Olivia’s dance career began the same as many young dancers: in her living room. She first took the stage in local theater productions and quickly found that while she loved acting and singing, her heart was firmly in dance. From these early experiences, Olivia was captivated by choreography and inspired by all things dance. 

She began extensive training in ballet, tap, modern, jazz, lyrical, and contemporary during her formative years. Beyond competitive dance, Olivia participated in dance throughout the community: competing with her high school’s varsity dance team, choreographing for youth theater productions, and implementing and leading an Orchesis program at her school. 

Olivia attended Grand Canyon University to study Dance Performance and Dance Education. In her studies, she took courses in choreography, early childhood education, dance technology, and dance technique. When transferring to online instruction amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Olivia joined the Communications program to further develop her skills in communication, leadership, and marketing.

After moving back to the suburbs of Chicago, Olivia taught at multiple studios and most recently served as Assistant Director at a competitive dance studio. In addition to growing a strong competition program and implementing a rich dance curriculum, Olivia focused on developing a supportive and motivating studio culture. Olivia is grateful for the mentorships that dance has provided her along the way and aspires to be a similar mentor for each of her students. 

Olivia is driven to choreograph both visually and musically unique dances that challenge her dancers technically and artistically. She aims to create intentional, moving choreography that is fresh and dynamic. Her recent pieces have received choreography recognition, numerous special awards, and overalls at both local and national dance competitions. 

Olivia is a lifelong learner and has continued her education by attending dance intensives, conventions, and online seminars in both dance pedagogy and leadership. She participated in training to become a certified Giordano Jazz Instructor. Olivia is also passionate about social-emotional learning and its importance in dance education. She is a certified Danscend Mental Wellness Dance Educator, committed to building confident and resilient dancers.

As she steps into the role of owner and artistic director of Dreams Dance Academy, Olivia looks forward to further investing in a studio culture that fosters creativity, relationships, and teamwork. While providing high-quality dance instruction remains a top priority, Olivia is also committed to creating long-lasting relationships with her students and guiding them in following their dreams, achieving their goals, and finding their paths in life. 

Community Image Award 2016, St. Charles Chamber of Commerce

Rainbow Kids Yoga Certified Instructor 

Success Principles Certified Trainer

Founder of Live Your Purpose

2021 Member of the Year, International Dance Entrepeneur's Association

2022 Developed and released  Pop-Up Camp planners nationwide, in partnership with Rhee Gold's Dance Life

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Jenny has been dancing for over 30 years and studied  jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical, and musical theater.  She has been teaching since 1999 throughout the Chicago area.  

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From her first ballet class at the age of 3, Jenny had a passion for dancing and performing.  Throughout her youth, she danced at Palmer’s Dance & Gymnastics and Dorothy’s Dancing Unlimited. Jenny also performed in theatrical productions such as "The Nutcracker" with Pennsylvania Ballet Company and "The Night Before Christmas" with Dayton Ballet. She participated in dance team and Orchesis throughout high school, in addition to continuing studio classes. Jenny was the only freshman accepted as a Company member for Orchesis (dance troupe), which is also where she got her start choreographing. Her start in choreographing sort of happened by accident while recovering from a spinal fusion surgery from '95 - '96.  When she graduated from Lake Park High School in 1999, she started teaching dance under the direction of her former dance instructor, Mary Pilalis, and fell in love with teaching. After teaching for 2 years while earning an associates degree at College of DuPage, she attended Illinois State University and graduated with a BA in Communications. She began teaching again part time when she graduated college. Her full time focus was on her career in the Communications field until 2012.

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In 2012 she realized where her true passion was, and that is in the studio with her students. After focusing on her career for 10 years, she decided to pursue her dream of teaching full-time. Jenny formed Dreams Dance Academy – a true life-long dream. She started "Dreams Dance Academy: The Traveling Studio" in July 2012 by renting space at community and fitness centers in three towns, and it skyrocketed from there. DDA reached 85 students in just five months. In August 2013, Jenny obtained her own studio space in La Fox to accommodate the quickly growing program.  And in August 2015, DDA moved to St. Charles to a 3-studio facility which she hopes to call home for a very long time now that we can accommodate our growing program. The current home is truly the dream studio she always envisioned in her mind! In summer 2019 as the studio continued to grow at a quick rate (right before the pandemic!), DDA expanded again and added an additional 1,100 square feet to accommodate a 4th dance room.

