Meet Our UDOTM TEAM!
Meet our amazing team. You will find we have a true love for what we do and a love to inspire your children to go after the same.
The dream has always been to inspire our youth & build the confidence in themselves.
We have been serving dancers in the West Suburbs of Chicago since June 2013 with a studio in Sandwich IL and multiple mobile locations. Ultimate Dance opened a pop-up dance studio in downtown Plano in September 2016 which has now expanded to a permanent full running studio location in January 2017. We continue to grow our mobile program to daycares and schools in the area. In 2019 we opened our pop up Naperville dance studio that is continuously growing. We are committed to continued growth in the studio, staff and students at Ultimate Dance On The Move.
Book Your Classes Today!
Please Contact our Office at
(630)809-2010
No matter their background, experience, or level of confidence at their first class, every child that joins us at Ultimate Dance on the Move leaves a more confident child and certainly a better dancer. Our mission is inspiring the you through dance, care to join?
Meet our amazing team. You will find we have a true love for what we do and a love to inspire your children to go after the same.
Cheyanne is the owner and founder of Ultimate Dance On the Move. Dance has been in her life since she was 3 years old. She was involved in recreational, competition, and pre-professional dancing. Cheyanne has experience in gymnastics and cheerleading as well and her passion for all 3 lead to her opening a dance studio in 2013 to inspire the youth through movement and building confidence in any avenue they take at Ultimate Dance On The Move!
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Madi Childs is an Office Administrator at Ultimate Dance. She danced for 8 years and danced competitively for 6 years. She did all types of styles including ballet, lyrical, modern, jazz, musical theater, tap and hip hop. Her favorite styles were tap and hip hop.
Madi is a professional clarinetist in the Chicago area and graduated from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University in 2023 with a Bachelor’s degree in instrumental performance. She hopes to win a job playing for a major symphony orchestra someday! Outside of work and playing music, Madi enjoys Disney, baking and playing video games.
At Ultimate Dance, Madi loves getting to know the dancers and their families as well as helping prepare for the dance recitals. Being in the dance scene again is fun for her and brings back fun childhood memories from her dance days!
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Lexi has been dancing for over 18 years, receiving her technical training at Sole Dance Academy and Revolution Dance Studio. Throughout her competitive career, she has trained under and assisted many choreographers including Emily Shock, Jonas Shumpert, Justin Tyda, Mary Tisa, and Zada Cheeks. In addition to her competitive experience, Lexi led the Yorkville Varsity Dance Team as captain during her high school years, choreographing routines for the football field, basketball court, and competitive arena. Lexi continued dancing at North Central College, and served as the treasurer and president of the Cardinal Dance Company during her time as a Cardinal. She graduated from NCC with honors in 2020, earning her B.A. in Molecular Neuroscience.
Lexi has been teaching at Ultimate Dance On The Move since 2016. She is passionate about helping her students identify and achieve their dance goals, as well as explore their creativity through improvisation. She is eager to pursue these passions with her students in the upcoming year!
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Miss Felicia took her first step into the world of dance at the tender age of 2. Her journey continued as she became an integral part of her high school's dance team, eventually paving her path to a 7-year coaching tenure at St. Charles East High School. Felicia's academic accomplishments include graduating Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance, complemented by a minor in Psychology, from the University of Texas-Pan American.
In the realm of dance, Felicia has been fortunate to collaborate with esteemed guest artists, among them Neijla Yatkin, Teena Marie Custer, Maria Bermudez, Kim Karpanty, Karen Schupp, Lisa Smith, Sarah Gamblin, Edisa Weeks, Susan Douglas Roberts, Twitch, Ian Eastwood, Chris Xayarath, and many others. Notably, she has graced the stages of the American College Dance Festival and Gala. Her dedication to growth is evident in her participation in various workshops including the River North Dance Intensive, Maria Bermudez Flamenco Workshop, Arthur Murray Summer Training Workshop, Teacher Education in Dance through More Than Just Great Dancing, and a comprehensive Yoga/Pilates intensive, leading to her Pilates certification.
