BLC Staff
Ballet La Crosse also consistently benefits from the theatrical expertise of Toni Key (Costume Design), Kit Mayer (Set Design), Dillon McCardle (Lighting Design), Sasha York (Guest Artist), and other friends in the arts community. Thank you!
Miss Larissa Oberly
Miss Larissa trained at the Tallinn State Choreographic School of Estonia and the Vaganova Ballet Academy in Russia. She was a Principal Dancer with the Estonian National Ballet and the Russian State Ballet where she danced the roles of Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, as well as many contemporary works. This is Larissa’s eighth year at Misty’s Dance Unlimited, where she instructs and coaches within the pre-professional ballet and YAGP programs in addition to her work with Ballet La Crosse. She is dedicated to continuing to inspire the art of ballet and passion for dancing within the community.
Miss Olivia Servais
Miss Olivia grew up dancing at Misty’s Dance Unlimited and with Ballet La Crosse. She has been blessed to have performed for the first six years of Ballet La Crosse in the fall, winter and spring productions until her graduation. In addition to taking classes and dancing, she also loved being a classroom helper, classroom assistant and teacher at MDU during her 10 years at the studio. She is a Kindergarten teacher for the La Crosse School District. This is Miss Olivia's 9th year as an instructor with Ballet La Crosse and 3rd season as the Artistic Coordinator.
Miss Chloe Jane Bulman
Miss Chloe Jane grew up dancing at Misty's Dance Unlimited and performed with Ballet La Crosse from its start in 2013 until her graduation. She was a part of the pre-professional ballet program and continues to share her love of acting and ballet by being an instructor and social media manager for Ballet La Crosse. When not in the dance studio she enjoys reading, farming, working with the local high school musical, and serving as a representative for her county’s dairy farmers.
Miss Hannah Dummer
Miss Hannah Hunt grew up dancing and performed with Ballet La Crosse for 6 years. She graduated from UW-L with a degree in Computer Science and currently works as a software engineer. She has been an instructor with MDU and BLC since 2021.
Miss Madalyn Erickson
Madalyn grew up dancing at Misty’s Dance Unlimited, she was honored to train under Kennet and Larissa Oberly in their Pre-professional and YAGP programs. She also attended summer intensives at Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts in Connecticut. Madalyn was a founding dancer in Ballet La Crosse performing in many ballets including Marushka and the Four Seasons, Cinderella, The Little Princess, Coppelia, The Nutcracker, Mozart’s Requiem, performing the lead roles of Heidi and The Little Mermaid. She is excited to return this year for her second year as a Ballet La Crosse Artistic Staff member.
Miss Alexandra Meier
Miss Alex is in her fourteenth year of teaching at MDU and eleventh season with Ballet La Crosse. She primarily teaches ballet and has been a part of MDU’s Pre Professional ballet staff and a YAGP coach. Miss Alex also works as a Certified Surgical Technologist at Gundersen Health System. Miss Alex’s roles with Ballet La Crosse have ranged from rehearsal assistant to artistic direction and has included the following works: Cinderella, Mozart’s Requiem,The Little Mermaid, A Little Princess, Alice in Wonderland and Coppelia with the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra. Miss Alex and her husband Ethan love to travel and hike, they are joined by their son Cooper and two doodles for many adventures.
Miss Janet Holter
This is Miss Janet's fourth year with Ballet La Crosse as the administrative director. She started volunteering for Ballet La Crosse 7 years ago when her daughter was dancing in Alice in Wonderland, helping out with costumes and backstage and has continued since. Miss Janet is also a familiar face at the studio working the front desk several nights a week. Miss Janet is a professor at Viterbo University and enjoys spending time with her family- husband Jarrod, son Carsey, and daughter Cailyn.
Miss Amanda Schams
Miss Amanda originally trained in Madison with Kate McQuade and Lillian Wilner and summers at the Milwaukee Ballet School. She later attended the University of Kansas and the Nutmeg Conservatory on dance scholarships. She completed her studies in psychology and dance at UW-Madison and the University of Iowa. This is her 15th year at MDU, where she instructs for the Pre-Professional program. She has been a part of the creation, choreography and development of Ballet La Crosse, MDU’s Pre-Professional and YAGP programs for the past 8 years, and she enjoys working alongside an inspiring staff while witnessing dancers fleurish. She has been a guest artist with the Madison Ballet and across the midwest in roles such as Dewdrop Fairy, Arabian Pas de Deux and Snow Queen in “The Nutcracker” and the title role in “Cinderella”.
Miss Misty Lown
Miss Misty has been sharing her passion for dance and mentorship with local students for 30 years. She is the Founder of More Than Just Great Dancing™ affiliated dance studios and “A Chance to Dance Foundation”, a 501(c) 3 charitable organization. Misty is passionate about community service and has donated over $500,000 in combined cash and studio scholarships for the past 20 years. Her latest initiative, Youth Protection Advocates in Dances, has provided safety and wellness training for over 2,000 dance educators worldwide. Misty is proud to support local arts, aspiring artists, and the theater community through Ballet La Crosse.
Mr. Kennet Oberly*
Much of our work will continue to be influenced by our beloved Mr. Kennet, who suffered from ALS and passed way in January 2016, during his 5th year at MDU. Mr. Kennet performed with Stuttgart Ballet, Ballet of the 20th Century, Boston Ballet, and Tivoli Pantomime Theatre. He was Ballet Master of the Finnish National Ballet, Artistic Director of Ballet Iowa and the Walcott Chidren’s Ballet — a work for which he was featured in Smithsonian Magazine.