Lisa Gold, Director holds a B.A. in Dance from Barat College. She performed with the Mesa Community Dance Theatre, Zephyr Dance Ensemble, Emergence Dance Theatre, Rockford Ballet and the Barat Repertory Dance Company. Lisa trained with Eileen Cropley, Randy Duncan, Rory Foster, Rick Moyano, and Marcus Alford. She has studied at the Carol Walker Dance Studio, Joseph Holmes, Gus Giordano Dance Center, and Ellis-DuBoulay School in chicago, and the Graham School in New York. Lisa was on the faculty of the Barat Conservatory of Dance for sixteen years teaching ballet and modern dance, assisting in teaching pedagogy, and served on the Dance Search Committee.

Tonya Wibbenmeyer, Assistant Director, received her B.F.A in Dance from Stephens College in Missouri.  She has been a company member of Kalapriya, Dances of India, and Motivity.  Tonya has taught at Stephens College, University of Chicago, and Urban Gateways.  She is extremely diverse in her talents as her training includes Eastern Indian dance, West African dance, and Flamenco, in addition to Ballet, Modern and Jazz.  Tonya is currently a company member with Ameba. She will be on maternity leave until June.

Meghan Reimers, Production Assistant, holds a B.A. in Dance Movement Therapy from Barat College.  She is a former company member and guest artist of Judith Svalander Dance Theatre.  She has performed with Vibe Dance Productions at The Jazz Dance World Congress in N.Y. and Chicago, Barat Repertory Dance Company and Prairie Spirits Dance Ensemble as one of the first American companies ever to perform at the Prague International Dance Festival in the Czech Republic.  Her choreography has been featured in local high school swing choir and musical productions. 

Greg Begley is the former ballet master and featured dancer with Hubbard Street Dance Company. He was a principal dancer with Ruth Page Chicago Ballet, and solist with the Pittsburgh Ballet. Greg is a faculty member at Lou Conte Dance Center, Ruth Page Foundation, Gus Giordano Dance Center, and the Chicago National Association of Dance Masters, where he was the 1996 recipient of the Artistic Achievement Award.

Karen Brettschneider began ballet with Lisa Boehm and later studied jazz with Lisa’s son Frank.  She also trained at North Carolina School of the Arts, Yorkshire Ballet Seminars, Ruth Page Foundation, Gus Giordano’s and the Lou Conte Dance Studio.  After attending Barat College and earning a BA in Performing Arts, Karen performed with the Zephyr Dance Ensemble.  Choreography credits include numerous pieces for the North Shore Dance Company, NSYMCA Dance Company, North Shore School of Dance Nutcracker, and several productions for the Barat College Theater Department.  Karen has been teaching for 17 years professionally.

Ariel Cisneros is a former dancer and soloist with the National Ballet of Cuba and the Joffery Ballet.

Julie Cartier is a former member and Assistant Director of Chi-town Jazz Dance Company and has danced with River North Dance Company, Lynda Martha Company, and is currently directing Especially Tap Company. She has taught for the National Association of Dance and Affiliated Artists and the Chicago National Association of Dance Masters. Julie taught jazz and tap at the Barat Conservatory of Dance and choreographed on the Barat Repertory Dance Company.

Carise Comstock is originally from Pittsburgh, PA and is currently a middle school Language Arts teacher in Oak Park, IL and an instructor at the Lake Shore Athletic Club. She currently dances with Dance 2XS-Chicago, which she has been a member for the past 4 years.

Victoria Dutton received a B.S. in Dance from Texas Woman’s University and a M.F.A from Boston Conservatory.  She is a former company member of Atlanta Ballet and has also danced with Portland Ballet Company, Houston Ballet and Moving Theater Images of Sean Murphy.  She has taught at Loyola University, Walnut Hill, Festival Ballet of N.C. Texas and Boston Conservatory.  She is also a recipient of the Leaman Award for Artistic Excellence.

Annie Jo Fischer--Dance, received her BFA from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. A native of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Annie claims she did not choose to be a dancer but was born with it. She starting dancing at the age of 3 and has never stopped. Attending NADAA dance conventions her entire life gave her the desire to pursue dance performance and teaching as a career. Fischer has studied styles ranging from ballet, tap, jazz, musical theatre, modern, improvisation, and hip hop as well as performing faculty work and her own choreography. During her collegiate career outside of UWM, she worked as a dancer/singer at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, IL, taught tap lessons to children in the Milwaukee Public School System, choreographed her 1st full length musical, OLIVER! for Greendale High School, and performed in a number of BFA Dance Concerts as well as UWM's first Peck School of the Art's musical in years, West Side Story, portraying the character of Graziella. Currently, Annie is a scholarship student with the Jump Rhythm Jazz Project in Chicago under the artistic direction of Mr. Billy Siegenfeld. Fischer is dedicated to enriching the lives of children by providing meaningful outlets of expression through dance, whether it be as a fun after school activity or new found passion in the wonderful world of dance!

