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Tamra Bisbee, Director
Ballet • Jazz • Tap • Lyrical • Modern • Hip Hop

Tami grew up in McFarland, WI and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Choreography and Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  She began her training in ballet, jazz and tap at Madison Performing Arts and continued to study here at A Step Above adding lyrical and pointe to her training.  Tami has attended Tremaine, Company Dance, NYCDA, LA Underground conventions and has taught ballet, jazz, tap and lyrical at all levels throughout the Madison area for several years.  In addition to her experience working with high school dance teams, Tami has traveled to London and New York to appear in holiday parades.

At the University level, Tami added modern, ballroom, African, Asian-American, composition and improvisation to her training.  She has worked with Li Chiao-Ping, Jin-Wen Yu, James Sutton, Marlene Skog, Sean Curran, Gloria McLean, Lori May, Claudia Melrose, Kirby Reed as well as with several guest artists through master classes and seminars including American College Dance Festival.  Tami’s choreography has been showcased in several UW Dance Department Student Concerts and at several regional competitions.

Tami became the director of A Step Above in June 2004.  She has made teaching dance her lifelong commitment and looks forward to a long career of helping all of her students build confidence and love for the arts through dance.

Jeni Hall
Ballet • Jazz • Tap • Lyrical

Jeni started dancing at age 3 at Barb’s Centre for Dance in Green Bay, WI.  There she studied ballet, tap, jazz and lyrical styles with an occasional hip hop class. She danced competitively from age 4 to 18. During that time, Jeni traveled to National Dance Competitions in Myrtle Beach, SC, Orlando, FL, and Branson, MO.  While at Barb’s Centre for Dance, she attended master classes with Jeff Shade (from the musical “Crazy for You”), Tap Dogs, Charissa Seaman (one of Britney Spears’ dancers) and Dena Rizza (a hip hop choreographer).

She became involved in the UW’s dance program her freshman year when she choreographed a jazz routine for their elective showing.  From there, Jeni performed in the Senior Honors Concerts of Ali Rootberg and Rosemary Cisneros-Kastic.  She also choreographed and performed with the student organization OPTIMA.

Jeni has been teaching in the Madison area for four years.  She will graduate from UW-Madison in December of 2006 with a degree in Retailing-Small Business Management and a Dance Certificate.

Jeni is very excited to be teaching at A Step Above Dance & Music Academy and to share her passion for the art of dance with her students.

Caylyn Huffer-Kiesow
Ballet • Jazz • Tap • Lyrical • Hip Hop

Caylyn started her dance career at A Step Above Dance Studio when she what three years old.  At age twelve, she was invited to join the Step Beyond Dance Company.  Caylyn became an assistant teacher to young dancers at A Step Above for four years and she continued dancing at this studio through her senior year of high school.

After high school, Caylyn joined a dance group called “Diversity.”  She also has had the opportunity to dance and perform in productions such as the Nutcracker, Copacabana, Everyman, and Guys and Dolls. 

When it comes to choreographing, Caylyn became interested when she was asked to choreograph her seventh grade show choir production and later a church musical.  Additionally, she helps choreograph dances for a group of interested young children every summer. 

Caylyn enjoys working with children and her future goal is to become a daycare provider as well as continuing her teaching career at A Step Above.  She is really excited at the opportunity to teach dance and to watch your children learn and grow.

Meghan Nechrebecki
Jazz • Tap • Lyrical • Hip Hop • Ballet

Meghan began her dance training at the age of 3 at the Kay Koch School of Dance (eventually renamed 5 Star Dance Studio) in St. Paul, Minnesota.  In the 9th grade she transferred to 4th Street Dance Centre in White Bear Lake, Minnesota where she continued to increase her time and passion as a dancer.  At 4th Street, she received teaching in the form of jazz, tap, lyrical, ballet, and hip hop.  She performed in many statewide competitions and conventions as well as the annual Lion’s Club Show.  She was even voted Class Leader by her peers during her senior year!