Jenny continues to attend both teacher trainings and studio owner conferences, as she believes in the importance of continuing education to keep the studio, technique, and teaching skills at DDA top notch. Teaching and business ownership is always evolving - so as professionals, we must continue to train and educate ourselves. She has written various stories for Dance Studio Life Magazine, and DDA has also been featured in DSL articles such as "Studio Style" and "Competition Dancers: The Early Years." In August 2016, Jenny became one of the first members of the International Dance Entrepreneurs Association. In 2021, she was named Member of the Year at the annual DanceLife Teacher Conference. She is also a volunteer mentor for the INCubator program at STC East, providing mentorship to high schoolers in this business program

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Jenny is especially passionate about teaching the 9 and under age group. These are critical years in a dancers training and she firmly believes in instilling the proper fundamentals from the star...but in a fun, engaging way that molds young, new students into passionate, properly trained dancers. 

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In March 2020, she began what would be the most challenging chapter in her life as a business owner and studio director. One of the positives that came from the pandemic, was creating a virtual studio program in just a few days. Jenny launched DDA's virtual studio in mid-March and DDA continued to run strictly virtual until early June. During this time, she assisted studio owners across the country with running their programs remotely. 

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In January 2021, Jenny became a Certified Success Principles Trainer (teaching the 67 Success Principles founded by Jack Canfield) and founded Live Your Purpose. This was a journey that ironically began in early 2020 so it got put on the backburner due to the pandemic and having to shift all of her focus. As 2021 proved to be a year of reinventing the wheel for what felt like everything, she has had to continue to put a hold on Live Your Purpose. But she has big goals and big dreams...so stay tuned! 

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In 2022, she became the Membership Liaison for International Dance Entrepreneurs Association. Over the years, she been a presenter on a number of I.D.E.A. training seminars for studio owners, including topics such as Starting a Student Leadership Academy, Summertime Strategies, and Dancing Through Tough Times. She presents monthly Tip Tuesdays for I.D.E.A. members as well. Jenny is incredibly passionate about this side of entrepreneurship, as well as ensuring she is keeping up with continuing education for herself as well.

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Jenny is actively involved in the community and in her spare time, she can be found DIY-ing, spending time with family and friends, and spoiling Molly the Studio Dog!

Kiera Brown, originally from Wixom, MI, attended Western Michigan University, graduating Summa Cum Laude in Spring 2021 with a B.F.A. in Dance. While at WMU, she had the pleasure of performing works choreographed by Yin Yue, Jennifer Archibald, BAIRA, Mike Esperanza,Katarzyna Skarpetowska, Jeremy Blair, Monique Haley, David Curwen, Carolyn Pavlik, SeyongKim, and Kelsey Paschich. Kiera had the opportunity to perform alongside Peridance Contemporary Dance Company and was also a company member of Western Dance Projectunder the direction of Whitney Moncrief during its 2018-2019 season. Kiera furthered her dance training at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s Choreographic Summer Intensive, having the privilege to work with Rena Butler, Robyn Mineko-Williams, Micaela Taylor, and Rodrick George. Since moving to Chicago in 2021, she has had the opportunity to be an Emerging Artist with South Chicago Dance Theatre under the direction of Kia Smith, as well as train with renowned artist Jackie Nowicki.

Her passion for teaching and choreographing at youth studios continues to grow with her many positions throughout the Chicago-land area. Through these studios and her incredible students, she has had the honor of being recognized for her artistry by receiving multiple choreographic and standout awards at both regional and national competitions. Kiera's choreography is recognized for it's unique musicality, impact on the audience, and visual intrigue. Kiera is looking forward to growing with the Dreams dancers, and to continue watching her students evolve and advance their individuality!

Samantha DeBenedictis began her training at The Academy of Dance Arts under the tutelage of Sherry Moray and Irina Starovoitova. She has enjoyed a successful professional career with Ballet Arizona, Alabama Ballet, and the Cincinnati Ballet where she was cast in key roles in their productions of Swan Lake, Giselle, Alice in Wonderland, Balanchine’s Nutcracker, Midsummer Night Dream, Sleeping Beauty, Serenade, and Paquita. Samantha was also cast in Speaking In Tongues, an original piece choreographed by Devon Carney of Cincinnati Ballet. She was chosen to perform in B Major an original piece choreographed by Roger Van Fleteren of Alabama Ballet. Samantha was a member of Illinois Ballet Theatre and is certified in Cecchetti Method through Level V. 

Samantha was a top finalist in the Youth America Grand Prix Ballet Competition and has received scholarships to The Washington Ballet, Orlando Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Houston, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Samantha has been teaching classes for all ages throughout the Chicagoland area for nine years, and has choreographed for competition teams. In addition she has privately coached students for various ballet competitions. Samantha is a gifted performer and loves to share her knowledge, talent, and love of dance with her students.