Anne Gollenberg originally from New York, graduated from Point Park University with a B.A. in Dance.  Directly following graduation she traveled to Chicago to study at the Giordano Dance Center within the Scholarship program, as well as with River North.  Anne has performed in numerous Chicago venues such as Dance Chicago, Thodos New Dances, and most recently traveled to Madrid, Spain for the 31^st annual Choreographers Showcase.  Ms. Gollenberg is currently Associate Director, Business Manager, and company dancer for Inaside Chicago Dance, now in its fourth successful year.

Alejandra Gonzalez originally from Mexico, is currently a member of Luna Negra Dance Theatre and is a former member of Giordano 2.

Kasper was featured on the first season of the FOX smash hit “So You Think You Can Dance.”  He was asked to appear on MTV’s “The Wade Robson Project”, and performed on “Dance Fever” on the ABC Family Channel.  He has performed with Dance 2XS Chicago and recently started his own Chicago based hip hop company Dance 3D. Kasper runs his own entertainment company Kasper K Entertainment in addition to teaching and choreographing for dance teams, high schools, colleges and universities throughout the U.S.

Caroline Kuhl graduated from Illinois State University, and has performed with Zephyr Dance Ensemble, The Funny Firm, Pheasant Run Dinner Theatre, Flamingo Hilton Boardwalk Casino (Las Vegas), a tour of Tokyo with magician Luna Shemada, Ameba, and Motivity.

Terri Mariano has been a part of the NSSD family for over 7 years. She trained with Pam Tanis, Greg Begley, Lara Tinari, Jennifer Lande and Andye jamieson. Terri received her BA in psychology from Loyola University and her masters in Forensic Psychology at the Chicago School. She is the store manager at Arabesque Dancewear Boutique in Lake Forest.

Meghan McDermott has a B.F.A. in Dance from Pointe Park College and is a member of Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Company. She was on the August 2007 cover of Dance Magazine.

Rita Ockrim is a former company member and rehearsal director for Joel Hall Dance Company. She trained in New York at the Alvin Ailey School and Dance Theatre of Harlem. Rita taught company ballet class for Deeply Rooted Productions and Cerqua Rivera Dance, and was on the faculty at the Barat Conservatory of Dance.

Dionna PridGeon is a 2004 graduate of Point Park University. She has been a recipient of a tour scholarship through Monsters of Hip Hop and received a private invite to Janet Jackson's audition in L.A. She is a promoter of D.A.R.E. Dance Education in Chicago Public Schools. She is currently a member of Cirque du Soleil and is an Artist in Residence with Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre. Her recent credits include: Black Nativity at the Goodman Theatre and Thodos Dance Chicago-New Dances.

Chris Rosales Originally a break-dancer, Chris has been performing and choreographing hip hop for 8 years.  He has been a dancer/choreographer of Culture Shock Chicago, AASIA, and currently with Dance 2XS Chicago.  He has taught Hip Hop classes around the Chicagoland area and suburbs, UIC, and the North Shore.  Chris recently signed with the dance agency Lily’s Talent/Clear Talent Group.

Amy Rose danced with the Chicago Ballet before joining American Ballet Theatre, where she performed with Mikhail Baryshnikov, and was chosen for a tour to Italy. In 1992, Amy joined Pacific Northwest Ballet, and has performed with the Universal Ballet in Korea, Japan, and China, American Ballet Theatre in Manilla, Jacobs Pillow with Patrick Bissell, Lyric Opera of Chicago, DanceWest ballet, Northwest Ballet and Civic Ballet of Chicago. She is a regualr guest teacher with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Ruth Page Foundation , and the ABT Summer Intensive.

Ruth Sherman is a member of the Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Company and is on faculty at the Gus Giordano Dance Center. She was a member of the 1999 World Champion USA Tap Team winning the world title in Germany, and has international recognition for performing.

Nikki Stanek is a 5 year member of Dance 2XS Chicago and the Director of Dance 2XS UIUC.  She has choreographed around Chicago and the suburbs for various dance and Hip Hop groups.  She was an assistant teacher at the Nike Convention in Kiev, Ukraine.

Pam Tanis is a former principle dancer with the Joffrey Ballet, and was a member of American Ballet Theatre, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Alvin Ailey Dance Workshop. She was coached in principle roles by Robert Joffrey, George Balanchine, Gerald Arpino, Rudolph Nureyev, Leonide Massine, Bronislava Nijinska, Todd Bolender, Alvin Ailey, Jerome Robbins, and Alexandra Danilova. Her teaching credits include Barat Conservatory of Dance, Northern Illinois University, Columbia College, DuPage Ballet, Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre, Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet Chicago, Studio Two, and Joel Hall Dancers, where she is Ballet Mistress.

Lisa Marie Torres, graduate of Ohio State University, where she was Director of their first hip hop dance group, Dance Linx. After graduation, she moved back to Chicago and became Artistic Director of Graffiti Dancers. She is currently the Director of her own company C.O.D.A. (Chicago Onyx Dance Alliance), and continures to work with top professional dancers in Chicago.

Laura Upin graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.A. in Dance Education, and is a certified public service teacher. She has choreographed and performed in community theater productions throughout the Northwest suburbs of Chicago.

Aleksandra Wojda trained at Giordano Dance Center, Lou Conte Dance Center and Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. She is in the second company of Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Company and was one of the top 20 dancers on "So You Think You Can Dance".