Teaching Staff

Amy is the Owner/Artistic Director of Center Stage.  She opened the studio in 2003 with a vision to provide quality dance instruction, discipline, a sense of accomplishment, and to introduce a new repertoire of progressive new concepts of entertainment, dancing, and staging that will inspire students to reach for the stars.  From her earliest memory it has been her dream to be a dance teacher, to pass on the magic and her passion for dance to her students.  It is her belief that all children need positive experiences in their lives, and wants her students to leave class feeling good about the work accomplished.

Amy started dancing at the age of 3, at D & D Productions where she studied Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Tap, and Tumbling for 14 years.  She became a student teacher at age 11 and at age 15 joined the TazWood Dance Company.  During her 14 year stay with TazWood she served in several different rolls on the Board of Directors, did student choreography, taught and choreographed for the children's outreach program, performed many leading roles, and was the assistant to the Artistic Director.

Amy has attended numerous dance conventions and workshops, performed with the Peoria Orchestra, was a member of her high school dance team, she has done choreography for several different plays, attended and performed at a number of National College Dance Festivals, and has performed for different charitable events. Before opening the studio she also worked full time at Morgan Stanley where she was the Branch Managers Assistant and the head coordinator for Online Trading.  When she is not at the studio she spends her time with her husband and her daughter Francheska, who is also a dancer!  

Kelsey has been teaching at CSAD since 2013.  She loves teaching Modern and Contemporary, but she also teaches Ballet, Tap, and Jazz.  She has been dancing both non-competitively and competitively since the age of 3.  After high school she attended Millikin University where she received her minor in dance and was a member of the dance team.  She received her Masters of Health Administration from Penn State University in 2020.  Kelsey also works for OSF Healthcare. 

Kelsey enjoys working with all dancers in Central Illinois, choreographing for both junior high and high school dance teams competitive and non- competitive seasons. She also had the amazing opportunity to work in Walt Disney World as a Character Performer, as well as dance there with the team she belonged to through Jr. High and College! When she's not at the studio she loves spending time with her family and friends, and walking her three dogs Reggie, Calla Lily, and Arya!

This is Ashton's 4th year teaching at Center Stage! She came to CSAD when she was 5 and danced until she graduated Morton High School in 2021.  She was a member of our Competitive dance team and a teaching assistant for 4 years.  Her favorite style of dance is Contemporary.  Ashton attended the Disney College Program in the spring of 2022. She has just completed a year program at Oehrlein School of Cosmetology. And now is a licensed cosmetologist! 

Emily began dancing at the age of three, training in various styles including ballet, tap, jazz, pointe, hip hop, lyrical, and contemporary. Emily was a competitive dancer for seven years and trained at some of the highest pre-professional companies in north central Illinois until she was sixteen. While she was still continuing her dance education, she began assisting and leading children’s dance classes at her home studio. Since 2018, Emily has instructed dance classes and camps of various styles and levels as well as worked as a choreographer for children’s theatre productions. 

Emily is a recent graduate of Bradley University where she studied elementary education with an ESL endorsement. This is Emily's third year teaching at CSAD.

Keaton danced at Center Stage for 15 years and is a 2024 graduate of Morton High School where she was on the Varsity Dance Team. She was a member of our competitive dance team for 5 years, an assistant teacher for 6 years, and started teaching recital classes for the 2024 recital. This will be her second year as an instructor! Keaton is beginning her first year of undergraduate at Illinois State University where she is majoring in early childhood education. She is so excited to continue sharing her passion for dance through teaching!   

This will be Alaena's 8th year dancing at Center Stage, she is so excited to begin her teaching journey this year. For 4 years Alaena assisted different teachers in class and loved doing it. She has been on the competitive dance team for 7 years.  Alaena is currently a senior in high school and is planning on going to college to major in biology. Her favorite style of dance is contemporary.

"Center Stage was the first place I ever danced and where I developed my passion for it. This year I’m most excited to teach kids what I love to do and hopefully help them grow a passion for it as well." 

Izzy has been dancing at Center Stage for about 6 years and is starting her 5th year competing for CSAD. She will be starting her junior year at MHS where she is a member of the dance team. Izzy has been a helper for 3 years and will be starting her first year teaching. Contemporary and hiphop are her favorite styles of dance. Dancing has been such a strong passion and constant thing in Izzy's life and she hopes to pass her love of dancing to her students!