NATASHA LEAS

With seven years in Early Childhood Education she is combining her passion for teaching and dance at Studio 360! "I'm excited to ignite the passion for dance in our students! Dance has many benefits for developing young children including physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development! With children having more sedentary lifestyles it's important for them to step away from screens to exercise and learn how to socialize in a class setting while still having fun!" Mrs. Natasha was the head coach of Prairie Varsity Poms for 9 seasons. Owning a dance studio wouldn't be possible without the love and support from her husband Jim. " Owning a dance studio has been a dream of mine since I can remember and I feel very blessed to be able to follow my dreams and it wouldn't be possible without him. I can't wait to help others reach for their stars and follow their dreams." I look forward to sharing the gift of dance with your dancer! 

Owner/CEO/Instructor

NICOLE HUMPAL

Nicole is a lifelong lover of the arts. She started her training at the age of three at a local studio in southern Maryland, studying ballet. Her love of dance grew, and she began to increase her studies, studying with programs such as Alabama Youth Ballet Theatre, Ballet West, American Ballet Theatre, Cincinnati Ballet, and Burklyn Ballet Theatre. Throughout her career, Nicole has had many performing opportunities, including Swan Lake, Excerpts from La Bayadere, W.C Handy Legacy of Dance, and many performances of The Nutcracker. Nicole has also performed in various musical theatre productions including Hairspray, The Music Man, and The Wizard of Oz. While ballet is her main love, she has also trained in other dance styles, including jazz, modern, and international ballroom. Nicole has previously taught ballet, pointe, and conditioning classes to students of all ages in Maryland, Alabama, and Iowa. Nicole has been a certified FLX conditioning specialist since 2016. Nicole is an ABT Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT National Training Curriculum. Nicole also holds a certification in Progressing Ballet Technique.

Curriculum Director/Instructor

KARLI McCLURE

Karli has been dancing since she was 3 years old and started tumbling at age 6. She began dance in Davenport, IA, then moved to the Cedar Rapids area at the age of 9 to continue growing her love for dance and danced competitively there for many years.Karli also specializes in tumbling. She took classes in the Coralville/Iowa City area to further her tumbling skills during her school years and taught tumbling and Gymnastics in Cedar Rapids for 2 years. Karli was a cheerleader at Prairie High School and a member of the Prairie Varsity dance team that competed at and placed 10th at the UDA National Competition in Orlando, FL. Karli finished her high school years dancing and teaching at Studio 360. She became a Studio alumni in 2020 but never stopped sharing her passion with her students. Karli is the the lead Acro teacher at Studio 360 but you can find her teaching many other styles as well. Outside of the studio, Karli is a nursing student at the nationally ranked University of Iowa College of Nursing. 

Instructor

APRIL RIEFF

April is beyond excited to continue her journey with Studio 360 as a staff member! She recently graduated from Prairie High School where she was a member of Prairie Poms. While on poms April helped her team achieve a school record of placing 10th in the nation at the UDA High School Nationals Competition in Orlando, Florida. She has been dancing for 13 years and competitively for 10 years! She has trained in jazz, lyrical, pom, tap, and hip-hop. Throughout the years, dance has taught her the most humbling lessons and brought her closer to some amazing people. She hopes to help her students discover these lesson for themselves and guide them towards finding themselves through dance. When she's not at the studio, you can find her studying web development at Kirkwood or running the social media accounts for Studio 360!

Marketing Director/Instructor

GABI AGUIRRE

Gabi has been dancing for 10 years in a dance studio as well as with her high school and college dance teams. She was a member of the Iowa City Liberty Varsity Dance Team for two years (Class of 2019) and a part of the national champion, Iowa State University Dance Team (Class of 2022), for three years. While participating on the Iowa State Dance Team, she had the opportunity to represent the U.S. National Premier Pom Team at the International Cheer Union World Championships and won gold in the freestyle pom division. She danced competitively at Debut Dance Studio in North Liberty for four years and also has experience in all-star cheerleading. Miss Gabi graduated from Iowa State this May with a degree in Communication Studies and a double minor in Political Science and Advertising. She is also the current Miss Northern Iowa 2022 (part of the Miss Iowa/Miss America Organization). She is so excited to be joining the Studio 360 family!

