Meet Our Staff
Sylvia Schourek is the owner and artistic director of Superior School of Dance. She began dancing at the age of 9 at the SSOD and went on to earn her BA with a double major in Dance and Art at Western Michigan University. In addition to her experience in Ballet, Pointe, Modern, Jazz, Hip Hop, Tap, Belly Dance and Ballroom, she has performed in numerous plays, musicals, and operas. While in college, she had the privilege of working with such artists as Dianne McIntyre and Robert Battle (currently the Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater), as well as performing in several guest artist, faculty, and student works. She attended the American College Dance Festival and was also a member of Hip Hop ConnXion-Rhythmic Soul Project.
In 2009, she moved to Minneapolis, where she took classes, taught, performed and presented choreography at a variety of venues while working as the Curriculum/Performance/Costume Coordinator at Inspiration Performing Arts Center. In 2014, she moved back to the area as Artistic Director of SSOD, purchasing the business in 2015.
Outside the studio, she has choreographed for productions of The Producers at Michigan Tech University and Guys and Dolls with the Calumet Players. As a co-founder of 47 North fusion belly dance troupe, she can be seen regularly performing locally with her shimmy sisters.
Sylvia has a passion for sharing the full spectrum of dance with her students, from technique and choreography to dance history, theory, and vocabulary. Her mission is to create well-rounded dancers who can carry a lifelong love and appreciation of the arts throughout their life, no matter the path they choose.
Jeana Collins started dancing in middle school at a local studio where she had training in ballet, tap, jazz, and hip-hop. In high school she danced for the Duluth East Side Steppers where she competed in jazz and kick, and performed hip-hop and pom. While earning her undergraduate degree, Jeana took jazz, ballet, modern, and tap classes at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD). During her junior and senior years of undergrad, Jeana worked as a teaching assistant for jazz and modern and attended the American College Dance Festival where she took classes in jazz, ballet, lyrical, tap, musical theatre, African, Latin, and multiple ballroom styles. In addition to dancing in/for the theatre department at UMD, Jeana danced for the dance club Attitudes and worked at a local dance studio, Elite Dance Productions, teaching ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, modern, and hip-hop to recreational and competitive students ages 2 to adult. Jeana currently teaches chemical engineering at Michigan Tech, coaches the Michigan Tech Dance Team, and is a member of 47 North Fusion Belly Dance
Formerly director of the Superior School of Dance (1988—1999), Donna Armistead brings her professional performance experience and lifelong study of the Vaganova, Cecchetti and Royal Academy of Dancing syllabi to a series of master classes for intermediate and advanced students.
A proud native of Florida, Donna began her dance career as a junior member of the Palm Beach Ballet Company and student of Jo Anna Kneeland, whose method of applied kinesiology revolutionized the teaching of classical ballet and was adopted by such noted institutions as the Harkness Ballet and the David Howard School. She was a summer scholarship student at Harkness and later performed with the Miami Ballet, Ballet Dance Theatre (Boston) and Buffalo Ballet Theatre where she was a principal dancer. Among her influential teachers she numbers Marie Hale, Robert Davis, Percival Borde, Aubrey Hitchens, Dianne Walker, Matt Mattox, Gus Giordano and Olga Kostritsky. Before making her home in the Upper Peninsula , she taught and choreographed in such diverse locations as New York, Florida, Colorado, California, Minnesota and Canada.
Donna holds a B.A. in Theatre from Florida Atlantic University and an M.A. in Drama from Washington University in St. Louis. Locally, her choreography has been seen in classical stagings of The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty and original works like The Secret Garden and For They Are Women’s Children, as well as being featured in productions of the Michigan Tech Theatre Company and Pine Mountain Music Festival. Also an independent theatre director, she is delighted to be affiliated once more with the Superior School of Dance.
