"LPAA offers classes that are very high quality. The owner, Loren, is extremely accommodating, when possible, in offering additional classes."

- Buffalo Grove, IL

STACEY BOWDEN began her training in Virginia where she danced and performed competitively with Encore Performers in jazz, ballet, and tap under the direction of Raynor van de Merwe. After moving to the Chicago area in 1998 she began training at the Dance Academy of Libertyville with Paula Young- David, Lisa Sheppard, and Isabelle Melo-Elefson. Stacey continued her training at the University of Arizona studying with Susan Quinn, Sam Watson, Melissa Lowe, and Michael Williams. She there performed as a soloist in Clifton Brown’s, “Serpente”, Amy Earnst’s award winning, “Songs of Sanctuary”, as well as many other contemporary and ballet works. Since returning to Chicago, Stacey has danced professionally with TJ & Company Dance Theatre in “The Cracked Nut,” as well as Terpsichore Dance Company in “La Fille Mal Gardee.”  Stacey holds her Associate I Teaching Certificate from the Cecchetti Council of America. In addition to teaching classes, Stacey is the Assistant Director of our Dance Company.

TRISTAN BRUNS is an active professional dancer and teacher stationed in Chicago, though recognized internationally by other dance and production companies. While versed in multiple forms of dance, Tristan's focus is on tap dance. As a member of the Steppin' Out Dance Company, under the tutelage of Donna Johnson, he performed in many regional and national competitions. Tristan is currently touring with the Chicago Human Rhythm Project's performance company, BAM!, under the direction of Lane Alexander. Trstan is also a member of M.A.D.D. Rhythms and Cartier Collective: Especially Tap Chicago. In the summer of 2006, Tristan had the opportunity to teach in Mexico City, preparing dancers to audition for the musical The Producers. Though Tristan's career has been established globally, an underlying objective for progression is evident in Tristan's work. We are proud to have Mr. Bruns as a member of our faculty.

JULIE CROSSEN holds an M.A. in Vocal Pedagogy and a B.A. in Theatre Arts.  She has performed professionally throughout Chicago and regional theatre, as well as in television and film.  As a voice teacher she has worked with ages 7-adult and specializes in preparing performers for a career in the arts.  In addition to teaching privately, she has musical directed and accompanied for shows on the professional circuit, university, high school and lower grade level productions.  As a singer and musician, she performs with a  jazz/pop duo for clubs and private parties. She lives in Highland Park with her children Kaleb, 10 and Jadyn, 7.

SHANNON HRITZ a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, began her early dance training at the Laurel Youth Ballet in Greensburg, PA as well as the Johnstown Concert Ballet in Johnstown, PA. In 2002, she furthered her training at BalletMet’s intensive summer program in Columbus, Ohio and then returned to Pittsburgh.  Shortly thereafter, Ms. Hritz joined Bodiography Contemporary Ballet in 2002 as an apprentice and was soon promoted to soloist in 2004.  That same year she earned her Bachelor of Arts in biology with a minor in psychology, graduating Summa Cum Laude from La Roche College in Pittsburgh, PA. Ms. Hritz finished her last season with Bodiography in 2007.  Despite being offered a position with Groundworks Dance Theater, she participated a company apprenticeship with River North Chicago Dance Company in the fall of 2007.  In 2008 she joined Cerqua-Rivera Dance Theatre.  Ms. Hritz was then offered a position with Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago III where she performed works by Chicago choreographers and Giordano company members. Most recently in 2009 she joined Inaside Chicago Dance.  Ms. Hritz is a certified Pilates instructor and is also an ABA therapist for children with autism.

MINDI KOLODENKO began dancing at the age of five, training at Kassel Studio of Dance where she became one of the youngest members of the Company. Mindi attended Stevenson High School where she was a member of the poms squad and the Melange Dance Company, which led her to perform under the direction of Randy Duncan. Her training continued at Dancenter North and Dance Academy of Libertyville and led her to the University of Kansas where she received her extensive jazz training. Upon her return to Chicago, Mindi began teaching ballet, jazz and funk while attending Northeastern Illinois University. As a member of the Student Dance Ensemble she studied and performed under the direction of Joel Hall, Anna Simone Levin, Venetia Stifler, Rachel Burton, James Morrow and Raphaelle Ziemba. Mindi earned her BA and minored in dance as an Honor’s Scholar.

SALLY LEPPER began her formal dance training at Dance Academy of Libetyville continuing her studies at Milwaukee Ballet Summer Intensives. She went on to earn her BS in Dance-Arts Administration from Butler University. After completing her first year at Butler, she traveled with fellow dancers to study and perform in St. Petersburg, Russia. During college she also broadened her understanding of the art at the Paul Taylor Intensive in New York City and the American Dance Festival in Durham, NC. Sally spent a year dancing and teaching in New York City after graduation. She was most recently a guest artist at the Toledo Ballet’s 70th Anniversary Gala Performance. Sally is excited to be dancing and teaching in the Chicago area where she continues to pursue her professional dance career.

