Meredith started dancing at the age of 3 and was a competitive dancer for 15 years graduating from Spotlight Productions in 2011.  She has trained in ballet, lyrical, jazz, tap, musical theater, and hip hop and has won many regional and national titles in her dance career as well as dance convention titles around the United States.  One memory that stands out to Meredith during her dance career is when she traveled to Dallas, TX to participate in Worlds with her fellow teammates.  Meredith taught her first solo during her senior year and started teaching dance classes in 2011/2012.  Her passion for dance is shared through teaching.  Meredith started teaching at Yackel in 2013 where she teaches and choreographs for Company competition teams, solos, and specialty groups.  She has been recognized for her choreography as well as overall achievements at regional and national competitions.  Meredith had choreography recently recognized for the Industry Dance Awards.  Her choreography continues to be at the top of MN's amazing talent and we are so proud to have her as our lead Company choreographer.  

Alyssa began her dance journey at Yackel Dance at just 3 years old and graduated in 2018 after 15 years as a competitive dancer. Throughout her training, she studied a wide variety of styles, including Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Ballet, and Musical Theater.

At the age of 12, Alyssa began assisting Beth in classes and quickly discovered her passion for teaching. She has always loved not only dancing but also helping others grow and develop their skills.

During her competitive dance career, Alyssa earned numerous overall high-score and title awards. One of her proudest accomplishments was being crowned Miss Masquerade in 2015, and she treasures the memories she made during her unforgettable senior season alongside her teammates.

Alyssa officially began her teaching career during her senior year of high school. Today, she teaches both competitive and recreational dancers, working with teams as well as specialty groups, duos, trios, and soloists. She is passionate about inspiring dancers of all ages while helping them build confidence, technique, and a lifelong love of dance.

Kelsey grew up dancing competitively in the Twin Cities for 15 years. She participated in musicals and was also the choreographer for a summer musical theater camp for 4 years. After graduating high school, she went on to dance in College at Augustana in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. While the dance team was great, she found a new, fulfilling passion in teaching dance at a studio in the genres of ballet, tap, jazz and lyrical. Soon after obtaining her Bachelor of Arts in Nursing, she moved back to the Twin Cities. She was focused on building her nursing career and starting a family, but still was being called upon for choreography. The passion for teaching never left and she found herself quitting her nursing job to pursue her calling full time. Kelsey was the Recreational Program Director for a Twin Cities dance studio for over 8 years. She was also heavily involved with competitive dance classes and the company teams. Kelsey has run summer turn and technique camps to help dancers achieve goals for the following dance season. She has experience in choreographing in multiple styles of dance and for multiple ages and levels. She has gained recognition for her top winning routines. Kelsey focuses on the potential each dancer brings into the studio and encourages them to take risks in exploring it. While exploring the potential each dancer has and what they are capable of, she also values bringing in the dancer’s own artistry in creating. She lives by the phrase, “willing is winning” and brings this mantra to each class. Kelsey believes the greatest gift of all in this work, is to see a dancer have their own reaction to accomplishing something they didn’t know they could do; how proud of themselves they are and the smile and outer shining that comes with it. Kelsey looks forward to being a part of the team and working with such hungry and talented dancers.

MaryClaire is from Charleston, SC. She trained with Charleston City Ballet, and graduated high school from South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts. She was also a trainee at Ballet West, where she had the opportunity to perform lead roles in many Ballet West Academy productions, including Balanchine’s Who Cares?. While training full-time at Ballet West, MaryClaire also pursued her BFA in dance performance from the University of Utah. With TCB, MaryClaire has danced the roles of Snow Queen and Flower Queen in A Minnesota Nutcracker and the Wife in Pink Floyd’s The Wall: A Rock Ballet. MaryClaire is a current Company Member of the Twin City Ballet.

Olivia is a professional ballet dancer from Tulsa, Oklahoma. She began her journey in ballet at the age of five, when she took her very first class and instantly fell in love with the art form. She trained at Tulsa Ballet and Theatre Arts under Pia Russo, Stephanie Murrish, Daniil Gaifullin, and Andres Figueroa, and after graduating high school, she joined BalletMet in Columbus, OH as a trainee. There she performed in numerous productions including the world premiere of Edwaard Liang’s Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, George Balanchine’s Western Symphony, and George Balanchine’s Walpurgisnacht.
In 2023, she joined Twin Cities Ballet as an apprentice and was later promoted to a company artist. Some of her favorite roles with the company include a Friend in Coppélia and a Flower Demi-Soloist in The Nutcracker.
Olivia has been teaching since 2021 and is a certified Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) instructor, a program designed to enhance dancers’ strength, alignment, and muscle memory. She finds great joy in guiding her students to grow in strength, artistry, and confidence while discovering their own love for ballet.

Since the age of two, Grace's passion for dance has been a driving force in her life. She danced competitively for 13 years with the last 6 of those years being at Yackel Dance Studio. Grace is trained in various genres including tap, jazz, lyrical, musical theater, and hip hop. During her years dancing at Yackel, she also spent her time as a teacher assistant, which is where she discovered her strong passion and love for teaching.  Upon graduating high school in 2020, Grace joined the Yackel staff where she now teaches and choreographs for recreational classes, Company competition teams, solos, duo/trios and specialty groups. She truly enjoys working with kids of all ages. 

Beyond the dance world, Grace graduated in 2024 from the University of St. Thomas with a degree in Exercise Science and Nutrition and is currently pursuing her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree at St. Catherine University. Grace is also a certified Pilates Reformer instructor and finds joy in sharing the transformative power of Pilates with both children and adults.

A proud member of the Yackel family, Grace looks forward to the exciting chapters yet to come. Her enthusiasm for dance, coupled with her commitment to holistic well-being, shapes a narrative of continuous growth that she hopes to instill in her dancers.

Paula grew up as a competitive gymnast in Michigan. After graduating from highschool she went on to do gymnastics at the University of Michigan her Freshman and Sophomore years. At that point she decided to retire from competitive gymnastics and focus on school and coaching at a local gym.

Paula graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. During that time she started her family and began her career as a Registered Nurse. 

Paula moved to Minnesota in 2005 continuing her career as a nurse until 2012. In 2011, when one of her daughters began dancing, she was asked to teach acro lessons at her daughter’s studio. That reignited Paula’s  passion for teaching. She has spent the past thirteen years teaching acrobatic dance at various twin cities dance studios as well as private lessons from her home studio.

In 2020 Paula decided to become a certified acrobatic dance instructor to ensure she was providing  the highest quality acrobatic dance instruction to her students. She is proudly certified through world renowned Acrobatic Arts and believes strongly in the quality of their acro programs, which focus on technique, skill progression, and most importantly safety. Paula’s teaching style is structured and utilizes the Acrobatic Arts curriculum and their abundant resources.

Paula loves working with dancers of all ages and skill levels. Her passion for teaching acrobatic dance, her love for her students, and her positive friendly personality have helped lead to her success as an acro dance teacher. She strives to motivate and encourage each dancer to reach their fullest potential and to most importantly believe in themselves and their unique talents. Paula is excited to join our team and work with our dancers.

Jasmine started dancing at the age of three and has never looked back. She danced at Mauri's School of Dance. She went on to dance for Apple Valley Dance Team from freshman to senior year. She worked as a dance instructor for Just For Kix for three years. She went on to coach for Apple Valley and Moundsview High School dance teams. Jasmine is trained in Hip Hop, Jazz, High Kick, African Dance, turns and jumps.She loves to clean dances and work on across the floor. She has two kids that dance at Yackel and is so excited to share this experience with them. She is so excited to work with your kids.