About Us

Co-Owner,Teacher

Sherry began dancing at age 5 studying tap, ballet and jazz at Sara Gay’s School of dance. She studied dance briefly in college at Central Missouri University but did not return to dance until 1998 when she begantaking tap class at Dancenter.  4 years later she was hired to teach Young Expression 1&2 and Variety 1&2 and continued working for 2 of the previous owners until purchasing the studio with her friend Pauline Kuntz in 2011.  This isher 24^th year teaching. 

She has been active in local theater productions for the past 26 years with Little Theater, Capitol City Productions and Scene One.  She is a past member of the Jefferson City Cantorum and the small jazz ensemble TMI.

She and her husband Gary have one daughter, 2 sons, 5 granddaughters and 2 great grandsons. 

You may have seen her on TV in the Little Dixie commercials with her granddaughters.

Head Rising Star, Starbound, and Encore Team Coach.

Kayla is a dynamic and versatile dance teacher who has immersed herself in the world of dance from an early age. Starting her journey at the young age of two at Dancenter in Jefferson City, Kayla has since become well-versed in a wide range of dance styles, including jazz, ballet, lyrical, modern, tap, hip hop, musical theater, and contemporary. She has performed in a variety of musical theater productions, including notable roles in ‘Annie’ and ‘Showboat.’ 

Throughout her dance journey, Kayla has been a member of the Jefferson City High School Dance Team, dance captain for the J-City Riot Show-Choir and the Drury University Dance Team, where she honed her skills, demonstrated her passion for performance and expanded her dance knowledge.

During college, Kayla had the privilege of enriching her dance expertise through her involvement with the Jayson Michaels Energy Source Dance Association. This invaluable experience provided her with the opportunity to travel, learn, and teach dance across the United States.

Kayla’s talent as a dancer and choreographer were recognized through numerous achievements. From 2012 to 2015, her talent and choreographic prowess were prominently showcased in the Energy Source National Company concerts. She was not only featured but also had the honor of having her choreography prominently displayed. She also had the privilege of dancing with the Affinity Dance Ensemble. Additionally, Kayla served as the assistant director of the At-Risk Youth dance program, working closely with Mr. Jayson Michaels, and as the Director of the Energy Source Jr. and Small Fry programs. Her dedication to the dance community extended to working with esteemed dance competitions such as Hall of Fame Dance Competition and Elite Dance Cup, where she served as an MC and backstage manager.

Beyond her dance career, Kayla is a loving wife and mother of two little boys. During the day, she works in the communications department of Special Olympics Missouri, making a positive impact in the lives of others. One of her proudest accomplishments has been the establishment and instruction of a special needs dance class, providing a nurturing and inclusive environment for students to explore the joy of dance.

Since returning to Jefferson City, Kayla has been sharing her passion and expertise as a dance teacher at 5678 Dancenter. She takes great pleasure in instilling her love for dance in her students and training them in the art form she holds dear to her heart.

When she’s not teaching you can find her binge-watching true crime documentaries or reading romance novels.

She is thrilled to be a part of the 5678 Dancenter team! With her vast experience, unwavering dedication, and infectious enthusiasm, Kayla is committed to nurturing and inspiring the next generation of dancers.

Rising Star, Starbound and Encore Assistant

Kelly is best known as Jill’s mom and resident 5678 Dancenter painter.

Kelly has assisted with the Rising Stars Competition team for the last 3 1/2 years and works the front desk on Wednesday nights. She has a back ground in gymnastics, subs for a variety of classes and has previously been the class helper for Young Expressions and Little Hoppers.

Kelly has worked at Missouri Department of Revenue for the last 14 years and is a Legislative Management Analyst.

Tap Teacher

LuAnn Madsen is a dancer, teacher, and choreographer. She started her dance training at an early age in her mother’s dance studio and continued her training through college and law school.

LuAnn travels frequently to St. Louis to study and tap with various tap groups. She also enjoys traveling to teach master classes at other studios.

LuAnn has taught tap at all levels, served as Tap Director at area studios, and has served as an adjudicator at dance competitions.

LuAnn especially enjoys performing in and choreographing musicals for local schools and theatre groups throughout mid Missouri and St. Louis. She has choreographed nearly one hundred shows.

The Capital City Council on the Arts recognized her contribution to dance by awarding her the Community Arts Award for Dance.

When not involved in dancing or at the theatre, she is an attorney representing clients before the legislature.

Variety and Tap

Claire (Kemna) Mengwasser is excited to be returning as a teacher at 5678 for the 24-25 schoolyear. She has been dancing since the age of four in all styles of dance; with tap being her favorite. From an early age, Claire could be seen dancing on various dance teams for Dancer’s Alley, Concepts Dance Co., and Truman State University’s High Street Dancers. Additionally, she grew up dancing in local theater productions for ACTPAC, TLT, and Helias High School.
Most recently, Claire has been involved in creating and/or performing choreography for Capitol City Productions, Finke Theater, and Helias Catholic High School.

It was during high school when Claire discovered her love of teaching dance. She has taught at Dancer’s Alley, Truman State University, and even taught American style tap dance in Cork, Ireland. This will be her fifth year as a teacher at 5678 Dancenter. In her spare time, Claire is a speech-language pathologist at Missouri School for the Deaf, a wife to Anthony, and mom to Josh and Noah.

Adult Tap

I’ve been at 5-6-7-8-Dancenter longer than anyone else – since I was 21. That’s a long time! My day job is at Winter-Dent & Company, but I love my after-hours hobby.

