MEET OUR FACULTY

Founder, Artistic Consultant

Jazz, Tap

Danelle Davies, the original founder of Dance Arts Center, has been sharing her talent and passion for dance to students of all ages and levels for over three decades. Along with directing a Nationally accredited Company, she has meticulously guided students and members of her faculty toward professional careers as performers, choreographers, and dance educators, respectively. Her love of movement and her connection to music has influenced many success stories, from film, to concert work; professional sports to Grammy winning recording artists; from small town performances, to international entertainment corporations.

Danelle began her dance training at the age of 6 in Racine, WI. Starting in ballet, she soon added jazz and tap classes, and within a short period of time was selected to perform and compete nationally. She attended many conventions and competitions, taking classes with Frank Hatchett, Joe Tremaine and Marcea Lane in Jazz; Doug Caldwell, Mia Michaels and Tyce Diorio in lyrical and contemporary; Terry Lindholm and Charlie McGowan in tap, among many others. Danelle continued dancing through high school and into college, where she studied both Broadcast Communications and dance. In 1996 she began her studio ownership journey which transformed her career path, and made space for her to raise her daughters as well as other future artists.

The culture of Dance Arts Center quickly became Danelle’s lifestyle. Her time and energy was dedicated to teaching, choreographing, costuming, traveling, and developing her facility and curriculum. She built the studio’s foundation on the principles of discipline, respect, and an appreciation of the team and family spirit. Many former students still enjoy visiting, sharing stories, and participating in alumni activities when possible. 

Danelle is currently on faculty at DAC as a jazz and tap instructor, a Company choreographer, and part of the Company rehearsal team. She is also choreographer for The Prairie School Theater Department, as well as a substitute teacher for the primary and middle school programs. When Danelle is not teaching, she cherishes time spent with family and friends. Along with her husband Dan and youngest daughter Larkyn, Danelle enjoys traveling west to Scottsdale, AZ and Las Vegas, NV where their older daughters, Skylar and Payton (Pip), are both working as professional dancers.

Artistic Director & Company Director​ 

Leaps and Turns

Cameron Mathe, a distinguished DAC (Dance Arts Center) alum, has been an integral part of the dance world for over 15 years. Serving as both faculty and choreographer, Cameron's influence extends across various dance genres, including ballet, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, tap, and musical theater.

As an Artistic Director and Company Director, Cameron's leadership has played a pivotal role in shaping the dance community. His journey began at DAC from Day 1, and as a DAC Company member for 11 years, Cameron has been a constant source of inspiration.

Cameron's artistic prowess isn't confined to choreography alone – he has also graced the stage with performances at renowned events such as the World of Dance in Chicago and Chicago's Choreographers Carnival. The accolades received, including choreography awards at both regional and national levels, reflect Cameron Mathe's enduring impact on the world of dance.

Assistant Company Director
Contemporary, Modern Technique, Jazz, Ballet

Alayna Hauke (Portland, Oregon) is a professional dancer with Nova Linea Contemporary Dance. She began her formal dance training at Fired-Up Dance Academy under the direction of Carene Boersma and Ashley VonWeller. In 2016, she was accepted into the University of Arizona School of Dance with prestigious academic and dance scholarships. This gave her the opportunity to train and perform works by Tamara Dyke-Compton, Elizabeth George, Michael Williams, James Clouser, and Sam Watson. In May of 2020, she received her BFA in Dance as well as a minor in Business Administration. In addition to the University of Arizona faculty, she has studied with SoulEscape The Company, New Dialect, Vim Vigor, and Alonzo King LINES Ballet. As a performer, she has had the opportunity to perform at the El Portal in Los Angeles with SoulEscape The Company, the Tucson Museum of Art with Hawkins Dane Company, the Palm Desert Choreography Festival, the DM Art Festival, and various festivals and performances with Nova Linea Contemporary Dance.

Currently, Alayna resides in Milwaukee and is a Senior Company Artist with Nova Linea Contemporary Dance. Here, she performs and tours with the company with an emphasis of connecting to our youth and teaching them the importance of live art. Alayna is also a certified teacher in Fletcher Pilates and is passionate about bringing this knowledge into the classroom for injury prevention purposes. This will be her 4th year teaching at Dance Arts Center and she looks forward to another year of both teaching and filling her role as Assistant Company Director for the competition team.

Prep Coordinator
Ballet, Jazz, Tap 

Tiny Tots, Hip Hop

Tiffany started dancing at 2 years old and started competitive dancing at the age of 7. She is trained in several styles of dance such as Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Hip-hop, Contemporary, Lyrical, and Musical Theatre. Tiffany came to Dance Arts Center the summer after 7th grade where she made lifelong friends and many memories. Not only did Tiffany get to take classes and compete with all of her friends, she also got to do it for many years with her older sister.
Tiffany never expected her passion for dance to turn into a passion for teaching. During the 2019-2020 dance season, Tiffany was a senior in high school and started helping with classes at the studio until she started teaching her own classes that October. She has now been teaching for 5 years and has loved every minute of it. Besides working at the studio, Tiffany also works for Applause Talent Dance Competition during the competition season. When she’s not working, Tiffany keeps very busy as a college student at UW-Parkside.

