Instructors
Clare Hollander
Owner and Instructor
20 years Experience Teaching Performing Arts
BFA Musical Theater, Emerson College
Mother of a Projection Proficient Toddler and Preschooler.
I have been studying, performing or teaching performing arts for most of my life. I took a four year break to stay at home with my kids. I was always looking for arts programing that was well designed for my little guys and never quite could find something that worked. I found things for older kids, classes where the age range was too wide or classes that seemed to focus on performance. So, here I am..teaching the classes I want for my kids to yours. I also realized I wanted to provide a space where kids could be with their parents and parents could get a break for minute.
I began acting, dancing and singing when I was 8 years old, over 30 years have passed since then, and I've never truly stopped. I have taught at/with the Kalamazoo Civic Theater, Kazoo School, Communites in Schools, Vine Alternative High School and local churches. I have worked as a private film acting coach to kids in Los Angeles and Kalamazoo. I studied Theater Education at Emerson College in Boston. I have studied early childhood education, accessible dance, physiology for the young dancer and Theater of the Oppressed. Im am a native of Kalamazoo. I have two energetic sons, ages 3 and 1. I currently live in Kalamazoo and only dream of returning to LA around late Febuary.
Elizabeth Huff Willis
Elizabeth Huff Willis’ love for group fitness began in middle school when she and her sister were finally old enough to take an aerobics class through Ann Arbor’s community education. Little did she know that her tape deck wielding, thong strutting instructor would inspire her to teach group fitness twenty years late
Elizabeth wakes up early in the morning to dance in her PJs. Her unique choreography, inspired by songs and stories, draws on her experience as a yoga instructor, newspaper reporter, cellist and mother of two energetic children.
She is known for taking a calm, lighthearted approach to teaching, one that respects each child’s developmental process. Classes evolve, shaped by the participants' wants and needs, so that by the end everyone leaves feeling a little braver, happier and healthier than when they started.
Elizabeth is certified in YogaFit (yoga), BodyFlow (yoga, Tai Chi, Pilates, meditation), BodyStep (step aerobics), Matrix Ride (cycling), Doing Our Own Work (antiracism for white people) and Basic Life Support (I can keep you or your child alive until an ambulance arrives). She has been teaching fitness classes for five years.
Kris Allemang-Stahl
Renowned Local Youth Choreographer & Instructor
Mother of a Jumpin' and Jivin' Toddler
Kris is a staple of the local performing arts scene. She is on stage, behind the scenes, and in the audience almost all of the time. When she is not out pounding the boards, she is a stay at home parent to her 3 year old son. Kris has Choreographed for Loy Norrix, Portage Central, Kalamazoo Civic Theater, The Kindleberger Festival, and Mattawan Schools. Kris has been a dance and theater instructor for the Kalamazoo Civic for the last five years.
Kris loves performing arts and in eager to share that love with the next generation. She is a WMU grad and a life long resident of the Kalamazoo area. She currently resides with her husband and son in Vicksburg. Kris is an amazing tap dancer - when you see her, ask her to show you a couple pull backs.
Joy Elizabeth Morris
A Creative, Caring, DAnce Powerhouse And Mother of Two.
My name is Joy Morris ! I am dancer, yoga, pilates and fitness instructor and freelance performer. I graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a degree in Dance Performance in 2012, where ballet was the focus of my major. I also have training in gymnastics and acrobatics, which I love to teach.
I love hanging out with my family! I have a 6 year old daughter, Lololi, and a four month old baby girl Xola. My fiance Aerick and I are also getting married in June. I am so excited to start offering classes at Topanga studio to help other moms connect, get fit and have fun!
Teresa Klan R.N
Teresa is an eclectic soul, always learning, looking for adventure, enjoying the spirit of play and young families. She is married and a mother of 2 delightful sons in their early 20’s. She is a registered nurse with a masters in public health. She lives with healthy intentions daily, jump roping, eating natural foods. She visited with pregnant moms and babies through Maternal and Infant Health Program in Kalamazoo for 18 years until the program closed. Now she supports families and educators in the Van Buren Intermediate School District early childhood home visiting program using Parents as Teachers curriculum. “I’m very passionate about providing opportunities for families to learn, experience and thrive. Infant massage is a new venture I’m excited to share to enhance the parent-infant relationship”.
Teresa comes from a generation of drinking milk, playing with blocks and boxes, Little People, playing outdoors all day, climbing trees, riding bike, perpetual dirty feet from going barefoot.Nature is very important and she dreams of owning a sandy bottom creek and having open space to practice permaculture and provide loose parts
Stephanie Stroud, Trainer
Certified Personal Trainer and Youth Fitness Specialist.