Instructor

EMILY SELLNER

Emily has been dancing since she was 9 years old! She began dancing at a studio in Cedar Rapids, and later began competing at age 10. Emily then continued her passion for dance while dually competing for her studio and her high school dance team. She competed for a studio for 8 years at both Dance Nation and the Dancers Edge. As well as competed for her high school Prairie High School for 3 years! After graduating high school Emily continued on to dancing at the college D1 level at Iowa State University. At Iowa State Emily is majoring in Family Consumer Science Educational Studies. Also while on Iowa State Dance Team she has been apart of her team while earning both National and World Titles. “I am so excited to share my undeniable love for dance at Studio 360 this summer. I am looking forward to fostering growth mindsets while assuring students never lose sight of their joy and passion for dancing!”

Instructor

LAINEE UITERMARKT

Lainee Uitermarkt grew up training classically & competitively in Iowa. While in high school, she was the ISDTA State Solo Champion. Lainee then continued her collegiate dance training in Florida, William Penn University, and later the University of Iowa. She was an NAIA All-American dancer & captain while on her college dance team. Lainee has spent the last 12 years traveling across the midwest choreographing for high school & college dance teams, and the last 7 years coaching NAIA collegiate teams. Through her creative & technical lens, Lainee coached these teams to historical national qualifications. Lainee is the artistic director of Studio 360 in Cedar Rapids, IA where she has been an instructor for 5 years. Continuing her education through AcroArts, CLI Studios, NDEO, and DiscoverDance, Lainee’s love for all styles, fitness, & the true technique of dance make her  extremely passionate about teaching. She can’t wait to share that with your dancers.

Creative Director/Instructor

AMY TOMASH

Miss Amy knows everything Studio 360! She is the head of the Studio 360 Boutique and costuming. Miss Amy keeps the studio clean, organized, and orderly. We don't know what we would do without her! When Amy is not at the studio, she is a full time mom and wife and can be found playing with her pups, Kinnick, Bailey, and Frankie.  

360 Boutique/Operations Director

KAYLEE KNIPPER

Miss Kaylee started dancing when she was 4 years old and immediately fell in love with it! As she has grown in her dance career, she has found a love for being able to set her worries aside and just dance! After graduating high school, Kaylee decided her dance journey wasn't over and became part of the Mount Mercy dance team, where she also studied biology and psychology. The dance team was not a sport yet at the college so Kaylee helped it evolve each year. By her senior year, the team had won 9th in the nation at nationals for the first time in school history! Kaylee was a captain her junior and senior year where she learned important leadership skills and the qualities it takes to build a great team. Miss Kaylee started teaching at Studio 360 4 years ago and has loved getting to share her love for dance with students of all ages! When she's not at the studio, Kaylee is back in school studying to be an Occupational Therapist!

Instructor

BRITTANY McGRAW

Ms. Brittany has been dancing since she was 2 1/2. She is originally from the suburbs of Chicago where she studied studio dance and danced competitively in both jazz and tap, including going to nationals in New York with her tap team! Throughout high school, Ms. Brittany was on the school Pom team in addition to dancing at her studio. Ms. Brittany attended undergraduate at Loras College in Dubuque, IA, where she studied social work, minored in international studies, and danced on the Pom team.  Ms. Brittany took a short break from dance while getting her Master's degree in social work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ms. Brittany returned to the dance world when she moved to Cedar Rapids, IA with her husband, Matt, and started taking adult classes. Ms. Brittany currently works at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics as a mental health therapist. Ms. Brittany hopes to help students grow in their love for the art, movement, and their bodies, while recognizing the incredible impact dance (and all that comes with it) can have on our mental as well as physical wellbeing! 

