Our Faculty
Miss alicia | studio owner & executive Director
Alicia became studio owner in 2006 and has over 20 years of experience teaching children. Her journey in nurturing young children in the arts is a combination of passion and purpose.
While she no longer leads weekly dance classes herself, Alicia's heart remains firmly entrenched in the world of teaching. Her true fulfillment is in mentoring the instructors and staff members at AiM and nurturing them into dynamic leadership figures.
Alicia's expertise is deeply rooted in AiM's groundbreaking Magnificent Movement™ early childhood curriculum and teaching method, a legacy she shares with program founder Susan Bennett. Alicia provides continuous guidance and mentorship to every dance instructor under her wing. Alicia's work with Magnificent Movement™ earned a prestigious spot in Dance Studio Life magazine's 2016 publication.
She holds a BFA in Dance and a BA in Management from Webster University. She has also graced the stage as a professional modern dancer. As a company member of St. Louis-based dance company MADCO and a freelance artist, she had the privilege of performing in NYC and Toronto while collaborating with renowned local, national, and international choreographers, which enriched her dance journey with a wealth of experiences to share with her students.
Family lies at the core of Alicia's life, and she and her husband Mike are the proud parents of three sons. Alicia credits her children for imparting invaluable lessons of patience, playfulness, and a heightened sensitivity to the unique personalities and learning styles of every child.
Alicia eagerly anticipates the opportunity to share her lifelong passion for the arts and her unwavering commitment to education at Arts in Motion for many more years to come.
Miss EMILY | Assistant Director
Emily is a proud graduate of Millikin University where she obtained her BFA in Musical Theatre and Minor in Dance in 2020. She joined Arts in Motion in 2022 after serving as the Education Director and Marketing Manager at Maples Repertory Theatre in Macon, MO for a year. Emily has been dancing since she could walk, and has been teaching dance for many years! She loves all styles of dance and is always working to learn more to share new knowledge with her students. Outside of the studio, you can find Emily taking long walks with her dog, reading a good book, or traveling and seeing new places and foods!
Miss Katy | Director of Dance Ensembles
Katy is a mom of four and has been teaching dance for over two decades. She toured with Illinois Ballet under the artistic direction of Mary Price Boday right out of college and then danced, choreographed for and directed Coalescence Modern Company for 11 seasons. Katy was a professor of dance at McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois for 8 years where she helped design the dance minor and curriculum. Katy is thrilled to be at Arts in Motion since 2022 and to have the opportunity to work with such talented, passionate young artists.
Miss Carly | dance instructor
Carly is from Newark, Illinois, earned her BFA in Dance Performance from Ball State University in 2021. During her time as a student, she was an active member of the Department of Theatre and Dance and held multiple leadership roles. Carly received several awards for her outstanding work; most recently, the Overall Faculty Honorarium (2021), and the Lynnette Jordan Schisla Scholarship (2020). As a dance artist, Carly is most interested in improvisational movement, devising work, and the potential of dance as a scholarly pursuit. She has demonstrated these interests through her own creative research projects: Analyzing Affinities: Research on Personal and Instinctive Movement (May 2020) and The Dance-Language Conflict (December 2020). More recently, Carly has enjoyed working on various projects with her colleagues and continuing to investigate and redefine her relationship to movement and dance technique. When she is not teaching at Arts in Motion, Carly performs as a core company member with Consuming Kinetics Dance Company and is the Youth Theatre Coordinator at the Jewish Community Center of St. Louis. Carly takes pride in her progressive approach to dance technique and artistry, and places a high value on the non-competitive education Arts in Motion provides for their students.
Miss Amanda | dance instructor
Amanda was born and raised in St. Louis, MO where she grew up dancing at several local studios. She graduated with her BFA in Dance from Southeast Missouri State University, and later earned her Masters Degree in Exercise Science from Concordia University - Chicago. She also spent a year and a half in the Big Muddy Dance Company’s Trainee program. Amanda is a wife and mom to two kiddos and is excited to continue sharing her passion for dance with students at Arts in Motion.
Miss Alexis | dance instructor
Alexis grew up moving around as a military brat making her training and education extensively diverse for someone her age. She began her professional training at the age of 9 under the instruction of Marina Medvetskaya, Peggy Willis Aarnio, Julia Yashina, and Dmitri Roudnev. At the age of 12, Alexis performed the Dying Swan and received a scholarship to study at Sarasota Ballet under Ian Webb, Nancy Woods, and Isabel and Javier Dubrocq.
