10820 Nesbitt Ave S, Bloomington, MN 55437
Bianca V
Educator
Bianca has been dancing for over a decade, trained in various styles including ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop, and acrobatics. She danced on her hometown studio’s elite company team as well as her high school’s varsity dance team before graduating. Her dance experiences growing up have instilled a passion for performing, teaching, and choreographing. She is currently based in St. Paul at the University of Saint Thomas where she is a member of the dance club and continues her training in advanced ballet at Macalester College. She has been teaching for two years and assistant taught for 3 years prior. Bianca loves teaching and working with kids and hopes to inspire and lead by example for all of her students. She is beyond excited to teach at Dance Endeavors!
Gillian J
Educator
Gillian J. grew up dancing in the Bay Area, California, and is currently a University of Minnesota Twin Cities student. She has trained in a variety of dance styles including lyrical, jazz, hip hop, and musical theater. For the past five years, Gillian has taught dance to students ages 3–15, fostering both technical skill and a love for creative expression. Passionate about sharing the magic of dance and the performing arts, Gillian strives to create a supportive environment where students can explore movement, build confidence, and develop their artistic voice. She is thrilled to be part of the Dance Endeavors community and looks forward to inspiring the next generation of dancers.
Gillian W
Educator
Gillian W. started dancing at 9 years old in Lakeville Minnesota at Danceworks. At 15 she went to Ballet Royale and decided to pursue ballet seriously. At 18 she moved to Missouri and went to the Conservatory of Music and Dance at UM-Kansas City. During her time there she participated in many extra-curricular projects like the March for Our Lives and theatrical collaboration. After graduating in 2021 Gillian decided to return to Minnesota to be closer to her family and return to teaching dance. In her 10+ years of training, Gillian has studied many styles of ballet and modern, as well as Jazz, Musical Theatre, tap and commercial hip hop.
Izzy L
Educator
Izzy L. grew up in Farmington, MN, dancing at the age of 3 at a local studio. Izzy has competed at an elite level, earning multiple awards and titles with her teams. In high school, Izzy was a member of the acclaimed Farmington varsity dance team for five years and had the honor of being named captain her senior year. She also earned an All Conference award. Izzy's training spans a variety of dance styles, including jazz, tap, hip hop, ballet, lyrical, contemporary, and high kick. Beyond performing, she has had the opportunity to choreograph routines that have been showcased at Walt Disney World! Currently, Izzy is pursuing a major in psychology with a minor in family therapy and sports coaching at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She is so excited to meet all the new dancers this season and continue sharing her passion for dance!
Ali B.
Account Specialist
Ali grew up right here in Bloomington, MN. She began volunteering at Dance Endeavors in 2017 and has been an account specialist since 2019. She also serves as the parent volunteer coordinator for winter shows and recitals. Ali has worked in finance for over 10 years and has attended various trainings for financial literacy and accounting. In addition, she has taken basic UFARS training through the Minnesota Department of Education. Her daughters participate in both traditional dance classes and the competition program at the studio. She is proud to be a part of such a welcoming team, and enjoys meeting and interacting with families!
AJ L
Educator
AJ grew up in Lincoln, NE, dancing at Hart Dance Academy. She has training in various styles including ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, modern, lyrical, contemporary, theatre dance, acro, and pointe. AJ excelled in her dance program and was accepted into the studio’s repertory program at just 13 years old. In addition to this, AJ became a teaching assistant all four years of high school, helping bring the joy of dance to many students. AJ moved to Minnesota for college and is so excited to bring her knowledge to the Dance Endeavors community. She is grateful to be able to continue her dance journey and pursue her love of teaching.
Claire F
Educator
Claire is a Savage MN native. She grew up dancing recreationally and in high school she joined competition. After graduating, Claire continued training classically at Ballet Royale MN for 7 years while performing with Twin Cities Ballet. She attended the Milwaukee Ballet Summer Intensive in 2021. She was trained in Vaganova, Cecchetti, and RAD styles. Claire also trained in jazz, tap, contemporary, character and modern styles of dance. Currently she is a company member with Continental Ballet Company in Bloomington. Some of her favorite roles she has done are Friends and Willis in Giselle, and Life Influence in Pink Floyd's The Wall. In her free time she likes reading, playing video games, and doing nail art.
Educators & Support Staff
Our talented and creative staff includes highly trained, enthusiastic, and positive instructors with background in a wide variety of dance styles. Many of our instructors grew up dancing at DE and have returned to teach after receiving additional training at collegiate and professional levels.
Emma E
Educator, Assistant Competition Coordinator
Emma is originally from Park Rapids Minnesota. She trained in dance for nine years and competed in dance throughout high school. Emma is trained in ballet, jazz, musical theatre, tap, hip hop, contemporary and modern, with additional experience in precision dancing, pointe and acrobatics. Emma has attended intensives with the Radio City Rockettes and The National Dance Association. She also completed the zone trainee program at Zenon Dance Company. Emma is USAG certified in coaching gymnastics and tumbling, and has been teaching dance, and choregraphing and coaching gymnastics for the past 7 years. She will is attending college, majoring in Psychology, and continuing her trainee program at Zenon Dance School. Emma is very involved at the studio as Assistant Competition Director and instructor! She can’t wait to continue her growth at Dance Endeavors!
