Katie Holmes
(Owner & Dance Instructor) – has a BS in Elementary Education with a minor in dance. She also holds a Masters in the Art of teaching from the University of St. Mary. Miss Katie is a certified member of Dance Masters of America and has been a member since 1990. Miss Katie is currently serving as the secretary for the Heart of America DMA Chapter 28. She recently retired after 31 years of teaching in the Easton School District. She was the head coach for the Ridge Dancers, dance team for 13 years. She has also coached cheerleading at Pleasant Ridge High school for 3 years. Miss Katie has choreographed many local productions and groups, such as Jr. Miss. She has been teaching area children for over 40 years and looks forward to another great year!
Christy Quinlan (Music Program Director/Instructor)
Miss Christy is a 1999 graduate of Lansing High School, where she performed with both the Concert and Swing Choirs. She is degreed in both Music and Psychology. Miss Christy has had instruction in tap, jazz, and ballet since the age of seven. She has taught at Katie’s Dance Studio since September of 1999, and has also provided choreography to schools and taught classes in the Kansas City area. Miss Christy has 25+ years of experience in teaching piano lessons. She began accompanying and performing at age 10, and still regularly plays at various social functions. She has been employed by KCKCC to tutor in all levels of Music Theory. Currently, Miss Christy teaches piano/clarinet/voice lessons at Katie’s Dance Studio, as well as Kindermusik® classes, and accompanies multiple church choirs.
Kim Hayes
Miss Kim holds a BSB in Business Administration from the University of Kansas as well as a BSN from Missouri Western State College. Miss Kim has studied a variety of dance and acrobatics over the years. She has been teaching dance to area students for over 40 years. She has an excellent rapport with students of all ages!
Denise Jacobson
Denise has been the Advanced Ballet and Intermediate Ballet instructor for over 18 years. She earned an MPA from Park University and a Bachelors from UMKC. Her classical ballet training includes Laura Luzicka, Paula Weber, Mary Pat Henry, and a full scholarship recipient at the Joffrey Ballet School in NY, NY. She also had the privilege to be taught and perform Flamenco by Tamara Carson and taught by the late Leni Wylliams. Her professional ballet experience includes the Albany Berkshire Ballet in Albany, NY and Pittsburg Ballet in Pennsylvania. She enjoyed dancing in ballets such as The Nutcracker, Cinderella and Pas de Quatre, to name a few. Most recently, Denise performed in River City Community Players (RCCP) summer 2018 Oklahoma ‘Dream Ballet’ and summer 2019 Mama Mia. She is excited to share her experience and her passion for dance to aspiring young dancers and adults in the Leavenworth area.
Melissa Bean
Melissa is returning to Katie’s Dance Studio after a brief break. She has been with Katie's Dance Studio in many roles first as student, then assistant teacher, and as a teacher. Melissa earned her B.S. degree from K-State, in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in Dance. While at K-State she danced and performed under the direction of the dance faculty as well as many guest artists, in many genres of dance including, ballet, modern, jazz, and African, and choreographed for numerous student productions/concerts. She enjoys choreographing and teaching for all ages in ballet, jazz, acrobatics as well as contemporary. She now has 22 years of experience teaching children in various capacities. Melissa graduated with a M.S. degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Rockhurst University. She now works full-time as a speech language pathologist in the area. She is excited to return to teaching and choreographing especially with Katie’s Dance Studio!
Kylie Visocsky
Miss Kylie has also grown up at Katie's Dance Studio. She started dancing at a dance academy at a young age. She studied Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Hip Hop, and Clogging. Kylie was a member of our Dance Team and Company as well as a competitive clogger for many years. She is a graduate of Lansing High School and a certified beautician. Miss Kylie graduated with a degree in English from the University of Saint Mary. She is thrilled to use her love of literature and writing and combine it with her love of the theater! She will be teaching Musical Theater and Jazz! We are pleased to have Miss Kylie on staff.
Nick Holmes
Mr. Nick grew up dancing and tumbling at Katie's Dance Studio too. He was a member of the Tumble Team and competed with NAC for 9 years. While a student at Katie's, Nick studied Acrobatics, power tumbling and hip hop. He has been an assistant teacher and now teacher at the studio. In high school, he was an accomplished athlete, earning state level recognition in football and track. Nick is an award winning athlete. He was named First team All American nationally with NAIA, KCAC and AP. He was also named to the 2019 CFA (College Football America Yearbook NAIA Preseason Starting Lineup. Mr. Nick is currently pursuing a doctorate in chiropractic medicine. He looks forward to working with this year's tumblers and teaching new skills!
