ABOUT US




OUR MISSION

To provide a safe and nurturing environment,
where you do not just learn dances...
you learn HOW to dance!
WE PROVIDE...

 A variety of classes for 18 months old and up!

       Educated, experienced, friendly instructors who...
  • are fun, cultivate creativity and build confidence
  • attended school for dance, workshops and/or participated in our Student Teacher/Assistant Mentor Program
  • want to work in a studio that teaches you how to dance and encourages you to explore the ART of dance
      A clean, safe and organized studio that offers...
  • full mirrors, barres and two dance studio spaces
  • classes taught on sprung vinyl/rubber floors to support and prevent injuries
  • video feed into classes to watch students in class
  • detailed cleaning procedures

 WE ARE...
  • age appropriate with costume and song choice
  • an outlet for both creativity and student self-expression
  • quick to follow up with parents

WE SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY BY...
  • creating performance opportunities for students
  • donating back to community organizations
  • providing an annual Holiday Show of the Nutcracker
  • working with the High School Dance Team
  • providing space for birthday parties

FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES
Dana Bostrom
Studio Owner
Dana Bostrom began her training with Central WI School of Ballet. While pursuing a dance major at U of M-Twin Cities, she studied ballet, jazz, contemporary and teaching. Every year she continues her studies. Miss Dana believes "as dance evolves, so must we as teachers."

This has included teacher training with Madam Karkar, at CWSB, ballet with Mrs. Dean at Allegro Dance, the Dance Teacher Summit in NYC, the Dance Studio Life Teacher Conference in Phoenix and Minneapolis workshops with Mandy Moore, Stacey Tookey and various other top choreographers.

Sarah Knott
Studio Director/Instructor

Sarah Knott discovered her love for dance at the young age of five. Dance instilled her with many life skills perseverance, patience, work ethic and more. She continued dancing through college, receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance with honors from UW-Milwaukee. 

Through dance she has experienced so many wonderful opportunities. With the Wausau Dance Theatre, she traveled to Germany to perform in Darmstadt and Fulda. For two years, she was a cast member at Walt Disney World in the Entertainment department. She has danced with City Ballet Theatre and had been a company member of Your Mother Dances for four years performing works by Luc Vanier, Elizabeth Johnson, David Parker, and Gerald Casel.

Sarah has been teaching dance for the past 18 years. This is her 10th season as the Director & Instructor at Minocqua Dance. Her goal is to create a safe space for dancers to explore and develop artistically while providing a solid dance foundation and education instilling the same life skills she has learned.

Jennifer Mead
Office Manager


Jennifer was born and raised in the Minocqua area. She has a Child Care and Development Degree. She worked in this field for 14 years. She had decided that it was time for a change, and went to get certified as a dental assistant. She started taking adult ballet classes several years ago and found a new passion. She taught Pre Ballet I & II at Minocqua Dance for seven years. She is currently focusing on her role as the Studio Office Manager. She has a daughter that had been dancing at Minocqua Dance for 15 years. 


Her mission is to help promote the love of dance and closeness of family that Minocqua Dance embodies and embraces. 


Jennifer Markowski
Instructor

 Jennifer Markowski was born and raised in Hurley WI, where she started her dance career at the age of four with The Ironwood Dance Company. She continued to take classes there for 15 years in jazz, ballet, lyrical and hip hip.  Her main focus was always hip hop due to how fast and creative it allowed her to be. From a young age, she knew she wanted to share her talent with other students and went on to explore different conventions throughout the midwest to broaden her knowledge and skills.  She ended her journey with the Ironwood Dance Company after teaching there for six years and moved to the Minocqua area. She started teaching at Minocqua Dance in 2019. She still continues to attend conventions and was recently certified in hip hop through John Comix Barrella. 
Katlynn Rowe
Instructor

Katlynn Rowe grew up in Minocqua, Wisconsin for most of her life. Her mom was a dancer when she was younger and met Ms. Dana around 2009-2010. Her mom was excited to share the love of dance to her daughters, so Katlynn was enrolled in her first ballet class at the age of nine . Through her time at Minocqua Dance, Katlynn studied ballet, pointe, lyrical, jazz, contemporary, and hip-hop. She competed in numerous dance competitions Minocqua Dance offered and attended conventions and dance intensives. In 2015, she was asked to be an assistant teacher. In 2019, she was promoted to being a teacher and taught until she graduated high school in 2020. After graduating, she taught jazz and hip-hop for Minocqua Dance in 2021. She became the dance coach for Lakeland Union High School’s dance team: The Thunderettes as well as teaching younger kids the alphabet at Terri’s Treehouse. Now, she’s back for another season of teaching a variety of dance classes and workshops with Minocqua Dance. 

Sydney Pitzer
Instructor

Sydney has been a member of the Performance Company, attended many of Minocqua Dance’s summer intensives and workshops, and even traveled to Hawaii to perform Finding Oz with other dancers from Minocqua Dance. She has competed with the studio in multiple competitions and individually has won two judges awards, as well as 1st place in her solo category. Through her church denomination, she has earned superior ratings with invitations to compete at the National Fine Arts Festival for her lyrical dance solos.
Since 5th grade, Sydney has been an assistant and is excited to take the next step in helping young dancers find their true passion as they express themselves through the art of ballet. In Miss Sydney’s dance class, you can expect to be whisked away to a land of musical excitement all while learning the joy of ballet.