Analia Alegre-Femenias decided to leave the warm and sun kissed island of Puerto Rico to pursue a higher education in dance after dancing with a company from the age of 13 up till she was 18 years of age She graduated with highest honors from New World School of the Arts where she choreographed numerous works that allowed her to produce her own evening concert, Life in Seven Movements. At NWSA she trained in Limón, Graham, Horton, Ballet and, Pointe work. She was able to perform works by José Limon, Robert Battle, Michael Uttof, Gerard Ebitz, and Freddick Bratcher. During her years in Miami she was a company member of Freddick Bratcher and Dancers, a contemporary modern and jazz company. In 2006 she obtained her certification in Pilates from Core Dynamics and The Pilates Method Alliance. In 2006 she was awarded a Dean’s Fellowship to come to the University of Iowa to pursue her MFA in Choreography while continuing her dance training. In 2009 she graduated from the University of Iowa with a MFA in choreography. Ms. Alegre-Femenias has performed works by Bill Young, Donald McKayle, David Dorfman, Armando Duarte, Charlotte Adams and Jennifer Kayle. On July of 2008 Ms. Alegre-Femenias performed at Joyce Soho in New York City with Jennifer Kayle and Dancers. She has choreographed for companies around Puerto Rico and Iowa City. And on 2010 her work was picked for the Venus Envy Festival. This past spring she was a part of Virtually Yours, a perfomance that was toured in the Dominican Republic, Iowa and Los Angeles. Besides dance she has choreographed musicals for Theatre Cedar Rapids: “Hair”, “The Producers” and “Rent”. Currently Analia Alegre-Femenias is the director of Dance Knots Project, a company targeted to connect and bring artists from the United States to the Caribbean. Their first exchanged happened in 2009 with an artist from Colorado that’s was brought to San Juan, Puerto Rico for a performance. Analia Alegre-Femenias is an avid collaborator around Iowa City and has been a part of the Nolte family since the summer of 2009.

Elizabeth June Bergman has spent the last twenty years of her life studying dance in all of its aspects and is delighted to share her knowledge and passion for movement with the students of Nolte Dance Academy. Bergman received her earliest training in the Royal Academy of Dance Syllabi at the Omaha Academy of Ballet and has not stopped since, earning her BA in dance from DeSales University in Pennsylvania and her MFA in dance from the University of Iowa. She has also studied intensively at the Zenon Dance School in Minneapolis, the Ailey School, and with David Parsons in New York City. Bergman has taught a variety of ages in many different situations; from creative movement to ballroom dance in the public schools to modern and professional level ballet, she strives to create an energetic yet highly disciplined atmosphere in which students feel both challenged and supported. Bergman’s fascination with the history and theory of dance informs her teaching as well as her scholastic and choreographic output. Her teaching is kept fresh by actively taking class herself and performing in other artists’ work. Bergman’s choreography has been produced across the Midwest and includes improvisational and multi-media work as well as more traditional concert dance forms.

Instructor

Emily has danced in the Iowa City area all of her life. Classically trained in ballet, tap and jazz, she's also well versed in Modern, Hip Hop, Lyrical and Irish Step dancing. Through auditions, Emily earned scholarships to New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. At age 19, she began choreographing for the nationally acclaimed Releve Youth Performing Company. Her 2005 Lyrical Piece, Silence won 1st Place at every competition it entered, as well as "Best Choreography" at national competition in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In 2007, Emily was a finalist in the Choreographer of the Year Award for "Useless, but Hopeful." At a very young age, Emily knew she wanted to bring her love of dance to people of all ages, so she dedicated herself to making that dream come true. Emily is in her ninth year teaching with the Nolte Academy of Dance, and is the Co-Director of the June annual concerts.

Christy Scimeca hails from the Chicago area, where she danced and trained with On Excel Dance Productions under the direction Rachelle Oshner, Moves Dance Studio, and Encore Dance Productions. She was a member of the Batavia Varsity Dance Team for three years, and was Captain her senior year.

Christy is versed in many styles, but her passion is for Lyrical and Contemporary. She enjoys helping young dancers refine their technique and watching them grow in confidence and skill.

Highlights of Christy's dance resume include selection as a promotional dancer for the Chicago opening of So You Think You Can Dance, season 7. She was named 9th Overall for Miss Adrenaline 2009, and has been awarded multiple dance scholarships, including Adrenaline Dance Convention in 2009. She is a sought after professional talent, with representation by Thomas Scott, at DDO Agency in New York. This is Christy's second year with the Nolte Academy of Dance.

Advanced Ballet and Pointe

Tad Snider began his ballet training with Susan Snider at age 17 in Davenport, Iowa. He was accepted into Houston Ballet Academy on full scholarship at 18 and invited to join Houston Ballet as a corps de ballet member at 20. During his seasons with Houston Ballet, he performed a broad classical repertory including favorite roles in Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet and The Nutcracker. Tad also spent three seasons with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre dancing many of the Balanchine classics including Jewels, Theme and Variations, Who Cares? and Ballet Imperial. Tad retired from performing in 2001. Tad focuses on the often mysterious nature of classical ballet technique and attempts to break it into small, logical pieces that students can use to unlock these mysteries for themselves. Having trained almost exclusively at Houston Ballet Academy during the Ben Stevenson era, the stylistic basis for Tad’s technique is the Royal Academy of Dance style. However, Tad’s common sense approach to ballet encourages students to find details from all different styles and create a technique that is based in strong classical fundamentals, but allows the style to conform to the dancer rather than forcing the dancer to conform to the style. Tad brings his expertise to the Ballet at Nolte program, teaching intermediate through advanced Ballet and Pointe, and co-directing and choreographing Nolte's full length annual Nutcracker with Ballet Director, Grace Snider.

Natalie began dancing at age three in Union City, Indiana. After studying ballet, tap, and jazz for 16 years, she attended Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana where she majored in Dance Performance. While pursuing her studies, Natalie choreographed competition pieces for her home studio and area schools. She returned to Union City after graduation and began working closely with her former high school dance team. In 2011, her piece was selected for “Best Pom Visuals” at the EDA Nationals in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Natalie joined the Nolte staff in the summer of 2011, following a relocation to Iowa with her husband. Natalie is a high-energy teacher who likes to see a strong effort put forth by her students. She enjoys watching students grow in ability and confidence.

Our newest instructor is generating excitement in Nolte tap classes with his engaging teaching style and phenomenal skills. Sean Kaminski is working on his business degree at the University of Iowa, and recently transferred to our area from Lombard, Illinois.  He began competitive tap dancing at age nine, and most recently taught tap and choreographed competition pieces for the Chicago area's Steppin' Out Dance Company.

Sean brings his competitive experience and enthusiasm to every class, and challenges young tap dancers with the latest steps and coolest rhythms. Click here to see Sean in competition with his sister Shannon (featuring Sean's choreography), or take a moment to observe one of his classes (and all of his smiling students) in our studio. This is Sean's first year with the Nolte Academy of Dance.