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3682 Prairie Lake Ct, Aurora, IL 60504 (630) 978-0200

We are a dance studio based in Aurora, Illinois, founded by Danielle Masciopinto and Michelle Murnen. Together with our instructors, we teach and develop the dancers of tomorrow.

  • Proactive Team Members
  • Steve Colton
Danielle Masciopinto

CO-FOUNDER

Michelle Murnen

CO-FOUNDER

  • Rose Lee
Meet Our Amazing Faculty

  • Instructor/Choreographer

    Katie Biegel

  • Katie Biegel began dancing at the early age of 3 years old. She has trained in styles ranging from ballet, modern, contemporary, and pointe to jazz, tap, musical theatre, and hip hop. Katie studied at several studios in the Chicago-land area as both a performance and competitive dancer. In 2008, Katie began attending Indiana University where she majored in Modern/Contemporary Dance and minored in Creative Writing and Poetry. While in school she studied a wide range of subjects including modern, ballet, jazz, improvisation, musical theatre, yoga, pilates, creative movement, composition, repertory, dance history, music for dancers, dance injuries, physiology, kinesiology, and much much more. While in school, Katie performed works by Martha Graham, David Parsons, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Liz Lerman, Laurie Eisenhower, David Hochoy, Elizabeth Shea, Selene Carter, Sherilyn Foley, Roberta Wong, Laura Poole, and Gwendolyn Hamm.

  • She spent a summer studying in New York with Parson Dance Company and spent another summer studying in Los Angeles with L.A. Contemporary Dance Company. She graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology (the study of human movement) in 2012. From a young age Katie knew that choreography and teaching was where her real passion lied. Katie has taught throughout the Midwest and has set pieces for performance companies, competitive companies, and high schools. In 2012 she was hired onto Midwest Edge Dance Academies faculty as an instructor and choreographer. MWE has become her home base studio ever since and it is where she has chosen to devote 100% of her artistic efforts. She cares deeply about her career at MWE and wants to be a teacher that not only lights a passion for dance in her students, but helps them to evolve into the greatest versions of themselves as artists and humans.

  • Every year Katie gives more of herself to MWE in order to make the impact she is hoping to on her students. In 2018, Katie, alongside her co-worker Danielle Wilson, began MWE’s first ever pre-professional dance collective, Beyond The Edge. The hope is to show passionate driven students what the world of dance truly has to offer both in and out of the competitive arena. Katie is thrilled and honored to be a member of MWE and looks forward to all that lies ahead for herself, for her students, and for the studio!

  • Instructor/Choreographer

    Danielle Wilson

  • Danielle grew up in the suburbs of Chicago where she began her dance training at the young age of two. During this time she instantaeously fell in love with jazz dance. Danielle later studied at the University of Minnesota as a BFA Dance major, where she expanded her passion to a more modern/contemporary style of dance. Danielle has worked with choreographers such as Sonya Tayeh, Dee Caspery, Lizzie Mackenzie, Michelle Elkin, Chris Courtney, Laura Kariotis, Todd Rhoads, Jessica Deahr, Jason Laws, and Monique Haley. She was a guest artist with Culture Shock Dance Chicago, assistant to the choreographer, as well as a dancer, in the premier of “Still Life with Drumming” alongside selected Visceral Dance Company dancers, a dancer in the ‘on water’ production of 'Fantasmagorie,” a guest artist with Chicago Dance Crash in their premiere of 'The Bricklayers of Oz,” and a former company member with Nomi Dance Company.

  • She spends her week teaching, choreographing, and rehearsing at highly established, and award winning studios: Midwest Edge Dance Academy and Dance Arts Center of Racine, WI. Danielle has choreographed Marlowe Middle School’s annual musical for four consecutive years and choreographed for Larkin High School Dance Academy’s 2018 ‘bring a book to life’ performance. Danielle takes her role as teacher/choreographer to young artists very seriously, utilizing her position to motivate, inspire, and nurture dancers during their most formative years. Her gift for training talented young artists has not gone unnoticed within the Midwest, as she never ceases polishing her craft and growing as an artist within the dance community.

  • Instructor/Choreographer

    Katie Martin

  • Kathryn Thieme-Martin studied under many great instructors including Carl Cory, Elise Flagg, Joel Hall, and Sherry Moray. She even had the pleasure of studying under the legendary Nathalie Krassovska. She has trained in Pilates at the Pilates Institute of the Midwest. Kathryn’s dancing has taken her on tours throughout the United States and Europe. Kathryn has been teaching for twenty years and has served as ballet mistress for multiple schools. She has been a master instructor for summer intensives and workshops for dance studios thought Illinois, as well as Illinois State University. In 2018 she received her certification in Progressing Ballet Technique and is a licensed PBT instructor. Kathryn’s choreography has won many regional and national awards including numerous regional and national titles for her soloists. Her soloists have also competed at the prestigious Youth America Grand Prix.

  • Kathryn’s students have been awarded multiple scholarships to ballet intensives throughout the country. Her dancers have gone on to perform with the Joffery Ballet and Dance Chicago, as well as the Chicago Honey Bears, Disney, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, and Todrick Hall . Kathryn also serves as a ballet judge for Creation Dance Championship competition circuit.