Alexis studied at summer programs all on scholarship at Next Generation Ballet under Philip Neal, Edward Villella, Ivonne Lemus, and Kelly King and The Palucca University of Dance Dresden under Marina Antonova and Guy Albouy. She was also offered to study at the Alonzo LINES Ballet and Hubbard Street of Chicago.
After graduating high school at the age of 16, Alexis began her professional career in Germany dancing and choreographing for Sobir Utabeav and The Saint Petersburg Classic Ballet Theatre of Marina Medvetskaya. She has performed many roles including Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Swanilda in Coppelia, Four Swans in Swan Lake, and Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty.
After suffering a severe ankle injury, Alexis studied at Texas State University and was able to receive the proper treatment and surgery she needed to dance. Alexis moved to the St. Louis area earlier this year while recovering from her surgery. Alexis also has a service dog named George who is very friendly and loves to play ball when he is not working! When Alexis is not teaching at Arts in Motion, she is pursuing her bachelor’s degree and training to return to her professional ballet career.
Miss Cami | Music Instructor
Cami is a spring 2022 graduate of Southeast Missouri State University with a BA in Music and a minor in Entrepreneurship.
There, she privately studied voice and saxophone and worked with their choirs, opera department, marching band, jazz band, concert band, pep band, and more. She had the privilege to perform stage productions by Gilbert and Sullivan, Giacomo Puccini, and Jacques Offenbach, major works by Carl Orff, George Frideric Handel, Giuseppe Verdi, Antonio Vivaldi, and Francis Poulenc, as well as countless other memorable productions and performances.
She spent time as the Director of her university’s student-led Show Choir and the Vice President of their Ukulele Club, as well as holding leadership positions within their marching band and improv troupe.
Outside of school, she has spent time with local funk bands, concert bands, and makes her own music; she is a verified artist on Spotify. She has completed internships with Shipyard Music Festival and Zipgig, Inc. and additionally writes for music blogs and is a record label A&R in her other hours.
As an educator, she seeks to create a safe, memorable space where students can explore their love of music and find their own unique sound.
Mr Evan | Music Instructor
Evan, originally from Bartlett, Illinois, earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Music and Philosophy from Principia College in 2020 and is currently working on his Master’s Degree in Orchestral Conducting at SIU Edwardsville. He was the concertmaster of the Principia Orchestra for three years and has an extensive orchestral background. He has performed internationally with the Midwest Philharmonic Orchestra in Chicago, Detroit, New York, Vienna, and Salzburg with a wide variety of repertoire. In addition to orchestral music, Evan has a strong background in solo violin and chamber music. He also has experience in improvisation in a variety of styles and spent time playing with local bands and improv groups.
As well as violin, he has a background in classical voice and musical theatre as an accomplished tenor. His teaching aims to meet every student where they are and nurture their musicianship to excellence. In addition to violin, he is an experienced composer. His music has been showcased and premiered from New Hampshire to San Francisco as well as having premiers in the St. Louis area. He writes for any and all instrumentation and is also an experienced collaborator with dance. Most recently, in October 2022, he worked with choreographers Erin Lane and Marcus Johnson on the collaborative piece, “River Ark”, which commemorated the installation of a new piece of art at the Riverlands Bird Sanctuary in West Alton. He enjoys local collaborations and aims to foster the growth of the artistic community with his teaching.
Mr Blake | Music Instructor
Blake is a professional musician and educator. He has been playing professionally since 2015, getting his start playing in rock bands as a teenager and growing to love and play many other styles. During high school he spent lots of time in high level St. Louis jazz ensembles including the St. Louis Legacy Ensemble, JazzU All Stars, and the Jazz St. Louis Big Band. He obtained a degree in jazz performance from Webster University in 2022, graduating magna cum laude and receiving departmental honors.
Blake spends much of his professional life performing. He has played with many local acts as a sideman in genres ranging from jazz to pop to punk rock. He is the leader/songwriter/bassist for many local alternative/indie bands including Inches from Glory and Puhoy. He has gotten the opportunity to play with and open for national touring acts such as Chad Leftowitz-Brown, Prince Daddy and the Hyena, Antonio Hart, Into It. Over It., and Militarie Gun. He has also been music director/collaborator for many local solo artists including Rachel Deschaine, Mitchell Matthews, and Dannie Fuller.
As well as being a passionate performer, Blake is a dedicated teacher. He has been teaching individual and group lessons on bass, guitar, piano, and music theory to all skill levels and age groups since 2018. As a teacher, his goal is to give students the tools to understand music as more than just notes on a page, but to truly make music a language.