Dance has helped Tiffany become the person she is today and it has given her amazing opportunities that she is beyond grateful for. She will always love and be thankful for her DAC family!

 Hip Hop, Adult

Nastassja found her love for dance at the age of 3. She is classically trained in several styles of dance such as Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Lyrical, Contemporary, and Hip-hop. Nastassja danced competitively for a decade with Dance Arts Center where lifelong memories and friendships were forged. 

What started out as a weekly hobby became a career when Nastassja auditoned and was selected to be a Milwaukee Bucks Dancer in 2015. During her time on the team, she was selected to perform in China, Taiwan, and the 2017 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans where she was selected to perform with rap artists Fat Joe, Remy Ma, and DJ Khaled. Following her four year dance career as a Milwaukee Bucks Dancer, Nastassja then pursued a career as the Live Programming and Entertainment Specialist with the Milwaukee Bucks from 2019 - 2023 providing creative direction and choreography for performances at Milwaukee Bucks home games and at the NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2022.

Although you won't catch Nastassja courtside anymore, she enjoys being able to spend more time teaching with her DAC family to help grow the next generation of talented artists.

Ballet, Adult

Julianne Rice (she/her/hers) began her dance training at The Dance Gallery in Munster, Indiana under the direction of Amy White Hanas. Growing up she was introduced to ballet, Jazz, and modern. Julianne decided to further her dance education at Indiana University Bloomington and received a BFA in contemporary dance. During her time at IU she

had the opportunity to perform in restaged works choreographed by guest artists Jose Limon, Stefanie Batten Bland and Rennie Harris, as well as faculty works choreographed by Elizabeth Shea, Stephanie Nugent, Dr. Nyama McCarthy Brown, and Selene Carter. Upon graduation in 2019, Julianne moved to Chicago to pursue a pre- professional career at COMMON Conservatory under the direction

Terence Marling. Through COMMON, she had the privilege of being in works choreographed by Terence Marling, Jackie Nowicki, Ana Long,

and many other talented artists. Julianne has had the opportunity to perform in the Indy Fringe Festival performing with Nugent/Shea Dance Theater. She has attended summer intensives with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Gallim, and Paul Taylor American Modern Dance. 

She is currently an administrative assistant with Chicago Movement Collective and teaches dance at the Old Town School of Folk Music. Julianne is a company member of Aerial Dance Chicago. If outside the studio, you can catch Julianne riding her bicycle or learning piano at Old Town School.

Tap

Chicago native NICO RUBIO is one of the leading Tap Dancers of his generation. The founder and director of SHUFFLE LiiiFE Productions and tap company 333 (Three Thirty Three), Nico has traveled the world, teaching, performing and choreographing everywhere from Europe to Asia, Central America to South America. Appearing locally on Windy City Live and halftime for the Chicago Bulls, as well as abroad, from the Love Supreme Jazz Festival to the San Miguel Jazz Festival. Most recently speaking and performing for TedX at The Harris Theatre.

`In 2018, he received the Chicago Dancemakers Forum's Lab Artist Award. In 2019, he produced, choreographed, and even DJ’d By Way Of Taps: A J Dilla Tribute, which was performed at Columbia's Dance Center, in Long Beach California, and premiered in full at Thalia Hall in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. From 2020 to now, Rubio has produced in person and virtual events, such as Shows, Jams, Workshops, and notably his Footage Functions, that have furthered his contributions towards preserving where Tap has been, where it is now, and where it’s going. Nico’s mission is not just to expose the majesty and humanity of Tap Dancing and other art forms, but to highlight everyone’s iNFINITE iNDIVIDUAL iNCANDESCENCE (light), via SHUFFLE LiiiFE.

Leaps and Turns, Jazz

From Salem, Wisconsin, Nikita Ruffolo grew up training and competing at Dance Arts Center in

Mount Pleasant. After graduating high school she was accepted to Troy University on a dance

scholarship, there she received her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Dance and Minor in Business.

During her years at TROY, she has trained with and performed works set by Dante Puleio,

James Boyd, Dominique Angel, Brynt Beitman, Thang Dao, Kavin Grant, Nicki Loud Hodges,

and many more. In addition to performing in all concerts on the Troy University stage, Nikita was selected to perform during Ballet Fest in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and in the New Works Concert at the Alabama Dance Festival in Birmingham. Over the last several years at the Alabama Dance Festival, she has been awarded numerous summer intensive scholarships, these scholarships included awards from American Dance Festival, Peridance Center, Gus Giordano, and Montgomery Ballet. Post graduation Nikita’s choreography has been chosen by the Drapinski Dance Company to perform in The Catharsis Series Choreographer’s Festival in Orlando, Florida, in Dothan, Alabama at The Impact Project presented by Alabama Dance Works and Mike Schmitz and was chosen to perform in Pietrasanta, Italy at the DAP International Dance Festival.  Nikita is now back home in Wisconsin working as a Client Engagement Specialist for Spotlight Dance Events while choreographing and teaching young artists of the next generation.