faculty

Morgan Bowe is a first-year instructor at The Beat and a senior at Perrysburg High School. She started dancing at the age of 3 and has been training ever since. Morgan is proficient in ballet, pointe, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop musical theatre and pom. She is a 4-year member of the Perrysburg High School Dance Team where she has served as captain the past two years. She has helped lead her team through regional and state competitions each year as well as community performances. Morgan is also a 2-year dance captain for the Perrysburg High School Show Choir. Morgan loves performing and enjoys teaching all ages and experience levels. She hopes to help others find their love for dance just as she did.

Callie Friar, from Perrysburg, OH, was a dancer at The Beat Dance Company for 12 years, and for 10 of those years, she danced competitively. During those years, Callie was trained in ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, lyrical, and hip hop, but she especially excelled in tap. Along with numerous group dances, she competed with a tap solo for 7 years, and won many overall placements which include 5 first overall finishes and a 3rd place overall finish at nationals. Through classes at The Beat, Callie discovered her undeniable love for tap dancing. Outside of The Beat, Callie danced as a part of the performance crew at Motor City Tap Fest twice, and continues to take a full week of classes there each year. Callie has also been in two Tap 24.7 productions under the direction of Suzy Guarino-Hall. In 2020, Callie became a member of the Detroit Tap Repertory (DTR) where she studied tap dance and worked closely with “So You Think You Can Dance” contestant Kelsey Rose Young. Since then, she has performed at Pistons, Red Wings, and Tigers games, and performed in multiple Motor City Tap Fest shows and Tap Dance Detroit shows with DTR. Over the years, Callie has also received the opportunity to work closely with the late Greg Russel, Maud Arnold, Shelby Kaufman, Karen Callaway Williams, and Charles Renato. Now, Callie is a member of the RhythmiCLE Sound Tap Company under the direction of Torie Gray where she learns from many renowned tap dancers such as Sterling Harris of the tap company Jacob’s Pillow and the Chicago Tap Theatre, Luke Hickey of Dorrance Dance, and Diane Walker who performed on Broadway and is the artistic director of TapDancin, Inc. and founder of The Diane Walker Foundation. Callie absolutely loves the stage and performing, and she hopes that through teaching dance she can instill the joy of performing in everyone who takes her classes.

Elise Hanson graduated from Bowling Green State University with a B.S. in Education with a Dance Major. While studying at BGSU, she was a two-year member of the University Performing Dancers Program, where she studied and performed modern, tap, ballet, jazz, Balinese, and Korean dance. She has an extensive background as a competitive dancer with the former Dance Reach Studio in Columbus, Ohio, having received numerous titles and overall placements as a soloist and group dancer. Elise has performed in the American College Dance Festival at Western Michigan University and also had the privilege of being selected to dance in the gala performance at the Ohio University conference. Elise has also performed with Tammy Metz Starr's Open Window Dance Company and has studied with world renowned instructors such as Buster Brown, Barbara Bufalino, Sarah Reich, Chloe Arnold, Gregg Russell, and many more. She currently teaches dance at The Beat, Viva Dance Company in Monroe, MI, and at the University of Findlay. She also serves as choreographer for the Perrysburg Junior High School Show Choir and their annual musical. Elise loves teaching all ages and levels and strives to make dance accessible, engaging, and fun for all of her students.

Colette Jefferson is a fourth-year undergraduate student at Bowling Green State University studying Film production and dance. She began as a self-taught dancer, teaching herself contortion, acrobatics, and variations of lyrical at just nine years old. She went on to start competitive dance training at age 11, training in acrobatics, ballet, lyrical, jazz, contemporary, and modern. During her competitive dance years, she was recognized for her dancing abilities with several regional and national titles, and she had opportunities to learn from professionals such as KC Castellano, Jojo Gomez, and her friend Kyle Bowen, a former dancer for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Since starting college, Colette’s choreography and dance skills have since been recognized over several social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, gaining recognition on news blogs like PopSugar, People Are Awesome, and WorldStar. She has performed in several dance showcases and is currently the President of the student-run dance program, University Dance Alliance. During her sophomore year in 2020, she began teaching herself hip hop and she has been a self-taught hip hop dancer for two years. Colette is excited to start this new chapter of her dance career as a choreographer and mentor and she hopes to impact her students’ dance journeys in a positive and insightful way.