​Joey, originally from Sterling Heights, MI, graduated from Oakland University Magna Cum Laude with a B.F.A in Musical Theatre Performance. After growing up in the world of competitive dance, he began teaching as a senior in high school, and has since taught and choreographed for studios across the country for the last 11 years. His choreography and teaching has been awarded and recognized on a regional and national level. While in college, he choreographed the programs main stage musicals, including Assassins, The Scarlet Pimpernel, & The Theory of Relativity. Following graduation, he became a Guest Professor of Dance for the university, and later signed with the Daniel Hoff Talent Agency in New York City. His professional theatre credits include the national tour of Monty Python’s Spamalot!, and regional productions of Shrek: The Musical, La Cage Aux Folles, The Producers, White Christmas (Barter Theatre), Something Rotten! (Phoenix Theatre Company), Disney’s Newsies (Fireside Theater), Oklahoma!, Anything Goes (Porthouse Theatre), A Chorus Line, Little Shop of Horrors (The Huron Playhouse), and Deck The Halls (Busch Garden Williamsburg). In 2023, he took on the role of Assistant Company Director of Fusion Dance Centre in Roselle Park, NJ for 91 wonderful dancers. Currently, he is an adjudicator, emcee, and convention class instructor for several national dance competitions, including StarQuest, Turn It Up, & Elite Dance Challenge. He is also teaching/choreographing throughout Chicago, IL where he recently just relocated to. Joey is so excited to teach and get to know the students at Dreams!

Kelsey is a seasoned performer who has competed and trained in various styles of dance including Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Lyrical, Tap, Hip Hop and Contemporary. She has competed in numerous productions and competitions across the country, and received extensive ballet training from Jill Johnson, founder of Studio 121. Kelsey furthered her pre-professional dance training at Xtreme Dance Force in Naperville, IL under the direction of Samuel Renzetti. Throughout her career, she has had the opportunity to work with renowned choreographers such as Tabitha and Napoleon D'Umo, Kevin Maher, Jesse Lee Santos, Brian Friedman, Marty Kudelka, Sky Hoffman and Mia Michaels.

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Kelsey graduated from Elmhurst College in May 2011 with a B.A. in Philosophy and a minor in dance. She has been teaching and choreographing for over 17 years and has received recognition for her work at competitions, including High Point, Overall, and Choreography awards. She has also been a co-director for Xtreme Dance Force (Naperville, IL) and Studio Director for Legacy Performing Arts (Beaverton, OR), as well as a guest teacher/choreographer at various studios. Kelsey has a passion for sharing her love of dance with others.

Gwen Jones graduated from Northern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and a minor in Special Education. During her years at NIU she had the opportunity to train with Judith Chitwood, Paula Frasz, and Marc Macaranas.

As a Bachelor of Fine Arts Dance Service award winner, she had the opportunity to appear in pieces such as Rite of Spring, Carmina Burana, Pas de Quatre as Fanny Cerrito, as well as Spirit of the Horse in Ocala, Florida with the Pas de Cheval dancers. In school, Gwen had the opportunities to choreograph for individuals with disabilities through Penguin Players, as well as direct student led shows.

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Currently, Gwen dances with the Meraki Dance Company, as well as the 3rd Coast Contemporary Program. After her professional performance career, she plans to teach classes for individuals with disabilities.

 Auburn grew up in Naperville, IL and began her dance training at The School of
Performing Arts when she was 10 years old. She graduated from Grand Valley State
University in December of 2022 with a BA in Dance, English, and Education, as well as
a minor in Elementary Certification. During her time at Grand Valley State, Auburn had
the opportunity to work with and perform works by various faculty and guest artists
including Amy Cova, Kristi Faulkner, Zelma Badu-Young, Melissa Barak, and Brian
Enos. She also performed at the American College Dance Association (ACDA) regional
conference in 2019 and 2020. In 2020, Auburn was the recipient of the Alexander Calder
Honors Scholarship. Auburn is a passionate educator and currently holds her Professional
Educator License as a certified elementary school teacher in Illinois and Michigan.
Auburn is excited to continue pursuing careers in both dance and education within the Chicagoland area.

Abbey is a veteran dance instructor who excels at teaching a broad range of dance styles for both recreational and competitive dancers. She enjoys working with students of all ages and levels teaching fun, engaging and structured classes.

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Abbey has trained extensively in ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop and lyrical as well as spent many years dancing competitively and performing. Her work with competitive dance teams has garnered her choreography, high score, and special awards.

