The Dance Connection staff is made up of six professionals with extensive teaching and performing credentials. They are committed to providing positive and healthy dance instruction to dancers of all ages. They believe in educating the mind as well as the body in all aspects of dance. This is just a short description of their experience. A more detailed biography of all instructors can be found below.
Melissa Grannis - Owner/Instructor Is the owner/director/instructor of the Dance Connection. She has a BE.A in dance from the University of Minnesota. She has been teaching and choreographing tap, jazz, ballet and creative movement to students of all ages for over 20 years. She has studied with top instructors and choreographers from New York and I.A. She will be attending the DanceTeacher's Conference in New York this August. Along with running a busy studio and raising her two daughters,she has also found time perform in Anderson Windows Centennial Celebration at the Excel Energy Center in the opening program, other performers included Dick Clark, Bonnie Raitt and Lyle Lovett.
Amy Shomshak - Ballet Directorm M.Ed.'s Kinesiology/Special Education, B.A. Russian Instructing students in ballet for more than a decade, she was honored to receive ballet and instructor training at the Kirov Academy in Russia. Dance: Plymouth Music Series Lady with the Lapdog with the legendary Maya Plissetskaya of Bolshoi ballet, Branitski Ballet, dir. - Lirena Branitski of Bolshoi Ballet, Ballet Arts MN, dir. - Bonnie Mathis of American Ballet Theatre, Classical Ballet Academy, dir. - Andrew Rist of Minn. Dance Theatre, and Minn. Ballet Academy, dir. - Ted Kivitt of American Ballet Theatre. Theatre: Guthrie Theatre A Winter's Tale, Actor's Theater of Minn. A Christmas Carol, Theatre in the Round A Perfect Ganesh Riverside Theatre Guys and Dolls, The Pajama Game, Hello, Dolly! Choreography: Lakeshore Players, Much Ado About Nothing, I Do, I Do! Publication: Dance Teacher Magazine
Jennifer Lorentz - Competition Line Director/Instructor, B.A. Social Work This is Jenny's 5th year teaching at the Dance Connection. She has taught both recreational classes aged 2 - adult and competition lines for 14 years. Her 27 total years of dance experience include jazz, tap, ballet, pointe, musical theatre, and hip hop. She has studied at Northland School of Dance, Butterfields Dance School, and The Youngquist Performing Arts Company. Jenny was also a member of Tappin' in the Twin Cities and The Project, a Christian Dance Company. She won many awards for solos, duets, trios, small groups, and large groups, performed a solo on Good Morning America and auditioned with a duet for Star Search.
Michelle Banbury She has 22 years of dance experience in jazz, lyrical, musical theatre, ballet, tap and hiphop. She has studied at the Larkin Dance studio, Zenon Dance, Ballet Arts, Tremaine in L.A. and Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway in New York. She has been teaching for the last 5 years and has won many choreography awards at dance competitions. Along with competing and winning at many competitions in Minnesota as a soloist, she has performed in the pre-show for Crazy For You at the Ordway Theatre, danced at the Walt Disney Production at the State Theatre in Minneapolis, along with Vanessa Williams; she has danced and modeled for Polaris of St. Paul, MN
Erica Lentsch She has 22 years of dance and performance experience. She has received her training from many wonderful schools in the twin city area, which includes The University of Minnesota. She was a member of the Vikings Cheerleaders for four years, St. Thomas Dance team for one year and has performed in live shows with Amy Grant and Donny Osmund. She has also taught and choreographed many jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop lyrical routines for the Grove School of Dance, St. Thomas Dance Team and the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders. She is excited to share her knowledge and enthusiasm of dance to the wonderful students at The Dance Connection.