Mae LaBelle is currently a senior at Bowling Green State University where she is majoring in Marine Biology with a minor in Dance. Mae is from Boston, Massachusetts and began dancing at age four. She danced competitively from the age of eight through her senior year in high school. Mae trained at North Shore Dance Academy in lyrical, contemporary, modern, jazz, pointe, ballet, tap, musical theatre, jazz funk, and hip hop. She enjoys expanding her knowledge of all dance genres and has attended conventions and competitions throughout New England. She has won auditions at conventions such as West Coast Dance Explosion and NUVO, where she was able to travel to Las Vegas and Florida to dance at their National competition. She loves ballroom dancing and has had the opportunity to train with a professional Flamenco dancer in Seville, Spain. Mae has also trained at the Boston Ballet's summer program. When home for the summer Mae continues to take heels classes at Zello Dance Studios. She is currently dancing in BGSU's Repertory Company and a first-year teacher at The Beat. Mae is excited to bring her skills and passion for dance to our students.

Adrienne Letner is two-time alumni from Bowling Green State University; Exercise Science & Dance minor in her undergraduate career and Kinesiology major in her Master’s program. Adrienne has taught for various conferences & organizations, and her choreography has been showcase throughout Ohio in competitions, concerts, and recitals. Adrienne has been teaching dance at The Beat Dance Company since 2015. Her interests in dance revolve around emotive performance, dynamic group work, and artistic exploration within contemporary dance. As an instructor, Adrienne aims to develop a positive work ethic in her dancers while building their self-esteem and confidence both on and off the stage. Adrienne wishes to encourage love for movement in an educational, dynamic and team-centered atmosphere… all while having a lot of fun, too!

Colleen Murphy holds a B.S. in Education with a dance major from BGSU, and a M.A. in Dance Education from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. As a dance major at BGSU, Colleen performed with the University Dance Alliance and University Performing Dancers, received the Dance Talent Scholarship, and participated in multiple American College Dance Festivals. As a graduate student in Hawaii, Colleen studied on a full tuition scholarship. She performed with the UH Dance Ensemble, Hawaii Opera Theatre, and Convergence Dance Theatre. She initiated the rhythm tap program for the University of Hawaii Outreach College. Colleen currently serves as a fulltime faculty member and Dance Program Coordinator at BGSU. Colleen has taught at Toledo School for the Arts, Owens Community College, and in multiple private dance studios across Ohio, Michigan, and Hawaii. She has served as a national dance competition adjudicator and master class instructor for Rainbow Connection, a Las Vegas-based company, and Shine of Toronto, Ontario. Colleen specializes in tap dance choreography, and has won numerous awards across the dance competition circuit including Teacher of the Year at the Kids Artistic Revue national competition.

Kate Myers is a Northwest Ohio based contemporary choreographer, teacher, pilates instructor, and personal trainer. Her love of dance and fitness began in Toledo, Ohio under the direction of Jessica Brutlag where she trained in ballet, jazz, contemporary, tap, hip-hop, and pilates. At a young age she started cross-training to help with joint mobility, flexibility, and overall strength and fell in love with pilates and resistance training. She continued her education in NYC by attending Marymount Manhattan College. In the spring of 2022, Myers graduated with a B.F.A. in Dance with concentrations in Choreography and Modern, and also completed her 500 hour Comprehensive Pilates Instructor certification through Club Pilates. In college she presented 7 works and received the single “Gold Key” in Choreography for her graduating class. One of those pieces was "Invest(in)g Nepho" which was also commissioned for "Art Bath" at the Blue Building in Manhattan in February of 2022, as well as the OhioDance Festival in April of 2023. Myers has worked closely with the artists Peter Chu, Alexandra Damiani, Riley Watts, Adam Barrach, Sonya Tayeh, Andrew Winghart, and many more. She has also trained with the companies of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Axis Connect, Entity Contemporary Dance and Chuthis. In the summer of 2023 she became a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and was inspired to do this while recovering from her ACL reconstructive surgery. Currently, Myers is teaching contemporary, modern, ballet, improv, and pilates/personal training to clients and dancers all over the country.