Instructor

JEN MARKS

Jen Marks joins us with over 12 years of dance experience. She danced competitively in high school and for Central College dance team. She also danced for the CR Titans for 4 years and the CR rough riders for 2 years. She then moved on to coaching the River Kings dance team in 2018 but when Covid shut her team down she hasn’t felt the same without having dance in her life. Jen is so excited to get back into the dance world! She can’t wait to help her students find joy and passion for something so dear to her heart. When she isn’t at the studio or chasing after her two girls she is a full time dental assistant/clinical manager in Solon.

Instructor/Community Relations

SARAH SKILLING

Originally from Northern Iowa, Sarah graduated from the University of Iowa in May 2021 with a B.A. in Dance and a 200-hour Hatha Yoga Teacher Training Certificate. Through her time at Iowa, Sarah studied modern and ballet technique, improvisation, dance kinesiology, the Feldenkrais Method, and many other courses that have deepened her interests in the art form. Sarah has also had many performance opportunities at Iowa, collaborating with the music and theatre departments, and working with many of the dance department faculty members and graduate students. Sarah is interested in working with other dancers to create stronger bodily awareness in a welcoming and exploratory environment. 

Instructor

SARA JAMES

Sara has been dancing since the age of three! She was a National Dance Alliance (NDA) camp instructor, danced for the University of Iowa (Go Hawks), and danced for the Cedar Rapids Titans! She is also a pro fitness competitor! With a strong background in fitness and dance, Miss. Sara will push her dancers to the next level by challenging their strength and conditioning to develop their dance skills."When dancers focus on targeted muscles in strength and conditioning classes, they build the proper technique to execute dance skills safely and correctly."

Director of Student Health/Instructor

RACHEL PETERSEN

Miss Rachel began dancing at the age of 5 around the Cedar Rapids community and began dancing competitively at age 9. She danced competitively throughout her elementary, middle, and high school years where her passion for dance continued to grow. At her local studio, she was part of the competing company and the Teachers Assistant Program where her love for teaching began to bloom. Through high school, Rachel competed regionally and nationally with Prairie Poms.  This is where she met Miss Tasha and began assisting the Hawk Allstars with Miss Sara! After graduating high school, Miss Rachel began teaching at Studio 360 and quickly realized her passion for teaching dance was never going to go away. She now studies at the University of Iowa and will graduate in May of 2023 with a degree in both Dance and Educational Studies and Human Relations, as well as a certificate in Entrepreneurial Management. As the Director of All Stars, you can come to Miss Rachel with questions, comments, and concerns regarding the 360 All Star program.

Instructor/Director of All Stars

GRACE ARNDT

Miss Grace, originally from Ames, Iowa, has been dancing since age 3! She danced at Performance Dance Center for 15 years where she was also on the traveling competition team.In high school, Grace was on the Ames High Varsity dance team for 4 years. In December, Grace will be graduating from the University of Iowa with a BA in Human Physiology and a minor in Dance and Psychology. Miss Grace is also a certified Yoga, Zumba, and Werq instructor!

Instructor

DAWN NEFF

"Dance has always held a special place in my heart, as it allows us to express ourselves; our dreams, our successes, our fears, our sadness, and everything in-between without ever needing to find the 'right words', we just show it; allow the movement to do the speaking for us".

Mrs. Dawn feels so privileged to be a part of a dancer's journey and join the Studio 360 family where she can blend her love of dance with her passion of honoring the whole person to grow and express themselves. Mrs. Dawn started dancing when she was six after seeing the Nutcracker and falling in love with ballet. As she got older she branched into various styles from tap and ballet to jazz, lyrical, and pointe. In high school she competed on the dance team learning poms and hip hop, then on her collegiate team and finally on a local professional team before moving out of state to pursue her masters. Mrs. Dawn currently works as a children's mental health therapist and supervisor for Tanager Place's school based program and loves spending time with her two daughters and husband. 

Instructor

ESSENCE McGREW

Miss. Essence has been dancing since she was two years old and has been a member of a committing team for ten years. She also danced for her high school team in Moline and was a senior captain. She currently attends Kirkwood Community College and is majoring in Dental Assisting and Hygiene.  Miss. Essence is so excited and blessed to work with 360 students. You can find her in Poms and Hip Hop this season!

Instructor