Sara Neva is a senior at Houghton High School. She discovered her love of dance through her involvement in Musical Theater and has been in productions such as The Little Mermaid, Freaky Friday, and Alice in Wonderland. She has participated in many summer intensives including Eisenhower Dance Detroit, the Guthrie Theater triple threat program, and U.P. Summer theater institute. At SSOD she trains in jazz, ballet, modern, tap, hip hop and pointe. She has been a member of the Studio Company for several years and loves traveling with them to go to conventions and competitions. Sara is passionate about teaching and loves helping her students learn to express themselves through dance and performance.
Crystal Wang is a senior at Houghton High School. She started dancing at the age of 4, and immediately fell in love with it. Since then, she has done ballet, modern, jazz, and tap, though ballet will always hold a special place in her heart. She has also been a part of Studio 7 for several years, and has participated in many conventions and competitions with the team. Crystal has also performed in countless productions, including dancing the role of Clara in both the Minnesota Ballet Nutcracker and the Superior School of Dance Cracked. Along with dancing, Crystal also enjoys playing the piano, figure skating, and singing. She is looking forward to sharing her love of dance with her students!
Alex has been dancing for most of her life, growing a great love for the arts of choreography and motion. With experience spanning 23 years, her dance practice has focused on ballet, pointe, jazz,
hip-hop, modern, lyrical, and acro. Alex moved to the Keweenaw Peninsula from central Illinois, where her dance education began at three years old. For six years, she was a part of the competition team at her local dance studio, attending and learning from conventions and competitions in the Chicago area. She has been teaching for seven
years and is passionate about bringing dance into the hearts of her students and encouraging a love for music. Alex's hobbies and passions outside of dance include creating art, being in nature, cooking, and spending time with her friends, family, and cats.
Allison Mills started dancing at age three and regularly commandeered the entire living room floor for in-house performances. She studied classical ballet in Montana and in Minnesota, including an apprenticeship with the Continental Ballet Company and toured the Midwest for several years performing shows including The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Coppelia, and original choreography. When she left professional ballet, Allison joined the Rosemount High School Modern Dance Company and enrolled in four years of academic dance classes. In addition to ballet and modern, she explored other dance forms including raqs sharqi, jazz, dances from Guinea, and contact improv. She now performs transnational fusion styles with 47 North, the belly dance troupe she co-founded with studio owner Sylvia.
Allison has instructed a variety of dances for more than a decade. With degrees in science and journalism, Allison infuses her classes with mind-body science and mindfulness techniques so dancers can express their art with joy, prevent injuries, and develop a lifelong practice.
Allison Berryman has been dancing with the Superior School of Dance for over 25 years and teaching off and on for the past 10. While trained in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern, and Hip Hop - Allison's favorite style by far is Hip Hop. She loves the variety of styles and cultural influences that have shaped this genre of dance. Allison attended Michigan Tech for both her undergraduate degree in Management as well as her Master of Business Administration. During her time at MTU she was also a member of the dance team. Currently Allison works full time at MTU as a Project Manager. In her free time she loves hiking with her family and reading.
Robin Lieburn earned her 200-hour yoga teacher certification from the Yoga Maya Center in 2019. Currently, studying Strala yoga under Tara Stiles. She also has BS in Psychology from Michigan Technological University.
Robin loves dance and all things movement. She loves all dance forms but mostly modern and belly dance, she is a member of the 47 North fusion belly dance troupe. When she's not stretching or dancing, she's playing with her kids, fur babies, and husband.
Amber Shaw is a second year at MTU studying Materials Science and Engineering. I started dancing at age 6 after watching Dancescape Ballet Co.'s Nutcracker and falling in love with ballet. Since then, I have been trained in ballet, contemporary, lyrical ,jazz, and a bit of tap. At the end of my high school career, I had the honor of dancing as Older Clara with Dancescape Ballet Co, which was the role that made me want to start dancing in the first place. I have experience with competitive studio dance and most recently am a choreographer and competitive member of the Dance Team at MTU. I also serve on their executive board as the secretary. I look forward to teaching and continuing to educate myself in dance!
