Our Team

ms jensyn

Jensyn is 26 years old. She is a Hickman High graduate and she studied at MACC where she found college wasn’t for her. She then became a nanny for a wonderful family, who instantly became her family. Jensyn has practiced dance for 23 years, has been teaching dance for 11 years and she also competed in acrobatic gymnastics for 15 years. She has studied multiple dance genres along the way, such as ballet, tap, jazz and her favorite, lyrical! She loves teaching all ages lyrical because she loves how different each age group can be. She loves watching kids open up and become more comfortable with their bodies and to watch them achieve the smallest of things! She has been a part of many ballet productions, including The Nutcracker, and Alice and Wonderland. She has also directed and choreographed ballet productions, including Cats and The Wizard of Oz. Cats was incredibly special for her because her parents took her to see the Broadway production when she was 3. They had to then buy the video shortly after so she could watch it every day and learn all the dances. Since then, it was always a dream of hers to be a part of/direct Cats. When she was just 21 years old, she made that come true! It was her first ever ballet production and it couldn’t have been more fitting that it was Cats. Jensyn has always loved the family aspect of dance, the relationships with teachers and students and watching everyone grow. So when the time was right, she opened up D.E.S and couldn’t be happier to make her very own dance family. Some fun things about Jensyn are- she LOVES Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings/Hobbit! She has a dog and 2 cats, she loves crafting and decorating for a themed party!

Jensyn is so excited to welcome everyone to the D.E.S family!!

ms katherine

The Columbia MO., native attended Rock Bridge High School and was captain of its national champion dance team in 2010. Since then, she has had an extensive background performing and teaching tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical and modern dance. Her choreography skills have earned numerous outstanding awards. She studied at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance, and has made her mark in Kansas City, performing with Quixotic, Heartlines Contemporary Company, KC Fringe Festival, Ed Alonzo’s Funhouse, Rocky Horror Picture Show and Evil Dead the Musical. She was the assistant choreographer for Winter Fest at Worlds of Fun, overseeing many venues. After moving back to Columbia, she is now the head coach of the Stephens College Starlets!! She is also the assistant director of Cedar Creek Therapeutic Riding Center and works with all kinds of individuals on horseback. Some fun things about Katherine are- she has a duck farm at her house where duck eggs are sold to local restaurants like Barred Owl, Butcher and Beetbox. She looks forward to sharing her love of rhythm tap with all of D.E.S!

D.E.S family can’t wait for Katherine to share all her knowledge and love of dance with us!!

Alli is 23 years old. She is a Hickman High graduate and then studied at Mizzou where she obtained a degree in education. Her degree in education coupled with her dance background has created a strong passion for teaching dance. She has been a dancer for 21 years and a teacher for 7 years. Alli has trained in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, musical theater and acro. Her favorite style of dance is a fun sassy jazz number! She has been a part of multiple ballet performances such as The Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, Cats and many more. Along with her dance training, Alli has also competed at the national level as an acrobat for 10 years. Alli also directs competition dance teams and choreographs competition numbers for other studios in the Missouri area. Some fun things about Alli are- she LOVES animals!! She loves spending time at the Lake of the Ozarks with her dogs and that’s also where she owns her very own Boutique, AP & Company!

Alli is already a dear friend to D.E.S, now let’s make it official and call her family!!

ms allí

ms zoe

Zoe is 19 years old. She was born in Phoenix Arizona but mainly raised in St. Louis, Missouri where she began dancing at the Performing Arts Centre in Saint Charles at age 6. She was initially inspired by the movie Happy Feet, so she began tap and ballet class and continued from there to jazz, lyrical and hip hop. She then realized her love for dance and joined the competitive team in 5th grade and competed until she graduated high school. Zoe’s favorite style of dance is tap! She loves the musicality, rhythm and percussion that is involved. She has now moved to Columbia to attend Mizzou and is currently studying business but that will change in the spring to music education! She has been playing the piano since age 7 and has always been involved in choir, band and musicals. Music is her biggest daily inspiration and motivation. Some fun things about Zoe are- she likes to hang out with friends outside, paint, spend time with her dog or watch a movie! She is so excited to be a D.E.S teacher and can’t wait to share her passion and love with everyone!

D.E.S is so excited too Zoe, and love that you are joining our family!!

ms natalie

Natalie is 18 years old and starting school at Mizzou to be a speech language pathologist. She would love to work with kids someday. She has been a dancer since she was 3 and it has always been one of her greatest passions. Even though Natalie is not dancing at a studio anymore, she wants dance to be a part of her life for as long as possible. That’s why she is so excited that she gets to teach at D.E.S! Some fun things about Natalie are- she loves traveling and has traveled to about half of the states. She really enjoys babysitting as well as her most recent job which was at a preschool. She also really loves music, editing pictures and videos, and fashion.

D.E.S is so excited to have Natalie a part of the family!!

ms ava

Ava is 20 years old and transferring from Mizzou to Columbia College to join the nursing school. She has been taking dance since she was 4 years old and she also competed in gymnastics and acrobatic gymnastics. She has practiced all styles of dance, but her favorite is lyrical! She is SO excited to teach the little tumblers at D.E.S because it was one of her favorite parts of gymnastics. Some fun things about Ava are- she is currently working as a veterinary technician and loves animals! She has a dog named Violet and they love to go on walks and go to the dog park. She also enjoys music, art and plants!

D.E.S is so happy to welcome Ava to our family!!

Lexi is 17 years old and a senior at Battle High School. After high school, she plans to go to MACC and then Mizzou. There she would like to study interior design. Lexi has practiced dance for 10 years and competed in acrobatic gymnastics for 8. She is so excited that she gets to continue to keep acro in her life by being one of the acro teachers at D.E.S! Some fun things about Lexi are- she loves finding a new spot to watch the sunset and hanging out with her dog, Biscuit.

D.E.S loves that Lexi has decided to join our family and help make our acro genre grow!!

dance expressions studio