Miss Katie began Hip Hop training at the age of 11 in a local park district program. She soon expanded her training and joined classes at Turning Pointe Dance Academy where she trained in ballet, tap, jazz, musical theatre, and modern. In 2013 Katie received a degree in dance & choreography from Northern Illinois University. There she trained with Judith Chitwood, Paula Frasz, Autumn Eckman, Morgan Fogarty, Brittany Keefe, Matthew Keefe, and Brian Carey Chung. With Northern Dance Theatre Katie performed in “Hand Jive” from Grease, What You Know, Beauty Blindfolded, Restaurant Rush, I Find it Hard to Say, Ghost, Pendulum, and woes of a woman. With a huge passion for choreography, Katie produced multiple works in the time spent at NIU. Some of her choreography includes; You’re Here… But You’re Not, Beauty Blindfolded, Just Be, Wait For Me, and Bloodstream. Katie is also a certified Yoga Fit instructor. In her free time she spends as much time as possible focusing on her dance training and bettering herself. Katie is excited to bring her perspective and different style to the Barre None Ballet family, and she is eager to share her experiences with her future students.
Miss Skyler Gibbons
Ms. Brenda began taking dance at the age of 3 with Carol Hutchinson at the Park Forest Conservatory of Music and Dance. She began her professional career at the age of 16 with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Wisconsin Ballet Theatre in Green Bay. She then went on to dance with Fort Wayne Ballet in Indiana, Charleston Ballet Theatre in South Carolina, Bryant Ballet in Chicago, Ballet Eddy Toussaint in Florida and Quebec, Canada, and Columbia City Ballet in South Carolina. Upon getting married and moving back to Illinois, she became a guest artist with the Illinois Ballet in Peoria, under which she has also performed with the Opera Illinois, Cedar Rapids Opera, and the National Ballet of Panama in South America. Ms. Brenda has been featured in a publication of the Peoria edition of Arts Alive as well as in a book titled Ballerina Girl, which features photography of Richard Curry. She has worked with many world-renowned teachers and choreographers, of which many pieces were original works, including: Allegra Kent, Maria Tallchief, Melissa Hayden, Stephanie Ballard, Mark Dendy, Jill Eathorne Bahr, Eddy Toussaint, Anna Marie DeAngelo, Septime Webre, Jergen Schneider, and Mary Price Boday. Ms. Brenda retired from her professional performing career in 2006. She and her husband Scott are the proud parents of 2 lovely little girls.
