Staff

Kay Marie and Carol's School of Dance (KMC) has teachers who bring personal integrity and the philosophy of striving for excellence, together with a sincere concern for the needs of each student.

The studio continually offers the highest quality instruction with the emphasis on individual development.

We strive to expand each dancer's imagination, build self-esteem, promote self-discipline and help establish a positive attitude toward teamwork and cooperation with others.

Thank you for visiting and feel free to contact us for more information about KMC.

Shannon has been with KMC for over 40 years, she walked in at the age of 5 and dance quickly became an important part of her life. Her love for dance continued on as she grew up, first hired as an assistant, then becoming a teacher.  She has traveled across the country, attending conventions and learning from various choreographers. She choreographed and has performed for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Lynx and Vikings.  She has won many awards with her dances, including technique, entertainment, and choreography.

Upon taking ownership in 2016 of the Robbinsdale, Shorewood and Arlington studios, Shannon plans on continuing the values that have helped KMC get to where they are today.  She strongly believes in giving back to the community, making every child feel welcome and safe in the studio.  She loves teaching fun, challenging dances to kids and watch them take her vision and flourish.  She is excited for the future with the team she works with! She currently lives in Shorewood, has three sons, Connor, Gabe & Quinn.  In her spare time she loves gardening and spending time with her pugs.

Mary has been affiliated with KMC Studios for over 20 years. Both her daughter, Molly, and her son, Jacob were dancers with KMC Studios for many years.  Mary’s dance background includes dancing for area studios as a child and her high school and college dance teams.  Mary is a choreographer for Fridley Public Schools and Fridley Community Theater. Her day job is with Dieci School Finance as a HR Consultant.  She has a B.A. Degree in Elementary Education from St. Thomas University and a Master’s in Human Resource Development from Clemson University. She lives in Coon Rapids with her husband Kurt and two dogs. Mary loves all things dance especially watching young people grow in their skill and artistry.

Krystl has been with KMC Dance for over 30 years. She stepped into the Robbinsdale location when she was four years old. Little did she know that she would fall in love with dancing, and her dance family. She competitively danced for over 12 years in group performances, duets, small lines, and as a soloist. At the age of 14 she started assisting young dancers and advanced to assisting performing lines known as the Show Unit at KMC. After graduating high school she began teaching classes of all ages. She has been teaching for over 20 years.

Krystl manages the Robbinsdale and Shorewood locations for KMC Dance. She now instructs all performing line classes. She is trained in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, modern, lyrical and hip hop. Continuously growing her knowledge with dance, she has attended various conventions around the United States. Krystl has won many choreography and judge’s awards over the years with her group dances, soloists, and duets. Numerous dances have gone to Nationals in Las Vegas, Wisconsin, and Ohio. Her love for dance grows and grows each year. Teaching children the art of dance brings such fulfillment to her life. She believes dance is great for your body and mind and the studio is a place to learn great values in life.

Taleigh danced at KMC for 15 years working her way up to competing in large groups, small groups as well as a soloist. She was also part of her high school Dance Team on both performance and competition teams as captain. After graduating, she became an instructor for the studio in 2016, falling in love with dance even more and has now been with the studio for over 20 years.

Taleigh teaches at all three studio locations. She teaches every age the studio offers from preschoolers to our oldest competition lines. She leads the hip hop program at all locations as well as the youth program. Taleigh is trained in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary and hip hop. She has attended many conventions offered by competitions to further her knowledge in dance. Taleigh has found such a great love for KMC throughout the years. She is extremely grateful to continue on with the studio teaching all the kids what she loves most.

Lauren started dancing with KMC at the Shorewood locations at the age of 3. She continued on for the next 15 years and started working at the studio at the age of 15. After graduating, she continued working at the studio as an Instructor as she went to college. Throughout her years as a dancer, Lauren took classes in tap, jazz, ballet, hip hop, lyrical, and contemporary. She competed in many different groups, as well as solos and duets. In high school, she participated in dance team, dancing at State for 4 consecutive years and eventually becoming a Senior Captain. While in college, Lauren also participated in a dance group called MinnesoTap to further her knowledge about tap. She graduated from college in the Spring of 2021 from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities with a B. A. in Psychology and has focused specifically on children/adolescent mental health since then.
Lauren teaches at the Shorewood and Robbinsdale locations with a wide variety of groups.  Over the years, Lauren has taught lyrical, contemporary, Show Unit, and youth classes. She has also had many routines compete at different National competitions around the country.
In all of her years at the studio, Lauren has found another family at KMC. She loves seeing all of the dancers improve in their skills as a dancer and as well growing as people. She feels honored to contribute to the culture of trust, love, and respect at the KMC Studios. Lauren appreciates having a job that brings her as much joy and fulfillment as teaching does.

Maria danced with KMC studios for 15 years and has now moved onto teaching! Maria is so thrilled to be a part of the KMC staff and enjoys every second of being at the studio. One of her favorite aspects of teaching is watching the kids persue their passions and evolve into amazing dancers. Throughout her years at KMC she has taken many classes such as lyrical, tap, jazz, and her favorites being hip hop and contemporary. Maria has won multiple overalls in the past three years including a national title with her self-choreographed solo “Petrichor” (2021), her duet “Acceptance of the End” (2019) and her senior solo "When the Party's Over" (2022). Maria is currently a student at St. Thomas. Maria feels grateful and blessed to have a job that brings her so much joy and happiness.

Maeghan danced with KMC for 15 years and is going on her 4th year instructing at the Robbinsdale location. She works as an LPN at and urgent care and is currently in school for her RN. Her favorite thing about teaching is creating a healthy, energetic and productive environment for kids to learn and love dance.