Alexa Piccirillo received a Bachelor’s degree in dance from Bowling Green State University in 2018. She has been dancing since the age of 3, with her favorite styles being jazz and contemporary. Alexa was a member and president of the University Dance Alliance organization during her time at BGSU. She has trained at studios in Perrysburg, Findlay, and even The Beat for her last two years of high school. Alexa has been a dance instructor for 6 years, with experience in all levels and styles of dance. The beginning of 2019, Alexa started working for Turn it Up Dance Challenge, a competition company, serving as a backstage crew member as well as assisting with social media posts throughout the season. Alexa strives to continue her passion for dance by dancing professionally and to share her love for dance with people of all ages.

Emily Ritchie is from Dayton, Ohio. She began her professional dance training with Barbara Pontecorvo at Pontecorvo Ballet Studios. In high school, she trained with Dayton Ballet under the direction of Karen Russo Burke. During her time at Dayton Ballet, she was a company member of Dayton Ballet II, a pre-professional training company. Emily enjoyed performing alongside the professional company in Karen Russo Burke’s The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty: The Story of Briar Rose, and Dracula Bloodlines. In Dayton Ballet School productions, she had the opportunity to perform many featured roles such as Puss and Boots and Beauty Fairy from Sleeping Beauty and Marie Taglioni’s role in Pas De Quatre. She continued her dance training over the summer at Cincinnati Ballet and Indianapolis Ballet where she had the opportunity to train with Sabir Yapparov, Victoria Lyras, and Roberta Wong. Emily is currently pursuing a Biochemistry degree with a minor in dance at Bowling Green State University. Since enrolling at BGSU, she’s had the opportunity to choreograph for BGSU’s Dance Department Concerts and received 2nd Place from The Art of Diversity Showcase (BGSU) with her original work, Still Don’t Know My Name. Additionally, Emily received the Joe E. Brown Award of Excellence as a Newcomer Dancer for the 2021-2022 Mainstage Season from BGSU’s Department of Theatre and Film. Outside of performing, she has enjoyed teaching ballet for the past three years to the next generation. Emily would like to thank her friends and family for their continuous love and support.

Reagan Schuerman graduated from Indiana University in 2023 with a B.A. in art history and a minor in dance. She has been dancing since she was two years old, studying tap, jazz, ballet, hip-hop, contemporary, modern, musical theatre, and African dance styles. Reagan danced at The Beat for 11 years, joining in the studio's first season in 2008. While at The Beat, Reagan was a member of the competition team, participating in competitions and conventions across Michigan and Ohio. Her awards include the Solo Scholarship and an MVP award, as well as invitations to participate in the New York Dance Experience and Hollywood Dance Experience. While in college, Reagan was a member of Hip Hop Conxion and The Movement Cooperative where she had the opportunity to take classes in a variety of styles as well as perform pieces of student choreography for the IU community. She has studied under several professionals such as Lexi Stillianos, Cassie Dzienny, Berry Stafford, Lauren Haughton Gillis, and Suave. Reagan is excited to be back home teaching at The Beat as she shares not only her extensive knowledge of dance and its history, but her joy and love of dance with the next generation of dancers!

Katrina Staup of Dayton, OH recently graduated from Bowling Green State University with a major in Human Development and Family Studies. Katrina was a 4-year member of the BGSU Dance Team and served as assistant coach for one season. Katrina began dancing at age 3 at Terres Dance Worksop. While at Terres Katrina was a member of the Terres Dance Team and the Miami Valley Dance Ballet Company. Katrina has traveled to New York and Chicago for master classes and the Youth American Grand Prix ballet competition. Katrina currently serves as head coach for the BGSU Dance Team and is into her second year on faculty at The Beat. Katrina is eager for this new chapter of life and loves being a mentor and teacher to all of the amazing individuals at The Beat Dance Company.