Miss Terri is the director of Next  Step Dance Studio.  She holds her Master Certification in dance from Chicago National Association of Dance Masters.  She has served as a Board Member, Treasurer and currently is the Principal (hires Faculty for the organization).  She earned her B.F.A. degree in dance from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.  She has over 30 years of teaching experience.  Her passion is teaching children the love of dance.

Katie grew up in Wisconsin Rapids, WI, where she was a competitive cheerleader for ten years. She competed on the JV and Varsity Co-ed teams in high school. She also trained in Ballet, Jazz, Modern and Pointe at Dance With Pam for seven years. Katie has been teaching dance for over 5 years at the YMCA in La Crosse, for the city of Middleton Recreation Department, and for Dancercise Kids LLC. She was a KID from Wisconsin Singer/Dancer, and toured the state of Wisconsin for two summers. She has attended Chicago Dance Masters Training, and was a Central Wisconsin Dance Camp Staff Member for two summers. In 2013, Katie was crowned Miss Wisconsin Rapids Area, and competed in the Miss Wisconsin Pageant. She has been and continues to judge local cheerleading and dance competitions throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota. Katie graduated from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse with a B.S. in Business Management, and is now pursuing a Juris Doctor Degree at Marquette University Law School.

Miss Amanda has 30 years of dance experience. She took 15 years of studio dance which included training in tap, jazz, ballet, and pointe. She has been teaching dance for 16 years at both the competitive and recreational levels. She was also an award winning choreographer for a junior high and high school dance team for 5 years in southeastern Wisconsin earning nine state titles within her five years choreographing with the teams. She has also served as the WACPC Dance Judge Coordinator responsible for training and hiring regional and state dance judges for the state of Wisconsin, a USASF Worlds Dance judge, and a regional and national level studio and scholastic dance judge with several competition producers. She was a former member of the Danceworks On Tap performance group, which took her love for tap to the next level. She loves working with the students at Next Step to educate, inspire, and create while making once in a lifetime dance memories. She is looking forward to another year of watching each dancer's technique and passion for dancing grow.

Miss Laura grew up in Madison, WI where she began taking dance at a young age. She trained at the Madison Professional Dance Center (MPDC) in ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary and modern dance for 10 years. Throughout her years there, she was also apart of their company, competing throughout Wisconsin and Illinois. In High School she joined the school’s dance team, performing at football and basketball games, and was captain her Junior and Senior years. At age 18, Miss Laura had the honor of dancing with her MPDC teachers, as well as other local dancers, in a production that was performed at the Overture Performing Arts Center. She then moved to Milwaukee, WI to attend the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, receiving a bachelors in Early Childhood Education. Miss Laura has been teaching kindergarten for Milwaukee Public Schools since 2015 and is going back to school at UWM for her masters. Miss Laura is so excited to join the Next Step Dance family and to help teach the new Twinkle Star dance program for our youngest dancers!

Rizzie started dancing at the age of 10 at Elite Dance Center in Dyer, Indiana. She always admired the joy her dance teacher put in every class, competition, and recital. I’ve always wanted to a teacher like her and inspire new dancers through optimism and the love of dancing! I love Next Step because everyone feels like a family. It is a welcoming place of passionate dancers at every age!

Mr Andy started his dance career at age 3 at Next Step Dance Studio where he studied ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, and hip-hop. By the age of 8, he entered into the competitive world where he began winning Titles for his outstanding technique and showmanship. Upon graduation of high school, he attended the University of Alabama on a full academic and athletic scholarship where he double majored and received his Bachelor of Arts in dance and exercise science. During this time, he found his passion for teaching and choreography. Mr Andy has set numerous studio pieces throughout the United States, received choreography awards and won national titles for his work. In the spring, he will be seen dancing onboard Royal Caribbean’s “Jewel of the Seas” on their onboard productions throughout Europe and the Caribbean. Mr Andy is excited to continue his passion of dance back in the studio and in the competitive circuit. 

