TPS STAFF

 Owner, Director and & Choreographer 

Traci was born and raised in Southern California where she studied dance for many years and received scholarships to several elite dance schools in Orange County. She studied under many well-known choreographers and instructors and was selected to be part of a professional touring company, which she performed with for two years. She started up many non-profit dance organizations connecting teen youths with younger school-aged children emphasized a mentorship program through dance and movement. These groups performed for community events such as benefits, fundraisers, silent auctions, nursing homes and fairs. She earned her Associated Degree in Dance, Bachelors of Science in Child and Adolescent Development and her Masters Degree in Sociology with an emphasis in Research Methodology. Traci is also certified through Dance Teacher University (DTU) which is a collaboration of The University of Las Vegas, Nevada and dance professional expertise.  She worked with several non-profit organizations assisting the betterment of our youth including research for Head Start and the Center for Collaboration for Children. She also taught over 10 years at several colleges throughout the country, specializing in classes such as child development, social problems, marriage and family and more. She teaches dance in all genres and is the lead choreographer for the TPS competition team. Her work has received numerous awards including “dare to be different”, “white diamond”, "best choreography", best studio artistry, technique, age-appropriateness, innovation and her work has been selected as a choreography winner with invitations to perform at Nationals during the choreography review. In addition, she was one of  few selected to choreograph for the elite national dance company, “Dance Spectacular” for CRU nationals. Her dancers have been invited to numerous dance companies based on technique and performance and have placed in the overall countless times. Her students also won overall first place adult dancer and child dancer at the ARTS showcase in Orlando Florida. She continues to provide her dancers with a wide-range of experiences including performing at the Statue of Liberty, Anita’s Way in NYC, The Intrepid in NYC honoring troops, Chicago theatres and museums with opportunities for short film making and photography and most recently, their recent trip to perform on the stage at Walt Disney World as well as the Disney Parade. Professionally, Traci is married with 3 wonderful adult children. 

 Competition Team Lead Choreographer

Artistic Director & Lead  Choreographer 

Miss Emma is our lead competition choreographer and intern/assistant program developer. Emma danced as a student with TPS from its beginnings, 8 of those years on the TPS competitive team. Emma is certified as a dance teacher through Dance Teacher University (DTU) through UNLV and is also currently a dance company member with the Trifecta 2 Dance Company based in Chicago which by invitation, she performs with other college-professional dancers around the country. She not only teachers at TPS but she is also staff for the Metamorphosis Fearless Evolution Dance Experience based in Chicago and a guest choreographer and master class instructor in surrounding cities such as Detroit and Chicago. She has earned many awards and titles over the years at various competitions for dance technique and her choreography works. She has also attended ARTS INTERNATIONAL in Orlando and Los Angeles where her dance pieces were selected in the overall top routines and brought in front of numerous casting agents and managers. She has performed all over the country, including but not limited to, NYC, Chicago, LA, Orlando and more in a variety of dance companies as well as invites. She has also served as an intern assistant in master classes through selection for Platinum Dance, CRU dance and Metamorphosis. Emma graduates with her Bachelors in Psychology and minor in dance and chemistry from Western Michigan University this summer, 2024. She participates in college-level field internships studying human behavior and will be continuing her education to receive her doctorate in Psychiatry.  

Lead instructor & Choreographer

Samantha served as the JV sideline and competitive cheer coach at Delton Kellogg for 12 years. Growing up, she cheered all the way from Rocket Cheer in 1st grade through her senior year of high school. Currently, she is a lead instructor for TPS, specializing in our performance tumbling class,  pom and cheer, stunts, open mats, partner tricks, preschool dance and competition across! Personally, Mrs. Samantha is married and has two daughters who have been dancing at TPS since they were two! Both are now on the competitive team, one being a mini member and the other being part of our junior team.  

 Lead instructor & Choreographer

 Miss Maddi has been dancing for 15 years and was on the TPS competition team for the past 9 years. Currently she attends Western Michigan University, focusing on  environmental biology. Maddi is certified through Dance Teacher University (DTU) and UNLV (University of Las Vegas, Nevada). She has earned several prestigious awards including “the White Diamond” award for technique and precision, the entertainment MC award and is the recipient of “Best Child Dancer” through the ARTS INTERNATIONALS in Orlando, Florida where she also received a lifetime scholarship to attend and continually perform in front of casting agents and managers around the world. Maddi has been selected and participated in the CRU Fashion Show Company, CRU Broadway Company and CRU Heart and Soul. She has performed all over the country including LA, NYC, Orlando, Chicago, Disney and more. Maddi has also received numerous scholarships to attend intensives in NYC and LA. Her specialty is in Musical Theatre where she collaborates her love for acting, dance, art and music together. Outside of dance, Maddi has attended acting classes at the Civic and brings much of those experiences into the dance classes she instructs. At TPS, Maddi instructs classes and choreographs for the TPS dance team. 