Tara Scullion is a first year student at Michigan Tech. Tara started dancing at the age of 11 and immediately fell in love. She has participated in all styles including Modern, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, Ballet, and Pointe. She has also been a member of our performance group Studio 7 for 4 years. Tara considers the girls she dances with and her instructors a second family and has been lucky enough to meet her best friends through dance. Next year Tara plans to attend Michigan Tech as a Finance and Marketing major. Tara feels grateful that she was able to pass on her love of dance to her younger sister, and now all of her students.
Elizabeth Hoy is a second-year at MTU studying exercise science with a focus in pre-med. She began her training in ballet at Planko Classical Ballet Academy in Novi, MI. In high school, she began performing with Michigan Youth Ballet where she has performed many soloist and principal roles, in ballets such as Cinderella and The Nutcracker. Elizabeth has been invited to participate in intensives including University of Michigan’s MPULSE and Star Dance Alliance’s Power Pak. She is also a two-time Universal Ballet Competition Grand Prix Finalist. Most recently she was a member of the staff dance ensemble at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and is a current member of the MTU Dance Team. This will be her first year teaching and she is excited to share her passion and love for ballet with her students.
Native San Diegan, Kayla Jaynes, received her training in classical ballet along with many other styles of dance at the California Ballet School. In 2009, she began performing professionally with the California Ballet Company, as a corps de ballet member and retired in December of 2017. She performed in countless ballets, some of which include: Thor Sutowski’s Swan Lake, Charles Bennett’s Dracula, Septime Webre’s The Great Gatsby, Maxine Mahon’s The Nutcracker, Giselle, Alice in Wonderland, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Sleeping Beauty, Romanian Rhapsodies, Les Sylphides, Toni Pimble’s Cinderella, Wayne Davis’ Souvenir, and Francisco Gella’s Suite Vivaldi. 2011 started her teaching career, working at various dance schools around San Diego County. Miss Kayla moved to the UP in 2018 and continues to share her knowledge and passion for classical ballet with the next generation.
Abby Mauno danced at the Superior School of Dance for 12 years and studied tap, jazz, and hip-hop with tap being her favorite style. She graduated in Spring 2021 with a B.S. in Exercise Science and two minors in Psychology and Pre-Health Professions at Michigan Tech University. She is hoping to continue her studies to become a Physical Therapist. She is currently studying to become a Physical Therapist through Central Michigan University's Satellite Program which is located on Michigan Tech's Campus. She is excited to teach her seventh year of dance and enthused to share her love for dance with children.
Marguerite Goldman is a first year student at Michigan Technological University studying Economics. Marguerite has been dancing at the Superior School of Dance for seven years and teaching for two. She trains in many styles including HipHop, Ballet, Modern, Jazz, and Pointe, with Modern being her favorite. She is also a member of Studio 7, the SSOD competitive dance team, and travels to conventions and competitions throughout the year. Marguerite is passionate about dance and is excited for the opportunity to continue sharing her passion with younger dancers!
Sydney Vallier is a student at Michigan Tech studying psychology. She has been dancing since she was 4. In the 15 years that she has been dancing, she has done ballet, pointe, jazz, modern, contemporary, hip hop, pom, and acro. Jazz and contemporary are her favorite styles. She was in a pre professional ballet company (Sawnee Ballet Theatre) for 5 years and did Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, and other notable performances. She loves sharing her love of dance with her students and found a love for teaching while teaching a ballet class her junior year of high school. Sydney can also play the flute and saxophone and is in one of Michigan Tech’s jazz combos.
Lily Ashburn has been dancing with the Superior School of Dance for 17 years, and has been teaching at the school for six of those years. During her time as a student with the studio, Lily studied ballet, jazz, modern, hip hop, and pointe, and was a member of the Studio 7 performance and competition group for three years. She graduated in May 2023 from Michigan State University with a BA in English and a minor in dance, and was a member of MSU’s Orchesis Modern Dance Company. In her free time, Lily enjoys reading, playing board games with friends, and hanging out with her dog, Kobe.