Meet the Instructors

Miss Katie 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 served for three years 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, including as Jr. Miss and FCCP. She has been teaching area children for over 40 years and looks forward to year 31 of KDS!

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 26+ 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 has been dancing since early childhood, developing a lifelong passion for the art of tap. Her years of training have given her a strong foundation in rhythm, technique, and performance, which she now loves sharing with her students.

In addition to her dance experience, Kim holds both a Bachelor of Science in Business and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She currently serves as a Clinical Nurse Manager for a large home health agency, where she combines leadership, organization , and compassion in her work.

Her unique blend of professional maturity, teaching enthusiasm and deep love for dance allows her to create an encouraging and engaging environment for young learners. She is excited to inspire the next generation of dancers, helping them build confident, creativity and joy through tap.

Melissa has been a dance/acrobatics teacher at Katie's Dance Studio since 2005. 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 Science and Disorders with a minor in Dance.

While at K-State, she danced and performed under the direction of the dance faculty and many guest artists. Melissa performed and enjoyed studying many genres of dance at the collegiate level including ballet, modern, jazz and African. She choreographed numerous student productions/concerts. Melissa enjoys choreographing and teaching all ages and styles. Melissa graduated with a M.S. degree in Communication Services and Disorders from Rockhurst University. She works as a full time Speech Language Pathologist. She is a full time mother of three. Her daughters also enjoy taking classes at the studio! She is excited to continue teaching and sharing her love of dance and acrobatics with students at Katie's Dance Studio!

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.

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!

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 has earned a Bachelor degree in English from USM. She was a member of both the cheer and dance teams at the collegiate level for USM. 2023-2024, Miss Haley focused on cheerleading at USM. She was a member of the USM competitive cheer team. The Spires Cheer team won, for the first time in program history, back to back the KCAC Collegiate Championship! They competed at Nationals for NAIA IN 2024 AND 2025 and earned a spot in the top 4! Way to go! We are excited to have Miss Haley teach again this coming year!

Ms. Alex has been part of the Katie’s Dance Studio family for as long as she can remember! She grew up on the Tumble Team with Mr. Nick, and now the two get to work side-by-side—full circle moment! These days, she’s extra proud that her own daughter is tumbling at the very same studio.

When she’s not at the studio, Ms. Alex stays busy wearing all the hats—licensed cosmetologist, photographer, volleyball coach, and Youth Sports Admin for CYS on Fort Leavenworth.

If she’s not coaching, styling, or snapping photos, you’ll find her making memories with her husband and their two sweet girls.

Nevaeh Krull has been dancing since the age of five and has carried that passion with her ever since. A 2022 graduate of Oak Park High School, she was a proud member of the varsity dance team all four years, where she built a strong foundation in performance, leadership, and teamwork.

After high school, Nevaeh continued both her athletic and artistic pursuits at the University of Saint Mary, where she competed on the track team and was also involved in dance and cheer. Her journey eventually led her to follow another lifelong dream—cosmetology. She is currently enrolled in Z Hair Academy, set to graduate in September 2025.

Now in her third year teaching at Katie’s Dance Studio, Nevaeh feels incredibly grateful for the opportunity to give back and inspire the next generation of dancers. With her well-rounded background and love for movement, she strives to create a fun, encouraging, and confidence-building space for every student she teaches.

Constance is in her 4th year at Katie’s Dance Studio and taught for several years on the west coast before moving to the midwest. She recently graduated with her elementary education degree and teaches in Easton, KS.

Constance has wanted to dance since she was very young and has experience in many different styles including ballet, tap, hula, zumba, swing and ballroom. She has been dancing clogging and hip hop with Katie's studio for 3 years. Constance also has had a child in dance for 12 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

Krista has been dancing at the studio since she was 5 years old. The first class she ever took was Kinderdance with Miss Katie. She has studied ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, and clogging and was also a member of the KDS Dance Company. She worked as an assistant teacher throughout high school and college.

Krista graduated from The University of Kansas Medical Center in May 2021 with a B.S. in Health Information Management. After graduation, Krista started teaching her own classes. Her love for dance started and grew at Katie's Dance Studio and she is excited to share that love with her students.

Susanna started dancing at Katie’s when she was two years old! She studied tap, jazz, contemporary, and Acro! She started assisting with classes when she was 14 and then just started teaching her own classes during the 2024-2025 season.

She is majoring in Early Childhood Education at K-State and hopes to be a kindergarten teacher upon graduation! She loves getting to see how much the kids progress and grow throughout the year! Susanna is super excited to continue teaching dance here at Katie’s!

Ximena is currently a student at Mid America Nazarene University in Olathe, getting her Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in Psychology and Criminology from the University of Saint Mary. Ximena began her dance journey when she was four years old.

She danced strictly ballet and contemporary growing up and was part of the pre professional program at her studio. Throughout Ximena's time as a dancer she had been a part of many classical ballets like The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Firebird, Alice in Wonderland, Don Quixote and many others as well. She was able to continue her dance career at USM and in 2025 was awarded All American honors nationally for dance. She was also apart of USM dance’s first KCAC championship team.

Throughout her life she was able to develop a love for ballet and she is excited to help students love ballet as much as she does. A fun fact about Ximena is that she is bilingual in Spanish and English! Ximena is excited to come back to KDS for her second year!

KDS is proud to welcome Bella to our staff!

Bella has been cheering for 12 years. She started in 4th grade at a small gym in her hometown, Dearborn, Missouri. She began cheering for her school, where she became a four time UCA All-American cheerleader and the first All State Cheerleader from her high school.

Now, Bella is a co-captain at the University of Saint Mary and is a three-peat champion cheerleader for the KCAC conference. She has competed at the NAIA Nationals with the USM Team. Miss Bella is studying history and education. She plans to teach middle school Social Studies and coach cheer after she graduates in 2026. Miss Bella is very excited to join the staff at KDS!

KDS is proud to welcome Kira to our staff!

Kira is thrilled to be joining the KDS staff! She has been dancing her whole life and doesn't plan to stop anytime soon. Kira is currently a sophomore at the University of Saint Mary, is on the dance team, and is starting the nursing program. She has danced recreationally and competitively at Beller's Dance and Gymnastics, Shawnee Mission West HS, and Perception Dance Company. With years of experience and a love for teaching, Kira is excited to share her passion.