McLean County Dance Association

Staff

Alivia Byers

Alivia Byers

  • Co-Director, Bloomington Ballet II

Ms. Byers specializes in ballet and pointe and also has years of dance experience in other styles. She is also a dance instructor in Morton.

Heather Degenhart

Heather Degenhart

  • Ballet
  • Tap

Ms. Degenhart holds a BS in Arts Administration with Dance Concentration from Butler University. She has danced professionally with the Georgia Ballet. Heather is an experienced teacher in pre-ballet, tap and creative.

Greg Merriman

Greg Merriman

  • Ballet
  • Pointe

Mr. Merriman is a graduate of Texas Christian University with a BFA in Classical Ballet. He studied with the Houston Ballet Academy and was a company member of Joffrey II, Houston Ballet, Fort Worth Ballet and Fort Worth Opera Ballet. He has completed his 29th season as resident choreographer of "The Nutcracker" for the Barrington Youth Ballet and is a summer faculty member at the Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts. Greg is an Instructional Assistant Professor of Dance at ISU.

Jessica Riss-Waltrip

Jessica Riss-Waltrip

  • Tap
  • Jazz/Contemporary
  • Hip Hop

Ms. Riss-Waltrip has a degree in Dance from Illinois State University, where she is the coach of the Redline Express. She currently teaches dance at Illinois Wesleyan University, and enjoys choreographing for the IWU Department of Music Theatre. Jessica has choreographed for Orchesis, Prairie Fire Theatre, U-High Dance Team and Color Guard, Tri-Valley Color Guard, Bloomington & Normal Parks and Rec Theatre and Dance Programs, Heartland Community Education, and IWU Faculty Dance Concerts, Edge Dancers, Cohesion, and for other local community organizations.

Morgan Rondinelli

Morgan Rondinelli

  • Musical Theatre
  • Tap

Ms. Rondinelli is excited to share her love of musical theatre and tap with MCDA. She has over 15 years of dance training and has performed in multiple shows with Community Players Theatre. She previously choreographed Elf the Musical.

Lesley Sutton

Lesley Sutton

  • Dance with Me
  • Co-Director, Bloomington Ballet II

Ms. Sutton holds a BS from Southern Illinois University, where she danced with the Saluki Shakers, Southern Illinois Repertory Dance Theatre, and Southern Illinois Ballet. She has been teaching ballet, tap, and jazz since 2001.

Terri Miller

  • Executive Director

Terri Miller is the executive director of McLean County Dance Association. She has served as a co-executive director since December 2004 and currently serves as executive director, responsible for the day-to-day operations of the organization. Terri has been involved with MCDA since 1990. She assisted two of the past directors and also served as a board member and school committee chairman. She is a graduate of Illinois State University. She is a board member of the Area Arts Round Table and currently serves as the organization's secretary.