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Anneliese Troxell
Anneliese Troxell is the Director of Kanvas Dance Company and has 25 years of dance teaching experience. A former Jill Fitzgerald dancer and instructor, Anneliese has always held a strong connection to her hometown studio, where Kanvas began. She studied dance at Kansas State University and graduated with a Master's Degree in Interior Architecture and Product Design in 2010, with an emphasis of study in Dance and Spanish. Anneliese is proficient in ballet, jazz, musical theater, modern, contemporary, lyrical, hip hop and tap dance styles. Recently Anneliese’s focus has primarily revolved around classical ballet under the artistic advisory of Joyce Yagerline, Emeritus Professor of Dance at Kansas State University. Anneliese's choreography has been showcased in numerous events and celebrations to include: Kansas State Spring Dance, Wildcat Student Spotlight, Drums Alive, African American Heritage Celebration (Germany), and Month of the Military Child (Germany) as well as 21 program recitals world wide. She was selected as a UDA Allstar Dancer from the United Dance Association in 2004. Anneliese has studied dance anatomy and yoga in Europe, Mexico and the US which has helped her to better understand how to protect the dancer's body while also making it stronger. Anneliese's contemporary & jazz choreography has been invited to the Star Alliance World Championships on five occasions. She regularly attends dance conventions and competitions to further her knowledge of dance technique and industry trends. Anneliese developed the SKIES Unlimited and KMC Dance program in Kaiserslautern, Germany for 3 years while living abroad. She studied dance simultaneously in London and throughout Germany as well at numerous conventions in the US. Conventions include: NUVO, Dance Direct, Move It, Dance Teacher Summit Long Beach and UDMA Chicago. Anneliese helped re-instate the Emporia State University dance team, and is heading into her third year as head coach with the ESU Stingers. Anneliese travels to choreograph for high school and college dance teams in Kansas. Anneliese leads the 2 Kanvas dance programs.
Keeley Honas
Miss Keeley is our Assistant Competition Director and travels to both our Wamego and Council Grove locations. This will be Miss Keeley's 3rd year teaching for Kanvas. Miss Keeley was born and raised in Council Grove and danced with Kanvas for 7 years. Keeley was the captain of her high school dance team, was announced as a UDA Allstar Dancer, and received numerous awards while competing at competitions. Miss Keeley attended Kansas State University her freshman year and currently attends Manhattan Technical College to study business. Keeley teaches Jazz, Lyrical, Hip-Hop, Musical Theater, Tap and Ballet and is an outstanding choreographer.
Miss Keeley travels with the Kanvas Staff for annual trainings and continued education at regional and national dance conventions. Miss Keeley has received multiple choreography awards for her Hip hop and Lyrical routines at competitions with KDC.
Audrey Henton
Miss Audrey is from Kansas City, Missouri and is currently in her 4th year at K-State majoring in dietetics with a minor in Kinesiology. At K-State, she is part of the dance program, where she performs in both the winter and spring shows as well as being a part of the WellCAT ambassador's organization. Audrey studied at Miss Dianna’s School of Dance since the age of 4 and competed since the age of 7. She also taught dance at Miss Dianna’s in various styles including jazz, ballet, tap, and acrobats for boys and girls ages 3-14. Audrey was also a member of the nationally ranked Staley High School dance team for 4 years, where she was named NDA All- American. Miss Audrey loves all styles of dance, but her favorites are Pom and lyrical/contemporary.
Mary Yoder
Mrs. Mary has studied dance she was 3 years old. She is proficient in ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, modern, lyrical and contemporary. She has attended numerous teacher workshops and trainings across the Midwest and has participated in dance shows at Kansas State University, Cottey College in Nevada Missouri, and at the Kansas Dance Festival in Wichita, KS. Mrs. Mary has won numerous awards for her choreography, including invitations to the World Dance Championships.
Mrs. Mary is a Senior Instructor at Kanvas CG, and she choreographs for our Council Grove and Wamego Shine teams!
Jill Fitzgerald
Jill Fitzgerald has been a great supporter of the arts, especially dance, in Council Grove for decades. Jill Fitzgerald owned and operated her own studio for over 30 years, and has now retired. Jill studed dance at Emporia State University, and was the lead twirler for the marching band while she attended ESU. Jill judged numerous pageants across the united states, and took her dancers across the state of Kansas to perform. Jill now volunteers with the dance program in Council Grove. Jill is also a mentor for dancers and teachers and teaches some private classes and specialty camps. Jill Fitzgerald is the originator of the "Big Tap Series", a company legacy. Jill's expertise and talent have touched the lives of many!
Currently Miss Jill volunteers daily at the the Kanvas CG location. She enjoys the atmosphere at the studio, and she loves to contribute her expertise to the students, as well as the team of Kanvas Instructors. Miss Jill, or "Jill Fitzgerald", has become a legend in the Flint Hills. Her dancers have had notable successes and they always give testimony of the gratitude they earned under her instruction.