Currently, Felicia continues her pursuit of dance education by journeying to Chicago during her free time. Armed with over 18 years of teaching experience, she finds her deepest connection with the Modern genre. Beyond teaching, her true ardor lies in mentorship, where she aspires to positively influence her students and their families while sharing the joy of dance.
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McKenzie began her dance career at age 3. She has received technical dance training at Starr Dance Studio, Storm Dance Alliance, and Nouveau Dance Company. She also danced for her high school at Providence Catholic. She was a collegiate dancer for all 4 years she attended Southeast Missouri State University. In addition to her competitive experience, McKenzie led the Dance Team as a captain by leading workouts each morning, choreographing routines for the football field, basketball court, and National Dance Competitions. McKenzie graduated from Southeast Missouri State University earning her B.A. Nutrition and Dietetics and Minor in Spanish. She also graduated from Eastern Illinois University with her M.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics as well. McKenzie is new at Ultimate Dance on the Move and is eager to share her passion and love for dance. She wants to create a safe space for dancers, so they have the ability to express themselves through movement.
Jennifer Donahue holds her BFA in Dance Performance from Northern Illinois University. She began dancing at a young age under the instruction of Bonnie Ardelene. From there, she studied with the Milwaukee Ballet and was also accepted as a VIP for Dance Olympus. While at Northern, she studied with Randall Newsom and Judith Chitwood. She has danced with NDT in numerous performances such as Coppelia, Les Sylphide, Paquita, and The Nutcracker. She
was also a member of SoFlo Ballet Company in South Florida. Since moving back, her most recent performances were with In Flight Dance Company and Free Space, besides mounting various choreographic pieces on her many students she has also choreographed for numerous musicals such as, Suessical, The wizard of Oz, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdan and MarryPoppins. Jennifer and husband Jeff have 3 children, Ella, Ava and Ian.
Morgan has been dancing since the age of 3. Starting with ballet, then getting technical training in Kickline, Jazz, Hip-Hop, and Lyrical. In all types of dance she practiced Recreational and Competition styles. Morgan competed in out-of-state dance competitions for Hip-hop, Jazz, Kickline, and Lyrical for 7 years. After 15 years of dancing and finishing high school, Morgan went to cosmetology school. After graduating, she then went on to college to pursue phlebotomy. Morgan has experience in teaching ages 2-10 in Ballet, Hip-Hop, Jazz and Tumbling. Now Morgan stays busy with her family; Husband, Colin and 2 and 3 year old daughters, Savannah and Oakley. Her oldest daughter has joined in the dance life and has been in dance and tumbling for 2 years now. Morgan is so excited to join the ultimate dance staff and meet all of the new dancers.
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Erzsi, from Geneva, Illinois, began her dance training at the age of seven in the suburbs of Chicago. She continued her studies by attending Western Michigan University. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Lee Honors College with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance in Spring 2017. Throughout her time at WMU, Erzsi had the honor of performing Ohad Naharin’s Excerpts from “Kyr and Anaphase”, Rennie Harris’ “Continuum”, Lew Christensen’s “Con Amore”, Frank Chaves’ “Charanga”, Antony Tudor’s “Lilac Garden”, as well as original works by Peter Chu, Alivia Schaffer, Marlo Martin, Terk Lewis Waters, and multiple faculty members. Erzsi had the pleasure of performing with Western Michigan University’s touring company, Western Dance Project in their 2015-2016 season and was also selected to represent the University at the American College Dance Festival in 2016 and 2017 in ensemble pieces. After graduation she toured on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas for 8 months performing in “Marquee” and “Once Upon A Time”. That next season she was hired by Odyssey Dance Theater in Salt Lake City, Utah and performed there for one year as an ensemble member and swing, then was promoted to soloist her second season. Over the pandemic and it’s recovery period for the entertainment industry, she has been training and teaching in the Midwest. Most recently she performances as the principle dancer in Netflix’s Bridgerton Experience in Chicago this past summer.
