Our Instructors

	Cathy Rosenberg Studio Owner Bio coming
	Elizabeth Bender Office Manager and Instructor Elizabeth Bender is so excited to be back working and teaching at Steps Dance Center after being gone these past few years! Being a part of the original teaching staff 10 years ago makes her feel as if Steps Dance Center is her second family. Elizabeth graduated from University of Illinois with a degree in Industrial Engineering and gave that career a try for three years before her passion for dance was just too strong to keep her away. She is back at Steps as an office manager and instructor and loves her job! She has been dancing for 24 years and is trained in ballet, pointe, lyrical, tap and jazz. She has trained under dancers such as Joyce Lang and Julie Carson and has held dance roles in the Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty and West Side Story. Elizabeth has taught dance for 6 years has definitely been inspired by her students! For fun she loves to go county line dancing, play the guitar and piano and sing karaoke!
	Valerie Bishop Instructor Bio coming
	Sara Bisplinghoff Instructor Sara Bisplinghoff has her BFA in Theater and Dance Performance from Northern Illinois University. Two years of her college education were completed in the dance program at the University of Illinois in Champaign. Through studying in these two dance programs, Sara has enjoyed a well-rounded dance education, and has developed as a dancer who is strong in ballet and modern techniques, as well as choreography. Her performance experience includes several years with the Fox River Dance Company under the artistic direction of Annette Lawniczak, as well as work with independent choreographers Paula Frasz and Linda Lehovac, a premiere performance of Martha Graham’s Panorama, and Doris Humphrey’s With My Red Fires which was performed at Chicago’s Harold Washington Library. She has also appeared as a guest soloist at NIU’s Art for Life AIDS annual benefit performance. Several of Sara’s original works have been featured in the Freespace annual modern dance concert held in St. Charles, Illinois. Sara’s love of dance led into a passion for teaching, and she has been sharing her love of dance with her students for over eight years now. She hopes to continue dancing, choreographing and teaching for many years to come. Sara lives in Bolingbrook, Illinois with her husband, Chris and her two children, Audrey and Zachary.
	Stacey Cohen Instructor Stacey Cohen has been dancing for 18 years, and teaching dance for 8 years. She is trained in hip-hop, jazz, tap, lyrical, ballet, and pointe, and has a 10-year competition background. She also has been choreographing for high school dance teams the past three years. Stacey was also a captain of the Waubonsie Valley High School Varsity Poms team, where she led her team to the Universal Dance Association Nationals Dance Competition in Orlando, Florida: and to the IDTA State Poms Competition at the University of Illinois. Stacey spent her first year of college at Western Illinois University, in which she was on the “Westernettes” Dance Team. Her biggest accomplishment was when she competed in the Miss Dance Drill Team Illinois Pageant her Junior and Senior year of high school. She was the first person at W.V.H.S. to qualify for Miss Dance Drill Team USA Pageant in California, in which she competed in for two years. Her background dance training allowed her to dance with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago in the Nutcracker for two years. Currently, Stacey is a senior at Columbia College Chicago studying Broadcast Journalism, with a minor in Dance and Advertising. Most recently Stacey finished the Comedy Studies Program at the Second City Chicago, in which she was accepted to last spring, where she had the amazing opportunity to perform at The Second City. Along with all of this, she is currently studying dance at Lou Conte Dance Studio in Chicago, as well as taking master classes.
	Barbara Conley Instructor Barabra Conley began dancing at the age of three and knew she wanted to be a ballet dancer at age six when she saw The Nutcracker for the first time. Barbara is a graduate of Oklahoma City University with a degree in ballet and music. In her career, she has trained with The Little Rock Civic Ballet, Theatre NYC, The National Academy of Ballet and The San Francisco Ballet School to name a few. Barbara was a company member of Ballet Oklahoma from 1974-1979 performing in such ballets as Giselle, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Firebird under the direction of Conrad Ludlow and Joy Feldman Ludlow. Ms. Conley has been teaching in the Naperville area for eight years, seven of those years with Steps Dance Center. Along with spending time with her family, Barbara continues to study ballet at Lou Conte Studio and Salt Creek Ballet. In remaining a student herself she believes she continues to grow as a teacher and has more to offer her students.