Meghan now attends the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a pre-medicine student with a degree in Biochemistry and Spanish.  She has been on the UW Dance Elite club dance team for the past two years and has performed jazz and funk routines at not only competitions but also homecoming events, parades, volleyball games, and wrestling matches.  She has also taken a semester of ballet at the UW from Mr. Vivian Tomlinson.  She is now currently a assistant coach for the Edgewood High School pom squad as well as teaching at A Step Above!

She is very excited to be able to teach and hopes to instill her love for dance in those that she teaches!

Kerry Parker
Ballet

Kerry was born in St. Paul, MN and spent her early years training at Minnesota Dance Theater and Pacific Northwest Ballet School and at the summer courses of Milwaukee Ballet and the School of American Ballet.  She danced with Minnesota Dance Theater, Pacific Northwest Ballet and The Vienna State Opera Ballet.  After a brief hiatus from the dance world she moved to New York where she studied dance with Zvi Gottheiner, Jackie Villamel, Christine Wright and Jeremy Nelson.  While in New York she also studied yoga with Peter Rizzo and Gyrotonics with Jurgen Bamburger.  Kerry freelanced with Avila/Weeks Dance, Arianne Anthony & Company and Ancient of Days Dance Theater before returning to the Midwest to dance with Ballet of the Dolls, Jennifer Hart, Bonnie Mathis and The Vroom Vroom Group. 

Kerry has been choreographing since 2005 and has presented work at University of Idaho, Washington State University, ACDFA, Northwest New Works and 12 Minutes Max at On the Boards in Seattle and the West Wave Dance Festival in San Francisco.  She’s been living in Pullman, WA, for the past five years teaching ballet at the University of Idaho and Festival Dance Academy.  Kerry is relocating to Madison to work with Kanopy Dance and is very happy to be included in A Step Above’s faculty of teachers.

Nicole Rindt
Jazz • Hip Hop • Ballet • Tap

Nicole grew up in Madison, WI and has been dancing since age six.  She began her training in ballet, jazz and tap here at A Step Above.  She has furthered her dance instruction adding hip hop and poms as a member of her middle school and high school dance team.  She also has experience in gymnastics and cheerleading as a member of the Badger All Stars Competition Squad for three years.

Nicole’s love for dance continues and she has been co-coaching the Oregon High School Dance Team for the past five years.  She has choreographed many pom, jazz and hip hop routines for the team, including competition routines.

Nicole continues her education in hip hop, jazz and ballet at surrounding studios, dance schools and competition workshops.  Teaching and coaching dance has been an extremely rewarding experience for Nicole and she is very excited to begin her first year teaching at A Step Above!

Breanne Schuster
Ballet • Lyrical

Breanne grew up in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.  She began Irish Dancing at a young age with Scoil Roe Dennehy.  She competed and was successful in various regional and national competitions.  Breanne began taking private ballet lessons with a local instructor and performed in The Nutcracker, before moving to Eau Claire.

After the move, Breanne joined En Avant, a local studio, and received training in ballet, pointe, jazz, and modern.  She then began taking class with the Minnesota Ballet Company, and attended a summer intensive with them in Duluth.  With this intensive she was able to gain training in tap and improvisation, in addition to pointe, modern and jazz.   Through the company she was given the opportunity to perform in The Nutcracker, Cinderella,
 and Swan Lake. 

Currently Breanne is a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  There she is pursuing a double major in Dance Education and Spanish.  At the University she has been fortunate to work with various choreographers, instructors, and guest artists.  Breanne is also a member of Madison Ballet’s Studio Company, and is a choreographer and performer in Optima, a student dance organization at the university. 

Breanne hopes to attend Medical School when her undergraduate work is complete, studying to be a neurologist.  However, her real passion has and always will be dance.

Abigail Shanks
Ballet

Abigail Shanks began her ballet training in her hometown in Lynchburg, Virginia, studying for ten years under the direction of Colin and Sylvia Worth.  While studying at the Fine Arts Center, Abigail performed in multiple productions as a member of the Lynchburg Regional Ballet Theatre, including numerous seasons of The Nutcracker, as well as Coppelia, Cinderella, The Tales of Beatrix Potter and selections from Swan Lake.