Michael was born and raised in Illinois, has always had an interest in the performing arts. He began his love for dance in grade school, training and performing in Jazz, Tap, and Hiphop. Michael was then introduced to gymnastics/tumbling classes at GymQuest of Plainfield. Soon after, he joined the gymnastics team and competed to level 8. Reaching the age of 14, Michael was offered a coaching position at GymQuest in 2009 for their rec program. This led to 7 years of coaching rec classes and eventually team at GymQuest, where he attended many coaching/spotting clinics throughout the Chicagoland area. Michael relocated to FlipStar Gymnastics Academy in New Lenox in 2017 and continued teaching the rec and team programs. Michael ended his athletic career in gymnastics to train and perform in Ballroom, at DeSarge Dance World and MyDanceHub in Naperville, and Ballet, at Arts Ballet Conservatory. Michael began his Acrobatic Instructing career in 2022, at Elevation Dance Studio in Lemont. Currently, Michael teaches and choreographs acrobatic dance utilizing his gymnastics and dance talents. He enjoys watching the joy of his students as they gain skills and precision in their dancing. Michael is ecstatic to be joining Ultimate Dance on the Move and eager to work with the dancers to enhance their acrobatic skills
Sarah has been working at Ultimate Dance on the Move since fall of 2016. At Ultimate Dance on the Move she has taught all styles of dance, coached award winning competition teams, and taught master classes and special events. Along with Ultimate Dance, she has also taught at the Naperville Park District, Spotlight Youth Theater, and Christian Youth Theater. She has choreographed full stage musical productions, taught dance summer camps, and a variety of dance classes from ages 18 months-adult. She danced with Aurora's Project Dance team for 4 years during high school performing in lyrical, jazz, and hip-hop dances and danced at College of DuPage and Hubbard Street during her senior year of high school, she also performed as a dancer in over 20 stage productions.
Sarah graduated from North Central College in 2017 with a bachelors in Psychology and a minor in dance. While at North Central she performed with the Cardinal Dance Company and performed a solo in a choreography showcase. In summer of 2020, she graduated from Lewis University with her masters in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Counseling. Sarah loves getting to meet new students and helping them find their passion for dance and seeing her current students grow in their dance ability and confidence. Her favorite dance styles include musical theater, tap, contemporary, lyrical, jazz, and ballet. She can't wait to meet you and your student!
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Gretchen Rose Dodge (Duncan) started dancing at the age of 2, began competing at 7 & began teaching at 12 years old. She trained with competitive dance teams all over the Chicagoland area, winning choreography awards at many local & national competitions. During her time as a dancer she also got some amazing acting opportunities in recitals & summer stock as Mother Nature, a featured Angel from the Christmas Carol & Maria from the Sound of Music. After graduating high school, Gretchen was selected as one of the 6 featured dancers from Chicago to appear on “the Wade Robson Project” on MTV in 2003. This was the first dance reality series ever to air on national television making the way for such television hits as 'So you think you can dance,' 'America'sBest Dance Crew,' and 'DanceMoms.' Shortly after, she joined Xtreme Dance Force, where she is a co-director currently.
Gretchen’s education includes 3 associates degrees, bachelors inBusiness, Bachelor’s in Ministry& Theology, & a duel MBA inBusiness Administration &Human Resources. With the accumulation of dance experience, she has danced for Chingy, Chamillionaire, SouljaBoy, Tyrese & Lupe Fiasco as well as at Chicago Bulls &Milwaukee Bucks games.Throughout the years, she hastrained directly under BrianFreedman, Justin Giles, Liz Imperio, Sheila Barker, CharlesMcGowan, Jesse lee Santos, Joaquin Phoenix, Chris Judd,Wade Robson, Company DanceCompetitive circuit owner Tracie Marcineak, NappyTabs, The Jabbawackeez Crew & many more. She is trained in all styles of dance & enjoys all aspects of the performance arts including editing & producing music, writing music and performing vocals, as well as teaching &choreographing. Gretchen ha salso been a youth leader, youth pastor, & worship leader in Dallas and Shorewood and loves to invest time in the upcoming generations.
So can feel confident with your registration & your child can experience the Ultimate Dance Experience worry free!