Bernie Bernloehr
 

Bernie began dancing at the age of 3. Over the years, she trained and competed in a wide range of styles including Ballet, Pointe, Contemporary, Lyrical, Jazz, Tap, and Hip Hop. She spent 8 years dancing competitively, attending numerous regional and national competitions, workshops, and conventions. Bernie also performed in several ballet productions, took part in the Twin Cities Tap Festival, and appeared in a variety of other special events and showcases.

For the past 5 years, Bernie has been teaching and choreographing, sharing her passion with the next generation of dancers. Her choreography has earned 3 choreography awards, as well as multiple first place and top overall scores at regional & national competitions.

Paris Becker 

With over 25 years of dance experience, Paris brings a whole lot of passion, energy, and joy to the studio. Trained extensively in classical Balanchine-style ballet, Paris also specializes in lyrical, musical theatre and American-style ballroom dancing, blending technique with expressive performance to create a dynamic learning environment for dancers of all levels.

Throughout the years, Paris has performed in productions such as the Moscow Ballet’s Nutcracker, and local renditions of The Wizard of Oz, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Aladdin. While attending the University of Minnesota, Paris joined the competitive ballroom dance team, quickly earning national rankings in Waltz and Rumba. After college, Paris was able to work and travel as a professional ballroom dancer before an injury shifted her focus to teaching in her home state of Minnesota.

In class, Paris is known for her bubbly personality, creative choreography, and a fun, upbeat teaching style that keeps students motivated and smiling. Whether it's a dancer’s very first class or they’re training for competition, Paris fosters a supportive and joyful atmosphere where hard work and artistry go hand in hand.

Dance has always been more than movement for Paris—it’s about expression, confidence, and connection—and that’s the energy brought into every class.

 Maddie Buffie

Maddie began dancing at the age of 3 and has spent the last 15 years immersed in the world of dance. She competed for 5 of those years and has trained in a wide variety of styles including Lyrical, Jazz, Hip Hop, Acro, Contemporary, Ballet, and Tap. In high school, Maddie expanded her dance education by taking additional classes in Modern, Swing, Musical Theater, and more.

A highlight of her high school experience was choreographing a jazz piece for the Rosemount High School Dance Show. Maddie also has a strong background in gymnastics, with 8 years of training and a passion for Acro Dance, which was further ignited after attending the Acrobatic Arts workshop.

She began teaching in 2022 and works with both recreational and competition dancers. Maddie loves working with students of all ages and is dedicated to helping each dancer discover their passion for dance—and hold on to it.

Monique Clevenger 

Monique Clevenger began dancing at the age of 3. She studied dance at Nancy Raddatz Dance Studio, Larkin Dance Studio, Andahazy School of Classical Ballet, and Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts. As a competitive dancer for Larkin Dance Studio, she won awards at the regional and national level. She continued her studies in Los Angeles at Joe Tremaine Dance Center, EDGE Performing Arts Center, and in New York at Broadway Dance Center. In college, Monique founded and was instructor/choreographer of the SMU Dance Team at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. While living in Hawaii, she majored in performing arts at the University of Hawaii at Hilo and had the opportunity to choreograph with Celeste Staton, UH Hilo Dance Director. She has trained with dance legends including Ted Kivitt, Michelle Lucci, Joe Tremaine, and Tyce Diorio. Her performances include work for Disney and Mall of America. 
 
For many years, Monique has been teaching recreational and competitive dance classes in tap, jazz, lyrical, ballet, musical theater, hip hop, and creative movement to dancers of all ages. Her experience includes teaching the Saint Mary’s University baseball team strength and flexibility classes and teaching ballet and jazz dance to gymnastics teams at TAGS gymnastics. 
 
Monique is a graduate of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota with a B.S. in Business Management. She aims to instill the love of dance and self confidence in all of her students. She is excited to be a part of this upcoming dance season at IMDC! 

 Jennifer Kerkhoff

Jennifer fell in love with dance at just three years old and has never looked back. She’s trained in ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, and hip hop, and her love for teaching and choreography has grown over more than 30 years. For 20 of those years, she proudly shared her passion as an instructor at Dance Connection in Rosemount, MN.

