CMI offers high class instructors that will make you feel like you are part of the CMI family!

Our instructors are changing children's lives - one step at a time!

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MADELINE HOAG

Madeline is both an instructor and our Studio Director who is sure to keep things moving, organized, and full of fun!  She has been in charge of everything from cutting music, ordering costumes, planning classes and organizing end of season shows to planning her own individual classes and assisting in choreography for other instructors for over a decade. 

Madeline has always loved to perform and has been dancing since the age of 4. Her attention to not only technique, but also terminology is one of the many reasons her students love her classes.  Educating kids on not only proper placement and movement techniques as well as what they are called and even the history of where they originated from is one of her many teaching passions!  She is certified in the Acrobatic Arts Program as well as their Arial and Back Handspring program. 

During her time in competitive dance, Madeline ensured she participated in every available competition workshop and intensive offered, as well as taking in-studio workshops at her locally attended studio. She has participated in ballet intensives instructed by previous members of professional ballet companies as well as long standing professional dancers.

​Madeline will keep your dancer encouraged, excited and will ensure they set and reach the goals they desire! 

GARNETT HOAG

Garnett first found her love for instructing while her three daughters were enrolled in dance classes. She has been instructing acrobatic tumbling for 12 years.

In addition to her initial training, she has continued to grow as an instructor through participating in floor tumbling and acrobatic workshops. Not only does she have a Certification in the Acrobatic Arts program but in their Ariel and Back Handspring program as well.

Garnett is "a stickler" for proper and safe tumbling technique - which is why her students are some of the most technically skilled around and are easily able to move up levels at an appropriate pace.  More than a decade of educating kids on Acrobatic Arts techniques has taught her quite a few "tricks of the trade" that you won't find with the instructors who are new to the field.  Just ask her students about doing their "doughnuts" and "bug belly balancing" and you will quickly find out why her classes are fun while still being structured.

Garnett is also a wife and mother to three beautiful daughters, Madeline, Emma & Lydia - and is finally able to have a studio where she can work with her family as she has been hoping for for many years!  
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Garnett’s goal in all of her teaching is to emphasize proper technique as they are the building blocks to more advanced skills. ​

ALEXIS LOGAN

Alexis' dance skills are as amazing as she is! Having spent 21 years gaining dance experience, Alexis has grown her dance skills in various directions.

Starting at the age of 3, Alexis was a competitive dancer. Having been to so many competitions, Alexis has participated in numerous competition workshops. She has been instructed by a variety of professional dancers, including a Cavs Girl, a previous member of the Russian Ballet, and individuals whom have performed in movies and on Broadway, such as Gregg Russell.

She has attended many workshops throughout the "dance world", with one the most notable and well known names being So You Think You Can Dance.

Outside of dance performance, Alexis has experience in theatrical performance having been involved with multiple musical stage productions over the past several decades as well.

Alexis has been teaching competitive dance for 5 years. In addition, she has attended intensives in hip-hop, that have pushed her skills far beyond mastering the pop and lock.

She produces creative and fun routines for all ages and will keep your kids movin' in class! 

JULIE SHAULL

Julie’s passion is dance- from observing to learning to teaching!

Julie trained at Studio L Dance Center for 14 years and experiences many styles of dance including Hip Hop, Jazz, Ballroom and more. During her time at Studio L, she became a student instructor while also dancing for the Cuyahoga Falls Cougars INB Basketball Team.

Upon graduating high school, Julie continued on to head teaching, focusing on Hip-Hop and Jazz.  She also attended Kent State University as a Dance Major where she continued to pursue her dance and performance passion.

In addition, she has participated in various Tremaine Dance workshops multiple years in a row, become certified in LABlast Ballroom Dance Fitness, and performed in Youngstown’s Dance  Expo with Ballroom. 

Julie is a wife and a mother to three beautiful children. She has made dance an integral part of her life and is excited to bring her skills and spunk to the studio.  It is likely you will also see her running our front desk on occasion - or wrangling her own kids in and out of a dance class......as you can tell....Julie is 110% committed to our studio and dance families and we couldn't be more excited to have her as part of our team!

Her fun loving personality, style and energy will bring some smiles to your child's face and put some pep in their step!

RENEE MARTIN

Renee has always had a soft spot for kids and helping them succeed.  She has encouraged and fostered her two daughters own love for cheer, acro and dance going on ten years and is entering into her Third year of coaching cheer at Edison Middle School. 

Renee has attended a UCA home cheer camp in July 2019 and she just returned from attending her second UCA cheer camp in June 2021 with the EMS Cheer Squad where they returned home with several squad awards!  

Renee finds it extremely rewarding to see her cheerleaders succeed when they overcome a hurdle, work their way to mastering a jump and have that "aha" moment when they previously struggled with a routine.

Renee is a wife and is mom of Mia and Aubrie, both are dancers at Count Me In, whom love to spend time at their "second home" - the CMI Studio!  She can't wait to meet her new students and start them on their way to becoming spirited cheerleaders while having a lot of fun!

LEASHA BAILEY - (Summer Only Staff)

Leasha started dancing at the age of 3 and became a competitive dancer at the age 7. She has danced for a total of 17 years!! In addition to her dancing, she started a cheer career in middle school that continued all four years of high school.

Leash had started teaching dance at age 13 and became a head instructor at her previous studio at age 17.   She has taught multiple genres including ballet, lyrical and tap. 

She can't remember a time that she hasn't been dancing and creating choreography - even if it was just for fun!!

After moving to Akron, and taking ballet classes in college, she realized that she missed being in the studio and wanted to teach again!!  Her passion for dance coupled with her fun personality and contagious smile make her and ideal team member for our studio and staff!

LYDIA HOAG (Spring Staff Only)

Lydia is a stage performer through and through. She has been involved in a large amount of theatrical productions, including one that she had written and directed herself.