 Lead Instructor & Choreographer

 Miss Anna resides in Kalamazoo, Mi and has been dancing since the age of four. Her intensive training was through Ballet Arts and she was part of Ballet Arts Ensemble for three years. During this time, she was a pointe dancer for 4 years and worked with several guest artists from all over the country.Anna's training is primarily in ballet, but she has also trained in modern, contemporary and musical theatre. In addition to her extensive ballet and dance training, Anna has studied and performed in numerous musicals and plays through the Civi Theatre, Farmers Alley Theatre and through College dance. Currently, she attends Wester Michigan University where she studies Art Administration and Dance.

Lead instructor 

Mrs. Dana has been dancing since the age of three. She is extensively trained in classical ballet with a focus on Cecchetti Method and Russian Techniques. She went en pointe at age 10 and expanded her love for dance taking jazz and modern styles further. She joined dance team and has experience in high-energy competitions. She has auditioned for Joffrey and the American Ballet Theatre and has performed in several productions and Nutcrackers. 

Mrs. Dana is no stranger to the stage. In addition to her ballet and dance training, she has experience in pageantry, community theater and tv/media. Personally, she is married and has two daughters on the TPS competition team. Miss Dana also loves coaching youth sports and decamps, loves sharing her passion for the precision and grace of ballet and finds the greatest reward in watching the growth of dancers!

 Team Technique Coach

Competition Instructor & Co-Artistic Director 

Grace has been dancing since she was 2 years old, competing for a total of 12 years with the last 9 being at TPS. Grace is an award-winning soloist, has danced at Walt Disney world with Dance the World, has been selected to dance in CRU national companies such as the DTV where she learned how to dance on film and the Dance Spectacular Elite Company and is a selected performance soloist for the Metamorphosis event in Chicago. Grace was also selected at the Metamorphosis Fearless Evolution event in Chicago to represent the “Face of Fearlessness” and appear in their promotional materials as well as be an ambassador for Illuminate Dancewear. She is also a member of a professional dance company called TDC2 based in Chicago. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and titles as well as a variety of scholarships and invitationals as a dancer and performer. Grace is technically versatile as a dancer and has a passion for working with young children. Grace will be attending Western Michigan University and has recently returned from an extensive stay in Florida, participating in the Disney-work program.

Lead Choreographer & Instructor

Competition Choreographer & Co-Artistic Director

Shayna has been dancing since she was 3 years old and competing for a total of 11 years  TPS. Shayna is DTU certified through UNLV,   an award-winning soloist, has been selected to dance in CRU national companies, has been selected as a performance soloist for the Metamorphosis event in Chicago as well as an apprentice for the Metamorphosis Fearless Evolution Event and much more.  She has been the recipient of numerous awards and titles as well as a variety of scholarships and invitationals as a dancer and performer. Shayna has performed all over the country, including Orlando, Chicago and more! She has also performed at Disney.  Shayna is technically versatile as a dancer in all genres and has a passion for working with young children. Miss Shayna recently attended the Disney's work-program and resided in Florida for an extensive stay. Miss Shay will be focusing on her college academics here in Michigan.

Lead Choreographer & Instructor

Competition Choreographer &  Instructor

Miss Olivia has been dancing since she was 4 years of age and finished her competition season with TPS as a senior in 2024. Olivia has been a lead assistant for our competition team and has been selected by TPS to be a lead instructor and choreographer. Miss Olivia's training focus is in Contemporary, Jazz, Modern, Musical Theatre and she is trained in other styles as well.  Miss Olivia has performed all over the country including surroundings cities such as Chicago and Detroit as well as Disney in Orlando, Florida.  She is an award-winning soloist and  has been the recipient of numerous group awards and titles as well as a variety of scholarships and invitationals as a dancer and performer. Miss Olivia's dedication, focus and leadership qualities are unmatched. She has a passion for dance, teaching and seeing the growth in her students of all ages. In addition to her dance achievements, Olivia is attending college in Michigan where she is focusing on animal science.

Choreographer & Instructor

Miss Rea has been dancing since she was 4 years old and  has trained and competed with TPS. Miss Rea began her love of teaching through the TPS internship and assistant leadership program in which dancers train to teach under the guidance of TPS Lead Staff. She is an award-winning soloist, the recipient of numerous awards, scholarships invitationals as a dancer and performer. Reagan is technically versatile as a dancer in all genres and has a passion for working with young children and choreographing for other dancers. Miss Reagan is a current senior lead dancer with TPS and continues to receive training in various genres, master classes, with professional guest artists and intensives. 

Choreographer & Instructor

Miss Parker has been dancing since she was 4 years old. She has trained and competed with TPS since its beginnings. Miss Parker began her love of teaching through the TPS internship and assistant leadership program in which dancers train to teach under the guidance of TPS Lead Staff. She is an award-winning soloist, the recipient of numerous awards, scholarships invitationals as a dancer and performer. Miss Parker has also been selected numerous times as a soloist (out of hundreds of dancers across the nation)  to perform in the Metamorphosis Showcase in Chicago.  Parker has performed around the country, including Disney. New York in Times Square as well as on the Intrepid to honor and support our veterans. She  is technically versatile as a dancer but her emphasis is on contemporary and lyrical styles. Miss Parker has a passion for working with young children and choreographing for other dancers.  She is  is a current senior lead dancer with TPS and continues to receive training in various genres, master classes, with professional guest artists and intensives.