After graduating from high school, she continued her dance training at Belhaven College, a Christ-centered liberal arts school located in Jackson, Mississippi.  It was not until she attended Belhaven that she was introduced to modern dance.  There she studied under Amy Roark-McIntosh, Stephen Wynne (founder of At Marah Dance Theatre), Yvette Koonce, Lauri Worrill-Bigs, and Marc Arentsen (co-founder of Polarity Dance Theatre), and performed in various faculty and student choreographed works.  Abigail has also worked under other instructors at different times, including Marcia Dale Weary, director of the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet.

Abigail currently teaches 2-5 year olds at Kid’s Junction in Madison and is excited to join the A Step Above faculty.

Elyse Snider
Ballet • Jazz • Tap • Musical Theater • Modern • Lyrical

Elyse is so happy to be returning to A Step Above for a third year. Elyse is a graduate with departmental honors from Barat College in Lake Forest, IL.  She has a B.A. in acting and direction and a minor study in Dance.  Elyse was accepted to Barat with both a talent scholarship from the Barat theater department and a scholarship from Elgin Area Performing Arts.  In 1995, she was one of thirty students in the U.S. to be accepted to La Jolla Playhouse Conservatoire program at the University of California San Diego.  She worked as an apprentice for the Playhouse and had the ability to work with professional actors, directors, choreographers and stagehands.  After graduation from Barat, Elyse worked as an intern for Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago.  She worked in the education outreach program helping to make the arts accessible to schoolchildren.

Elyse worked as the Creative Arts Manager for the Elk Grove Park District in Illinois for the past 8 years before moving to Madison.  As part of her job, she taught both dance and theater classes to ages ranging form three to adult. She has worked as an artist in residence at both Cooke Magnet school in Waukegan, IL and Franzen intermediate school in Itasca, IL.

Elyse performed with a modern and jazz company in the suburbs of Chicago, 98.6 Degrees Fahrenheit Dance Company, for three years.  She now dances with Kanopy Dance Company. Besides teaching for A Step Above, Elyse also teaches for Kanopy School for Contemporary dance and the Movement in Your World program at Madison Ballet.

Anjee Sorge
Jazz • Tap

Anjee began her instruction right here in Madison at Monona Academy of Dance under Kate McQuade, Kehl’s School of Dance and Studio One Dance Studio where she studied classical ballet, tap and jazz.  She has also studied at Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan, UW-Eau Claire Dance Department, University of New Mexico-Albuquerque Dance Department under Bill Evans, Madison Professional Dance Center, Tap-It/New Works under Donna Peckett and numerous other summer programs around the Midwest.  She is a past member of the Wisconsin Dance Ensemble, MadCity Dancers and Kehl’s Senior Dance Team and has competed in many regional dance conventions including Tremaine and ACDFA.  She performed for numerous years in the Wisconsin Dance Ensemble’s Nutcracker Ballet, La Fille Mal Gardee and Peter Rabbit’s Ballet.  She has choreographed and taught dance pieces for Middle School and High School theater productions.  She also choreographed and taught beginning and advanced jazz and tap as well as performed ballet, tap, jazz, belly dancing, African, and modern dance for the UW-Eau Claire Concert Dance Company.  In 2002 she earned a Bachelors Degree in Fine Art from UW-Madison.

Anjee is very excited to teach at A Step Above!

Cristen Woolston
Ballet • Jazz • Tap • Lyrical • Hip Hop

Cristen Woolston has been dancing for the last 23 years.  She has been choreographing and teaching for the last 12 years all over the U.S. and has performed overseas in Paris, France.  Cristen has studied with various studios in New York and Los Angeles, along with her hometown studio in St. Louis and even did a stint with the Disney Corp. in CA.  Cristen has received numerous awards for her choreography at both regional and national competition levels but most of all enjoys the satisfaction of seeing dancers grow and excel

Cristen would like to extend her gratitude to A Step Above for allowing her the opportunity to become a part of the Madison dance community.