Charlotte has been a part of KMC now for 14 years and couldn’t imagine her life any other way. Dance is her passion, and it always has been. Charlotte feels beyond grateful to be a part of the KMC Instructing team. As a young dancer, Charlotte looked up to the teachers and assistants and had always dreamed of becoming one someday. She enjoys all styles of dance, but her favorite would have to be contemporary. Charlotte has done many solos throughout her years in the styles of contemporary, open, and jazz.  She loves to compete! At nationals in 2025, her solo took 1st place in category and 2nd place overall. KMC has been like a second home for Charlotte her whole life. She always looks forward to her nights in the studio and feels blessed to be in such a wonderful community that is KMC.

Lenore has been dancing with KMC since she was 9 years old. From the moment she joined, she felt very welcome, and now KMC truly feels like her second home. Lenore loves all styles of dance, and is always eager to try new things. One of her favorite aspects of being part of the team is the funny moments in class, along with competing and dancing in the recitals. Lenore appreciates the friends she has made at dance, and how that makes the team stronger. Lenore loves working with kids of all ages, but she mainly assists class for the younger ones, ever since she started assisting in 2021. She hopes to share the love for dance that she has with her students. In addition to dance, she values volunteering and doing well in school. She is involved in the National Honor Society and is the Student Body President. Lenore works at the Robbinsdale location and is so grateful to be on the KMC Staff!

Kaitlyn has been dancing at KMC for many years and always looks forward to her time in the
studio. She has trained in jazz, contemporary, lyrical, hip hop, tap, and more. Competing for
almost a decade, she has earned numerous awards and has won both regional and national
competitions. Dance has been a considerable part of her life, and she loves sharing what she has learned with younger students. Her favorite part of teaching is helping dancers grow in
confidence, technique, and creativity. She is so excited to give back to the place that has shaped
her and looks forward to an amazing season!

Londyn will be going on her 11th year of dancing with KMC! She loves coming into the studio, even if it’s early in the morning or late at night! Dancing is her passion and she loves it! When Londyn first started dancing at KMC, she remembers always looking up to all of the teachers, assistants, and other dancers. She was always inspired to do her best every time she walks into the studio, and now is so excited to inspire other kids to do the same! Londyn loves every style in dance but her favorites are Jazz and Lryical. Londyn has done 6 solos, and she loved every single one of them! She loves competing with her friends, and being able to experience the competition side to dance. Londyn is known for her sassy facials and her movement quality. Londyn is so excited to add on another year of being a staff member at KMC Robbinsdale and can’t wait for the year to start!

Madison is a junior at Jordan High School and has been a dancer at KMC Studios for most of her life. She started at age 4 and immediately fell in love. Since then, she has thought of KMC like a second family. While growing up at KMC, Madison always looked up to her instructors and because of that, she is beyond excited to be a part of the staff in our Arlington location teaching all styles. And although she loves them all, her favorite to perform would have to be Contemporary. Madison is very much looking forward to helping others grow in their passion this dance season.

Mia is a dedicated dance assistant with over 13 years of training and performance experience across a variety of styles, including ballet, jazz, contemporary, hip-hop, and lyrical. Known for a strong work ethic, leadership skills, and a passion for teaching, brings technical knowledge and fun experiences to every class and rehearsal.

Lily has been dancing with KMC since she was 2 years old. She has spent many hours at the studio and feels it’s like a second home. Growing up watching her aunt Jordan dance, assist and become a teacher at KMC inspired her love of dance and her desire to be an assistant too.  She hopes to inspire other dancers as well. Although a little shy at first, she really enjoys sharing her passion with others.  Lily has been doing solos for many years in various styles such as lyrical, jazz, and now her new favorite is open. She loves new challenges, whether it’s learning a new trick for a dance or improving facials on the dance floor. 

Makayla is 15 and is starting her 13th year of dancing with KMC. She is a sophomore at Sibley East High School in Arlington, MN. When she was younger, she always looked up to the assistants and teachers at her studio. She knew that she wanted to be an assistant and this will now be her second year as part of the KMC staff. She enjoys all styles of dance but her favorites are jazz and lyrical. She loves getting to know all of the younger dancers and watching them as they grow and learn.

Ivy has been dancing at KMC for 11 years and couldn’t imagine her life without it. She loves all styles of dance, but her favorites are contemporary and hiphop. Throughout the years, she has performed solos and duets, and one of her proudest moments was winning 1st place for both a solo and a duet at competition.

As a young dancer, Ivy always looked up to the teachers and assistants at KMC and dreamed of one day becoming one herself. She is so excited that this year she gets to step into that role for the first time! She hopes to inspire younger dancers the way she was inspired and is grateful to give back to the studio that has always felt like her second home.

KMC has been such an important part of Ivy's life, and she feels blessed to continue her journey here in a new way.

Olivia has been dancing for 11 years and is excited to begin her very first season as an assistant at KMC. Over the years, she has always loved helping out around the studio, and stepping into this new role feels like a natural next step in her dance journey. Contemporary and hip-hop are her favorite styles, but she enjoys every opportunity to learn and perform.

She has taken the stage in two solos and one trio, and is excuted to compete another trio and solo this year!One of her proudest accomplishments has been earning title awards and placing at competitions. Dance has given Olivia so many amazing experiences and friendships, and she is looking forward to starting this season with her teachers, friends, and now in the studio as an assistant. She hopes to encourage and inspire younger dancers the same way she has been inspired and is grateful to continue growing at the studio she calls home.