She brings a wealth of experience in multiple styles, including ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, acro for dancers, and musical theatre. As a competition team instructor, Jennifer has earned numerous accolades, including choreography awards, special judges' awards, overall high scores, and multiple first-place titles for her teams, solos, duets, and trios.

Jennifer continues to grow as a dancer and educator through ongoing training at prestigious events such as Jump, Nuvo, 24 Seven, Radix, The Dance Awards, DancerPalooza, The Pulse, West Coast Dance Alliance, The Dance Teachers Expo (Las Vegas), and The Dance Teacher Summit (New York). She has had the privilege of studying with renowned artists including Mia Michaels, Mandy Moore, Travis Wall, Denise Wall, Talia Favia, Teddy Forance, Lex Ishimoto, Mike Minery, Anthony Morigerato, and Katy Spreadbury.

In addition to her dance background, Jennifer holds an Associate of Arts degree, a Bachelor of Social Work with a minor in Sociology, and a Master’s degree in Special Education. She currently works as a Special Education teacher in a local school district.

Jennifer continues to be deeply committed to her dance community and finds great joy in mentoring her students. She treasures the lasting relationships she has built with both dancers and their families and feels honored to be a part of their growth, both in and out of the studio.

Izzy Naumann 

Izzy has been dancing since the age of four and quickly fell in love with it. She has trained extensively in jazz, tap, lyrical, ballet, contemporary, acro, and hip hop, and spent eight years competing. Her favorite styles are lyrical and contemporary, where she enjoys expressing creativity and emotion through movement.

After graduating high school in 2023, Izzy has stayed active in the dance world by teaching private technique lessons during the summers and assisting in classes whenever she can. She has a passion for helping dancers improve their technique and skills, build confidence, and reach their personal goals. Izzy creates a positive, fun environment where dancers feel supported, challenged, and inspired to keep growing both as performers and as individuals.

Tammy Nelson

Tammy grew up dancing and twirling in her mom’s dance studio, (Pat Peare School of Dance & Stage Arts), where she was a competition dancer and later on became an instructor. She has danced around Minnesota (Twin Cities, Aitkin, Anoka, St. Cloud), and multiple other places in the United States (Las Vegas, New York, Hawaii, Nebraska, Illinois, South Dakota), she even danced in honor of the Queen in Canada.

Throughout her dancing career she has brought home countless awards and championships and has performed on TV and was even in an MTV music video. As an instructor, her students widened her awards and recognitions as well as her travel log adding Disney World, Iowa, Branson, Kansas City and even the Caribbean on cruise ships. Tammy has performed in and brought students to many parades (including the Aquatennial and the St. Paul Winter Carnival parades, as well as numerous County Fairs and community shows. She has even entertained at the Minnesota State Fair many times.

Tammy has been teaching for over 40 years and is still in touch with many of her students. She loves sharing her joy of dance just as much today as she did teaching her first class decades ago.

Gina Penn 

Gina Penn has been dancing since the age of 4 when her grandfather signed her up for a ballet class to correct a hip defect. Shortly after, her hip issue was solved, and a love of dance emerged!  Her training in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical and pointe began at Paulyn’s Dance Studio in Norfolk, Nebraska, and continued during her years at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education and participated in UNL’s Orchesis Dance Program. 

For more than 25 years Gina has been teaching both competitive and recreational dance for all ages in a variety of styles.  Her solos, duets, and group dances have won numerous awards at regional and national dance competitions including judge’s choice, encore performance and entertainment, choreography recognition, and top overall awards. 

Gina has continued her dance training over the years by attending master classes, workshops, and conventions with Tap Dogs, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Hubbard Street Dance Company, Savion Glover, Laurie Johnson at Tremaine, Broadway Dance Center in New York, and others. 

While Gina loves all styles of dance, her biggest passion lies within the rhythms and beats of tap dancing. She is excited to join the Inspired Motion Dance Center staff this year and share her love of dance with all the IMDC dancers! Get ready for some fast feet!