W Dance Studio – New Lenox, IL

Lisa M. Wainwright

Also known to her students as Mrs. W, Lisa holds a BFA in modern dance from Western Michigan University and a MA in performing arts management from Columbia College Chicago.

She toured and performed with modern and ballet companies and musical theater productions during her performing years. She studied in New York, NY with the likes of Eric Hawkins, Martha Graham, Hines and Hatchet and Phil Black among others. She has been active within the Chicago dance and artistic community for the past ten years in administrative positions.

Elif Tüzer

Born to dancers Pat and Tanju Tüzer, Elif has been dancing since age three. Trained in ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, modern, hip-hop, ballroom, and yoga, she embraces all forms of artistic expression. She has danced with the Kirov Academy in D.C. (now Universal Ballet Academy), the Edge in Los Angeles, and Steps in New York City. Most recently she performed as a guest artist with the American Ballet School for their annual Nutcracker.

She has taught in North Carolina, Texas and now Illinois for the past five years. Elif graduated in 2003 with a B.A. in English from North Carolina State University and in her free time enjoys spending time with kids and writing. Elif teaches upper-level ballet, jazz and modern classes.

Monternez “Monty” Buckley

Monternez “Monty” Buckley is a born performer. Known to the Hip Hop world as “B-Boy Freedom”, he has been choreographing and performing since 1995. He began break dancing, popping and locking in 1999. He is currently the Co-Artistic Director of Stick and Move.

Monternez has been instructing authentic Hiphop dance, Street Funk, Break dance, and Reggaeton classes and workshops for five years. He got his start by teaching with Jonathan St. Clair in the University of Hip Hop. He uses his love and passion for dance as a tool to encourage, motivate, and enlighten the world about the true positive aspects of Hip Hop culture: “We must continue to uplift our culture to show the world true Hip Hop beyond the stereotypes portrayed in mass media.”

Elizabeth Boba

Elizabeth has been dancing since the age of three, training in classical ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, lyrical, and acrobatics. She danced competitively for 10 years in an Elite Performance Company and traveled around the United States performing, competing, and taking masters’ classes.

She is currently on the Arts and Science Dean’s List at Lewis University where she is majoring in English and Secondary Education. Recently, she auditioned for the TV show So You Think You Can Dance and made it to the top 100 finalists at the Chicago auditions in the legendary Chicago Theater.

Kimberly Sheets

Kimberly Sheets is a classically trained dancer who began her training as a child at The Barbara Klein School of Dance. She furthered training at Columbia College Chicago, concentrating on dance performance and teaching, and received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance in 2005. Here she worked with many choreographers such as Liz Lerman, Jan Erkert, Erica Wilson-Perkins, Lars Lubovich, among others. She uses her training and performance experiences to teach her dancers to be strong, versatile and classical. She strives to encourage dancers to be confident, self-disciplined, physically expressive, and to love to dance.

Ashley Sewell

Miss Ashley has been dancing since the age of three. She has trained in ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, modern, and lyrical. Presently, she is studying at Columbia College Chicago and will graduate in 2009 with a BFA in Dance Pedagogy.

Ashley has a passion for using dance in ministry and is currently the Director of Dance Ministries at Parkview Christian Church. She has performed and choreographed for churches throughout the Chicago area as well as multiple churches in Costa Rica.