Yackel Dance Studio Information

Yackel Dance Studio - About Us - YACKEL DANCE TEACHING STAFFStudio Information and FacultyYackel Dance Studio is a full service dance studio that specializes in tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, musical theatre and hip-hop by a professional teaching staff. Yackel Dance Studio is offering 30 classes for recreational dancers to choose from as well as National Champion Competition Teams. Currently Yackel Dance has seven competition teams. Yackel Dance Studio offers classes for beginner to advanced students ages 2 through18. All of our dancers perform in our Spring Recital each year. enise Yackel - Denise Yackel has been teaching dance for 48 years. She began dancing at the age of five. She attended the University of Minnesota after graduating from South St. Paul High School. She has studied dance with countless professionals from across the country. Denise has instilled a true love of dance and many life lessons in hundreds of children and adults lives. eth Yackel Wasley - Beth began her dance training at the early age of 2 at Yackel Dance Studio. She grew up learning and growing from her mom Denise Yackel as well as attending many dance conventions each year. She was a competitive dancer from age 6 to 19. She is a graduate of South Saint Paul High School and attended the College Of St. Catherine. Beth began choreographing and teaching at the studio when she was 15 years old. Teaching and choreographing is her number one passion. She is always striving to be better each year and to give her dancers new challenges and ideas. She considers all of her dancers her family and really works to instill great morals in all of them. She believes that learning how to be a respectful, hardworking and classy individual's is so important. She leads by example and holds her older dancers to a very high standard in being strong leaders to the younger dancers. She continues to attend at least three dance conventions per year. She just recently attended the Dance Teacher Summit in NYC taking seminars and classes from all the top people in the industry. Beth has trained in tap, jazz, ballet, musical theatre, and lyrical. Beth has won numerous choreography awards for her pieces. Her Petite's and Teens were National Champions this June 2013 at Starquest Nationals! Her junior's and Senior's took 2nd! Beth is so excited to start a new chapter in her life with the new dance studio in Woodbury and with her daughter Grace who was born in March 2013. Her goal is to continue to keep Yackel Dance Studio a safe, happy and fun environment for dancers to learn and grow as dancers and as people. She is so thankful for the amazing studio her mom has built over the past 46 years! Hanna Brown - Hanna has been a part of the Yackel dance family for 11 years. Hanna began her training at Yackel Dance Studio when she was 8. Hanna was a competitive dancer for those 8 years. Hanna won many top overall awards as a dancer at Yackel. Hanna has studied in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip-hop and contemporary dance. Hanna is now going into her sophomore year at St. Thomas University and will be starting her second year as a member of the National Champion St. Thomas Dance Team. Hanna is double majoring in Elementary Education & Spanish. Hanna brings a great knowledge of dance to our teaching staff as well as a wonderful, passionate and energetic attitude. Meghan Johnson - Meghan has been teaching at Yackel Dance Studio for five years. She works with the competition and rec. dancers. Meghan trained at Yackel Dance Studio for 15 years. She was a member of the competition teams. She competed in tap, jazz, lyrical and musical theatre. Meghan is a graduate of Hill Murray High School and is currently attending Century College. Meghan will be graduating in December with an Associate's Degree in Graphic Design. Meghan is Graphic Designer for Colleen McKenzie Photography and a Graphic Design intern at NorthStar Student Services. elly Nichols - Kelly, a native to North St. Paul, MN, started her first 12 years of dance training at Larkin Dance Studio. Throughout her dance training there she received many national awards and scholarships. Growing up, Kelly was known for her love and energy that she brought to the stage, specializing in tap, jazz, and musical theater. Kelly's performance experiences include Jesus Christ Superstar, Guys and Dolls, The Pajama Game, Anything Goes, CBA La Crosse Bobcats, Ten Foot Five, Superbowl XXVI Halftime Show, Tostitos commercial, numerous fashion shows, and print work for Leo's Dancewear. Kelly graduated from UW-La Crosse with a B.S. degree in Exercise and Sport Science with a minor in Business. She has been a full time personal trainer and Spinning instructor since 2001 at The Minneapolis Club, training the "who's who" of the Twin Cities. She continually takes medically based classes specializing in PT, orthopedic injuries and surgeries, exercise physiology, biomechanics, Postural Restoration (PRI), and Functional Movement Screening (FMS) with local and nationally known doctors, surgeons and physical therapists. She likes to consider herself a "Movement Specialist. Currently, Kelly has been choreographing and teaching dance since 1998, giving her 37 years of combined experience with dance and exercise physiology. She has won numerous