Alumni

Congratulations to Our Distinguished Alumni!

Our students have performed in Joffrey’s Nutcracker, Twyla Tharp’s One Hundreds Project, and Washington Ballet’s Hansel and Gretel.  Our students have been accepted into prominent dance departments, have been members of Big Ten University dance teams, and have received multiple college scholarships. Our students have been accepted to Harvard and Yale and have performed, taught, choreographed and toured professionally.

• Katherine Bayless danced with Jazzworks Professional Dance Company as well as Madison Ballet.
• Abby Bohlen attended the Yale summer program for Modern Dance and Fashion Design.
• Kayti Bouljon graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in Dance and teaches for Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, Washington. She is also the Director of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Outreach Program!
• J. J. Dane danced with the Viking football dance team.
• Megan Drake danced with Iowa State University’s audition-only performing dance company, and is also choreographed for the company.
• Jamie Dunn attended the University of Iowa where she majored in Psychology and Dance. Jamie danced with the University of Iowa Dance Team all four years.
• Anna Givens, a former student and teacher, has finished her MBA in Finance and moved to California to start her own business. Anna graduated from the University of Iowa with a BS in Economics, International Business and a minor in Dance.
• Nicholas Hamel  portrayed Herbie in the North American tour of Gypsy.
• Noelle Haverhals has instructed yoga at the stoney point YMCA in cedar rapids, for the University of Iowa recreational services department and was the personal yoga instructor for the University of Iowa men’s basketball team and Iowa City High School basketball teams.
• Leah Hirsch was a member Iowa State University’s audition-only performing dance company.
• Lisa Kottemann  graduated from the University of Iowa in the Spring of 2006 with her BFA in Dance and a minor in French.  Lisa performed in Dance Galas 2003 and 2004, in Duarte Danceworks 2004, in several undergraduate concerts, and was a member of Dancers in Company.  Lisa was a two-time recipient of the University of Iowa Enrichment Foundation Scholarship and is the 2005 recipient of the University of Iowa Dance Department’s Dancers in Company Scholarship.  Lisa performed with the professional modern dance company Hurley and Dancers as well as Poetic Rebound Performance Company. She is currently teaching Pilates and dances professionally.
• Gwen Lammers received arts scholarship offers from Coe, Cornell, and Luther Colleges while still a high school junior.  She graduated from the University of Iowa, with a major in Psychology and minor in Dance, and has performed in the University of Iowa Dance Department’s Dance Marathon.  Gwen has also performed with the University of Iowa’s Afro/Cuban Drum and Dance Ensemble.
• Anne Michael Langguth, former Synergy and Tap Troupe Company member at Kate Carol, was awarded the title of Miss Iowa 2009.
• Ellie McMullin attended Inerlochen Center for the Arts Summer Arts Camp for four summers where she studied music and dance.
• Jessica Morse Tubbs graduated with a BFA in Dance from Northwestern Illinois University. She also received a scholarship to Barat College Conservatory of Dance.
• Kristen Nerad was a member of Central College’s Dance Team.
• Allison Polsley attended the University of New  Mexico, Albuquerque, majored in Foreign Languages and Linguistics.  She studied International Ballroom with an emphasis on Latin dances, and competed in local ballroom competitions in the Southwest.  She lived and worked in Nampula, Mozambique where she created dictionaries for a language and literacy program and taught dance.
• Hannah Schlabaugh taught classes at Bethel College Academy of Performing Arts and was a rehearsal assistant for their Nutcracker. She also choreographed for Hesston College’s  opera “Amal and the Night Visitors”.
• Kaitlin Schutte, spent a summer as a production assistant for Joffrey Ballet. Kaitlin attended the Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts Summer Program. She graduated from the University of Iowa with majors in English and Dance in only three years and received honors in Dance. She attended Harvard .
• Emma Stapleton received a scholarship from the Hawkeye Area Grand Gaelic Isle Society in 2003 which allowed her to travel to Scotland for two weeks to compete with the Kansas City Highland Dancing Troupe.
• Adanna Ukah received early acceptance to Yale University and made Yale’s performing dance company.
• Dawin Wu attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and graduated in 2005 with a major in Elementary Education and a minor in Science Education.  She was a member of the University of Wisconsin, Madison’s Dance Team, UW Dance Elite; she choreographed and was in charge of the team’s end of the year performance for two years. Dawin participated in an educational grant that implements Creative Movement in the academic classroom.
• Lydia Rose Rappoport-Hankins received five full-ride college scholarship offers from Bard, Beloit, Colorado College, Lewis & Clark College and Macalester. Part of her scholarship application was submitting the Common Arts Application. This involved not only solos and recommendations, but also cuts of video from our previous recital. She attended Duke, where she pursued a minor in dance.

Erin Flynn, Molly Johnson, Kelsey Mims, Ashley Mitchel and Kristen Wurster all danced in the University of Iowa Dance Department.