Our Staff

Kelly is the Owner/Director of MCDA. She has been training dancers for over 35 years. Miss Kelly has a B.A in Dance Management from Baldwin Wallace University and a Masters in Art Administration from Akron University. Kelly and is a member of the National Dance Association, the International Dance Entrepreneurs Association, and the National Dance Education Organization.

​She serves the community through involvement with Leadership Medina County and by serving on the board of directors for Main Street Medina and the Medina Arts Council. ​Miss Kelly is also the Dance Moderator for Padua Franciscan High School and an Adjunct Professor at Baldwin Wallace University.

Kelly and her husband Scott of 29 years have 3 adult daughters, and they are all active in dance and theatre arts. ​

“I truly believe it is a privilege to share dance education with each of my students. I love watching them grow, achieve their goals, and succeed in school, community, and DANCE! “

Mary and her husband, Kevin have loved living in Medina for over thirty-five years. They are proud of their three adult daughters and four perfectly wonderful grandchildren. Mary studied dance as a Ford Foundation Scholar under Alex Martin and performed with the Cleveland Ballet Guild and Oakland Ballet. She has taught for more than twenty -five years in Northeast Ohio at various studios, the last fifteen at MCDA teaching ballet technique, pointe, and most recently coaching dancers for the Youth American Grand Prix Competition. She appreciates the high quality of dancing balanced with the fun atmosphere at MCDA!

Jennifer Hilvert has been a dance instructor at the Medina Center for Dance Art for the past five years. She began dancing at a young age and has been a dance instructor for 33 years. Jennifer was studio trained in ballet, tap, jazz, and tumbling, supplemented with training from numerous programs and conventions. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physical Education, Recreation, Fitness and Dance from Northern Kentucky University. At NKU, Jennifer was a member and choreographer for the university Theater Dance Troupe.

For several years, Jennifer danced with a professional company, “The Dance Connection,” performing at concerts and special events. As a faculty member of “The Energy Source,” directed by Jayson Michaels, she traveled to many dance studios throughout the Midwest as a guest teacher and choreographer and judged for a national dance competition. Jennifer was the choreographer and co-director for musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof, Damn Yankees, Annie, and Crazy for You.

Jennifer has worked with numerous college and high school dance teams and was the Head Dance Coach and Choreographer for the Northern Kentucky University Norse Dance Team for 19 years. Her choreography has won awards for creativity and most entertaining. She has a unique style and technique that showcases her versatility, and she loves to share her gift with children and adults through dance.

Courtney has been dancing since the age of 3. Growing up she studied under Dee Hillier, Jennifer Naso Marinis, Kathie Nejman, and Dana Soroczak and has trained in ballet, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, pointe, character jazz, lyrical and pom. She has taken dance classes from Broadway Dance Center in NYC. She attended Brunswick High School and performed with their dance team all four years. She then graduated from Kent State University in May 2019 with a B.A. in Applied Communication. While at Kent State, she was a member of the Kent State University Dance Team and competed at the National Dance Alliance in Daytona Beach, Florida. Her junior year, the team made Kent State history by making it to finals for the first time! Courtney currently dances for the Cleveland Indians Strikers and trains with the Cleveland Dance Project. She attends as many masterclasses around the area as she can and she is excited to share her passion for dance with her students.

Connie is the Program Director & a Dance Educator at MCDA. She has been teaching dance for over 20 years and this is her first year with MCDA. Connie teaches Broadway, Tap, early childhood dance, as well as other styles. She has been singing and dancing for over 30 years, beginning with her training at the Buffalo Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts and continuing at Baldwin-Wallace University where she earned her B.A. in Dance in 2003. She is a teaching artist for dance outreach programs that serve underprivileged children in Cleveland and is both a choreographer and actor in local community theatres. She lives in Brunswick, LOVES her cats and dogs, and enjoys gardening with her kids!

Chelsea Spence has been teaching at MCDA since 2015. She is trained in and enjoys teaching Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Modern. Chelsea graduated from Anderson University with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Business. During her time there, she performed in faculty performances and choreographed for student performances, as well as taking her choreography to the American College Dance Festival. After college, she interned with Ad Deum Dance Company and taught at multiple studios in Houston, TX, before relocating to Ohio. Chelsea enjoys getting to learn and create with all ages of dancers here at MCDA, and getting to watch them discover confidence and a love for the art of dance.

Missy graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from the University of Akron. At the U of A, Missy performed with the Touring Ensemble, Choreographer’s Workshop and Repertory Dance Company. She has choreographed for Our Lady of the Elms Show Choir, Cuyahoga Falls MM’s, Kent HS production of Oliver and Stow HS production of Beauty and the Beast. In 2001 she opened Marquette School of Dance(Grace in Motion) in Stow where she was the owner and director for 21 years. She furthered her education in New York City by attending classes at the Broadway Dance Center and taking part in Broadway Master Class workshops with cast members from Aladdin, Lion King and Wicked. She has attended numerous conventions and has been a member of Rhee Gold’s International Dance Entrepreneurs Association. Endorsing and aligning with their code of ethics of quality dance education with maintaining age appropriateness, high standards and integrity in business customer service and classroom management. She also has been blessed to attend Gold’s DanceLife Teacher Conference and Business Owner’s Retreat. She currently is a teaching artist with Art Sparks.  She loves her little family, our doodle pup, her faith and all things farmhouse mixed in with some Cleveland sports, writing and journaling and of course spending time at the beach! She is excited to be a part of the MCDA team as the Director of First Response.

