5721 W. Irving Park Rd. Chicago, IL 773.736.6677
Instructors
Jeanne Sok - Studio Owner/Director
Jeanne began her dance training at The Dance Academy when she was three years old. In 1995 she purchased the studio from her first teacher, Mary Lou, and has been running it strong ever since. In addition to her valuable dance education that started at The Dance Academy, she has studied at Lou Conte Dance Studio (home of the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago) and has taken workshops and master classes with Savion Glover, Tommy Sutton, Jimmy Payne, and Bruce Stegmann to name a few. Ms. Jeanne has been teaching in the Chicago area for more than 20 years! Her specialties are in children’s combination classes as well as teen/adult tap classes. You can always see her smiling face around the studio -- probably with one of her three beautiful children in tow!
Jahmilah Alazan
Jahmilah has been dancing since the age of 16 she is currently a junior at columbia college chicago studying music , she has trained in all styles of dance but is noted for her training in hip hop and breakdancing her schools of study include joel hall dance center where she trained in all classical styles( jazz, ballet, modern, and tap, jazz funk) on intensive scholarship for two years the old town school of folk music where she trained with her mentor and renowned hip hop/ house dancer boogie MC'clarin chicago tap ledgened reggio the hoofer mcglauphin and breakdancer Anacron from the highly reconized breakin crew Brickheadz..she is currently dancing with international hip hop dance troupe culture shock chicago and stick and move dance crew you can catch her performing all over the country with both companies. Jahmilah loves dancing/teaching her unique style of teaching as been noted the deerfield park district as 'a fresh urban expierance' she hopes to continue to teach forever.
Kathy Decker
Kathy Decker was born and raised in Chicago. Her love for movement began at age four at The Dance Academy and grew with cheerleading at Portage Park and gymnastics at Merrimac Park. Her true passion was for tap, and she began her teaching career as an assistant at The Dance Academy with Mary Lou Tromanhauser – officially joining the staff in 1991. It was from Mary Lou that she learned how to balance discipline, fun, classic techniques and creativity to make the best learning experience for all ages and levels of dance.After graduating from Notre Dame H.S., Kathy continued her dance training at Northeaster Illinois University where she received a dance scholarship studying with Dame Libby Komiako and Venitia Stifler. In 1998 she traveled with the studio to New York performing and taking master classes in the Autumn Dance Festival at Carnegie Hall.
Her specialties are tap and combination classes for children. Over the years, in addition to taking continuing classes at The Dance Academy, she has taken master classes with some of the most talented dancers in the Chicagoland area such as Kirby Reed of The Kirby Reed Project and Bril Barrett and Lane Alexander of the Chicgao Human Rhythm Project.
In addition to teaching weekly classes, Kathy runs the studio's childrens performance group, Lil' Starz along with owner Jeanne Sok.
Abby Foster
Abby Foster has over twenty years of extensive dance training, beginning in her hometown of Great Bend, Kansas. She has studied a wide range of dance genres including Creative Movement, Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Modern, Lyrical, Hip-Hop, Irish Step, Swing, Salsa, and Flamenco. Abby has studied and competed both regionally and nationally with various touring workshops, such as Tremaine, Company Dance, and Dance Olympus. She continues to study at Hubbard Street's Lou Conte Studio in Chicago.Abby graduated from Kansas State University with a BA in Dance and Theatre. There, she danced and performed for the school and in various recitals, such as SpringDance and WinterDance. Additional performances include endless recitals, the Florida Citrus Bowl, Around the Coyote Festival of Chicago, and other Kansas local events . In June of 2005, Abby attended a Cheer and Dance Coaches Conference in Houston, Texas, where she received Safety and Injury Prevention and Judges Certification. She is certified to judge national cheer and dance events for Power Dance, the World Series of Cheerleading, American Cheerpower, Drill Connection, and is a certified judge for American Championships, a cheerleading and dance competition circuit.
