EDE Staff

Teia has trained studio-style since the age of 3, and grew up as a competitive dancer, later becoming a choreographer. She is trained in Ballet, Contemporary, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Lyrical, Modern, and Tap. She has earned her BA in Dance and Marketing from Columbia College Chicago.  Teia has trained with companies across Chicago in workshops and intensives, as well as has earned national accreditations for her choreography. Teia loves to share her knowledge and love of dance, and watch her students safely explore what movement and creative possibilities they can uncover through dance.  

Mallory has been a competitive dancer since she was 3 years old. She danced at Aspire Dance Company in Bloomingdale, Illinois. She was also on the dance team at Illinois State University. Mallory has taught for several studios. Mallory has over 15 years of experience in every style, but her personal favorites are Contemporary, Lyrical & Jazz. Growing up, anything fast, sassy, and jazzy was right up her alley but she grew to also love the art of lyrical and contemporary. Her favorite thing about dance is, “simply the emotional rush you get, there is nothing like it!  Stepping onto the stage with the lights directly on you, the music loud, and those 2 minutes of forgetting everything but dancing your heart out will forever be my favorite feeling!"

With only 4 years of official training under his belt, JJ has achieved many goals as a dancer thus far. He performed on the World Of Dance stage in 2019 alongside a collegiate crew, FIA (Filipinos In Alliance) MODERN as a one of the only high-school students on the team. Since then, JJ has been a part of professional dance crew C.O.D.A. (Chicago Onyx Dance Alliance), and The Chicago Collective, which he is still a part of today. With this group, he is actively training to develop his own style in Hip-Hop alongside 5 other handpicked skillful dancers. His experience in dance ranges from styles such as Ballet, Jazz, and Modern Contemporary to a multitude of Street-styles. He has moved from choreography, to freestyle, and now battling all over the U.S. JJ aspires to be a world-renowned artist as he uses his gifts to spread the word of Jesus Christ. He wishes to share his testimony of how he has been able to overcome problems and achieve so much through his faith in Him. “I give it all back to God. Through my craft, I will inspire the next person to do the same, for He has given all of us gifts to do this in His name”.  Instagram: @the.prince.of.chicago

Jackie is a graduate of Triton College with an Associate degree in Arts (Political/Social Science) and a graduate of the University of Phoenix with a Bachelor of  Science (Business Management). Her full-time position is in Construction – Project Engineer in the Civil Division. She has studied Ballet, Tap, Acrobatics, and Pointe.  She performed in Trinity High School’s productions in dance roles in the “Wizard of Oz” and “The King and I”. She also assisted Helen Hurley with dance classes while she was in high school. Jackie danced with Memorial Park since the age of three. She eventually took on the challenge of Dance Director and hired a staff that would help her revitalize the dance program. Over five years, she was able to train the dancers to take on pointe, which had not been accomplished in over fifteen years at the park district.  She also figure skated, advancing through the levels rapidly because of her dance training. She skated in the performance of “Beauty and The Beast”. She also skated competitively, choreographing her routines for competitions.

I have been dancing competitively since I was five years old and have always had a passion for dance. I assisted in a ballet, tap, and jazz class at age 11 at my previous studio and never stopped from there. I love teaching other dancers new techniques and moves to broaden their knowledge of skills. The art of dance is so powerful, it is a way for people to express their emotions through movement.