Initially I did it all – ballet, jazz, tap, modern, belly dancing, Flaminco, ballroom, yoga, musical theater, folk. But more recently I have decided to concentrate on tap dancing. I love working with beginners, and guiding them into the intermediate level where we master time-steps and the transition from doubles-to-singles-to triples. It’s like arobics with a recital.

I’ve also been fortunate to participate in several local theater productions, including The Producers, Chicago, Damn Yankees, 42nd Street, Fiddler on the Roof, A Christmas Carol (the musical), Cabaret and George M.

I look forward to seeing you in class. It’s gonna be a great year!

Hip Hop

Tiaunna Vontay Warren is from St. Louis, Mo. At the age of 5, she started dancing all styles, including ballroom, with hip hop being her primary focus. At the age of 10, her mentor was a back up dancer for MC Hammer so she had the privilege to perform In Chicago on stage with MC Hammer, her mentor and 30 other dancers as her debut.

Over the next 7 years, she would go on to create the hip hop dance groups The Show Stoppers and Enuf Ced. These groups won numerous titles in the tri-state area. While directing these groups, she also taught dance for free to kids whose parents couldn’t afford classes(which she still does) and formed a successful cheerleading squad with equal success.

In 1998, she came to Lincoln University and hit the ground running. She cheered two years for Lincoln University. But in 2000, LU brought back their band and she created the Lincoln University Blue Flame Dancers. She successfully ran that squad for 11 years. In 2002, she joined LU’s Dance Troupe under the direction of Theresa Ferguson assisted by the incomparable Phillip Clemmons. There she met the men that would forever change her. Phillip Clemons trained her Russian Pointe and hip hop jazz.

Ledell Watts with his creativity expanded her mind and helped her master Jazz funk and Martha Graham technique. Under the direction of Theo Jamison, she learned and fell in love with the techniques of Katherine Dunham which is her favorite style and she became certified to teach in the spring of 2019. Theo is also one of the last dancers to be trained under the Katherine Dunham personally. Under Wesley Lee Williams Jr. she fell in love with West Indie movements and various forms of African Dance. These art forms are her future to teach for they are her true passion.

She graduated from Lincoln University with BA in Sociology and is currently working on her Masters Degree.

Teaching Young Expression 1 and Little Hoppers.

Anneliese Wright began dancing at 5-6-7-8 Dancenter at the age of 5 in Ms. Sherry’s class and has been dancing here on our dance team for 8 years.  She is very passionate about dance and is currently also dancing on her high school dance team.  This is her second year teaching at 5-6-7-8 and she is looking forward to bonding with her students and their families. 

Acro 1 and 2

I am excited to start as your new Acro teacher here at 5-6-7-8. I have a large background in training Gymnastics.

I have lived in Jefferson City since I was 7 years old.  I started gymnastics when I was 10 years old at the YMCA. I was a competitive gymnast until age 16. In high school I quit to pursue marching band and symphonic band. I played flute and piccolo. Later on at age 17 I was asked to came back as a gymnastics instructor at JC gymnastics.  I coached all ages from 1 years of age parent tot and on to competitive team of all ages. I graduated from Jefferson City High School in 2009. I taught gymnastics for 10 years. While going to school to become a dental assistant.

I married my husband Grant in 2015. I have two children. Veayah (6) and Leighland (4). I quit instructing gymnastics to pursue taking care of my babies.

I graduated Linn State Technical College in 2014 with my dental assistant degree. I now work full time as a lead assistant at Magical Smiles Family Dentistry. I have been working there for 7 years.

I love shaping young minds and watching kids be fearless. I can’t wait to become a part of your kids’ lives.

Ballet

Kailey Baker began her dance training in Osage Beach, Missouri, at Stonecrest Dance and Integrity Dance and Yoga, where she developed a strong foundation in various dance styles, including ballet, jazz, contemporary, and tap. She advanced her studies at Columbia Performing Arts Centre and the School of Mareck Center for Dance while taking college-level classes at Stephens College during high school. Her intensive training includes programs at Credo Dance, Kansas City Ballet, Columbia Summer Ballet Intensive, and the Joffrey Ballet Summer Intensive.

During high school, Kailey spent three years as a Youth Ensemble Member at Mareck Center for Dance, performing notable roles such as Diamond in Sleeping Beauty's Jewels, the Duck in Caroline Millikin Euker’s Peter and the Wolf, and featured roles in contemporary works. She competed at Youth America Grand Prix, earning awards such as “Hardest Worker in Ballet” in 2018 and “Hardest Worker in Jazz” in 2019 from Columbia Performing Arts Centre. Kailey also received a Working Scholarship with the School of Mareck Center for Dance from 2019 to 2021 and the NUVO Dance Convention Jazz & Contemporary Standout Scholarship in 2022.

Kailey has choreographed original pieces for the Mareck Center for Dance Youth Ensemble, including a work highlighted in the school production Flourish. Her choreography experience showcases her talent for crafting captivating and original dance works. Since 2013, Kailey has been assisting and teaching dance classes in various styles, including ballet, jazz, contemporary, tap, adaptive dance, and creative movement. She has extensive experience working with students ranging from toddlers to adults. Kailey is passionate about creating an engaging and inclusive learning environment.

Little Tumblers

Abbi spent 7 years in competitive gymnastics at the YMCA. She wanted to try new things in her freshman year so tried wrestling, track, softball and hockey. She is currently a senior at Capital City High School and works at Heisinger Bluffs as a dietary aide. She is very interested in engineering and hopes to study that in college. She will be teaching our Little Tumblers class this year.