A dance family where dance lessons come with life lessons.

Core Values

  • Trust is the foundation of the relationship between students, staff, teachers and parents. With trust and open, honest communication we can all work together to carry out our mission. Questions and concerns should be discussed in a kind and respectful manner.

  • Treat others the way you would like to be treated. Spread kindness and love everywhere. We are respectful in all interactions.

  • Own up to your mistakes as well as your wins. If you need help, ask for it. Do what you say you are going to do.

  • We support each other, celebrate with each other, build each other up, and pick each other up when we are down. We are positive in our thoughts, conversations, and actions. This helps build a community of trust, respect, and joy.

  • Show understanding for others. Be kind and welcoming to others. Listen to understand, not just to hear.

  • Be thankful for your teachers for the hard work they put in. Be thankful for your peers for helping you along the way. Be thankful for your parents for all they do for you.

  • Be original. Come up with new ideas and ways to do things. Don’t try to be like everyone else. Don’t be afraid to step outside of the box and try something new!

  • Do everything to the best fo your ability and with passion. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. Follow through on your commitments. Take chances and push yourself to new levels.

  • Above all, have fun and laugh!

Our Team

 

Stephanie Reitz

Miss Stephanie began dancing at the age of 3 under Sandra Bearman at Dance LTD. When she was 14 she took her dancing to the next level by competing on the Midwest in Motion dance team. She began assisting dance classes at age 17. Through assisting dance, she found her joy and passion for teaching children. She went on to become a dance teacher the next year and began diving into the world of education. She attended Indiana-Purdue University Fort Wayne and achieved her bachelor’s degree in early childhood and elementary education while continuing to teach dance. Under the direction of LaLinda Myers, she helped to build and create the studio’s competition team and acrobatic program. In 2018, Stephanie received her certification through Acrobatic Arts and is the only certified teacher in Fort Wayne. In 2020, she was asked to take over the studio. Not wanting to see her childhood studio go, Stephanie took over the location, but had to change the name due to legal reasons. She founded Three Rivers Dance Academy and is the current director. She’s looking forward to a successful fourth season for the 2023-2024 dance season!

 

Melissa Koenemann

Miss Melissa is 28 years old. She has been dancing since she was three! She started right here in this studio under the name Dance LTD with her sister, the owner, Miss Stephanie Reitz. She has been teaching dance for six years! In 2019, she graduated from Purdue University Fort Wayne with her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. She is working at Goodwill industries of Northeast Indiana as a student transition coordinator. Miss Melissa enjoys spending time with her husband and two year old daughter, Ashton. She also has a dog named Tilly. Tilly is a Bernadoodle. Miss Melissa enjoys spending time with her family!

Courtney Loshe

Miss Courtney started taking dance classes at Dance LTD at the age of 3 for a total of 15 years.  The dance disciplines that she has studied include tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, contemporary, clogging, and hip hop.  Courtney started as an assistant teacher at Dance LTD, assisting with dance classes from 2006 to 2008.  She has been a dance instructor since the fall of 2008.  While in college at IPFW, Miss Courtney studied tap, jazz, ballet, modern, ballroom, and dance history.  Some of Courtney’s dance experiences have included:  

·  Tap dancing in her high school musical Anything Goes (2005).   

·  Going to multiple DMI (Dance Makers Inc.) dance conventions in Indianapolis and Chicago, where she took classes from distinguished choreographers.

·  Earning a national honor in a group dance piece at a DMI competition in Chicago (2007).    

·  Auditioning and performing in the dance troupe at the 2007 LCMS National Youth Gathering in Orlando, FL.  

·  Auditioning and performing in IPFW’s Purely Dance productions as a tap dancer in 2008, 2009, and 2011.  

·  Auditioning and dancing in IPFW’s Senior Student Choreographer’s Lab in 2012.  

Courtney has a Bachelor’s degree in business with a concentration in accounting from IPFW (2013).  She is a licensed CPA working as a tax accountant for Perkins Schaffer CPAs, Inc. in New Haven, IN.  She enjoys attending dance workshops throughout the year to improve her dance skills and learn from internationally accredited dancers/teachers.  The 2023-2024 dance season will be Courtney’s 31st year of dance, and she is looking forward to carrying on the Dance LTD inspiration as a dance instructor at Three Rivers Dance Academy!

Vanessa Sims

Miss Vanessa has enjoyed dancing and cheering for years! Teaching dance has been her passion and she has enjoyed teaching dance for the last four years. Miss Vanessa has taken and taught various styles including acrobatics, ballet, lyrical, jazz, tap, and competitive cheer and gymnastics. What she loves most about teaching is seeing her students grow and have fun! She enjoys making her classes fun, supportive and focused on helping dancers become the best they can be! Miss Vanessa really enjoys working with kids and works for FWCS as an IT technician. She is looking forward to working with our dancers!.

Sam Reyna

Mr. Sam has been dancing for 12 years. He began during his senior year of high school. While Mr. Sam has explored several styles of street dance, his foundation mainly comes from studying popping and locking. After high school he went to IUPUI to pursue a degree in Computer Science. While there he served as the president of the IUPUI Hip Hop Dance Crew for 3 years. While working on his degree, Mr. Sam operated the IUPUI Hip Hop Dance Crew, which grew in size every year! During his free time, Mr. Sam typically enjoys relaxing at home or hanging out with friends and family. Even during his free time dance finds its way into his schedule whether its meeting up with fellow dancers or just exploring music at home. 