Haley Holmes
Miss Haley has grown up dancing, tumbling and cheering at Katie's Dance Studio. She has studied ballet, hip hop, jazz, acrobatics, cheerleading and clogging. Haley has been a member of our tumble, dance, cheer and clogging teams. While in high school, Haley was a varsity cheerleader for four years, varsity dancer with the Ridge dancers, participated in volleyball and track. Haley also earned the honor of "All American Cheerleader" from UCA. She is attending the University of Saint Mary to study secondary education. She is a member of both the cheer and dance teams at the collegiate level for USM. We are excited to have Miss Haley teach again this coming year!
Alex Wessel
Alex has grown up in the studio also! She started tumbling at a very young age. She competed on our Tumble Team for many years. She continued her love of acrobatics and teaching after high school. She taught at Sarah's Dance Studio for three years. She has been teaching here, at studio home for three years! She loves helping students reach their full potential!
Louisa Holland
Louisa has a BS in American Dance Pedagogy from Oklahoma City University. During her time at OCU, she was a member of the American Spirit Dance Company, OCU Pep Dancers, and Spirit of Grace Liturgical Dance Company. Louisa grew up dancing recreationally and competitively in the Lawrence area. She specifically loves to help students with their showmanship and storytelling abilities through dance and encourages improv. When she is not teaching dance, Louisa works as an Entertainment Ambassador at Great Wolf Lodge. She is beyond excited to be teaching for her third year at Katie's Dance Studio!
Krista Stapfer
Krista has been dancing at the studio since she was 5 years old. She has studied ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, clogging, lyrical and acrobatics. She has taught and assisted for 10 years at the studio. She has also coached the Leavenworth High School marching band color guard for 4 years. Krista graduated from The University of Kansas Medical Center in May 2021 with a B.S. in Health Information Management. She now works as a Project Manager at Biotel Research. Her love for dance started and grew at Katie's Dance Studio and she is excited to share that love with her students.
Constance Schneider
Constance is in her second year at Katie’s Dance Studio and taught for several years on the west coast before moving to the midwest. During the week she teaches intervention classes at a local elementary school and is going back to school to get her elementary education degree. She has wanted to dance since she was very young and has experience in many different styles including ballet, tap, hula, zumba, swing and ballroom as well as having a child dancing for many years. She enjoys spending her free time with her family doing game nights and family dinners. She has hosted exchange students for many years and has “daughters” all over the world that she keeps in touch with.
Introducing:
Marissa Schimke
Marissa has spent many years dancing and tumbling at Katie's Dance Studio. She has taken classes from ballet, jazz, acrobatics, and tap. Back in the day, Marissa was a member of our tumble team. While in high school, Marissa was a varsity dancer for four years with the Lionettes dance team. She spent her first couple of years in college as a collegiate dancer for Baker University, but finished off her last year at Washburn University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Media. Marissa is now going to be a teacher at Lansing High School! She has missed dancing and cannot wait to get back into it, working along side Miss Haley. KDS is excited to have Miss Marissa on staff! Welcome back!
Nevaeh Krull
Miss Nevaeh grew up in the dance studio starting her training when she was five! She is an Oak Park high school graduate, class of 2022, where she was on her Varsity Dance Team all four years! She participated in competitive dance at her dance studio in Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, and Tumbling, and was even the Lion in their Musical Production ‘Wizards of Oz’! Also, at her dance studio, she choreographed and taught a few classes. This is where her love for teaching students began! After graduating high school, she was accepted on the dance team at the University of Saint Mary! Where she also competed with the cheer team in her first year! With much love for dance, she has decided to switch career paths and start cosmetology school to pursue her dreams as a future hairdresser. Miss Nevaeh missed the dance atmosphere and is so excited to have this grateful opportunity to be a dance instructor at Katie’s Dance Studio! She loves helping students succeed and grow a love and passion for dance! KDS is excited to have Miss Nevaeh on staff! Welcome!