Stacey Barelos
Piano

Stacey has been teaching piano for over 15 years to students of all ages and levels.  Currently, she is working towards her doctoral degree in piano at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also holds degrees from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH and Luther College in Decorah, IA.
Stacey is a winner in the UW-Madison Beethoven Competition, the Greek Women's University Club Competition (Chicago), and the Marjorie Peatee Art Song Competition. She specializes in the music of the modern era and in the fall of 2007 will record a CD of solo piano pieces written by living composers in the Midwest.  Her research focuses on the American composer Henry Cowell (1897-1965).  Regarding her performance of Henry Cowell's  music, Pulitzer prize winning composer Gunther Schuller said, "It was by far the best performing of Cowell's piano music I've heard in a half a century - or perhaps ever."

In addition to teaching and performing, Stacey is a composer.  Her works have been performed throughout the Midwest and in Russia, England, Italy and Croatia.  She is the 2006 winner of the UW-Madison concerto competition for composition and in the summer of 2007, she traveled to Croatia to study composition with Joel Hoffman at the Upbeat summer program.  Also, Stacey loves to compose works for her piano students!

Melanie Cain
Voice • Piano

Melanie Cain, Soprano, holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance and a Masters of Music from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  A native of Carroll, Iowa, she received her BA in both Music and Art from Luther College in Decorah, IA.

Melanie has performed numerous roles in the Madison area receiving rave reviews.  In 2002, the Capital Times wrote, “Melanie Cain sang with a gorgeous range and a strong, thrilling voice that projected to the top row. Cain is a graduate student in vocal performance with a big career ahead of her.”  Her past roles include Second Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, The Mother in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Madame Lidoine in The Dialogues of the Carmelites, Alice Ford in Falstaff, Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus. She has also studied the roles of Leonora in Beethoven’s Fidelio, Miss Jessel in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, the title role from Gluck’s Armide and Salome in Herodiade by Massenet in UW’s Opera Workshop.  While at UW, Cain understudied the well known soprano, Julia Faulkner, in the title role of Vanessa. Melanie was Assistant Director/Stage Manager of the UW Opera’s productions of Orpheus in the Underworld and Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte and Le Nozze di Figaro under the direction of William Farlow.

Cain has received numerous honors including winner of the UW Concerto Competition, was a recipient of the Bolz Fellowship of Music from UW, and had the honor of singing for the famous tenor Ben Heppner.  Dr. Cain has experience in teaching private voice lessons, piano lessons, and has taught many vocal master classes. Her students have repeatedly received top awards at state competitions, and have sang in numerous local musicals and choirs.

Melanie believes through music education, young people are instilled with the confidence and wisdom essential for all they wish to do in life.

Kelly Ehresman
Piano

Kelly recently moved to Madison form Rochester, MN, where she taught piano lessons for Hovland Jost Conservatory of Music.  From a very young age, Kelly has performed in front of congregations with voice and piano.  During her high school years, she was actively involved in the drama team and many vocal groups.  She has traveled to many summer camps, teaching drama, voice, and various instruments to children of all ages.  Throughout Kelly’s college career, she directed her church choir and helped the college choir during their tour.  She has performed in Sweet Adalines, King’s Choristers, Adoration, and Praise Bands.  She has also accompanied many choirs and soloists as well as played for church services.

Kelly has graduated cum laude with a Music Major at Crossroads College in Rochester, MN.  She plans to continue her education in Madison in the areas of teaching and performance.  Kelly is excited to be a part of A Step Above’s Faculty and looks forward to encouraging students to developing their abilities.

