A LETTER FROM OUR DIRECTOR
How do you find the right dance studio for your child?
My name is Karen Gladis and I have been a professional dance educator for over 20 years and I am the mother of a very creative teenager. Being a parent has given a fresh perspective on my teaching in a way that I never dreamed of. I would like to share this insight with fellow parents of tiny dancers and prospective new students.
I have learned so much from teaching dance to young children. My students have been the inspiration for all of my creative ideas in some way or another. The most important thing I have taken from my experiences is that if you respect children, they will respect you. When choosing a dance class for your toddler or pre-schooler, make sure that the teachers and staff are friendly and warm and also give kids the credit they deserve. Look for an instructor who inspires creativity and joy of movement and who also empowers your child to be confident and expressive. Many dance studios overlook the importance of “baby” classes, but here at Twinkle Toes Dance Co., they are viewed as the foundation of the joy and art of movement, whether your child has a future career in dance or just wants to take a great dance class.
Another thing that you want to look for is a balance of structure and fun in the classroom. Many dancers and instructors have beautiful technique, but the best teachers use play, creative imagery, energetic music and props to encourage learning. Kids should be having fun in dance class and want to come back every week! It is also important to see that your child is learning proper technique and vocabulary and also how to perform in a classroom environment: listening to the teacher, waiting their turn and interacting with peers.
Here at Twinkle Toes, we strive to have a nurturing and non-competitive environment for both students and parents; our main goal is to inspire the joy of dance in each and every one of our students. Come check out our children’s dance classes, and see how much fun dance class can be!
-Karen Gladis, Director of Twinkle Toes Dance Company.
Teacher // Christine Dent
Christine Dent is from Cincinnati, Ohio, and received her training from The Studio for Dance, Cincinnati Ballet, and several summer intensives, most notably Ann Reinking’s Broadway Theatre Project. She graduated with a BFA in Dance from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she performed in works by Roni Koresh, Scott Jovovich, Zane Booker, Kim Bears-Bailey, and performed Martha Graham’s Panorama as a guest artist with the Martha Graham Dance Company. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, been featured on the Today Show, and danced at sea with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. She has appeared in countless musicals across the country, and favorite credits include Judy Haynes in White Christmas, Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Bebe in A Chorus Line, Cabaret, Kiss Me, Kate, Legally Blonde, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Oklahoma!, to name a few. Upon relocating to Los Angeles in 2013, Christine turned her focus to primarily dance education. Christine was on faculty as the Commercial Dance Director at RC Dance Center, and in addition to TTDC, is currently on faculty at Burbank Dance Academy. She serves as the Director of Red Chair Productions’ performance of The Nutcracker, which features a cast of over 100 young performers, ages 5-18, held at the Alex Theatre in Glendale every December. She continues to set competitive dance choreography on students in both the Los Angeles and Cincinnati areas, and has sat as a competitive dance adjudicator for several dance competitions across the country. Christine has directed and choreographed several musicals for The Adderley School and choreographed pieces for schools in the Burbank Unified School District. She loves to share her passion for movement with all of her students! Let’s dance!
Teacher // Meg Paradowski
Megan Paradowski began training at age three in the small town of College Station, Texas, where she learned commercial styles as well as classical ballet and contemporary. She went on to receive her BFA in Dance at Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, where she had the pleasure of performing works by Sean Curran, MADBOOTS DANCE, and Ronald K. Brown, amongst others. She continued her training in Berlin with Judith Sánchez Ruı́z, Dominique Duszynski, Meg Stuart, Ayman Harper, Eleanor Bauer, Johannes Wieland, and Helder Seabra. She has since performed her own work as well as the works of other contemporary choreographers in venues and festivals across New York City and Philadelphia, including the New Works Series Festival, FUSE Dance Festival by The Creators Collective, and WAXworks. Megan has choreographed for and performed in three music videos by New York musical artists. She is also featured in clothing designer Nan Seo’s spring ad campaign “Dancing with Father.” Megan is thrilled to be joining the faculty at Twinkle Toes Dance Company and looks forward continuing her career in Los Angeles!