	Karlo Familara Instructor Bio coming
	Jeri Ford Instructor Jeri Ford began dance training in Olathe, Kansas at the age of 3. Continuing her dance instruction in Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Hip Hop at several dance studios in the Plainfield/Naperville area, including private and classroom instruction, Jeri's love for dance continued to grow. At the age of 10, she performed in the musical "Electric Park" held at PHS. While attending Plainfield High School, Jeri was a member of the dance team. While on the PHS dance team Miss Jeri was selected to take part in the UDA All-Stars Program in 2002 and 2004, Jeri was also a member of North Central College dance team in 2005. It is with great enjoyment that Jeri continues to take dance classes whenever and wherever she can. Jeri currently is taking classes at the Lou Conte Studio and Joel Hall in Chicago. By making two yearly trips to Los Angeles to take classes at the Edge and Millenium Dance studios, she is constantly widening her horizon in dance styles and techniques. She has studied and currently studying under Kasper, Kirby Reed, Marlow Fleming, Frank Hatchett, Trae Turner, Rebecca Lemme, Joan Lather, Brad Taylor, Janice Barringer, Hank Crabtree and Kenny Ingram, as well as many other well known teachers. Also, she has been involved in master classes instructed by Frank Hatchett, Hank Crabtree and Kenny Ingram. Over the past two years it has been her great honor to take classes from Wade Robinson, Mia Michaels and Shane Sparks. Her dance philosophy is it that it comes from the inside as natural as walking and breathing. She looks forward to working with your kids and sharing the love and knowledge of dance.
	Courtney Frame Instructor Courtney Frame began her studio dance training at the age of three and has studied many disciplines of dance including ballet, jazz, tap, pointe, lyrical, and hip hop. She competed for her studio throughout middle and high school as well as for her high school pom squad. Her proudest accomplishment is winning four state championships throughout her high school dance career (freshmen-senior year). Courtney decided to continue dancing in college and majored in Health and Physical Education. Upon graduation, she danced for the Peoria Pirates and was then offered a collegiate coaching position that changed the direction of her dance career. She began her coaching and teaching career under Christian Naven, the current coach of the Philadelphia 76ers dance team. Currently, Courtney teaches and coaches at Neuqua Valley High School. She teaches jazz, tap, On Broadway, Dance of the Decades, hip hop, and Bodysculpt. Additionally, she is the artistic director of the Orchesis Dance Troupe.
	Angelina Grima Instructor Angelina Grima, is the current Co-Artistic and Administrative Director of Design Dance. Prior to her recent success, Angelina attended Western Michigan University’s Department of Dance from 2004-2008. During her stay, Angelina participated in many performance opportunities having worked with artists such as George Faison (original choreographer for The Wiz on Broadway), Robert Battle, Eddie Taketa (a company member in the Doug Varone Company), Diane McIntyre, Willie Shives (current artistic director of the Joffrey Ballet) and of course the credited faculty. She was also the recipient of many scholarships through her dance major. Angelina was a member of the student touring company “Western Dance Project,” which received national honors performing at the Gala Concert at American College Dance Festival. Angelina participated as a member and choreographer for Hip-Hop ConnXion Michigan and the downtown Chicago branch. In the summer of 2008 she was featured at the B96 Summer Bash, performing behind DJ Flipside of B96 Chicago, featuring artists such as Jesse McCartney, Danity Kane, and T-Pain for an audience of 30,000 people. This fall Angelina had the privilege of performing alongside the Black Eyed Peas at Oprah’s 24th Season Kickoff Party where she assisted to teach 21,000 people, the largest flash mob in history. She recently co-choreographed a piece for the Chicago movie premier of Fame. Her style is said to be quirky and heavily influenced by hip hop and the cabaret styles of the 1920s.
	Catherine Huntley Instructor Catherine has been teaching dance to all ages for over 20 years. She began her dance career at an early age studying with the Stone-Camryn School of Ballet, Chicago. Catherine went on to study dance at NIU and spent her summers studying under Ginger Farley at the Lou Conte Dance Studio. She has performed throughout the Chicagoland area and now passes on her love of dance to her two children, Alec and Haley!
	Rali Hurrle Instructor Ralitza (Rali) has completed her dance education in Bulgaria. She trained in the Vaganova classical ballet system under the instruction of grand prima ballerina Krassimira Koldomova. She received training in contemporary under the instruction of Martha Graham expert, Albena Atanassova. After graduating, Rali continued as an instructor and choreographer at the Krassimira Koldamova Dance School. She has performed throughout Bulgaria and participated in international dance festivals. Rali continued her international experience by joining "L'Academie de Dance" in New Zealand, where instruction was held under the Royal Academie of Dance system. She has also experienced working with the all male contemporary formation, "Black Grace" based in Auckland, New Zealand. Currently, Rali is working on international dance and music projects with her colleague, Ani Gancheva of "ModelDance" in Bulgaria.