Alex has grown up dancing at MCDA since a young age and has had her heart set on being a teacher for years. With a focus on Ballet and Pointe, she has also taken Jazz, Modern, Tap, and Hip Hop classes. She had the pleasure of studying under Kelly Parks, Mary Quigley, Rebecca Schoenbaechler, Chelsea Spence, and more. During her years as a student assistant and teacher apprentice at MCDA, she has helped with numerous early childhood classes and Ballet classes.

At Buckeye High School, she led a nonprofit, the Buckeye Blanket Buddies, whose mission was to help provide necessities for underprivileged children in the community. Alex was also on the Buckeye High School dance team for two years led by Tammy Manning. She is currently in pursuit of a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance at the University of Akron and is learning from Julie Schullo, Alec Lytton, Colleen Barnes, and more. She has taken several masterclasses from Laura Alonso, the Gibney Company, Alexandra Barbier, BRKFST Dance Company, The Era Footwork Collective, and slowdanger. She has also danced in the University of Akron’s Nutcracker as well as the University of Akron Dance Company’s performance “Connect”. Alex is dedicated to creating a safe and welcoming environment where kids can learn and express themselves in a fun and understandable way. She enjoys teaching the technique, terminology, and performance quality that comes with dance.

Leslie is a recent graduate of Baldwin Wallace University where she received her B.A. in Arts Management & Entrepreneurship with a minor in Dance. While she was at BW, Leslie was on the exec board for the hip hop dance group and choreographed the performances for the team. She has choreographed 9 musicals for her high school and community theatre productions, and has aided in the choreography for the BW spring dance concert for the past two years.

This past summer, Leslie was able to continue her hip hop training as an intern with 10K Movement, where she got to teach hip hop fundamentals to elementary school aged students!

Leslie is excited to meet all her students this year and be a part of the MCDA family!

Melissa and her husband have lived in Medina with their two wonderful children since 2014.  Melissa danced through childhood and studied dance briefly at Ohio State University.  After having spent many years as a full-time Mom, she is happy to have the opportunity to serve the students and families of MCDA in her role at the studio.  In her free time, Melissa enjoys reading, hiking, live music, and serving the community as co-founder of a local non-profit.

Katie grew up in West Michigan and began training in ballet at the local studio, Turning Pointe School of Dance. She went on to develop a passion for dance and continued training with the Grand Rapids School of Ballet. She recently graduated from Grand Valley State University with a Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in Dance and Biology. During her time in the dance program, Katie had the opportunity to work with several guest artists such as Queala Clancy, Zelma Badu-Younge, Renaldo Maurice, and Charlie Clark, as well as the school faculty, including Carrie Brueck Morris, Hannah Seidel, and Edgar L. Page. Katie had the opportunity to perform at the American College Dance Association (ACDA) regional conference in 2023. Currently, Katie is living and working in Northeast Ohio, finding ways to continue her work with dance through teaching at local studios and getting involved in the Cleveland Dance Project.

Miss Dani is a two-time Slippery Rock University Alum where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science in 2020. She returned to get a Master of Arts in Student Affairs in Higher Education in 2022. Outside of teaching dance, Miss Dani works as a Residential Community Director for first-year students at Case Western Reserve University!

Born and raised in Medina, Rachel received their Bachelor of Music in Performance with a minor in Music Education from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. After undergrad, they moved back home to Medina to pursue their Master’s at Cleveland State University. Recently graduating with their Masters in Music, Rachel is now based in the Fairlawn area with their Fiance. Working as a freelance musician and teacher, Rachel has gotten to perform and teach all over Philadelphia and now the Northeastern Ohio area. Being a very passionate educator Rachel loves getting to teach music to a diverse range of age groups. They have researched the benefits of many different types of music pedagogy and how to best support students to be as confident and creative as they can. Rachel has experience working with and teaching many diverse types of classes and ensembles ranging from instrumental, to choral and everything in between. Their favorite experience as a teacher is getting to see the light bulb moment when someone finally understands a musical concept, and is able to use their music to express themselves. Rachel also currently works at St Matthew Lutheran Church in Medina as the Children’s Choir and Chime Chorus Director and is very excited to continue work in and give back to the vibrant arts community that helped raise them.

Molly, her husband, and 2 children have lived here in Medina since 2018. She has been teaching art in public schools since 2015. She graduated from Bowling Green State University in 2014. Her students’ artwork is shown in various art shows around the state, even in the Ohio Statehouse in 2025. She enjoys all forms of art, including photography, watercolors, painting, and collage.

Abbi, her boyfriend, two cats, and dog have lived in Ashland Ohio since 2023. She grew up in Medina and is also an Alumni of MCDA. She graduated from Bowling Green State University in 2023 and is currently pursuing a masters of Special Education at Miami Oxford. Abbi is a K-6 music teacher and Junior High Cheer Coach in Loudonville Ohio as well as conducting various pit musicals around Medina County. She enjoys all forms of music making and loves taking adult classes at the studio. Abbi loves spending time outside, watching football and baseball, staying active, and making art of all kinds. 

Amanda is incredibly honored to be a part of the Davis Parks School of Arts! She got her start in the arts with MCDA when they first opened. She then continued to pursue performing arts and earned her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre: Acting and Directing with a minor in Psychology and a background in Education from Baldwin Wallace University. After graduating she moved to the mountains of North Carolina where she developed her own curriculum and taught acting classes at the Blue Ridge Performing Arts Academy. Amanda loves getting to perform on stage, but more than that she loves getting to see young actors light up with that same passion for theatre.