  • Instructor/Choreographer

    Cindy Mooney

  • Instructor/Choreographer

    Chris Xayarath

  • Born in Aurora, IL, Chris Xayarath started dancing in 2002. His interest in Hip Hop dance grew over the years and learning many different styles to this day. From 2007-2009, he joined Xtreme Dance Force in Naperville. He has performed at radio station 103.5 Kiss FM Fantabuloso concert in 2010 and 2011, sharing the stage with Ludacris, Lady Gaga, and many more artists. Also, he opened up for artist Fat Joe and Bruno Mars at the House of Blues September of 2010. Chris is currently still dancing and teaching in the Chicago land area. He is training with his current dance group The Puzzle League. He has also performed in Chicago’s Carnival showcase for 4 years now. As of February 2013, Chris got nominated to be apart of the Monsters of Hip Hop cast held in Los Angeles to perform in a known showcase featuring many famous choreographers such as NappyTabs, Laura Edwards, and Luther Brown. Over 300 people audition to try to become a cast member and Chris was picked to become a nominee. Chris has a huge passion to teach and his passion for dance is even bigger.

  • Instructor/Choreographer

    Sara Fragen

  • Instructor

    Anna Targonski

  • Anna began dance at the age of three. She has studied ballet, tap, jazz, acrobatics, contortion, tumbling, lyrical, and pointe. She has received intruction from the renowned Lenore Sutton for 14 years, and continued training with Ruth Page, Gus Giordano, Riverside North, Sab Franciso Ballet, Lou Conti, The Chicago Ballet Company, The Joffrey Ballet, and Al Gilbert. Anna started her professional career at an early age, appearing in commericals, perofrming on the Easter Seals telethons, performed on the Bozo Show, and various club dates around the country. Anna has performed with many celebrities over her career, including Jonathan Winters, Louis Nye, Rick Springfield, Jesse White, and others.

  • Anna is very knowledgable in the field of dance and continues to share her talents through teaching and choregraphing dance as she has been doing for the past 30 years. Additionally, she has taught and choreogrpahed at the Aragona Dance Academy for 12 years, Lily's Academy of Dance, Encore Dance Productions and judged for Footlights Dance Competitions. Anna has taught dance in the Joliet/Minooka/Bartlett areas for the past 20 years. She has also been with Kidz Bop kids for the past 3 years. Her other enjoyments include spending time with her family.

  • Instructor

    Alyssa Calvano

  • Alyssa Calvano has danced her whole life, but wasn’t formally introduced to a dance class until the age of 10. Though her specialties are Contemporary, Modern, and Jazz dance, over the years Alyssa has deeply emerged herself in various styles including Ballet, Lyrical, Hip Hop, Musical Theater, and Tap. She danced competitively with, Dance Dynamics Dance Company for 5 years, continuing to dance another 4 in her college years. Alyssa studied Dance Techniques, Choreography/ers, and Improvisation while at Columbia College Chicago, earning her Bachelor of Arts in May of 2017. Alyssa has been teaching and assistant teaching for a combination of over 6 years. She currently is teaching and Choreographing for a performance company, Vero Voce, teaching and choreographing for a competitive dance company, Dance Dynamics, as well as traveling to daycares and preschools teaching younger students dance with Ultimate Dance On The Move.

  • Alyssa is very excited to be a part of Midwest Edge; the love for teaching children she has is evident and is very set on making your childs dance experience a pleasurable yet rewarding one, no matter what level!

  • Instructor/Choreographer

    Joe Musiel

  • Joe was born in Buffalo, NY and later moved to Indiana where he studied Contemporary Dance at Indiana University. During his time at IU he has had the opportunity to work with a variety of renowned artists and companies such as Larry Keigwin and Nicole Wolcott, Parsons Dance Company, Eisenhower Dance Ensemble, American Dance Festival, Ballet Chicago, and Deeply Rooted Dance. In 2013, Joe moved to Chicago to accept a second company position dancing with Giordano Dance Chicago allowing him to learn and further his artistry from artists such as Brock Clawson, Ronnie Koresh, and Autumn Eckman. Recently he was a dancer with Dance in the Parks, West Side Story at the Paramount Theater (Aurora), as well as was a principle dancer at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Joe is currently in his first season as a company member with Cerqua Rivera Dance theater and going into his second year as a company dancer with South Chicago Dance Theater.

  • These companies have given him the opportunity to perform works by Nejla Yatkin, Kia Smith, Christian Denice, Monique Haley, Joshua Ishmon, and Sherry Zunker. In addition to performing on stage he has found a knack for choreography and has put those skills to the test by winning various choreography competitions put on by Chicago dance companies, setting work on professional companies, as well as receiving recognition for his choreography in showcases and studio dance competitions. He would like to thank God, his family, and friends, for their love and support throughout his dance career!

ABOUT US

With a balance of a fun and also a serious approach, MWE is able to help your dancer discover their strengths and reach their personal potential.