Co-Owner/ Instructor

Maddie is from Victoria, MN. She started her journey with the studio as a student like some of her fellow colleagues. Throughout her years of high school and college, she studied areas of dance in Modern, Continuum, Improvisation, Musical Theater, and Composition. The style of movement that found home within Maddie was the style of Continuum. This style of dance focuses on the fluidity of the movement and playing with spacial awareness, going in and out of the floor, and moving with curiosity.

She has been dancing for 18+ years, choreographing/ teaching for 10, and performing for about 8 years. She has a BA in Theater and Dance, a performing dance company called 8:20 Dance Company, and works during the day for Dance Studio Pro as a Customer Support Agent! She has choreographed for 10+ musicals and put on two main stage productions with her dance company.

She recently moved back from Orlando FL and is eager to share her experiences with the studio. Becoming a studio owner has been a forever dream of hers. She is thrilled to help cultivate and grow the students at the studio and show them how capable they are.

Co-Owner/ Instructor

Melissa has taught all levels of dance from creative movement to professional level classes for 25 years. She is proud to have been teaching in this community since 2003. Melissa earned her bachelors of arts degree in dance from California State University, Long Beach. She is grateful to have danced with many talented, modern contemporary choreographers in both Minnesota and California. She has also performed lead roles in Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, Beauty and the Beast, Paquita and Coppélia. Melissa has shown her choreography at American College Dance Festival, in the Minnesota Fringe Festival, Walker Art Center’s Choreographers’ Evening, Bryant Lake Bowl’s 9×22, and in Continental Ballet Company’s showcases.

“I have been in the dance studio my whole life. I have been blessed with phenomenal teachers. Annmarie Drake, Sue Gunness, Riet Velthusien, Douglas Nielsen, Sharon Kinney and Keith Johnson were among the most influential. I’ve learned from them so much more than dance. I’ve learned how great teachers can impact, inspire and pass on a life long love for movement to their students. It is my goal to make my students feel how I’ve felt in dance class, grateful, passionate, and connected. The studio is truly a magical place for me. It brings me so much fulfillment to share this with my students. Watching them grow as dancers and people is one of the greatest joys in my life.”

Instructor

Born and raised in Southern California, Cassandra discovered her passion for dance at a young age. With over 20 years of dance experience and 8 years of teaching under her belt, she has become a valued contributor in the dance community. Her journey began with intensive training under various professional choreographers, honing her skills and mastering multiple dance styles.

At just 14 years old, Cassandra made her mark on the dance world with guest appearances on "So You Think You Can Dance" and performances at the VMAs. She continued to flourish in the entertainment industry, spending over a decade acting and dancing in various productions. She also distinguished herself as a choreographer, creating award-winning dances.

Having been signed with a top-ranked talent agency from a young age, she had the opportunity to work with industry professionals and gain valuable experience early in her career. Following her heart, she eventually relocated to Minnesota, where she found fulfillment in sharing her expertise with aspiring dancers. It was there that she also started her own family, embracing the joys of motherhood while continuing to pursue her passion for dance education.

Leveraging her Master's degree in psychology, She channels her passion for dance into nurturing young minds, hoping to make a lasting impact on her students. Today, she continues to inspire and uplift through her dedication to dance education.

Instructor

Shelby began dancing at the age of seven after her mom assured her several times she would likely enjoy it. In high school, she joined a small ballet company in California and stuck with them through college. She has performed such roles as Rose Queen and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker as well as Juliet in the Bakersfield City Ballet’s production of Romeo and Juliet. Upon moving to Minnesota in 2015, she joined Continental Ballet Company and danced various corps de ballet and soloist roles.

She was happy to end on a high note when she was cast as the Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty. Shelby has taken classes from instructors around the country and attended dance festivals and honor classes with Regional Dance America. All of these opportunities and experiences created tools to better express the depth and passion in her approach to teaching.

Shelby has 15 years of teaching experience ranging in styles from ballet to improv to pointe to jazz. She loves to break down the technique of dance and build the strength necessary to consistently perform a movement with grace. She finds herself most happy when her students’ hard work is shown through the choreography of her imagination.

Instructor

Emily is originally from Visalia, California, but moved to Waconia at the age of 14. She has been dancing since she was 3 years old, focusing primarily on ballet up until high school where she discovered tap, jazz, and modern. In high school, she actually took classes from Melissa!

In 2022, she graduated from the University of Northwestern - St. Paul where she studied both mechanical engineering and dance, under the mentorship of Jolene Konkel. Throughout college, she enjoyed being a part of various theater productions (her favorite roles being a newsie in Newsies! and Tinkerbell in Peter Pan), and also led their student dance company. After graduating, she danced with BarreDanza in Ensenada, Mexico and was recently a part of DanceCo’s production of Dance Around Minnesota. She has taught dance at Waconia Center for Dance Arts, NorthEast Dance Center, and Parkside Church, and has subbed at a variety of other studios around the Twin Cities.

Emily now works full-time in downtown Minneapolis as a mechanical engineer and is a part of the team that designs the MSP airport. She is thrilled to be teaching in Waconia again and very excited to be a member of 8:20 Dance Company - Cultivate's company in residence.

Instructor

Lily has been dancing since the age of three. Her training is mainly classical, with additional experience in modern, jazz, kick, and hip hop. She studied at the Minnetonka Dance Theater and School until age 14, when she switched to the Vaganova Method at Minnesota Ballet School while also performing and competing on the Wayzata High School dance team.

After she graduated from the College of Saint Benedict in 2015 with degrees in Dietetics and Piano Performance, she joined Continental Ballet Company in Bloomington. Ever since, she has danced in the corps of Giselle, Clara and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Swanhilda in Coppélia, and Princess Florine in Sleeping Beauty as well as variations from Le Corsair, Grand Pas Classique, and Don Quixote.

Lily has also been teaching Suzuki piano at MacPhail Center for Music since 2016, where she grew up learning classical piano. Musicality has always been a big part of Lily’s life, and it plays a profound role in all genres of dance.

Lily has taught ballet technique and pointe to students ranging from 8-18 years old. With a background in personal training, she takes a detailed approach to strengthening the correct muscles to achieve aesthetic excellence while actively preventing injury.