Megan grew up in Westerville, Ohio where she trained exclusively at the Dance Extension under Tony Calucci, Zelma Bustillo, Judy Spring, and many more. Megan danced with the Collaborative Dance Project, a pre-professional contemporary dance company, for four years. While a member, she worked with choreographers from around the world, such as, Daniel Tinazzi, JT Horenstein, and RJ Durell. She also studied various dance techniques in New York City, Bowling Green State University, and The Ohio State University. Megan graduated from The Ohio State University with her BFA in Dance Performance and went on to perform with Natalie Marrone & the Dance Cure. Megan has been teaching at the Dance Extension for 11 years and within the surrounding communities for 15 years. Megan is also the Artistic Director for the newly formed Parallel 40 Dance Collective; Dublin’s new pre-professional contemporary dance company. As Dance Extension’s Artistic Director, Megan believes in the studio’s philosophy of inspiring young dancers to achieve their personal best and is excited to implement her vision and develop Dance Extension’s dance program into the premier dance studio of Central Ohio.

Paulette grew up in Pittsburgh and has studied dance at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, School of American Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Harkness Dance Theatre, Boston Ballet and Ballet Met. She danced professionally with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Indianapolis Ballet and Ballet Met. For over 25 years, Paulette has taught Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Fitness at all levels to 3 year-olds thru adults. Her teaching experience includes Pittsburgh Ballet Academy, Ballet Met Academy, Marjorie Jones School of Dance, Northwest School of Dance, Fitness Express, Elite Fitness and The Dance Extension. She has judged competitions all over the USA and has enjoyed choreographing for many different schools. With energy and charisma, she inspires young dancers to reach their full potential. As the owner of Paulettes Princess Parties she loves making dreams come true with her princesses, pirates and fairies

Jennifer was born and raised in Ashland, Ohio where she began her dance training with Opus II Dance Studio under the instruction of Hellie Schussler. She became well versed in ballet, jazz, modern and tap techniques. While at Opus II she was able to dance with the school’s pre-professional company, Ashland Regional Ballet. During these years, she was able to attend summer intensive study programs at BalletMet, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and was a cast member of Blue Lake International Exchange Program’s European and U.S. Ballet Tour in 1999. Upon graduation from high school, Jennifer attended Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC and finished with a Bachelor of Arts in Musical Theater. During her time at CCU she performed in many theater and dance productions. Jennifer then returned home to Ashland and began teaching for Opus II and served as Ballet Mistress with Ashland Regional Ballet (ARB) for many years. She performed as a professional member with ARB dancing numerous roles in The Nutcracker, Firebird, many oDJ_ther original ballets and pieces, as well as choreographing many original works for the company’s repertoire along with staging many scenes for several ballets. She has also danced as a guest artist with NEOS Dance Theatre. As a result of her knowledge in musical theater, Jennifer has served as Choreographer for productions of Nunsense, South Pacific, Oklahoma!, The Sound of Music, Annie, The Music Man, and Seussical the Musical with St. Peter’s High School in Mansfield, Ohio, also including Damn Yankees and The Pajama Game for The Ohio State University- Mansfield. Jennifer has recently moved to Columbus with her husband, Matthew and their daughter, Maylyn. In addition to teaching dance, she enjoys being a substitute teacher for many of the Northwest Columbus schools. Jennifer, known as “DJ” to her dance students, is thrilled to be starting a new chapter of her dance teaching and choreography career.

Melissa Reinke has been dancing since the age of 2 and is trained in tap, ballet, jazz, hip hop, musical theater, lyrical and voice. She competed during her dance training and won numerous overall high score and specialty awards. Melissa was a Caravan Kid and won scholarships to Steps on Broadway in New York City and Debbie Reynolds Dance Studio in LA. She also had the opportunity to perform with Salt and Pepper, the hip-hop trio in Hawaii in the 1998 Pro Bowl. Melissa has danced with Frank Hatchet, Susie Miller, Barry Youngblood, Twitch, and many more. Melissa choreographed dance routines for Stone Model and Talent Agency in Cleveland, OH for their national showcase IMTA in New York City. She is excited to be joining Dance Extension and sharing her dancing knowledge with our dancers.

Kaleb started breakin’ when he was 8 years old under Seth Carter, a member of the famous Mighty Zulu King. From there his passion grew as he began to learn about International dance styles and has won multiple medals in the Arnold Classic for Rumba, Samba, Jive and The Cha-Cha. He also has trained in multiple diverse foundational Hiphop styles ranging from popping, tutting, locking, house, waving and gliding. He began teaching hip-hop and breaking in 2011 and has traveled and competed in every state within the Midwest with his elite Break dance crew named "Flowhio".

