Lacy Frees, now Mrs. Lacy Draznik, is excited to start her eleventh season as Owner, Director, and Instructor here in Miami County. Miami County Dance Movement (previously "The Dance studio") had been owned and operated by Raquel Sterba for 19 years. In 2011 she had to make the decision of moving to Scottsdale, AZ for her husbands‘ job. Before she left she found the perfect teacher to take her place. Lacy is very honored and grateful to be teaching the next generation at MCDM/The Dance Studio. Combined, she has taught dance for over 20 years. A small town Kansas Native, Lacy Draznik, came to us after 4 years of professional dance work and training in San Francisco, CA. She graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Dance from Wichita State University in 2005. Lacy also spent her summers gaining experience through workshops and training with companies such as Ririe- Woodbury (Salt Lake City), Alvin Ailey Summer Intensive (New York & Kansas City), and Cleo Parker Robinson Dance (Denver). Her performance work with Wichita Contemporary Dance Theatre was the connecting thread to established companies in San Francisco such as Janice Garrett Dance. Throughout her career, Lacy has been teaching all styles of dance to children and adults, which also includes 2 years as a special education para in Tulsa, OK. Her love of teaching started directly out of high school with the National Dance Alliance, whom she traveled and taught with for over 8 years. Lacy’s most accomplished work thus far has been teaching Hip Hop in the Philippines to hundreds of underprivileged children in 2009 with Funkanometry SF. Living in San Francisco allowed her to dance at the professional level with multiple companies such as, Funkanometry SF, First Class Arts, and Ross Dance. This beautiful journey has given Lacy extensive knowledge and training in Jazz, Hip hop, Modern, Ballet, Tap, and West African. But, by far the most valuable knowledge has come from all of the amazing people she’s met along the way.

Natalie began her classical dance training as a young child at the Ravel Dance Studio in Reston,Virginia under the direction of Janet Hall.

On dance and academic scholarships, she went on to earn her B.A. in Dance from the Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Va. where she trained under Elizabeth Bergmann, former dancer and director of the Martha Graham Dance Company; Susan Shields, former dancer with White Oak Dance Company (under the direction of Mikhail Baryshnikov and Mark Morris); Jane Franklin, Artistic Director of Jane Franklin Dance, Certified Laban/Bartnieff Movement Analyst; and Alan Arnett, former dancer and protégé of Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago.

Upon graduation she returned to Ravel, holding numerous titles, from Ballet Mistress to Assistant Director of the Ravel Dance Company and Director of the Ravel Apprentice Dance Company. She subsequently went on to teach at the Ladera Ranch Dance Academy in Southern California, and helped institute standardized ballet curriculum for the school.

Natalie has performed most notably at the White House on The Ellipse, the Barns at Wolf Trap (Vienna, Va.), George Washington University (Washington, DC) and The Center Stage (Reston, Va.). She has performed the choreography of Elizabeth Bergmann and international choreographer and filmmaker Sonja Dumas (among others) and appeared professionally with Jane Franklin Dance.

Natalie currently trains with Störling Dance Theater and is pursuing her love of performing through various dance opportunities in the Kansas City area.

This is Natalie’s seventh season teaching Ballet and Jazz with Miami County Dance Movement.

Anna Weiser is a 2011 Graduate of Kansas State University. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Theatre, Dance Concentration and a Bachelor of Science degree in Anthropology. Miss Anna began dancing at the age of five in Holton, Kansas at Studio 1 Dance Center. During her college years she trained in choreography, Tap, Modern, Jazz, Ballet, and Musical Theatre. She also took many master classes and intensives in a wide variety of areas; including West African social dance and contact improvisation. Miss Anna was involved in the Kansas State Tap Dance Ensemble and the inaugural Kansas State African Drumming and Dance Ensemble; as well as many faculty and student dance concerts as a dancer and choreographer. Her choreography was featured in the American College Dance Festival Central Region Showcase. While in college, Miss Anna had the pleasure of choreographing for Bergman Elementary’s after school show choir entitled The Bergman Awesome Musicians, and assisted with their musical studies. She also choreographed for high school show choirs. Miss Anna then moved to Cincinnati OH, where she worked with Performance Arts Inc. as a dance teacher, choreographer, assistant theatre director and director. Now back in Kansas, Miss Anna lives with her family in Olathe and is looking forward to sharing her love of dance and learning with students.