Martha Saywell
Piano

Martha began studying piano at the age of six.  During her formative years as a pianist, she participated in various recitals and festivals including the National Piano Guild Auditions.  During high school, she was the winner of the Murray State University Contemporary Keyboard Competition, the Kentucky division of the Music Teachers National Association Conference Competition, and the Paducah Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition.  She was also accepted into the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts.  As a result of her musical, academic and other extracurricular achievements, she was chosen for a United National Leadership and Service Award.  Martha went onto obtain a Bachelor of Arts in Keyboard Studies from Murray State University, where she participated in various ensembles and become a member of Phi Eta Sigma honor society and the Iota Beta chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota.

After graduation, Martha remained at Murray State as a collaborative pianist to students and faculty as well as a substitute teacher for classes in Music Theory, Aural Skills and Class Piano.  She was also the organist at Trinity United Methodist Church in Paducah, KY.  Performing experience included musicals and music revues, various high school and collegiate choirs, numerous choral festivals, several instrumental ensembles, music conferences and hundreds of student and faculty recitals.  Her ongoing performance endeavors have led her all across the United States as well as into the countries of Hungary, Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic.

Martha is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Collaborative Piano from the UW-Madison after having received her Master’s degree there in the Spring of 2005.

Jessica Timman
Voice • Piano

Jessica Timman, mezzo-soprano, is currently working on her Doctoral degree in Voice Performance with a minor in Opera Production at the University of Wisconsin-Madison under the direction of Professor Julia Faulkner.  Originally from Plymouth, MN, Jessica has performed most recently with Stoughton Opera as Zita in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and as second lady in their production of The Magic Flute.  She has also performed operatic roles from Falstaff, Vanessa, and die Fledermaus with the UW Opera.  Jessica will be performing in two UW Opera productions next fall in Ravel’s L’enfants et les Sortileges and as Hansel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel.  Jessica has performed with two opera programs abroad.  She was in the young artist program with La Musica Lirica in Urbania, Italy during the summer of 2004 and performed last summer with the Tyrolean Opera Program in Maurach, Austria.  Jessica graduated magna cum laude from UW-Eau Claire with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and summa cum laude from UW-Madison with a Masters degree in Voice Performance.  In addition, Jessica has been teaching voice and piano for 7 years; most recently with A Step Above Dance and Music Academy in Monona.

Margaret Wendt
Voice

Margaret Wendt is currently pursuing her Master of Music degree in vocal performance from the University of Wisconsin- Madison, where she has served as a teaching assistant in voice. Prior to living in Madison, Ms. Wendt resided in Chicago, where she was a member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus and the Grammy winning Grant Park Summer Music Festival Chorus. While receiving her undergraduate degree from Illinois Wesleyan University, Ms. Wendt had the opportunity to perform in multiple operas, performing  roles such as Dinah, from Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, Iolanthe from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe, and Dorabella from Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutti. She also enjoyed singing with the International Touring Collegiate Choir while at IWU. Ms. Wendt attributes her love of all types of music to her parents, and growing up in “Music City, USA”, Nashville, TN.

She is excited to share her joy of music and singing with the students at A Step Above.

Meet Our Faculty

Tamra Bisbee, Director
Ballet • Jazz • Tap • Lyrical
Modern • Hip Hop
 
Jeni Hall
Ballet • Jazz • Tap • Lyrical
 
Caylyn Huffer-Kiesow
Ballet • Jazz • Tap • Lyrical • Hip Hop
 
Meghan Nechrebecki
Jazz • Tap • Lyrical • Hip Hop • Ballet
 
Kerry Parker
Ballet
 
Nicole Rindt
Jazz • Hip Hop • Ballet • Tap
 
Breanne Schuster
Ballet • Lyrical
 
Abigail Shanks
Ballet
 
Elyse Snider
Ballet • Jazz • Tap • Lyrical
Musical Theater • Modern
 
Anjee Sorge
Jazz • Tap
 
Cristen Woolston
Ballet • Jazz • Tap • Lyrical • Hip Hop
 
Stacey Barelos
Piano
 
Melanie Cain
Voice • Piano
 
Kelly Ehresman
Piano
 
Martha Saywell
Piano
 
Jessica Timman
Voice • Piano
 
Margaret Wendt
Voice