	Sofie Lebedeva Instructor Born in Russia, Sofie always knew she wanted to dance. When she came to the US she started off with rhythmic gymnastics at the YWCA and ballet at Russian Classical Ballet. Sofie was involved in musical theater in high school and played roles in "Annie", "The Music Man", and "Anything Goes". Throughout her four years of high school Sofie was an all around varsity gymnast. Sofie didn't find her niche of dancing until her senior year of high school when she took a hip hop class from Suave. Since then, she has been dancing with the Hip Hop ConnXion. Being a member of the Hip Hop ConnXion Elite dance troupe has given Sofie many opportunities to perform all over the nation. Other than her love for hip hop she loves to explore different styles of dance. She has taken classes at Fred Astaire for ballroom and took lyrical classes with Lindsey Jones. Sofie is currently a full time student at Columbia College working toward her B.A. in Marketing and Advertising. In her spare time she choreographs floor exercise routines for gymnasts. Sofie is still actively taking hip hop classes so she can continue to grow and get inspired. Being involved in the hip hop community has also given Sofie opportunities to travel to Orlando and perform for a McDonald's world wide convention, dance onstage with Lupe Fiasco for an MLS halftime, and other dance gigs. Sofie loves to teach and wants to help her dancers grow because for her there is no greater satisfaction than seeing a student grow and succeed.
	Landy Mueller Instructor Landy Mueller started ballet classes when she was 6 and wasn’t sure if she liked it. With time and perseverance she began to truly appreciate that ballet was a discipline she loved in her life and was amazed at how much joy she experienced when she was at dance class.She trained with the Royal Academy of Dance for 12 years , studying the graded examination syllabus. She danced with the Singapore Ballet Academy and the Rose Eberwein School of Dance, Singapore. With very little opportunity to perform, her concentration to excel lay primarily in her annual examinations. She has taught at Steps for 6 years. Looking back at the course of her dance education, her primary goal as a teacher is to see the younger dancer enjoy ballet class and develop a love for the art. With that in mind, she works on creating dances that are inspiring and appealing to her students.
	Melissa Rosenberg Instructor Bio coming
	Rebecca Rosenberg Instructor Rebecca Rosenberg has been training and teaching at Steps since its opening in 2000. She has trained in jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical, contemporary, pointe, and hip-hop. Rebecca attended Neuqua Valley High School and served as the president of the Orchesis Dance Troupe as well as captain of the Varsity Poms Team. She received her Bachelors of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Illinois in 2008. During her time at the University of Illinois, Rebecca was a member of the nationally ranked Illini Dance Team and served as the choreographer for their hip-hop routines which were competed at the National UDA Competition for three years. She also was a member of the University of Illinois branch of the international hip-hop company Dance2XS during her four years at U of I, and served as Artistic Director. Amongst her performances with Dance2XS, Rebecca opened for hip-hop artist Chingy, and had the chance to perform and train amongst such hip-hop crews/choreographers as the Jabbawockeez, Marty Kudelka, Sky Hoffman, and Gigi Torres. Rebecca continues to train regularly through classes and conventions. She is so excited to be back at Steps and really enjoys watching her students grow as dancers as well as people!