Paige Hartley is a professional dancer who began studying dance at age 6 at the Ruth Mitchel Dance Theater in Atlanta. She trained extensively with Trinette Singleton, Winthrop Corey, Stanislav Issaev, Jimmy Locust, Todd Eric Allen and Caroline Cavallo. Her many ballet performance credits include Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Paquita. Paige moved to New York City to work at STEPS on Broadway and toured the US with Total Entertainment and Bacchus Productions as a dancer and choreographer. In 2006 she performed with Cirque Du Soleil’s Corteo and choreographer Cecilia Marta. Paige discovered Pilates in 2006 and earned a 600 hour comprehensive teaching certification through Power Pilates. She also holds certifications in Core Barre and Yoga. Paige and her husband live in Dublin with their two daughters and Corgi.

Dani has been dancing since the age of 5 and is currently pursuing a BFA in Dance at The Ohio State University, with focuses in Performance and Education. Originally from the western suburbs of Chicago, she gained most of early dance training at Millennium Dance Center under Meagan Ziebarth, Colleen Rubio, and Joshua Manculich. During high school she was the captain of her school’s dance team, which won 3 state championships during her time on the team. After high school, she couldn’t see herself pursuing anything other than dance and chose Ohio State for its incredible dance program. She has participated in workshops and intensives at American Dance Festival, River North Dance Chicago, Chicago National Association of Dance Masters, Chicago Human Rhythm Project, and University of North Carolina School of the Arts. This past summer she traveled to Denmark alongside 14 students from OSU, performing, teaching, and taking class throughout the country. When she’s not dancing, Dani stays busy with community outreach and various leadership positions on campus. Dani is excited to begin her first season sharing her passion with the students at Dance Extension!

Gavin Mark McNally started training with the Fort Wayne Ballet at the age of eight. He furthered his studies at Interlochen Arts Academy. He then moved on to study with Violette Verdy at Indiana University. Gavin then joined the Kansas City Ballet, performing works by Todd Bolender, George Ballanchine, and Twyla Tharp. In New York City, he furthered his movement studies in aerial, acrobalance, and breakdance, performing with various companies including Janusphere, The NYC Tranzformers, and Team AntiGravity. In addition to dance, he is a professional cosmetologist, makeup artist, and marching band flag constructor. Dance Extension is excited to have Gavin join our instructors.

We are pleased to have Britt Richey, a former Dance Extension and Collaborative Dance Project (CDP) member join our instructing staff this year. Britt danced at the Dance Extension from elementary school until she graduated from Dublin Jerome HS in 2013. In April 2017, she graduated from the University of Cincinnati with her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Early Childhood Education. Growing up in Dublin and at the Dance Extension, she has always had a passion for helping others and working with children. Now that Britt is teaching, she wants to give back to current dancers and to try to give them the same experiences she had while at the studio. She learned life lessons on time management, organization, physicality, and working together to create a family bond. Britt is excited to be able to share her love of dance with her students.

After 15 years of dance training, Paige St. John is now pursuing her BFA Degree in Dance at The Ohio State University (Columbus, OH). Prior to her college career she studied at Miss Kristin’s Dance Studio and Absolute Dance Company (Avon Lake, OH). She expanded upon her training at Magnificat High School (Rocky River, OH). Paige has received various dance honors and opportunities, including being crowned AmeriDance’s 2014 /15 Dancer of the Year and performed in the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids production of The Who’s: TOMMY (July 2013, Cleveland Musical Theatre). She continues to share her experience through choreographing for the Magnificat High School Dance Team and teaching Master Classes at local studios. Now as a Buckeye, Paige is majoring in Dance while also a member of the nationally ranked Ohio State Dance Team (Department of Athletics). Paige has spent the majority of her summer traveling and teaching as a Universal Dance Association (UDA) instructor across the country. She is both a student-athlete and an artist, constantly looking for ways to improve upon her skills and learn more about her craft. Paige enjoys sharing her knowledge with others while growing with them in the process.

Judy, owner of Dance Extension, graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelors degree in Human Resource Management, and pursued her first career as a Human Resource Administrator. Following in the footsteps of her father, Judy has always been a lifelong supporter and participant in the performing arts and music, and from theater to creative problem solving. As a Destination Imagination Coach she lead her team of 5th graders to the global finals. Most recently as a pre-K teacher her team reached a 5 star 'Step Up to Quality' ranking from the Ohio Department of Education and Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Judy continues her love of teaching children by leading the dance themed Mommy Let's Dance and Let's Pretend programs. The highlight of her day is the frequent hugs she receives from current and former students and watching her own daughter dance at the studio.