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In addition to her "dance life,", Abbey holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from Loyola University Chicago and currently works as an Education Coordinator at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Abbey is excited to be a part of DDA and share her knowledge, experience and love of dance with her students.

Katie McCall began her dancing career at the tender age of 3 when her mom enrolled her in Baby Ballet at the local park district. It was then that her lifelong love of dance began ...

For the next 10 years, she honed her skills in ballet, Pointe, jazz and tap at a local dance school, but after seeing Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance with her family, she was in awe of the style and knew it was time for a change.

So at 13, Katie joined the Reel Studio of Irish Dance and began intensive instruction under Julie Creighton-Shannon, a former World Champion dancer and pupil of Michael Flatley himself. Despite Katie's later start to the Irish dancing scene, she quickly progressed through the competitive levels and even had the opportunity to compete at the Regional Mid-America Championships (Oireachtas) three times prior to graduating high school. During her time at Reel Studio, she not only performed all across the Chicagoland for special events, but she also worked as an assistant instructor.

Though Katie retired from her competitive dancing career when starting college at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she couldn't shake her passion for dance. As a result, she helped form and acted as Co-Director of the university's first collegiate Irish dance troupe - IDentity Irish Dance Company. As one of the lead choreographers, Katie and her elite group performed all over the campus and Chicagoland area, with a highlight of dancing live on WGN Channel 9 News for St. Patrick's Day. Katie was also selected two years in a row to dance alongside the famed Irish rock band - The Dropkick Murphys - at the House of Blues in Chicago.

During Katie's senior year at U of I, she was hired as an Irish dance instructor at the Christine Rich Studio - Dance Academy & Performing Arts Center. There, she proudly took a rather uncoordinated group of young students and watched them blossom into graceful Irish dancers!

Fast-forward to present day, and Katie is thrilled to return to her dancing roots by joining the DDA family. She hopes to bring her lifelong expertise and love of Irish dance to the community by offering a program that will honor tradition, build confidence, instill discipline ... and most importantly -- be loads o' FUN! 

Native of Colorado, KJ grew up dancing under the direction of her late mentor, Prof. Robert L. Reed. At 18, she moved to Chicago to pursue a BFA in musical theater with an emphasis in dance, where she earned her degree in May 2019. Throughout her years of studies, KJ started dancing with MADD Rhythms Tap Company, and through them she was able to continue her tap training and performance. Since being in Chicago, she’s been able to perform at the Dusable Museum, Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Harris Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, and countless others across the country. She has also performed in the reunion shows of the all-female Tap company, Rhythm ISS…, under the direction of Idella Reed Davis, Sharon Rushing, and Sarah Savelli. Most recently, she travelled to China to participate in Steps of Wenzhou, Rhythm of the World. Today, she continues to perform as a professional tap dancer and educator in the Chicagoland area! She’s been able to take her choreography to studios across the Midwest, and is passionate about teaching the next generation. 

Kinzie has been dancing since she was two years old. She further her dance training and began competing at the age of seven years old. During her years at the studio, she studied all styles of dance.

Kinzie made the varsity dance team at Geneva High School her freshmen year and competed with them for four years. During her four years, three years they were state champions.

Kinzie went on to earn a Bachelors of Science degree from Western Michigan University. She continued her dancing journey by being a member of the dance team and competed at the collegiate national level.

Kinzie is currently studying for her Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education.

She looks forward to bonding, dancing, and growing with her students this year!

Elizabeth Rivera was born in Aurora, Illinois but raised in Oswego, Illinois. Elizabeth began her competitive dance journey at the age of 8 at Xtreme Dance Force in Naperville, IL under the training of Sam Renzetti, JC Renzetti, Samantha Kotrba, Robert Lewis, Devon Perri, Vic Ocasio and Susan Skrzymowski for 11 years. Elizabeth has also had the opportunity to work with top choreographers and teachers in the nation such as Monyett Crump, Andrew Phan, Josh Killacky, Hamilton Evans, Chuck Maldonado, Matt Pumanes, Tricia Miranda, Sean Lew, Kaycee Rice and many more. During her time on the company she had the pleasure of auditioning for America’s Got Talent, compete at World of Dance Chicago and perform in The Chicago Bulls Halftime show. In her junior and senior year she was a member of the Oswego High School Dance team and was fortunate to train in Jazz, Ballet, Contemporary, Modern and more but chooses to have hip hop as her primary focus. Elizabeth graduated from Waubonsee Community College in May 2023 with an Associates degree in Early Childhood Education. Since 2021, Elizabeth has been teaching hip hop at various studios and is now an assistant Co-Director at Xtreme Dance Force. Elizabeth is very thrilled to be able to share her craft and knowledge to the next generation of dancers to come. 