Her choreography has been showcased at Kansas State University, Great Bend High School, Kansas State Pageants, Resurrection High School, Robert Morris College, and within many musicals in Manhattan, Kansas including: The Granny Awards, Hello Dolly, and Bye Bye Birdie. She was selected on numerous accounts to adjudicate dance auditions in the Kansas area. Abby has taught all ages and all styles at various venues including: the Great Bend Recreation Commission; Designs In Dance of Great Bend, Kansas; Manhattan Parks and Recreation of Manhattan, Kansas; The Dancesport Center of Chicago, and Storm Dance Alliance of Oswego.
Abby founded the Robert Morris College Competitive Dance Team in the Summer of 2004, which eventually developed into a Varsity Dance Team, JV Poms Team, and a Cheer Squad. In the dance team’s first year, the team competed at NDA Collegiate Nationals. She has been the Dance Instructor and Orchesis Director at Resurrection High School for four years where she has led a successful dance curriculum while also coaching JV and Varsity Orchesis teams. Orchesis has trained and competed with Dance Olympus, Tremaine, LA Danceforce, Starbound, and UDA; and has also performed for Dance Chicago and Disney’s Magic Music Days.
Her students have gone on to dance at the University of Illinois-Champaign, University of Illinois-Chicago, Marquette University, Northern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University, DePaul University, Kent State University, Dominican University, Adrenaline Rush Dance Team and the Chicago Luvabulls.
Rachel Gordon
Rachel Gordon has been dancing for the past seven years and has professionally trained in tap, jazz, hip hop, ballet, gymnastics and Irish dance. Her training began under Ginger Jensen as a company member and Rehearsal Director of Equilibrium Dance Chicago and has since extended her education under many teachers at Lou Conte Dance Studio and Visceral Dance Chicago. Ms. Rachel has also mentored under Dawn Penny, Director of Lincoln Park, West Loop and Lakeview Kids' Clubs, studying early childhood development through movement classes. She has performed, as well as choreographed, many musicals over the years -- her favorites include You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, Ragtime and Les Miserables. She has also been lucky enough to work with freelance choreographers from professional dance companies around Chicago, including River North Chicago Dance Company. Her dancing also led her to volunteer time to work as a Stage Manager for InAside Chicago Dance for two and a half seasons. She enjoys the continuing pursuit of her dance career, as well as having the chance to teach a variety of ages. Ms. Rachel taught at Lincoln Park and West Loop Kids' Club for two years, teaching children from 6 weeks to 4 years old in a variety of movement classes. She is also very excited to be coming back to The Dance Academy for her second year. Having the opportunity to have an impact on so many lives through movement is incredible to her, and she cherishes it every time she steps into the studio. Her love for dance and the community grows deeper the more she emerges herself in it, and she looks forward to dancing and teaching in Chicago for many years to come.
Lamar Lockett
Lamar Lockett began his career in dance as a hip-hop dancer. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he studied modern and jazz dance. While attending school, he was introduced to swing dance and this is when his love for partner dancing began. Since then, he has worked at some of the top ballroom dance studios in the country and has taught over 2000 hours of group and private lessons. Lamar also teaches for Chicago Public Schools, Park Districts, Health Clubs, and is always training for salsa competitions. He has recently qualified for the ESPN World Salsa Championships and was a Chicago finalist.!
Kylie Nieves - Teaching Assistant
Kylie has been dancing for 14 years at The Dance Academy. Over the years, she has studied Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Lyrical, Modern, and Contemporary. At age 8 she was in Ballet Legere's production of "The Nutcracker", and a few years later studied at Joel Hall Dancer's & Center. When she was 13, Kylie became a Teacher's Assistant at The Dance Academy and few years later became a substitute teacher. Kylie has performed at Dance Chicago and has also competed & choreographed in several dance competitions in the Chicagoland area. For the past 2 years Kylie has danced as an Advanced Apprentice Artist at Gallery37, which is part of After School Matters, a City of Chicago program. She has had the privilage of taking several Master classes with professional dancers from Columbia College, Deeply Rooted Productions and Dance Works Chicago. She is a recent graduate of Walter Payton College Prep High School and will be attending Northeastern Illinois University where she plans to study Psychology with a minor in Dance. She is thrilled to become a part of The Dance Academy staff & cannot wait to share her love of dance with her students. She looks forward to all of the exciting opportunities now and in the future.