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Alumni

Move Into The Spotlight

Young Dance Academy, Inc. is where strong, driven individuals will develop a lifelong passion for dance. We’re proud to see where our students have come from, and their continued interest in learning and growing with the industry. Over the years, we have seen so many of our dancers pursue their dreams in a number of ways.

From starring in hit television shows like Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance, working with prominent names in the entertainment industry, and cross-continental touring with countless productions of distinguished professional dance companies, you’ll learn the skills and confidence necessary to take on the world.

Our Studio

Our cutting-edge facility is located in the heart of Oak Creek, WI, just blocks from I-94 and General Mitchell International airport. We are centrally located to accommodate families within the greater Milwaukee area, surrounding suburbs, and Northern Illinois.

Young Dance Academy, Inc. has four spacious and fully-equipped studio rooms complete with raised wood flooring, essential for safe, and swift movements. There is plenty of parking, and a comfortable, spacious lobby to wait for your dancer to finish. Our friendly front desk staff is always there to greet you and help you with anything you may need.

Our Alumni

Nick Young
Nick Young.Nick Young is a dancer/choreographer based in Los Angeles, CA. Originally from Wisconsin, he trained at his Young Dance Academy, Inc. in tap, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, and ballet. Nick starting touring with country singer Kenny Rogers for his nationwide Christmas tour when he was 9 years old. At 19, he auditioned for Season 8 of “So You Think You Can Dance”, and was awarded a spot in the Top 20 specializing in tap. After touring with the Top 10, Nick moved to Los Angeles where he has worked with Jim Carrey, appeared on various Disney Channel shows, Glee, The Goldbergs, and Ted 2.

Nick’s choreography has been featured on “So You Think You Can Dance” and “World Of Dance”. His self-produced tap video to The Beatles’ “Come Together” went viral earning over 10 million views. He was a finalist for the 2016 “Capezio A.C.E. Awards” and took 2nd Runner Up at the 2017 A.C.E. Awards, granting him a production budget toward his own show at DancerPalooza. He is the founder and artistic director of “Rhythmatic”, a tap company based in Los Angeles. Their new show “On Top Of The World” has been a huge success, debuting at the Bermuda Festival for the Performing Arts, playing in Los Angeles and San Diego in 2018, with a tour planned in 2019. 

Adrian Lee
Adrian Lee.Adrian trained as a competitive dancer in the Midwest at both Young Dance Academy, Inc. and Perseverance Dance Company under Missy Ridgway.  Adrian has assisted and/or danced for Mia Michaels, Mandy Moore, Dee Caspary, Travis Wall and Sonya Tayeh.  He has danced for Rhianna on the MTV Video Music Awards.  Also, Adrian was in Rasta Thomas’ “Bad Boys of Dance.”  With the company Adrian toured internationally, dancing in Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Finland, Austria and Greece.  Adrian has appeared dancing on both “America’s Got Talent” and “Dancing With the Stars.”  He was a part of Florence + the Machine’s performance in the Video Music Awards choreographed by Travis Wall.  He danced in the Muppets movie and has danced on The Ellen Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and on “So You Think You Can Dance.”  

Adrian was a part of the original cast of Cirque du Soleil’s “IRIS” at the Kodak Theatre.  He has performed in industrials for companies like Apple, Audi and Mattel.  He has been a member of Shaping Sound.  Adrian danced for Shania Twain in the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace in her show “Still the One” directed by Raj Kapoor and choreographed by Mandy Moore.  After moving to New York City, Adrian was in the Broadway cast of “Wicked,” danced on the Tony Awards, and was a part of the national tour of Broadway’s “An American in Paris.” He is currently on the touring convention faculty of Hollywood Vibe and just premiered his own dance event, “BUILD” Dance Series.

Kristi Kleine

Kristi Kleine.After graduating from Young Dance Academy, Inc., Kristi went on to study at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance, Cum Laude.

In 2010, she joined the Sarasota Ballet of Florida where she climbed to the rank of First Soloist. During her time with the Sarasota Ballet she danced principal roles in Sir Frederick Ashton’s “The Two Pigeons”, George Balanchine’s “Rubies”, “Emeralds”, “Apollo”, and “Bugaku”, Paul Taylor’s “Company B” and “Airs”, Anthony Tudor’s “Gala Performance” and many others.  She also performed in tours to the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., City Center and the Joyce Theater in New York City, and Jacob’s Pillow in Beckett, MA.  She retired from ballet in April 2018 to begin her actuarial career but still enjoys teaching dance weekly and at workshops across the country.

 

Shannon McAvoy

Shannon McAvoy.Shannon was accepted into The Young Americans College of Performing Arts based in Southern California in 2011. She toured with them to Europe and Japan, performing and teaching music outreach workshops. She spent a season working at their dinner theater at Boyne Highlands Resort in Michigan, and performed in their annual Christmas shows in California.