Aurora Kulp

Miss Aurora is an Oregon native but moved to Indiana at 2 years old. She started in gymnastics at age four and competed until the age of 9 when she switched over to dance and quickly fell in love. Aurora studied and competed in many genres of dance but her favorites to do and teach are acrobatics and jazz. Aurora graduated from North Side High school in 2021 where she got to dance in their top program all 4 years as well as choreograph classes and earned credits for doing so. Aurora danced for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants from 2021-2023 and is looking forward to more professional dance opportunities.

 

Sydney Chappell

Miss Sydney has been dancing for 16 years and has been assisting and teaching at the studio for the past few years. She loves going to dance competitions and conventions to meet new people and learn more about dance. This past summer Miss Sydney helped run dance camps for the studio. Miss Sydney is looking forward to her sophomore year at Ball State majoring in dance and communications. Besides dance, Sydney loves her two dogs, Chester and Henry, traveling, and making memories with her friends. She also enjoys photography. Sydney is very sad to be leaving the studio, but excited for more adventures at Ball State. She can’t wait to come back to sub and help out from time to time. Her favorite part about dance are the friendships that are built and loving community.

Stephanie Velazquez

Miss Stephanie is a senior at Saint Francis, majoring in art education. She enjoys working with kids and even taught at a day camp this summer. She did color guard in middle school and high school. It was through color guard that she found her love for dance. She learned jazz, ballet, and contemporary dance skills and technique as a part of her color guard training. She enjoyed her time on color guard and learning new dance styles and skills. Stephanie has a pet cat named Greg and a dog named Firulais. In her free time, Stephanie enjoys rollerblading and painting. Miss Stephanie is excited to be joining the Three Rivers Dance Academy again this season. She can’t wait to see all the dancer’s smiling faces as they learn something new each week!

 

Maia Cour

Miss Maia has been dancing for 15 years. She started with Dance LTD when she was 3 years old. She danced for 8 years as a part of the Dance LTD and Three Rivers Dance Academy competition team. Her favorite styles are contemporary and lyrical. She loves dance and especially competing. Maia also has been assisting in the studio for various classes and completed student teaching as a part of the apprentice program. She loves to help teach the younger dancers. Maia is a freshmen at Purdue University Fort Wayne. She is excited to be pursing her elementary education degree. Miss Maia is excited for another great season. She can't wait to teach and support the studio's younger dances in their dance journey!

Arielle Sizemore

Miss Arielle has studied many different styles of dance for over 16 years which include: hip hop, jazz, tap, and ballet. However, hip hop and jazz have always been Miss Arielle's ultimate passions! Her inspiration to dance has always been Michael Jackson and Paula Abdul. She has also studied gymnastics for 8 years and cheerleading for 5 years. While in college, Miss Arielle danced for the University of Saint Francis's Cougettes for 2 years. Miss Arielle is 28 years young and she goes by the name "mommy" to her two little girls at home. She is very excited to be sharing her passion with our youngest dancers this season!

 

Samantha Smith

Miss Samantha hails from the great land of Ohio and graduated high school from Antwerp Local High School. She spent a few years at Bowling Green State University before transferring to IPFW where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. While growing up in Ohio, Miss Samantha attended dance regularly until she graduated high school in 2012. For most of her dance career that studio was her home away from home. It had been designated as my safe place where she could just focus on the music, the counts, and the feeling of nailing another new step. Her grandma was the person who suggested she start taking dance at the age of 9 and she’s not entirely sure that her grandma knew what she was in for when she made that suggestion. What her grandma and that studio gave Miss Samantha was passion, joy, self-confidence, and determination. The skills she learned during her time as a dance student were the things that propelled her throughout her entire adult life there after. Miss Samantha have been consistently seeking out every opportunity to rejoin the world of dance and thanks to a dear friend of hers and our fearless director, Miss Samantha now gets to give the kids she interacts with the same joy and passion for dance that she still has to this day. It is Miss Samantha’s sincere hope, as a dance teacher, that she can give children even a fraction of what dance gave to her. She can’t wait to begin building up new little dancers and show them this wonderful world of dance and everything that it can possibly be for them, even years later!

Kali Boxell

Miss Kali has been dancing for 11 years and she was a part of the competition team at Dance LTD and Three Rivers Dance Academy for 8 years. Her favorite dance class was tap and clogging. Miss Kali has her license for cosmetology and loves being a stylist at Ulta! She also has a puppy named Luna who is a Pomeranian Huskey mix with two different colored eyes. She loves changing her hair color to fun crazy colors. She’s looking forward to another great dance season! She can’t wait to teach and help the dancers learn new things every week!

 

Judy Merkler

Miss Judy is a wife, mother and grandmother of 2 wonderful children Greg Boxell and Angie Boxell. Her 2 wonderful grandchildren Kali Boxell (20) and Jakeb Boxell (18). She started taking Kali to the dance studio when she was 7. It was very beneficial for both of them. Building confidence and making friends. When she began dancing competitively it added to the confidence and wonderful travel time together. At the same time Jakeb began his racing career at the age of 4. He now races for USAC in a D2 Midget. Judy retired in 2016 after many years working as an Administrative Assistant. When Kali had to leave dance to complete her school obligations Judy missed the excitement of attending practices, recitals and competitions. She is very delighted to be able to help Miss Stephanie and Three Rivers Dance Academy at the desk this season!