Hannah Yoeman
Hannah is a Senior at Kansas State University. She grew up in Mission Hills, Kansas and started dancing at Miller Marley School of Dance and Voice at the age of five. She studied Classical Ballet, Lyrical Jazz, Hip-Hop, Tap, Broadway Jazz, Musical Theater, Leaps & Turns, Contemporary, and Modern Dance. She also danced with Performance Companies Showbiz Performers, The Entertainers, and The Competition Team. Hannah was also honored to be a Disney World Troupe Traveling Member. She is currently majoring in Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation with an emphasis in Biodiversity & Conservation and is minoring in Dance. She is also a member of the Kansas State Tap Ensemble and the Vice President of the student organization, KanDance. Hannah has created award winning choreography at 2017 Starpower Dance Competition in Wichita, KS.
While her training is thorough in all areas of dance, Hannah's tap has been a huge gift to the tapping community in Council Grove. Miss Hannah currently choreographs tap, jazz and contemporary pieces for the Shine Gold teams, as well as provide technique training for all levels.
Grace Harms
Grace Harms a Junior at K-State majoring in Social Work with a minor in Leadership. She has completed her minor & teaching certificate in Dance. Her Senior project involved developing a mental health movement program. She worked as an apprentice at her home dance studio in Hutchinson for 5 years before going on to teach recreational dance classes at Manhattan Recreation for 2 years.
Grace has studied ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical, modern, contemporary, hip hop, pom, soft shoe, and African. Grace's specialties are lyrical, ballet, tap, jazz & modern. Grace is a 2 year member of the K-State Tap dance Ensemble & K-state Contemporary Dance Ensemble. Grace currently holds the position of Vice President for the KanDance student organization. Grace enjoys choreographing her own work, and has danced for many renown choreographers such as Colleen Craig, Albert Blaise Cattafi, 10 Hairy Legs, and the Anna Sokolow Dance Ensemble. Grace danced competitively for 9 years at regional and national events. During highschool, Grace was captain of the dance team, UDA All-American, and trained as a member of the Colorguard. At K-State, she was a 2 year member of the color guard for the Pride of Wildcatland. Grace holds a 200 hr. certificate for yoga, and regularly teaches classes in Manhattan, KS. In her free time, Grace enjoys spending time with her fiance', her family, friends and her 2 dogs.
Christine Carter
Christine is a junior at Kansas State University where she is dual majoring in Criminology and Psychology. She grew up in Overland Park, Kansas where she trained at Miller Marley School of Dance and Voice. She studied many styles of dance including: Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Modern, Hip Hop, Broadway Jazz, and Leaps and Turns. Throughout the 15 years of training at Miller Marley she was a part of Tinitainers, Minitainers, Junior Competition Team, and the Entertainers. She had the opportunity to perform at Disney World four times with the Performance Troupes. Christine also was a part of the Shawnee Mission South Dance Team, where she held an officer position her senior year. She choreographed many of the dances for their performances. Christine attended the Broadway Bound Dance Camp at Oklahoma City University led by Jo Rowan in 2016. In college she has been a member of the Kansas State Tap Ensemble for two years along with serving as the Treasurer for KanDance this past year.
Casey Cowdin
Casey began dancing at age 3 at Jill Fitzgerald Dance studio and trained in various styles including jazz, tap, ballet, gymnastics, lyrical, contemporary, and hip hop. She was part of the Council Grove Bravettes Drill Team for 4 years, attended Summer UDA camps, was a two consecutive year All Star, and performed in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York and New Years Parade in London, England. After high school, she danced with Barton Community College. Casey then transferred to Kansas State University to further her education in Kinesiology and Pre-Physician Assistance. While at KSU, she continued training in modern dance under David Ollington. While a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, she performed at WRL for homecoming week. She began teaching for Tiptoz Dance Company in 2014. She has taken classes with Emmy winning choreographers Travis Wall and Stacey Tookey. In 2019, she obtained her Masters of Physician Assistant. Dance has always been an outlet for Casey. She finds it to be her favorite form of physical activity; inspiring creativity, mental health, and growth. Casey seeks to empower and encourage young dancers to become their best selves and to create a safe place for expression and emotion through movement.
Aaron Case
Aaron has been dancing since he could move but started training at age 8, taking his first classes at Charlotte Dance Alliance in North Carolina and doing gymnastics fifteen hours a week at a local gym called Skywalkers.
Aaron took a break from dance and continued training at age 15 and started retaking classes at Movement and Authority after his drama teacher convinced him to audition for a local play. This reignited his passion for being on stage. Aaron started auditioning and landing principal dance roles on the Wichita music theater stage and doing shows like 42nd Street, Little shop of horror’s, and even performing at the 2008 thespian awards in Wichita, Kansas.
Aaron also cheered and competed with Cheer Eclipse from 2006-2008, where he had the opportunity to compete on the world's stage. And be coached by the legendary Sue Brummer
Aaron also had a talent contract with DDO artistry from 2007-2010, which didn’t land him any prominent roles because his parents wouldn’t let him travel during school but gave him insight into the professional world.