This will be Miss Anna’s sixth season teaching Tap, Jazz, and Ballet with Miami County Dance Movement.

Hailing from the mountains of Colorado. Ivy began her ballet training at Colorado School of Dance and later continued at Classic Dance Academy where she developed the passion to continue in dance with a focus on performance. In 2014 Ivy moved to Kansas City to study under Störling’s Artist Development Program. In doing so she trained under the excellence of many esteemed instructors as well as performed works by Mona Störling-Enna, Kathleen Schular, Marc Wayne, Hannah Anderson, Suzanne Ryan-Strati, and Tobin James. Ivy graduated from this program in 2016. It was during this time she traveled to Paris, France to dance and teach alongside many artists on the streets of the city. The experiences that these trips offered inspired Ivy to be zealous to dance on the streets of many cities with the intention of promoting the power of emotional and physical healing through movement. Upon returning from her second summer in France in 2016, Ivy performed with Störling Dance Theater for two seasons and is currently dancing with Störling Moves, the project based touring company that shares the legacy of Störling Dance Theater with the intention of promoting the “Beauty of Movement and the Power of Story” through movement around the world. Ivy traveled to Germany this summer to teach various workshops and learn from fellow artists. She was also on Staff in Paris, France for Project Dance in July.

In 2017 Ivy studied at Bill Evan’s Teacher Institute (BETI) in New Mexico as well as under the directors of National Dance Institute (NDI) New Mexico in 2018. Both programs focusing in on the deep importance of teaching dance/movement to various ages and through the different developments of life.

Is currently mentoring and teaching the students of Störling’s ADP and is excited to continue her education with the intention to inspire and enhance lives for the better with the healing of movement seen through performance and teaching. The latter being her passion and goal for this year.

This will be Miss Ivy’s fifth year teaching Ballet and Jazz with MCDM.

Hope Goertzen began dancing at age 6 with Angel Feet Dance Studio in south central Kansas. There she trained in ballet, tap, jazz, pointé and was member of the touring Ministry Team. After interning at The Washington Ballet at THE ARC in Washington D.C., Hope found her calling to teach dance while assisting with the Dance DC program. While pursuing her bachelors at Kansas State University she performed at many venues including the Kansas Dance Festival in 2013, The Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, the Kansas State Fair, and many others. Hope was a member of the K-State Tap Dance Ensemble, the Kansas State Theater Organization and received her bachelors in theater with a concentration in dance. Hope began teaching ballet, tap, jazz, modern, and improvisation in Kansas City in 2015 and has choreographed four musical productions so far. She is excited to join the Miami County Movement Family and spread joy through movement!!

This will be Miss Hope’s fourth year teaching Tap and Ballet with MCDM.

Gina grew up in Paola, Kansas and began dancing at the age of 3. She danced competitively growing up and trained in Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Tap, Hip-hop, and Tumbling. After high school she attended the University of Kansas for a short while and later attended Baker University where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science. Gina was a member of the dance team while at Baker and during the 2010-2011 season the team took 1st place at the NDA Collegiate National Championship for the first time. She was also a mentor to a new high school dance team in Kansas City during her college years. After college Gina began teaching at a local studio. She took some time off to have her son in 2015 and began substitute teaching for Miami County Dance Movement in 2018. Gina now lives with her family in Paola. She is excited to be a staff member at MCDM and continue to share her love of dance through teaching.

This will be Miss Gina’s third year teaching Acro and preschool/Kindergarten with MCDM.