Faculty

The highest educational standards are expected from Expressions Dance Studio faculty members. They are lifelong learners who continue to educate themselves through certification programs, teacher-training schools, conferences, and other learning opportunities.

Biographies:

Jenny Reed – Dance Director

Jenny Reed is a dance teacher and choreographer based in northern Illinois. She holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and she graduated magna cum laude from Grand Valley State University in 2018 with a BA in Dance. Her graduate research examined dancers with chronic pain/medical conditions and how they manage their health while working in the dance field. During her time at Grand Valley, she had the privilege of performing in guest artist works by Richard Bowman, Autumn Eckman, Mark Haim, and Simon Thomas-Train. Her work “comPULSE” was selected by faculty to perform in the GVSU Spring Dance Concert in 2018. Jenny is an adjunct faculty member teaching ballet at Carthage College, and her choreographic works “Submerged” (2019) and “Pieces of Me” (2021) received the Carthage College Outstanding Dance Ensemble Award. She has also choreographed for the College of Lake County and Trifecta Dance Collective. Her dance on camera work “Uplifted” was presented at the 2020 Trifecta Dance Film Screening in Chicago. Jenny grew up dancing at the Grayslake Park District, and she is thrilled to serve the studio as director of dance.

Anna Erdman

Following her competitive dance training, Anna began immersing herself in the pre-professional world in high school when she had the privilege of studying under renowned choreographers such as Mark Yonnelly, Eddy Ocampo, Richard Smith, Katie Dietz-Griffith, Kathleen MacCann and more. Her performance credits span across multiple events both locally and worldwide, including Dance Chicago, Carnival, Chicago Tap Theatre’s Tidings of Tap, and The American College Dance Festival Association. She also performed as an ambassador for the College of Lake County in China. Throughout college while obtaining her degree in English, she diversified her training with studies in Spanish, Indian, and African dance styles under the guidance of Irma Suarez Ruiz and Jamie Cage. As a former member of Framework Dance Chicago and Meraki Dance Company, Anna’s dedication to dance is evident outside of her full-time job. Recently, her work with the Expressions Unlimited Dance Company received a nomination for her dance “Seasons Change” through the Trifecta Dance Collective Contemporary Awards. Currently engaged in classes throughout Chicagoland, Anna combines her passion for dance with her interest in Kinesiology, seamlessly integrating both into her teaching philosophy as she strives to cultivate a safe space to learn and grow.

Gracie Schultz

Gracie danced at the Dance Connection in Grayslake, IL from age 6 until graduating high school. During her time at Dance Connection, she was a student teacher, a part of Connections (the competition team), and Spotlight (company that represents Dance Connection throughout Northern Illinois). Recently, she graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance. During her time at Iowa, she studied under and performed works by (but not limited to) George de la Peña, Armando Duarte, Jennifer Kayle, Kieron Sargeant, Stephanie Miracle, Christopher-Rasheem McMillan, Tony Oricco, and Melinda Jean Myers. At Iowa, she studied ballet, modern, contemporary, African-Caribbean contemporary, samba, improvisation and choreography. She was also a part of the 2023-2024 University of Iowa Dance Company and performed in a restaging of Panorama by the Martha Graham Dance Company for the GRAHAM100 Tour. Gracie is passionate and committed to dance teaching and cannot wait to share this passion and excitement with students!

Alexia Van Skyock

Alexia “Lexie” Van Skyock has pursued dance since the age of six. From growing up in the studio realm (Jenny’s Dance Centre in Libertyville, IL) to receiving her Associate of Arts from the College of Lake County to finally her Bachelor of Arts in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Lexie has studied genres including modern, jazz, hip hop, improvisation and collaboration, ballet, and Umfundalai. She began teaching dance in 2017 and has been on faculty across numerous studios in the Lake and Cook County areas;  specializing in the styles of jazz, contemporary, and hip hop. She is a member of the Carmel Catholic High School Dance Team coaching staff as well as the Assistant Director for the Carmel Catholic Orchesis Dance Company. Beyond the world of dance, Lexie takes pride in her role as a lead instructor at Pure Barre Vernon Hills and enjoys sharing her love of movement with everyone she encounters.