Ali R
Educator
Ali, a Stevens Point, Wisconsin native, recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance. She had the privilege of studying under esteemed instructors such as Michael Estanich, Sarah Olsen, Jeannie Hill, Pamela Luedtke, and Amy Beversdorf. During her time at the university, Ali was awarded the Susan Gringrasso Dance Scholarship in 2023, and her choreography was selected to be presented at the American Collegiate Dance Association. She is deeply passionate about personal expression and is dedicated to refining the artistic abilities of each student. Ali is excited to bring her love of the arts to the community at Dance Endeavors!
Monica A
Educator
Monica was born and raised in the Minneapolis/Richfield area and now lives in Bloomington. Monica is a lifelong learner of many different styles of dancing. She is trained in ballet, jazz and tap and also enjoys learning salsa and various ballroom techniques. After college at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Monica was a member of an advanced adult competition tap group for seven years. Monica has been teaching and choreographing dance to children for over 10 years in studio classes, dance camps and workshops. Outside of the studio, Monica enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters at their family cabin in Minnesota.
Carsyn G
Educator
Carsyn grew up in Elk River, MN where she began her dance career in 2009. She danced competitively for her studio as well as her high school dance team where she was a part of the choreography team for 4 seasons. Carsyn began choreographing in middle school and went on to receive multiple overall awards in her early career. Carsyn began teaching at her studio in high school and discovered her passion for teaching and coaching dancers. Carsyn has been teaching in the Twin Cities area for several years for ages 2-18 in all levels and styles and currently coaches for the Farmington Tigers Dance Team! She can't wait to join the DE Team!
Sophia L
Nutcracker Associate Director and Educator
Sophia recently graduated from the U or MN with a BFA in Dance and a 200 Hour Yoga Certification. She has performed in works by and trained under artists including Herb Johnson III, Danial Shapiro & Joanie Smith of Shapiro and Smith Dance, Souleymane Badolo, and Renée Copeland & Genevieve Muench of Hiponymous, Carl Flink, Erin Thompson, and Marciano Silva Dos Santos. She has also worked closely with Madeleine Scott of South Dakota Ballet in Sioux Falls for the last two seasons. She loves to share her passion for dance with people of all ages and abilities. She hopes to foster a meaningful community by meeting each dancer where they are at and creating a safe space that empowers them to push their limits. Sophia is so excited to stage the 2nd annual Nutcracker Ballet as well as teach classes and create competition choreography!
Juli Caldwell
Owner/Lead Educator
Juli has taught dance for over 30 years, 20 years here in Bloomington. Juli studied many forms of dance, thriving in the study of classical ballet. She studied intensively with Branitski Ballet Company, Andahazy Ballet, American School of Russian Classical Ballet, Fort Worth Ballet, and Minnesota Dance Theatre. She performed in numerous ballets including Loyce Houlton’s Nutcracker Fantasy, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, and Swan Lake and was a dance major at Texas Christian University. She is also an accomplished choreographer of dance performances and musicals, and certified Yoga instructor. Juli teaches all ages and levels with her unique blend of proper technique and a fun atmosphere.
Beth G
Educator
Beth's journey in dance began in her childhood when she immersed herself in ballet, tap, jazz, and baton. Although her early dance experience was brief as she turned her focus to studying music, her passion for the arts remained strong. Beth dedicated many years to educating young minds as an elementary music teacher, sharing her love for music with her students. In 2015, Beth rekindled her love for dance by enrolling in adult classes at Dance Endeavors, focusing on hip hop, tap, jazz, and lyrical styles. Beth's connection to Dance Endeavors runs deep, as both of her daughters grew up dancing here! Now, with her children grown, Beth is thrilled to be a part of the Dance Endeavors teaching staff. Residing in Bloomington, MN, she brings her unique blend of musical education and dance experience to inspire and encourage a new generation of young dancers.
Edda P
Educator
Edda grew up at Dance Endeavors and trained in the styles of tap, ballet, jazz and contemporary. She competed in ballet, contemporary and tap with the DEIDP Competition Team and furthered her love for the performing arts through teaching dancers during high school. Edda is currently working on her doctorate in Occupational Therapy at the University of Minnesota and enjoys blending her studies of mind-body wellness with the movement created in dance. She continues to sttudy dance through professional level classes throughout the Twin Cities. Edda is THRILLED to be returning to Dance Endeavors this year!
Tara B
Educator
Tara began dancing with American School of Russian Classical Ballet and attended summer programs at San Francisco Ballet and School of American Ballet in New York City. In her late teens, she took classes at Minnesota Dance Theatre and became a teacher there. She taught all ages and levels from little ones to adults and beginning levels to company class. For over a decade, she danced in Loyce Houlton's Nutcracker Fantasy and enjoyed soloist roles including the Arabian dancer for 8 years. Tara works as a registered nurse and loves spending time with her husband and three children. She is very excited to return to teaching at Dance Endeavors!
Izzy M
Educator
Izzy M. grew up dancing at Dance Endeavors since the age of 2 and continued dancing throughout college. Izzy trained in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern, Contemporary, Kickline and Lyrical. She has taken intensives, performed with ballet companies and competed at the highest level, winning many top awards. She was also the captain of her college dance team, casting the dancers and choreographing the dances. In her spare time, she enjoys listening to music and traveling. Izzy is beyond excited to join Dance Endeavors once again and share with others the skill and power of dance.