choreography awards and has enjoyed combining her passion for dance with her educational background, bringing a special enthusiasm to her teaching style. Melissa Rolfes - Melissa has trained at Yackel since she was 3. She was a part of the competition teams for 8 years. Melissa has been teaching at Yackel Dance for 5 years as a rec. teacher. Melissa's groups always stand out at recital. She is an amazing teacher who really knows how to get the most out of her dancers while having a blast. Her dancers grow and learn so much each year. Melissa has a degree in Elementary and Early Childhood Education from River Falls University. She taught Pre-school at Central Education Center in Richfield and now she will be teaching Kindergarten at Salem Hills in Inver Grove Heights. Melissa continues to study dance by attending workshops and seminars throughout the year. auren Sevcik - Lauren trained at Yackel Dance Studio for 14 years. She was a part of the competitive dance teams and studied ballet, tap, jazz and lyrical. Lauren graduated from St. Olaf University with a major in Biology and a minor in biomedical studies. She was a member of the St. Olaf Dance Team for four years and captain for two years. She plans to go to medical school and hoping to specialize in OB/GYN. We are so excited to have Lauren as a member of our teaching staff this season. Tabitha Steger - Tabitha trained at Yackel Dance Studio for 8 years studying ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical and hip-hop. She is currently studying at the University Of Minnesota in the dance department under department head and local choreographer Ananya Chatterjea. She graduated high school from the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists and took classes under Angharad Davies, Karin Paulson-Rivet, Berit Angharad, Dustin Haug and Kaleena Miller. Tabitha was accepted into the Ailey Summer Intensive and just got back from studying in Italy under Stefanie Nelson, Andy Noble, Bruce Michelson and Elizabeth Shea. Tabitha hopes to be a professional concert dancer and choreographer. Tabitha brings a unique style of dance to our students as well as a very strong ballet background. She will be choreographing and teaching ballet/pointe during the 2013/2014 season as well as competitive solos, trios and group choreography. As a competitive dancer Tabitha was awarded scholarships from Jump, Nuvo, Intrigue, West Coast Dance Explosion and many other top conventions. Tabitha was awarded Miss Masquerade, Miss Primetime and 1st Overall at Bravo, Masquerade and Primetime in 2011/2012. Tabitha is an amazing person inside and out and all of the dancers at Yackel Dance will continue to grow and be pushed by Tabitha anytime they take her classes. eredith Subialka - Meredith grew up in Champlin, MN. She started dancing at the age of 3 and trained at Butterfields, Energy Dance Center and graduated on the Senior Line at Spotlight Productions. She has won many regional and national titles in her dance career as well as Dancer of the Year at Masquerade Nationals and dance convention titles around the United States. She participated in Brian Friedman's summer intensive and showcase in New York City and recently assisted Tom Richardson at Intrigue Dance Convention. One memory that stands out to Meredith during her dance career is when she traveled to Dallas, TX to participate in Worlds with her fellow teammates. Meredith taught her first solo during her senior year and started teaching dance classes the following year. Her passion for dance is shared through teaching. She currently coaches Champlin Park High School Dance Team in jazz and kick. She has been recognized for her choreography at competitions such as StarPower and StarQuest, as well as overall achievements at regional and national competitions. Meredith enjoys sharing her love for dance with others and can't wait for what the future holds for her. "Dance from your heart". Meredith will be teaching and choreographing for our competition teams this season as well as solos, trios and small groups. Katie Uhlendorf - Katie grew up training at Yackel Dance Studio for 15 years. She started dancing at the age of 3. Katie is a graduate of Park High School and is attending the College Of St. Catherine as Biology major and Psychology minor. Katie plans to be a genetic counselor with a primary focus on prenatal and pediatric genetics. Katie has trained in tap, jazz, lyrical, musical theatre and hip-hop. Katie was a competitive dancer for 10 years and won numerous overall 1st place awards and scholarships as a dancer. She has had the pleasure of taking classes from Alex Little, Trey Barber, Mandy Moore, Doug Caldwell and many more. She fell in love with dance and being onstage from the time she was little and is so excited to share her passion and love for dance with others.GUEST FACULTYNick BowmanAndy AuslandDerrick SchradarKatherine ChengNick HermannAnthony Gabriel?Pictured front row, left to right; Hanna, Tabitha, Katie, Lauren.Pictured back row, left to right; Meredith, Meghan, Denise, Beth, Melissa. ur dance instructors are experienced, well trained and educated in the dance field. They are also experienced in dealing with children. We want all of our students to have fun while being challenged to become accomplished dancers. We require discipline in a friendly environment.