Teacher // Kelly Mlady
Kelly Mlady is from Chicago, IL, where she began training at a young age, studying various styles in singing, dancing, and acting. She studied Musical Theater Performance at Columbia Chicago while performing professionally with RASA Dance Chicago, a unique interdisciplinary dance company that fuses classical ballet, modern, African, and urban styles. She lends her many years of professional experience to teaching dance, vocal movement, and acting for multiple Chicago and LA studios, while maintaining her professional career in the performing arts.
Kelly has been featured as an actor and dancer in videos and commercials, along with specialty dance companies and video games. She was also a guest artist at Disney World and on Carribean Cruises. Her favorite music theater roles she has portrayed include Cinderella in both the musical ‘Cinderella’ and Into The Woods, as well as Fiona Campbell in Brigadoon and Liesl in The Sound of Music, among others. As a classically trained operatic singer, Kelly has been signed with various record labels and worked with some of the most sought after producers in the industry. She has performed with acclaimed recording artists of the ‘90s and 2000s and has been featured in Billboard Magazine.
Teacher//Madelyn Shaughnessy
A Westside School of Ballet alumna, Madelyn grew up in Los Angeles training under one of Balanchine’s first dancers: Yvonne Mounsey. She went on to attend prestigious ballet schools, including New York City Ballet where she had to make the tough decision to stay or pursue her education at university. She went on to dance professionally in The Nutcracker as the Arabian Princess back at her home studio prior to attending Pitzer College where she majored in Psychology and Media studies with a Minor in Dance. She went on to broaden her dance vocabulary in Modern and West African dance, and expanded her skills in choreography, participating in the quarterly performances. After college, Madelyn went on to work in Media Studies and soon ventured into helping to create and build startup companies. On the side, she continued her passion in teaching dance to others, by holding online dance sessions for UCLA Medical students during the pandemic. Madelyn is passionate about child development and creating safe & supportive spaces to move, dance, and most importantly have fun!
Teacher// Mamie Green
Mamie Green studied ballet at Cornish College of the Art’s Preparatory Dance Program and the International Ballet Academy in Seattle, WA. She holds a BFA in dance from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in New Jersey where she trained in ballet, modern, contemporary, improvisation, and Afro-Fusion techniques. Along with choreographing her own work, she has performed repertory by visiting choreographers such as Shannon Gillen, Kimberly Bartosik, Bennyroyce Dance, Alex Ketley, Christian Burns, Stephanie Batten Bland, Alexandra Beller Dances, Delfos Danzas, and more. Mamie has also performed in venues around Los Angeles and New York in works by freelance choreographers. She has supplemented her dance training at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance Summer Intensive, Bates Dance Festival, BODYTRAFFIC Summer Intensive, Ate9 Summer Intensive, Gaga Summer Intensive at USC, Sidra Bell Dance NY Winter Module20, and Vim Vigor’s Winter Intensive among others. During this new virtual reality, Mamie has been exploring dancing on film including commercial shoots and dance films. She is also currently getting certified as a Pilates instructor with Polestar Pilates. Mamie is excited to pass on her passion and knowledge of dance to young dancers at Twinkle Toes Dance Company!
Elise Robertson//Acting Classes
A graduate of Northwestern University, Elise is a working actor and filmmaker with scores of tv and film credits, including 2014 Oscar nominee American Sniper, and recently NCIS, This Is Us, SWAT, Ratched and more. She directs for both film and stage (Northern California Emmy and CINE-golden Eagle award-winner), and spent two years directing the children's television show Adventures With Kanga Roddy. Recent credits include the award-winning, Peter Pan inspired short film Darling, Darling, Wendy and Imagining Rachel, a solo performance piece about environmentalist Rachel Carson. She's been teaching and coaching acting and filmmaking for over 20 years, and spent several years as of chair the Young Performers Training Program at the Los Angeles SAG Conservatory, as well as running her own performing arts school Eastside Arts. While her performing obligations won’t allow for a full teaching program these days, Elise remains passionate about working with kids, and is thrilled to be teaming with Twinkle Toes for a few of her favorite classes. She believes that listening, speaking, imagination and teamwork are among the most important skills a child can learn, and incorporates these into every lesson.
