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steps to grace staff
Miss Kelly is not a dance teacher, but she does her best to support all of them from behind the scenes :). She has been involved with Steps to Grace since 2008, and took ownership of the studio in June of 2021. Before becoming a studio owner, Miss Kelly spent 18 years in Early Childhood Administration. When Miss Kelly is not at the studio, you can find her working as a travel agent (she just celebrated her 10th anniversary with My Mickey Vacation Travel), hanging out with her dog and cat, traveling to sunny and magical destinations, spending time with her husband of 25 years (Nate), and helping her two adult children (Colton and Alise) plan their upcoming weddings to two of the most amazing people this side of heaven (Amiah and Gabe)
Kelly Heinrich, Owner & Director
Miss Katie began dancing at the age of 7. During her years of dancing she trained in many styles of
dance, including: ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and tap. Throughout high school she danced competitively and received several overall high scores.
Katie has been teaching in the Rockford area for nearly 20 years. She came to Steps to Grace
in 2012 and has been teaching with us since. She has worked with the different levels of dance
teams at Steps To Grace since 2013. Her choreography has been in productions for Dance
Revolution and Stroll on State. Outside of dance, Katie holds a bachelors degree in Fashion Merchandising from the Academy of Art University.
Katie Welsh, Dance Instructor
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Miss Lisa grew up dancing competitively for several years at Forest Hills Dance Academy, traveling across the country and training with top industry professionals. She began teaching at Steps to Grace in the summer of 2021 and currently instructs jazz and lyrical classes, as well as coaching the studio’s team dancers. By day, Lisa works as a project coordinator for Rockford Structures Construction Company, bringing her organizational skills and attention to detail into every aspect of her work. Outside of dance and work, she is a proud mom to her daughter, Addison. Lisa finds true joy in teaching, especially her adult jazz class, where she loves helping experienced dancers reconnect with their passion and guiding newcomers as they discover the world of dance.
Lisa Gregory, Dance Instructor
Miss Sarah has been married to her high school sweetheart for almost 21 years. Together they have 4 kids; 2 boys and 2 girls. Lea, their youngest, is the only one that shares the love of dance. Sarah has been dancing since she was 4, and has been teaching at STG since 2021. Her favorite style to dance is lyrical, and she loves to teach ballet and jazz. Before teaching at STG, she taught pre-k 3 at Christian Life Schools. Fun facts- when Sarah is not teaching or dancing, she loves to garden and to be barefoot. She also loves to do puzzles and embroidery work.
Sarah Hultman, Dance Instructor
Miss Alise has been dancing at Steps to Grace for 15 years and teaching at Steps to Grace for 5 years. Lyrical is her favorite style to dance, and she loves to teach technique classes. In 2023 Alise became a Relative Motion technique certified teacher and loves to learn more about new ways to teach dancers. She is currently perusing Bachelor’s Degrees in Business Management and Digital Marketing with a Music minor at Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee. She loves Disney, coffee, and spending time with her family, husband, and friends!
Alise Kohl, Studio and Staff Coordinator, Dance Instructor
Miss Kristin lives in Rockford with her husband and two children. She has been dancing in the Rockford area for 20 years. She has danced and trained through the Auburn High School CAPA program, Rockford Dance Company, and Steps to Grace Dance Academy, in addition to various workshops. She has also been a part of two performing companies as a dancer and mentor. She loves teaching at Steps to Grace and seeing the students learn, grow, and develop a love for dance!
Kristin Scholz, Dance Instructor
Miss Lily is the upper level ballet teacher at Steps to Grace, as well as one of the team teachers. She is in her 18th year of dancing at Steps to Grace and her 5th year of teaching. Ballet and contemporary are her favorite styles and she loves implementing worship through all styles. In December 2024, Lily completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Marketing from Judson University, where she was also on the Cheer and Dance team. Lily is the marketing coordinator and social media manager for Steps to Grace. She also loves to improve her dance strength and teaching skills through cross training by weight lifting and taking Pilates and Barre classes. In her free time, she loves to drink coffee, spend time with friends and family, travel, and work on her worship dance company: Promise & Vision.
Lily Randall, Dance Instructor and Marketing Co-ordinator
Miss Lindsey (on the left) is a mother of 2, Jr and Kylee. When she’s not teaching at Steps to Grace, she works as an accountant at Rockford Structures Construction Company. She was also a server for many years. She grew up in the theater, and has loved dance for as long as she can remember; specifically ballet and lyrical. She took ballet and several other styles for 13 years, and enjoyed taking adult ballet for 4 years before becoming STG’s adult ballet instructor. She believes that in dance, a student develops a strong sense of discipline, grace, and resilience.
Lindsey Evans, Dance Instructor
Miss Megan has been dancing for 14 years, 7 of those years she spent competing at Prestige Dance Company in Beloit, WI. This is her first year teaching at Steps to Grace! She is currently at Rock Valley College studying education to hopefully become an elementary school teacher or a special education teacher! Miss Megan loves dance, theater, hanging out with her family, and baking! Her favorite styles of dance are contemporary, tap, and musical theater.
Megan Vandergrift, Dance Instructor
Miss Kylee has been dancing at Steps to Grace for over 15 years, and this is her first year teaching. Her favorite styles are hip hop and jazz. Kylee is going to be a senior at Rockford Lutheran School in the fall, and this will be her 4th year on the cheer squad at RLS.
Kylee Evans, Jr Dance Instructor
Miss Andi has been dancing for 15 years, and her favorite styles are lyrical and contemporary. This is her second year teaching at STG. Through the years dance has shown her to always live in the moment through all the ups and downs of life because from experience comes growth.
Andi Petrousek, Jr Dance Instructor
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