 Wanting to further her technical training, she moved to Chicago to take part in the Lou Conte Dance Studio Scholarship Program, focusing on ballet and contemporary. Quickly after, Shannon started a career as a Production Show Dancer, for Princess Cruises and Crystal Cruises, which continued for three years. She can’t believe she has performed for audiences in over 50 countries!

From there, she relocated to NYC and was accepted to Broadway Dance Center’s Professional Semester to gain musical theater training and vocal coaching, auditioned A LOT, booked a few small gigs and started using her eye for assisting choreographers, Her hard work has allowed her to make her musical theater debut! She is currently working for Utah Festival of Opera and Musical Theater in Mary Poppins, as Graziella in West Side Story, and an understudy for Newsies. Shannon is very grateful for her success as a professional performer thus far. She never settles and can’t stay in one place too long so of course her next big move will happen after this contract in hopes to continue her career across the pond in London!

Jenny Hoffman

Jenny Hoffman.Jenny Hoffman is a Los Angeles based singer, dancer, and actress currently working professionally in the entertainment industry. After high school, she moved to LA to attend The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, and graduated with her BFA in Musical Theatre in 2014. She has been featured in shows across Southern California including Mary Poppins, 42nd Street, The Little Mermaid, The Producers, and many more. Most recently, Jenny has been working for Aida Cruiselines, a German cruise company, as a Lead Vocalist. For each contract she spends two months in Hamburg, Germany learning 7-9 different shows. After the rehearsal period, she spends 5 months on board the cruise ship exploring different cities each day and performing every night! She has been lucky enough to have visited 12 different countries in the past year, including Madagascar, Norway, Iceland, Italy, Croatia, and Greece. She is grateful to Young Dance Academy for providing the foundation that has led her to where she is today. 

Mark Osmunden
Mark Osmunden.Mark is an NYC-based dancer, actor, and fitness personality. Mark has taught and performed on 4 continents, including 300 performances with the Off-Broadway spectacle, Company XIV.  He has performed in original productions at The Metropolitan Opera in Lincoln Center for Tony Award Winners, Darko Tresnjak and Mary Zimmerman. He has been seen in InStyle Magazine, The New York Times, Men’s Health, OUT Magazine, Inked Magazine, and in campaigns for Colgate, Reese’s PB Cups, and Foxwoods. Mark is the Creator and CEO of The Movement Culture Collective, a mindfulness-based workout experience rooted in dance and spirituality. His classes, workouts, and meditations can be streamed from anywhere in the world through both the NEOU App and the Glo App.
Cindy Reid

Cindy Reid moved to New York City at 18 to attend Marymount Manhattan College with dance, academic, and leadership scholarships. While there, Cindy performed works by renowned choreographers such Dwight Rhoden, Ray Mercer, Lorna Ventura, and Sonya Teyah to name a few.

In 2010, she had the opportunity to tour in China with the Nikolai Dance Theater performing works choreographed by the late modern dance pioneer, Alwin Nikolais. The following year Cindy graduated magna cum laude with a BFA in Dance and minor in Business Management from Marymount Manhattan College.

Cindy was recently seen performing in a production of “Singin in the Rain” at The Wick Theatre in Boca Raton, FL. She also performed in Broadway’s 29th Annual Gypsy of the Year Awards and was featured in “Life”, choreographed by Bob Boross, at the Jazz Choreography Enterprise Showcase.

Laura Ksobiech

Laura Ksobiech graduated from the University of Arts in Philadelphia in 2015 on a full 4-year scholarship courtesy of the NYCDA College Scholarship Foundation!

After making the move to LA last year, Laura trained and performed for 3 months with Dana Foglia Dance Project. She worked and performed in LA with artist Z-Lala.

Sydney Kirkegaard
Sydney Kirkegaard.Sydney recently graduated from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, TX. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BFA in musical theater. Right after graduating, Sydney performed in the World Premiere stage adaptation of Pure Country at Lyric Stage in Dallas. She then performed in two shows at the Riverside Theater, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and A Chorus Line. Most recently, Sydney could be seen at the Skylight Music Theatre’s production of Kiss Me Kate in downtown Milwaukee. She currently resides in New York City pursuing theater and film work. 
Abby Stachnik

Abby Stachnik.Abigail Stachnik earned her BFA in Dance with Honors from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Her early training began at Young Dance Academy with summer intensives at the Milwaukee Ballet, Joffrey Jazz and Contemporary, Pennsylvania Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Cocodaco Dance Project, and DanceWorks Chicago. Abigail trained in the Scholarship Program at Lou Conte Dance Studio, apprenticed with Chicago Repertory Ballet, and performed as a Mezzo Company member with Cocodaco Dance Project where she eventually joined the main company in 2018. Most recently, she performed as a guest artist with Marlene Skog Dance and joined Symbiosis as a company dancer.

