with Milwaukee Ballet II
before joining the Milwaukee Ballet Company. Since dancing with the Company
she has had the pleasure of performing roles choreographed by Mark Godden,
Kathryn Posin, Lila York, Trey McIntyre, and George Balanchine among others.
She has also been featured in roles created for her by Margo Sappington,
Nelly Von Bommel, and Michael Pink. She danced the role of Ophelia in Steven
Mill’s production of Hamlet, and performed the pas de trois in Act II of La
Bayadere. Susan joined our faculty mid-year last season and will be teaching
ballet classes for our Technique Intensive program dancers again this season. Welcome
back, Susan!
Emily Hansen
has been with
Young Dance for 15 years and an assistant teacher in the classroom for the
past 2 years. She is currently co-captain of the Oak Creek High School
pom pon squad and was previously captain of the Oak Creek East Middle School
pom pon squad. With her most recent solo, she placed in the top ten in
the Midwest Pom Pon competition and made it to the semi-finals. She
has trained extensively in all forms of dance and calls hip hop and jazz her
two favorites. She will be working with her sister, Melissa, teaching
pom pon and hip hop classes this season! Welcome, Emily!
David
Hovhannisyan
began dancing
at the age of 6 in Armenia. At the age of 10, he was accepted into the
National Ballet School of Armenia on full scholarship. At the age of
16, he began his professional career with the Armenian National Ballet
Company. After arriving in the United States, he received critical
acclaim dancing for numerous companies throughout the country. David
is currently a principle dancer with Milwaukee Ballet since 2004. He
has danced many principal roles such as Romeo in Romeo & Juliet, Basilio in
Don Quixote, the title role in Dracula, Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream,
Prince Solor in La Bayadere, Tamino in The Magic Flute, Captain Phoebus in
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, Moon Prince in
Scheherazade and leads in The Nutcracker, as well as numerous leads in
contemporary ballets. David has enjoyed working with choreographers
such as Michael Pink, Stephen Mills, Bruce Wells, Trey McIntyre, Margo
Sappington, Kathryn Posin and Mark Godden, among others. David has
guest taught at YDA several times since 2007, working with the Technique
Intensive program dancers. We are excited to have another male ballet
teacher join our faculty! Welcome, David!
Laura Ksobiech
has been with
YDA since 1998 and has been involved in our Technique Intensive and
competitive programs for over 9 years. She placed in the top ten as a
Junior dancer at the NYCDA National Finals in New York City in July 2004.
She continues to compete regionally and nationally, winning many Top Honor
awards with her solo, duet, trio and group work. Laura continues to
win scholarships to dance conventions & summer dance intensives each season.
She most recently auditioned for a role in the movie "High School Musical 3
- Senior Year" and made it to the final 75 out of thousands of auditioning
dancers! Laura's future plans include a career in the professional
dance world. For now, we plan to take advantage of her amazing talent
as a teacher. Welcome, Laura!
Rachel Sayotovich
has been
training at Young Dance Academy since age 7. She has competed
regionally and nationally with our competitive dance program for most of her
years at the studio and has won many Top Honor awards and scholarships at
dance conventions and competitions. Most recently, Rachel was the 1st
overall senior soloist winner at the NYCDA regional competition in Lansing,
MI in January 2009. She will be attending Marquette University this
fall and in addition will continue her connection with dance through
teaching and performing. Welcome, Rachel!
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