Teacher//Meghan Lalor
Meghan is a freelance performing artist, dance teacher and stretching instructor. She specializes in dance, active stretching and rhythmic gymnastics. She currently performs with the LA follies in a variety of roles which include dance, rhythmic gymnastics, bubble sphere, poi and other specialties. Previously, She was a choreographer, trainer, dancer, acrobat and for AidaNova/AidaCosma, the fifth largest cruise ship in the world. She was featured in Tokyo’s Revenge, Gotham City music video as Flexy, an Elastic Girl inspired character. In rhythmic gymnastics she reached the rank of level 10 elite and was ranked in the top 10 of the United States, first in California and competed Internationally for the US team. She received her BFA in dance from the Fordham University/Alvin Ailey School Program and has studied dance at The Alvin Ailey School, Orange County High School for The Arts, Hubbard Street Dance Center, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, School of American Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. She has a passion for teaching and sharing all the knowledge and experience that she has gained over time with other professional performing artists. She has taught dance and coached rhythmic gymnastics since she was 16 and has taught people of all ages how to dance, including extensive work with guiding those disabilities such as Parkinson’s disease using dance as an outlet.
Teacher//Cameryn Miller
Cameryn just graduated with her BFA in Commercial Dance from Hussian College Los Angeles. She loves her German Sheperd and her cat, and she really likes hiking and cooking in her free time. She can also say the alphabet backwards really fast. Cameryn's favorite thing about teaching is being able to watch the progression of her students' technique and love for dance as they grow, and she is so excited to be teaching at TTDC!
Teacher//Eden Reynolds
Eden Reynolds began her dance training at the age of four with Los Angeles Ballet Academy where she studied under the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus, training in ballet, jazz, contemporary dance, and musical theatre. She completed her exams with Distinction up to Grade 6. She’s since continued training around Los Angeles and put forth intentional effort to experience a multitude of dance and teaching styles. She began assisting classes around LA at age fourteen, and soon discovered her passion for teaching.
Eden has over ten years of experience as a dance educator in Los Angeles, specializing in classical ballet, jazz, and contemporary dance for elementary to middle school aged students. She prides herself in her ability to adapt to the needs of her students and dedicates time to nurturing their individual artistry alongside technique, strength, and flexibility.
While her focus has always been on teaching, she’s also performed as a principal dancer with the LA Opera, modeled and choreographed for the Carlton Hair Show, worked as an interactive character at the Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire, and performed with the Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade in Downtown LA.
Teacher/Erica Ammermann is a freelance lighting designer, tap dancer, production manager, and theatrical electrician in Los Angeles. She began dancing at the age of four at her home studio in Northern New Jersey. Throughout her childhood, she trained in all genres of dance, but always knew that tap dance held a special place in her heart. She continued to dance all throughout grade school and went to further her training in dancing, singing, and acting at vocational magnet high school in New Jersey. She has recently graduated from the University of Southern California with a major in Theatrical Lighting Design and a minor in Dance. When not working in theaters, Erica spends her time diving into the history of tap dance along with training and working at tap festivals all over the country. Most recently, she has worked at DC Tap Festival and Hollywood Tap Festival, having the wonderful opportunity to assistant direct the 2023 All-Start Concert at Hollywood Tap Festival.
Erica’s teaching experience began at 14 years old, when she started as an assistant teacher for younger tap classes at her home studio. Since then, she has choreographed musicals and taught classes all throughout her time at USC. She has been working summer camps and substituting classes at Twinkle Toes since the summer of 2022 and is so excited to bring her love of tap dance to the TTDC community.