Aaron continued to train and dance and found finesse and a heightened passion and inclination in Hip hop, Contemporary and Lyrical. Winning awards for his Hip Hop pieces in competitions, Aaron is the recipient of awards like Entertainment Awards, Choreographer Achievement award, and dancers placing in the overalls with hip hop pieces while teaching at Kanvas Dance Company. Three years ago, he took a break from teaching to pursue his career. You can catch Aaron boot scoot and boogieing five nights a week at Texas Roadhouse in Manhattan, where he is the operating Service Manager and leads a staff of 108 people. And the dance champions of their market.
Aaron has also done shows with Diavolo, featured on America's Got Talent—taken classes with Emmy award-winning choreographers Travis Wall and Stacy Tookey. Phil Wright who has choreographed for artists such as Lil Nas X, Cardi B and producer of the Parent Jam on Disney. Ray Leeper, Denise Wall, Kristen Gorski who played Elphaba in Wicked, Martha Nichols who played the golden woman in The Greatest Showman.
Aaron strives to empower young movers to be unabashedly themselves and creates a fun energetic environment where dancers are excited to learn. Correcting the negative narrative of comparing yourself to others and guiding and coaching each dancer on their own individual journey they are having. And ultimately sharing space and his love and passion for dance with the future of our art form.
“I am so grateful to be apart of 2022-2023 year 10 of Kanvas!! It’s truly going to be a phenomenal year can’t wait to make some memories”
Chloe Hageman
Chloe Hageman is from Iola Kansas. She is currently attending Emporia State University and majoring in Psychology and will graduate this December with her Bachelors! Congratulations Miss Chloe! Miss Chloe was a member of the Emporia State Stingers Dance Team for 2 years. Chloe danced competitively for 8 years and has taught classes of all styles including Jazz, Tap, Hip-hop, Ballet, Musical Theater, Pom and Technique for 5 years at her home studio, Supernova Dance Authority.Before coming to ESU she was also a member of the dance team at Allen Community College.
Miss Chloe is excited to be back for her 2nd year with Kanvas and get into the studio to work with students. She is looking forward to an amazing year of dance and meeting all of her new students and dance families!
Payton Cunningham
Payton has been dancing since she was 5 years old. She started her career in Council Grove dancing for Jill Fitzgerald. Payton attended Kanvas Dance Company until she was eighteen years old. During her time there, she was a member of the competition dance team and she was an assistant dance teacher.
Payton was also a member of the Bravettes dance team all four years of high school until she graduated in 2018. In 2019, Payton was attending college when she started teaching at Kanvas Dance Company in Wamego.
Payton is currently attending Washburn University and is planning on joining the Kanvas team in Council Grove this upcoming dance season. Dance has always played an important role in Payton’s life and it is something that she is extremely passionate about. Her favorite part about teaching dance is seeing the kids improve and grow into themselves as dancers. She is extremely excited to be at Kanvas this upcoming season and to share her knowledge and passionate with other young dancers!
Mariah Glenski
Mariah has over 11 years of coaching experience and was a level 9 gymnast before retiring. She was a Level 5 competitive cheerleader through high school. She was the Junior Olympic Coordinator at Integrity gymnastics for 3 years before moving to Council Grove in 2021. She has experience as a Preschool Coach, Recreational Gymnastics Coach, and Competitive Team Coach working with levels 3-10. She has worked with many cheerleaders/dancers and gymnasts to continue their growth with gymnastics skills. Mariah is married to her husband Billy and has two boys, Major(6) and Emerson(1.5)
Marah Sipes
Miss Marah comes to us from Kansas City, Missouri. She has danced since she was 4 years old at Miss Dianna’s School of Dance. Marah started dancing competitively there at age 8. Marah teaching jazz, tap, ballet, pom, lyrical and acrobatics! Marah was a member of her high school dance team which was ranked at the state and national level. Marah is currently a student at K-State studying engineering. She has a strong passion for creating a positive environment, and has an uplifting attitude! When asked why she loved dance, Miss Marah responded with: “I’ve always loved dance because it not only gave me a happy place to escape to but a sense of belonging and family.”
You will see Miss Marah at our Wamego location this summer teaching a specialty camp called "Pom Squad" with Miss Audrey. They will teach Pom technique and acrobatics. At the end of the camp they will be offering invitations to dancers to join our "Pom Squad" next season, which is a new company team that will attend competitions!
Abigail Bachura
Miss Abigail is our newest instructor this year. Miss Abigail has been dancing for 14 years and has been with Kanvas Dance Company from the beginning. She has also had many years worth of junior instructing with Kanvas Dance Company and is very excited to get to instruct her own classes throughout the year. Miss Abigail is a freshman at Emporia State University majoring in Secondary Mathematics Education. Go Hornets! She is looking forward to getting this dance year started.
Fun Fact: Miss Abigail's favorite style of dance is Contemporary!