Lydia is an honors thespian, meaning that she has dedicated over 600 hours to the theater. She has won a Double Superior statewide award for makeup design and construction.

Most recently, she was asked to be the choreographer for the Edison High School Drama Department, which is her Alma mater, so of course she accepted!  She will be imparting her dance talents as well as offering support services for their makeup, costume and prop departments with her extensive knowledge and background as well.

In the way of dance, Lydia has 15 years of training. In that time she has been instructed by professional ballerinas, taken ballet intensives, and assisted with many classes of various age groups.  She has trained in tap, jazz as well as acrobatic arts as well.
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​Lydia has a great amount of prior experience working with small children. Her quirky personality will be sure to keep the attention of her dancers and generate an interactive and entrancing experience for all!
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AMANDA SHANE

Amanda is not only the owner of the studio, but she is also a performer at heart!  Although she spent her more recent years involved in the environmental industry - and managing Amazing Moments event entertainment company - she has continued to keep up with her craft and puts her performing arts knowledge from Otterbein University to good use. 

Amanda received scholarships to attend Otterbein University in Ohio as a Performing Arts Major, with a concentration in vocal performance and was a double major spending time not only singing, but also playing piano and concert trombone in their orchestra.  During her time there she was fortunate enough to travel to Holland, France and England to perform.

After college she spent several years singing with bands at weddings and other venues.  More recently she participated in the Huron Playhouse performance of The King and I prior to their closing...which is another reason she was prompted to find a facility that would be able to house all forms of arts and entertainment.  

Amanda is a wife and mother to two children, Cassie & Colton, both of whom dance at the studio currently.
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Amanda is sure to keep your kids on task and working towards their goals while entertained with her humor and and improv skills!

CMI DANCE CLASS ASSISTANTS:

We do not allow any students to teach/instruct classes.  However, we DO have an extensive assistant program where we utilize current CMI students (13 and older) to be class assistants.  This allows them to both help our instructors during class as well as allows them to receive training on how to be an instructor in the future.

We only approach a small number of students at the end of each dance season and ask them to be a class assistant in the coming season.  We encourage all students to strive to be class assistants and are looking for students with dedication to their dance studies both inside and outside of the classroom.  Good attendance, ability to both take instruction and apply corrections and showing us that CMI is a priority to them are just a few of the qualities that we look for when selecting our student instructors. 

​We want them to be as dedicated to our studio and our instruction program as they are to their own dance artistry so they can pass those qualities and training dedication on to the students they are assisting!

CASSIE SHANE

Cassie is a previous CMI Competition Team Member and student who has graduated and has decided to stay on and join the CMI Instructor Training Program.  She will be assisting and teach assisting the 2022-2023 season and we couldn't be more pleased she has decided to join us!

Cassie has been dancing competitively for 15 years.  She has achieved overall awards and top placements with her Tap, Lyrical & "Broadway Style" solos and been a member of multiple award winning and National Title Winning Competition Groups.  

Cassie started with a basic ballet summer class at a recreational center and was instantly hooked - so she enrolled in her local dance studio and began her dance career with tap, acro, ballet and jazz.  Later she added classes like Lyrical, Hip Hop, Pointe and even threw in Acting & Singing when her schedule permitted.

Cassie was also selected to perform in several shows over several seasons at the Huron Playhouse (prior to their closing) and held parts in musicals such as Carousel and The King and I during her time there.

Cassie can be found assisting anything from our beginner most Combo dancers, to our upper level tappers, to multiple levels of Acro and hopes to gain her Acrobatic Arts Certification in the coming years.

MIA MARTIN

Mia is a current 22-23 CMI Competition Team Member and this will be her third year as a competitive dancer for CMI and has been dancing recreationally for 9 years.  She began with a tumblerina class, to acrobats, added cheer, jazz followed, then lyrical was added and her true love for dance finally came to fruition when she tried the competition team last year!
She loves lyrical and cheer and can't decide which is her favorite!

​Dance is in her soul and she has a super sweet personality to boot which is yet another reason why our staff find her a joy to work with!

Mia can be found assisting anything from a Combo class to multiple levels of our Acro classes this season.

MADISON NIMS

Madison is a current member of the CMI Competition Dance Team and has been a member of the CMI studio since we opened in 2019.  She is a current 22-23 team member AND is TEAM CAPTAIN as well as one of our SENIORS this year!

She is no stranger to working with little ones as she comes from a large family, and being one of the oldest, has been quite a helper for her own family for years. Her patience and sweet and fun loving personality makes her a great assistant for our youngest Combo kids.  

If you don't see her helping a Combo class, you will likely pass her in the studio halls going from class to class as she is also a very active member of our studio and participates in everything from Hip Hop to Acro our Musical Theatre class.

EMMA FOX

You may recognize Emma as another one of our "OG" CMI students - as she has been dancing with our studio for several years.  Emma is one of the kindest souls you could hope to meet and is a very responsible and respectful young lady.  These are just a few of the reasons that she makes a great addition to our assistant team at CMI!  

Emma will be found assisting some of our littlest Combo dancers and beginner level students while she too continues to further her dance studies at CMI.

Emma is a Cheer girl and Teen Tapper as well as Acro tumbler and continues to improve her own skills while helping younger students to further their accomplishments as well.

CIERA BARNICLE

Ciera is another one of our "OG" CMI students - as she has been dancing with our studio for several years.  She is one of the funniest students and has formed great relationships with both our staff and students.  These are just a few of the reasons that she makes a great addition to our assistant team at CMI!  

Ciera can be found assisting our cheer classes while she too continues to further her dance studies at CMI.  Ciera is a Cheer girl as well as an Acro tumbler at CMI and is a long standing Edison cheerleader as well.