	Anna Spelman Instructor By the time Anna Spelman was three years old, she already knew that her deepest desire in life was to become a ballerina. She began seriously training in ballet at the age of nine at the San Diego Ballet School. There, and later at the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham, Anna trained with Thor Sutowski and Dame Sonia Arova. Anna received scholarships to the American School of Ballet where she started studying as early as eleven under Balanchine in New York; attended Centre Dance International at twelve years old under Rosella Hightower in Cannes, France; and entered the Eighth International Ballet Competition at Varna, Bulgaria, as a junior contender. On the south of France’s open air stages, Anna danced as the little girl and a sylph in La Sylphide with the San Diego Ballet joined by Rosella Hightower’s dancers. She began her performing career at nine with the San Diego Ballet Company, earning a weekly salary at age fifteen. At the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham, Anna performed monthly, coached by Sonia Arova in ballets, such as, Bournonville’s The Flower Festival in Genzano pas de deux and a leading role in Fokine’s Les Sylphides which prompted her to win an obelisk award for best female dancer presented to her by Charlie’s Angel Kate Jackson. Later, while on scholarship at American Ballet Theater School, Anna had the opportunity to perform Richard England’s Vivaldi pas de deux behind another couple on the Metropolitan Opera House stage. At the time, Lucia Chase, American Ballet Theater’s artistic director, happened to be in the audience. The next day, Anna was asked to join American Ballet Theater to perform as a snowflake in the Nutcracker which marked the beginning of her career with ABT. Anna has had the good fortune to perform all over the world. During her nine-year professional career with American Ballet Theatre, Anna toured the major cities of France, Italy, Japan, and Israel. Anna danced and acted in the films Hair, directed by Milos Forman and choreographed by Twyla Tharp, and Dancers, directed by Herbert Ross and filmed in Livorno, Italy. In addition, Anna appeared in many productions for television, including Live from Lincoln Center, PBS special Twyla Tharp with ABT, and American Ballet Theater in San Francisco. In the David Gordon television special Dance in America, Anna was featured as the Woman in White with Mikhail Baryshnikov in an Edward Gorey adaptation of Murder. Having had the opportunity to work with well-known choreographers in both ballet and modern dance, such as, George Balanchine, Kenneth Macmillan, Jerome Robbins, Antony Tudor, Frederick Ashton, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Merce Cunningham, David Gordon, Paul Taylor, and Twyla Tharp, to perform in soloist and principal roles, and to dance with world-renowned dancers, Anna recognized that she had realized all of her goals in dance; she made the difficult decision to move on to experience life’s other challenges. After earning her undergraduate degree in liberal arts, majoring in Mathematics at Columbia University in New York City, Anna was recruited by Wall Street’s financial world. For the next six years, Anna worked at Barclays and later, at Credit Suisse. In addition, she has instructed Pilates at Romana Kryzanowska’s New York Pilates studio; and taught ballet classes at Eglevsky Ballet; and worked as a web developer/web designer. While studying academics at CU, Anna frequented Barnard’s dance department by taking courses in Movement Analysis and Anatomy for Dancers along with choreographer workshops. To this day, besides having a family, Anna’s greatest passion is to dance. Now that she resides in Naperville with her husband and their four children, Anna enjoys sharing her love for dance through the art of teaching.
	Suave Instructor Suave' is the founder and executive director of the renouned Hip Hop Connxion, as well as the owner of Dance Connxion Studio in Wheeling, IL. Some examples of his pioneering accomplishments and stylistic influence are his appearances in movies "Save the Last Dance" with Julia Stiles and "Just Visited" with Christina Applegate. Suave' was the dance coordinator of B96 B-Bash and has performed at huge venues alongside P-Diddy, Nelly, and other artists. Suave' has taught masterclasses internationally, judges competitions in the US as well as overseas, and choreographs for high profile recording artists.
	Andrea Weber Instructor Andrea Weber earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Stephens College, one of the last remaining women’s liberal arts colleges in the nation. While attending Stephens she was a member of the Dimensions Dance Company for three years. During her training she had the opportunity to study under and perform pieces from Deborah Carr, Jan Miller, Mary Rotella, and Jim May. She has trained in multiple forms of dance including: Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Tap, Theatre Dance, West African, Irish Step, East Indian, Russian Character, and Flamenco. In this past year she has taught Jazz, Hip Hop, and West African at Limelight Studio in Columbia, MO. To continue her education and training Andrea takes classes weekly at Lou Contes and studies Ballet under Birute Barodicaite and Jazz under Autumn Eckman. Andrea enjoys sharing her knowledge of dance and expressing her creative side through choreography.
	Deanna Wozniak Instructor Deanna Wozniak began dancing when she was 3 years old. She has taken ballet, jazz, tap and pointe. She trained at The School of Performing Arts competing and performing throughout the Chicago Land Area. She was President of Waubonsie Valley High School’s Orchesis Troupe in 2006 and has had the opportunity to work with many professionals such as Jon Lehrer, Randy Duncan, Jeff Hancock and Jessie Young. During her college undergrad she studied under Eloy Barragan and Armando Duarte at the University of Iowa and Sandra Kaufmann and Mari Jo Irbe at Loyola University Chicago. She is currently a member of the Cardinal Dance Company at North Central College and is very excited to teach at Steps.