Abigail was honored to present choreography at the Athenaeum Theatre and College of DuPage this year. Her choreography has also been performed at the University of the Arts, DanceChance, Simantikos Dance’s Celebration of Chicago Art, and various dance competitions in the Milwaukee and Chicago areas. She is currently on faculty at Lomastro Performing Arts Academy and Duet Dance Academy.

Lauren Reed

After 5 years in the YDA Technique Intensive Program, Lauren Reed set off to further her dance training at Butler University. Upon graduating Cum Laude with honors and a BFA in Dance Performance and a minor in Religion in 2013, she relocated to Chicago to participate in the Lou Conte Scholarship Program at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.

Lauren began dancing with Project606 Dance after just a few months in the city and recently choreographed for Projections 2016. She was also a company member at Aerial Dance Chicago which allowed her to perform at venues such as Ruth Page and the Athenaeum Theater. During her time at ADC, Lauren participated in a collaboration with Elements Contemporary Ballet entitled AYA. She also has performed for Kasey Foster’s Dance Tributes, at Redmoon Theater, and at the Elgin Fringe Festival.

Lauren teaches all ages throughout the Chicagoland area and often draws on her time spent at YDA assisting combo classes! She is excited to continue learning and growing within Chicago’s dance community.

Rachel Sayotovich

Bio Coming Soon!

Allie Rick

Allie began her performance career with country star Kenny Rogers for 4 years. Also passionate for theatre, she has been in the ensembles of shows including, Oliver!, Kiss Me Kate, Honk!, and Once Upon a Mattress. Most notably, she played the role of Liesl in The Sound of Music. She attended college at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication. While studying in Milwaukee, she worked with many of the most prominent choreographers in the concert dance world including Arnie Zane and Bill T Jones company.

Allie recently moved to Los Angeles, CA to further pursue her dance career. Since her move, she has been able to work with Paula Abdul in a breast cancer awareness campaign video, performed with various recording artists all over America, and been in the Beach Body fitness series “Country Heat.” Allie looks forward to the many opportunities that lie ahead!

Kendra Bates

Currently living in Cleveland, Ohio, Kendra is pursuing acting and modeling. She is signed with Heyman Agency in Cleveland. Kendra has walked the runway for Fashion Week Cleveland with Tre Sorelle Boutique. She has modeled for Free Expression Clothing and Nike. She will be appearing in 2 separate Nike commercials, one with LeBron James and the other with Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Her most recent modeling job includes a Macy’s photo shoot!

Kendra has appeared in a few Independent films and music videos including PJ Camargo’s “Drunk in Love”.

Kendra hopes to move to LA in a year to further pursue her dreams of making it BIG in show business!

Phillip Ollenburg

Originally from Glendale, WI, Phillip began his training with Milwaukee Ballet School later furthering his training at Young Dance Academy, Inc. Mr. Ollenburg then went on to study at the University of Iowa where he graduated with a B.S. in microbiology and a minor in dance.

Over his career, Phillip has worked with University of Iowa’s Dancers in Company, Duarte Dance Works, Kayle + Company, Ballet Quad Cities, Ballet Austin, Minnesota Dance Theatre, River North Contemporary Dance Chicago, NoMi Dance Company, Jaxon Movement Arts and Chicago Repertory Ballet. Phillip is currently in his fifth season with Madison Ballet under the direction of W. Earl Smith.

André Kasten

Since the completion of his training at Young Dance Academy, Inc., André relocated to Los Angeles where he worked with artists such as Busta Rhymes, Jessica Simpson, and Jennifer Lopez. André’s career has taken him to Las Vegas where he performed in the epic show, “A New Day…” starring Celine Dion and with Bette Midler and the Cirque du Soleil show “Viva Elvis”!

André performed on the hit reality TV show “Dancing With The Stars”. Choreography credits include Cirque du Soleil, Nevada Ballet Theatre Capezio ACE Choreography Awards (1st Runner-Up) which he then went onto create Gray St.. André’s newest choreographic adventure with Cirque du Soleil’s Allavita! is taking him to Expo Milano 2015 in Italy!

Feeling inspired?

Find your inspiration at Young Dance Academy, Inc. by contacting us at (414) 768-9876!

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Young Dance Academy, Inc., Oak Creek, WI

ADDRESS

Young Dance Academy, Inc.
181 W Marquette Ave
Oak Creek, WI 53154

HOURS

Office hours resume 9/16.

Monday: 4:30 - 9:30pm
Tuesday: 4:30 - 9:30pm
Wednesday: 3:30 - 9:30pm
Thursday: 4:30 - 9:30pm
Friday: Closed
Saturday: 9:00am - 2:00pm
Sunday: Closed