Miss Lori enjoyed a 20-year history with the Milwaukee Ballet. She joined the company under the direction of Ted Kivitt and quickly progressed to soloist and featured dancer. Having roles in over 35 different ballets, she gained invaluable knowledge dancing traditional classical repertoire, as well as performing the choreography of Alvin Ailey, Coo San Goh, Sir Frederick Ashton, Agnes De Mille, Ruth Page and numerous Balanchine works. Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Queen and Clara from the Nutcracker, Pas de Trois from Swan Lake, and Bluebird pas de demux from Sleeping Beauty were some of her featured roles. After retiring from the stage, Ms. Romito was invited by Milwaukee Ballet Artistic Director Basil Thompson to assume the role of Assistant to the Ballet Master where she maintained such duties as rehearsing and staging major productions including Swan Lake, Giselle and Coppelia. As a result she was then appointed to the position of Assistant Ballet Mistress under Artistic Director Dane LaFontsee. Her responsibilities included daily scheduling of all company rehearsals, instruction of company and professional trainee classes, and rehearsing classics such as The Nutcracker, Les Sylphides, Cinderella and Balanchine’s Who Cares? Her early training gave her the opportunity to take many leading roles in a variety of dance styles including ballet, jazz, tap and ballroom partnered dancing. She received extensive American and International training with some of the world’s top instructors including Richard Ellis and Christine DuBaoulay, former artists with the Sandler’s-Wells Royal Ballet, Larry Long, designated as one of the top 20th century Ballet Masters and featured in the book “The Art of Teaching Ballet”, and the Joffrey Ballet School, New York. Ms. Romito was a cherished instructor with the Milwaukee Ballet and School for over 15 years teaching intermediate through advanced dancers including summer intensive workshops. She has been a featured guest instructor with many pre-professional ballet schools throughout the midwest. Currently she lives in New Berlin, Wisconsin with her husband and daughter.

Miss Stephanie started dancing at the age of 5 at Encore dance studio in Cudahy, WI under the direction of Lee Burke and Amy Brinkman (Danceworks). She then transitioned to one of Miss Terri’s first high school dancers when she opened in 1997 and completed her training at Next Step!!! She was also a member of the Franklin high school Pom Pom team. She continued her dance training and received a Bachelor or Arts degree in dance from UW Milwaukee and has been teaching dance intermittently to all ages ever since. She is also certified in Pilates, previous Zumba instructor and personal trainer. She has taught many classes at various local gyms and Rec departments and also choreographs musicals for a local high school. She also has a bachelor of science degree in nursing and works intermittently as a registered nurse. She is thrilled to be returning to her home studio and to be able to share her passion of dance with her students!!

I have been dancing since the age of 2 years old. Growing up, I competitively danced at Denise Sabala Dance Studios and Dance Xplosion in Illinois. I professionally danced as a Milwaukee Bucks Dancer for 5 years from 2014-2019! During those years, I had the privilege to represent the Bucks organization overseas dancing in London, China, Taiwan and was selected as the All-Star Dancer in 2016 where I traveled to Toronto! I was also fortunate to back-up dance with Walk the Moon, Naughty by Nature, DMC, Montell Jordan, Blackstreet and Warren G!

Miss Allison, a Port Washington native, is a dancer, teacher, and choreographer around the Greater Milwaukee Area. She is currently studying Kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. Allison has been dancing for 16 years and has received most of her training under the direction of Maria Hackbarth and Morgan Williams. Additionally, Allison has furthered her training by attending various intensives including Milwaukee Ballet Summer Intensive, Buildabeast, and Chapters Dance.  Currently she’s a company member with Water Street Dance Milwaukee where she’s had the opportunity to travel and perform around the country at APAP (New York), Push Dance Festival (California), Columbus Arts Festival (Ohio) , and Milwaukee Fringe Festival (Wisconsin).  In addition to performing with the company she has also been able to work with guest choreographers Stanley Glover, Kam Saunders, Leila Henry, and Luis Vasquez. Additional performance credits also include Purple Veins Prince Tribute Band and World of Dance.   While performing is a huge passion of hers, Miss Allison also enjoys teaching and choreographing. Miss Allison has received many high overalls, judges choice awards, and a choreography award for her competitive work within the past years.

Miss Abbie has been dancing primarily in hip hop for almost 10 years now! She grew up in Lake Zurich, IL and currently lives in Milwaukee, WI. She has done performances from showcasing at World of Dance Chicago to competing at IHSA state and both UDA and NDA nationals in Orlando. Miss Abby is currently a part of 3 teams; Hype, Krush and Saints, all based in Milwaukee. Outside of dance, she is attending UW-Milwaukee studying advertising and enjoys drawing and painting in her free time. Miss Abbie is so excited to work with Next Step dancers this season!

Miss Jacq started dancing when she was three years old and has loved it ever since! She is originally from Minnesota and is new to the Wisconsin community. She received her BA in dance from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP). Miss Jacq has danced in the 2011 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and spent a summer in New York City attending the Dance Education Laboratory Summer Institute while continuing her training at Broadway Dance Center, Gibney Dance, and Steps on Broadway. She choreographed several pieces for UWSP that were performed in their shows. Miss Jacq is very excited about dancing at Next Step and looks forward to a great year!

I have been dancing since the age of 2 years old. Growing up, I competitively danced at Denise Sabala Dance Studios and Dance Xplosion in Illinois. I professionally danced as a Milwaukee Bucks Dancer for 5 years from 2014-2019! During those years, I had the privilege to represent the Bucks organization overseas dancing in London, China, Taiwan and was selected as the All-Star Dancer in 2016 where I traveled to Toronto! I was also fortunate to back-up dance with Walk the Moon, Naughty by Nature, DMC, Montell Jordan, Blackstreet and Warren G!