Larkin has been dancing since she was 2 years old and started dancing at DDA when she was 7 years old. She has been part of the DDA Dance Company since she was 7 as well.

She joined the Leadership Academy when she was 9 years old, and worked her way to a Student Assistant and then a Teacher in Training. She graduated from the program in Spring 2022 and is now a Junior Teacher. She loves connecting with students of all ages and watching them grow and love dance as much as she does!

Larkin has gained many qualities and valuable lessons during her many years at DDA and on the Leadership Academy, that will have helped her in and out of the studio. She has seen her confidence grow in not only her dancing, but in using her voice to help lead others.

Larkin has been a part of the Geneva High School Varsity Dance Team since her freshman year. She loves all the outside opportunities that Dreams Dance Academy has helped her experience which have led to many exciting accomplishments such as the Refresh Dance Squad, convention scholarships and being selected for The Launch Youth Ensemble.

Ashton started dancing nine years ago in an all boys hip hop class and quickly fell in love with dance. A few years later, Ashton came to Dreams Dance Academy, and joined company shortly after. Ashton starting competing with only hip hop, but quickly added on more genres. Outside of the company team, Ashton trained in ballet, jazz, lyrical, and contemporary. This year, Ashton has decided to add on jazz to my competition season which he is looking forward to.

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Ashton loves to dance because he can express himself. Dance allows him to use his creativity with the music and motions without any judgment. Dance is a safe space for him, and it truly helps him with whatever he is going through. Dance has helped him overcome so many obstacles and he is so grateful for that.

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Ashton’s favorite part of competing has been his duet with Elise. It has really helped him grow as a dancer.

They have such a great friendship off the stage, and it is so much fun dancingwith each other. The duet has

showed him the importance of a true connection.

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Ashton is so thrilled to have the opportunity to give back to the studio and help young dancers grow and chase their dreams.

Lily is a junior at Kaneland High School. She been dancing since she was 3 years old and began my dance journey at Dreams Dance Academy at 5 years old. When Lily was 7, she joined the Dreams Dance Academy Dance Company.Lily joined DDA’s Leadership Academy at age 12 and worked her way from Student Assistant to the Teacher in Training program. From there, in the Spring of 2024 I graduated to a Junior Teacher. There's nothing she finds more rewarding than seeing kids' confidence and skills grow knowing she had the opportunity to be there and guide them each step of the way. The chance to pass on her love and passion for dance is incredibly fulfilling, and she can't wait to see the joy it brings to their lives just like it brought to hers.

She has trained and competed in various styles of dance including Ballet, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Jazz, Lyrical and Musical theater. Dreams Dance Academy has provided me with an endless number of outside opportunities that have led to exciting achievements including convention scholarships, and being selected for

The Launch Youth Ensemble.

She learned countless valuable lessons from being a part of DDA’s Leadership Academy that have shaped who she and will continue to guide her in all her future endeavors. IShe hopes to continue my dance and teaching career for the rest of her life so being a part of DDA and having the opportunity to share her knowledge and motivate young dancers is something she’s looking forward to do!

Brigid is a former DDA student and a graduate of the Leadership Academy. Brigid started dancing at the age of 9 and has loved it ever since. Brigid has trained in many styles of dance including Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Contemporary, Jazz and Modern. Although she no longer takes classes at DDA, she loves learning all about the administrative side of owning a studio and helping out where she can, including being an office assistant and substituting classes when needed. Brigid enjoys working at DDA and sharing the passion for dance to all the students she encounters everyday as it combines her love for dance and her future career as a teacher.

Brigid is currently a student at Aurora University where she is part of the executive board for Educators Rising, works as a Peer Advisor who mentor freshmen during their first year of college and is involved in many other things on campus and in her community. At AU, she is currently studying Secondary Education Mathematics with a minor in Spanish and hopes to get her master’s degree soon after graduating from Aurora University. Brigid was inspired to become a teacher through her teachers and the Leadership Academy at DDA as a Student Assistant, subbing her own classes and her teachers at St. Charles North. She loves to help others and believes that teachers create a huge impact in a students life. She hopes to inspire and instill many of the skills she has learned through DDA and throughout her life to her future students. Brigid aspires to make a positive impact in her students' lives just as many of her own teachers (through school and dance) did for her.

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Brigid continues to sub at DDA and lead Birthday Parties.