Meet Your Teachers

Becky Phillips

Becky Phillips, Owner, Married; mother of four children, two boys and two girls. Entrepreneur by nature, Becky and her husband Troy have been self employed since 1998 and currently own T&R Companies (Heating & Air Conditioning and Tire Sales) and FDI (Marketing & Development).

Becky is a certified member with Dance Masters of Wisconsin. She began dancing in 1983 and has been teaching since 1990. Becky’s entire family has been involved with the dance studio through the years. Becky’s husband Troy has been involved with the dance studio working backstage since 1993 and more recently supporting Becky with the studio on a daily basis. She looks forward to getting to know you and your child better and to have the opportunity to share the love of dance!

Heather Sullivan	Heather Sullivan, married. Heather is a certified member of Dance Masters of Wisconsin and attends dance convention throughout the year. She has been dancing since 1986 and teaching since 1998. Heather is currently one of our competition team directors and choreographers. She had the opportunity to perform in 42nd Street the summer of 2008. Heather has been very involved with the community through the studio as we have done workshops for local schools, Girl Scouts, Churches, and other organizations. Heather is a full time ELL teacher for the Janesville School District during the day. Her husband Mike has helped at the recitals for many years.
Jeannette Schimke	Jeannette Schimke, married. She starting dancing in 1991 and started teaching in 2004. Jeannette is a certified member of Dance Masters of Wisconsin and attends dance conventions throughout the year. She has had the opportunity to choreograph and teach for the Rock Co and State 4-H show choirs and Clinton High School spring musicals since 2006, Tomah High School musicals since 2008. She was crowned Miss Dance Masters of Wisconsin 2nd runner up in 2007, 2008, and 2010.She is actively involved with community dance programs through-out the year. Jeannette is a licensed hair stylist at Features in Janesville and is a Lia Sophia Jewelry Advisor.
Deborah Hahn	Deborah Hahn, married; mother of three children, two boys and one girl. Debbie has been dancing with us since 1991 and has taught since 2004. She is a certified member of Dance Masters of WI and attends dance conventions throughout the year. Debbie was a member and choreographer for the Rock Co 4-H show choir (Heat Wave) as well as the state show choir (Showcase Singers). She had the honor of dancing with the James Sewell production of “Amhl and the Night Visitors” in 2008. In 2010 Debbie graduated from MATC with a degree in photography and currently owns her own business “Deborah Hahn Photography”.
Kathleen Casey	Kathleen Casey has been dancing since 1995 and started teaching in 2005. She is a certified member of Dance Masters of Wisconsin and attends many dance conventions throughout the year. Kathleen is a sophomore attending UW Whitewater. Kathleen continues to work in the community through the studio hosting dance workshops at local schools and other organizations. She had the opportunity to perform in the James Sewell production of “Amahl and The Night Visitor” as well as “42nd Street” in 2008 and “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” in 2010 in Lake Geneva.
Evan Knutson	Evan Knutson has been teaching since 2005 and started dancing in 1996. He is a certified member of Dance Masters of Wisconsin and attends many dance conventions throughout the year. Evan taught a Hip Hop session to the Dance masters of Wisconsin members/teacher at the March 2010DMW teacher convention. Evan graduated from UW Rock Co. in 2011 and is a freshman attending UW Whitewater. Evan stays involved with the community teaching workshops for local schools and other organizations. He has performed in James Sewell production of “Amahl and The Night Visitor” in 2007, the production of “42nd Street” in 2008 and “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” in 2010.
Katie Hanus	Katie Hanus started dancing in 1995 and has been teaching since 2005. She is a certified member of Dance Masters of WI and attends dance conventions throughout the year. Katie has been involved in 4-H Show Choirs for many years and is currently performing with Wisconsin’s state wide show choir “Show Case Singers”. She has been very involved in teaching workshops for local community schools and orginizations over the years. Katie graduated in 2010 and works full time at the Dollar Store.
Jennifer Sauser	Jennifer Sauser, married; mother of two children, one boy & one girl. Jennifer took her exams through Dance Master of Wisconsin in 1994. She started teaching in 1992 and has been dancing since she was 3. Jennifer attends dance conventions throughout the year. She is involved with the community and teaches dance at local schools and events through the studio workshops. Jennifer is a full time school teacher in the Janesville School District.
Kelsey Bigelow	Kelsey Bigelow has been dancing since 2000 and began teaching in 2009. Kelsey is attending dance conventions throughout the year and is working toward her certification with Dance Masters of Wisconsin which she can take when she turns 18 this winter. She continues to stay very involved with the studio and teaches many workshops in the community including local schools and the Boys & Girls Club. She is a senior at Craig High School and works part-time at Fazoli’s in Janesville.
Chris Blakeney	Chris Blakeney, married. Chris has been dancing since he was very young. He enjoys teaching many dance subjects and specialized in Hip Hop. He has been teaching with us since 2010. Chris has been involved with the 4-H show choirs at the local and state level for many years. He currently directs and choreographs the 4-H statewide show choir “Showcase Singers”. Chris works with his family’s business and at Basic’s.
	Troy & Phil - Troy has been our "Back Stage Manager" for the dance recitals since 1993 and Phil has been there "helping" him for many years. Not pictured is Heather’s husband, Mike who has also helped throughout the years. It's great to have husbands that are so supportive of their wives. Thanks Guys!!!

Please visit the link below for the Janesville Performing Arts Center. We are proud to support this beautiful and historic piece of Janesville's infrastructure.

Janesville Performing Arts Center