Meet the Instructors
Lisa Hall Mckee, Director
A graduate of the University of Tennessee within the College of Communications, Lisa studied classical ballet, jazz and modern dance while performing with the New Repertory Dance Company. As a former member of the Sidewalk Dance Theatre, Lisa toured the southeastern United States, performing concerts and lecture demonstrations at universities, theatres and schools. Lisa performed with the Oak Ridge Civic Ballet for four years, dancing the lead character role in Coppelia, the Snow Queen and the Spanish dancer in The Nutcracker, and was principal dancer for the ballet Cinderella. Lisa’s main focus of study has been Royal Academy of Dancing (RAD) under the instruction of Cristian Addams, formerly of the London Festival Ballet. Since opening her school in 1991, Lisa has had numerous students accepted by audition to prestigious dance programs such as New York University, North Carolina School of the Arts, American Ballet Theatre Summer Program, Joffrey Ballet, and Tennessee Governor’s School of the Arts. Each year several students of Studio Arts are awarded dance scholarships to major universities. Lisa is a recipient of the Outstanding Teacher Award given by the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts. She is the artistic director of Go! Contemporary Dance Works, a contemporary ballet and modern dance ensemble.
Laura Leitner Shields
Graduated from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music with a B.F.A. in dance and a Master’s degree from the University of Tennessee. Laura has studied classical ballet from Cristian Addams, formerly of the London Festival of Ballet, Oleg Sabline, formerly a soloist with Paris Opera Ballet, and Suzette Boyer, Donna Grisez, and David Blackburn of the Cincinnati Ballet. Laura also studied the Lester Horton Modern Dance Technique under James Truitte, a former dancer with the Lester Horton dance theater and Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre. Laura has performed with the Oak Ridge Civic Ballet, the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music Dance Ensemble and Opera, the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company II and the Contemporary Dance Theatre. A native of Norris, Tennessee, Laura has been teaching ballet and modern dance at Studio Arts for twelve years.
Denise Njuguna
Colleen Moore
Born and raised in Michigan, Colleen began studying dance at the age of eight. While growing up, she performed with Studio Dance Theatre in various classical ballets including principal roles in Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. Colleen also spent summers training with the Bolshoi Ballet and the Milwaukee Ballet. Colleen graduated with a BA in Dance from Western Michigan University with an emphasis on Classical Ballet. While at Western, Colleen performed various roles to include “Little Russian” in Balanchine’s Serenade, “First Regiment Captain” in Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes and soloist roles in Giselle, Swan Lake, and various contemporary ballets. Jill Frere
Jill spent the last nin years in New York City where she had the pleasure of dancing with David Dorfman, Ellis Wood Dance, Larry Keigwin and Company, Gina Gibney Dance, Jody Oberfelder and Company, and Naomi Goldber-Haas Dancers for a Variable Population, among others. Her choreographic works have been shown around Manhattan and the Bronx and she is honored to have set her work on GO! Contemporary Dance Works since 2005. Jill graduated from North Carolina School for the Arts as an NC Scholar. She graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance. Jill is also a Hatha Raja Yoga teacher.
Michelle Steedley
The majority of Michelle’s training was under Ron Jones of the Columbia County Ballet, former principal male dancer for Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Atlanta Ballet and Augusta Ballet. She has also studied under Mary Geiger of Michigan Classic Ballet, Helen Starr of The Louisville Ballet, Tammy Adams of Augusta Ballet as well as Kathryn McBeth, Carol Erkes, Andrew Kuharsky, Renee Toole and Zanne Beaufort. Michelle has held corps positions, principal and supporting roles in original ballets, contemporary pieces and story ballets. Michelle performed various roles in The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Giselleas well as several pieces by the late Tom Pazic such as Pas De Cinq in Concerto and lead roles in A Portrait of a Ball. She has taught for The Ron Jones Academy of Ballet, Savannah Dance Theatre, Vail Valley Academy of Dance and the Vail Youth Ballet Company. Michelle has her degree from the Medical College of Georgia in Occupational Therapy and is currently employed as a pediatric Occupational Therapist..
Dylan Kendrick
Dylan graduated from Columbia College in South Carolina with a B.A. in Dance. She has studied classical ballet under the instruction of Vyacheslav Mesropov, former principal dancer of Moscow Ballet and Olga Tozyiakova, former principal dancer of Bolshoi Ballet. Dylan has also studied contemporary dance under Alonzo King, artistic director of LINES Contemporary Ballet and Kevin Malone, former dancer of Philadanco. Throughout her training Dylan attended many summer dance programs including American Ballet Theater, Joffrey Mid-West, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, Point Park Conservatory and LINES. Dylan also danced with the Kennedy Center Master Classes in Washington D.C. There she had the privilege of taking classes with Suzanne Farell and Alexei Ratmansky, director of Bolshoi Ballet. She has performed with members of American Ballet Theater and Columbia Classical Ballet Company. Since concluding her college education, Dylan has taught at two schools in the Pacific Northwest; Irene’s School of Dance and Action Dance Academy. Dylan enjoys blending the beauty of classical ballet with movements from today’s contemporary scene.
Jenny Bopp
Throughout her years of classical ballet and modern dance training, Jenny has studied Laban movement, Pilates exercises, and dance Pedagogy, Kinesiology, and various techniques developed by choreographers such as Twyla Tharp and Martha Graham. Her primary ballet and pointe training began at the Southwest School of Dance in Marshall, Minnesota where she learned Cecchetti and Vaganova methods. During college, Jenny danced with the Tower Dancers dance company while studying Political Science at Hillsdale College. For the past year, she taught and choreographed for Cornerstone Christina Fellowship in West Chester, Pennsylvania. She enjoys using a combination of modern and balletic methods in her choreography to create fresh, unique style, while maintaining the development techniques and exercises necessary to a dancer’s training.
Kimberlie Mozur Heagerty
Kimberlie obtained her BA in Theater and Dance from Florida State University. She has over 25 years experiance as a student, instructor, performer, and choreographer. She has studied extensively with Robert Atwood, Kate Gellebert, Michael Ritchie, George Judy, Chuck Olson, Marcus Alford, Missy Zimmer and many others. Locally she has choreographed over 20 musicals for Webb School, South-Doyle High School, William Blount High School and the Knoxville Opera Company. She was last seen in The Producersat the Oak Ridge Playhouse. She staged the Drowsy Chaperone for Webb School last fall and will be staging Dirty Rotten Scoundrels this fall. Kimberlie will be teaching all levels of tap, Jazz 1 and theatre dance.
Marianne Wallen
As a former student of Studio Arts for dancers, Marianne has studied ballet, modern, jazz, and Horton. She is a former member of GO! Contemporary Dance Works and has performed with Circle Modern Dance. A graduate from the University of Alabama, with a B.F.A. in Dance, she studied jazz and Alvin Ailey dance styles under Artistic Director Cornelius Carter. She also studied ballet, modern, and hip-hop under Rita Snyder, Sarah Barry, John Virciglio, and guest artists from around the country. She has performed as a member of Dance Alabama and The Alabama Repertory Dance Theater for four years. Marianne was an instructor in ballet, modern, jazz, and lyrical at MJ’s Academy of Dance in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Marianne enjoys instilling fresh innovative dance styles while building inner strength and technique.