Our Teaching Staff
Ms. Rebecca
Director & Instructor
Ms. Marissa
Tap, Jazz, & Musical Theatre Instructor
Ms. Rebecca founded the After School Arts Dance Program in 2016 as a way to provide affordable and quality dance education to grade school aged students. Her dance journey began at the age of three in the local park district. After taking many years off from the art, Ms. Rebecca began dancing again at age 13. She studied psychology and dance at Northeastern Illinois University. There she served as president of Dancer's Society Dance Club for three years where her main responsibilities were planning and teaching dance combinations for dancers of various technical abilities and receiving university funding to attend the American College Dance Association Conference each year. Ms. Rebecca's dance training focused primarily on ballet, jazz and contemporary/modern. Ms. Rebecca believes dancers should train as both artists and athletes equally. She is an advocate for safe dance training. In November of 2021, Ms. Rebecca received a certification in progressing ballet technique (PBT) and is excited to begin bringing PBT to the dance program.
Ms. Marissa's dance journey began when she started taking ballet and tap classes at the age of three. As a teen she decided to expand her horizons by taking jazz and musical theatre classes. During high school, Ms. Marissa competed solos and group dances with the Momentum Performing Arts competitive team. Her tap solos received multiple judge's awards for her showmanship. After participating in musical theatre dance classes at her studio, she decided to audition for the school musical her junior year. She was cast in a leading role in Footloose and in The Sound of Music the following year. Along with participating in musicals at Lane Tech, she also performed in the musicals Urinetown and Hairspray at After School Matters. In college, she participated in multiple plays and the school dance company. During her four years of college, she participated in her school's dance company where she performed multiple dances in the company's yearly showcase. She contributed to the showcase her junior and senior years by choreographing an advanced tap number for the show. She graduated from North Central College and received degrees in Musical Theatre and Theatre. She was awarded the "Outstanding Major in Theatre" for the Class of 2020. Ms. Marissa also currently teaches dance at a local park district. She plans to own and operate her own dance studio in the near future.
Mr. Le Corps began his dance journey in December 2021. He discovered his love for ballet when demonstrating a PBT exercise. Since then, Mr. Le Corps has demonstrated the correct alignment in a variety of dance styles. He can do everything from tendus to tutting. Mr. Le Corps always has a smile on his face and is a vital part of the dance program. He assists in explaining dance science and injury prevention. Recently, Mr. Le Corps showed students what happens when you fracture the hinged joint known as the elbow. Mr. Le Corps hopes to be featured in a dance one day, but will stick with demonstrating for now. He is looking forward to teaching new technique in the dance program this year.