LOREN LOMASTRO SPECHT has worked as an instructor and choreographer throughout Illinois and Indiana since 1997. She is a member of the Cecchetti Council of America from which she holds her Associate IV Teaching Certificate, a member of the Chicago National Association of Dance Masters, a graduate of the NFHS Coaches Education Program and a graduate of the American Tap Dance Institute’s Teacher Training and Certification Program, the world’s foremost training program for professional tap dance teachers.  During the 2001- 02 season she attended company classes and trained with River North Chicago Dance Company. She has performed at Dance Chicago, Disney’s Magic Kingdom, EPCOT Center, Dance For Dreams, Ela Festival of the Arts and Tango 21 (Ravinia Festival). She has danced in works by renowned choreographers Claire Bataille, Frank Chaves, Jeff Hancock and others.  From 2001-08 she was the dance instructor/coach of the Lake Forest H.S. Poms Dance Team leading them to win 4 consecutive State Championships and 2nd place at UDA Nationals. From 2002-07 She was the director of Euphony Tap Ensemble and Prelude Dance Theatre. Since 2008 Loren has choreographed/coached the Loyola Academy Poms Dance Team. Loren has choreographed works for many Chicago area dance companies, CenterStage Theatre and Lake Forest H.S. She has received choreography awards from the Chicago Dance Connection and Dupree Enterprises. Loren actively serves as Regional Director for the National Dance Week Committee and was a guest faculty member of the National Tap Ensemble's "Spirit of Tap"Conference. In addition to being the director/founder of LoMastro Performing Arts Academy, Loren continues her studies through master classes, seminars and festivals.

HOLLY PACE began her dance training at the age of three with Lisa Sheppard, and continued her professional training at the Milwaukee Ballet School, Ruth Page Center for the Arts and Lou Conte Dance Studio. She was a performing member of Terpsichore Dance Company from 1998-2004. Holly also performed professionally at Six Flags Great America and with Especially Tap Company, where she was awarded a full scholarship for the Chicago Human Rhythm Project. Holly has been teaching for 6 years and currently serves on faculty at several studios throughout Chicagoland area. In addition to her performing and teaching, Holly continues her training at various professional schools in Chicago.

LAURAL REINHART Laural A. Reinhart has a Master Degree in Theatre with a specialty in Children’s Theatre and Creative Dramatics. For over 35 years, Laural has taught theatre classes, directed and performed professionally. Growing up in the Detroit area, Laural performed and had the unique opportunity early on to teach and direct shows thanks to her mentor Mr. Phillip A. Mark. After graduating from college and getting married, Laural continued her work in theatre. She has taught theater classes for all ages from preschoolers to adults, including teaching at the high school and college levels. As Artistic Director of the Carousel Players, Laural toured children’s theatre shows throughout the Chicago Area performing in schools, summer camps, libraries & senior citizen centers. After moving to Cedar Rapids, Laural designed a problem-solving theatre program for 4th graders called the Calliope Project and received an Iowa Arts Council Grant. She also developed a Creative Dramatics program, as well as a Youtheatre Artists program for the Cedar Rapids Public Schools. Both interactive programs brought theatre into the classroom. After moving to Louisville, Kentucky, Laural performed, directed, and was the Education Director for the Story Station Children’s Theatre. She also taught classes for the internationally recognized Stage One Children’s Theatre and developed an educational outreach program for Actors Theatre of Louisville. Laural and her family moved back to Chicago 9 years ago. For 7 years, Laural worked with the Northbrook Theatre where she was a member of their professional children’s theater company, taught drama classes, and directed the Babes on Broadway Summer Workshop program. Besides performing in children’s theatre, she has performed professionally at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, the Attic Playhouse, and with the n.u.f.a.n. and Chicago Effective Arts Ensembles. Laural is also a communications consultant for Learned Conversations. She lives in Buffalo Grove with her husband Craig and has 2 children—Jennifer who is a Vet at Cornell University and David who is a Junior at the University of Michigan.

ANGELA ROGNA, a native of Lake Forest, IL, began her dance training at the age of four and performed competitively with a focus in jazz, tap and ballet, under the direction of Jenny Campbell and Amy Cardamone. As a four-year member of the Lake Forest H.S. Varsity Dance Team, Angela developed her skills as a pom dancer, giving her the chance to balance her love of dance and competition with school spirit. While on the team, she won six Illinois state championships, and earned individual all-star recognition from the Universal Dance Association. As a captain her senior year, she led the team to a national second place finish, their best to date. After graduating from Lake Forest H.S., Angela attended the University of Michigan graduating with a BA in English. During her college career, she continued to dance on campus and coached for her alma mater, Lake Forest. Angela has choreographed several competitive pom routines for dance teams at Jenks H.S. in Oklahoma, Glenbrook South H.S., Lake Forest H.S. and Loyloa Academy. Since 2009 Angela has been assistant coach for the Loyola Academy Dance Team, choreographer for the Varsity and JV’s camp and pom routines, and also attends practices weekly to build technical jazz and pom skills. When she is not teaching dance Angela works as a wedding/event planner at Birch Design Studio. Angela is thrilled to be on faculty at LoMastro Performing Arts Academy and hopes to pass on her passion for competitive dance.

JAMIE SALAS, originally from San Antonio, TX, graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance under the direction of Louis Kavouras. While attending UNLV, Jamie had the opportunity to perform at the International Dance Festival in Kiel, Germany and trained at the Korean National Sport University in Seoul, Korea. Jamie also studied abroad at the Liverpool Institute of the Performing Arts in Liverpool, England where she collaborated with performing arts students to create a show performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. Upon graduation, Jamie apprenticed with the Las Vegas Contemporary Dance Theater under the direction of Bernard Gaddis. Shortly after, she received a full scholarship to train at the Giordano Dance School in Evanston, IL. Jamie currently is a performing apprentice with the professional contemporary jazz company, Inaside Chicago Dance. Since moving to the Chicagoland area, Jamie enjoys sharing her love of dance and creativity with artists of all ages.

LISA SCURLOCK is from St. Charles, IL and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Western Michigan University, MI with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance and a Communications Minor. While there she was selected to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. with Philadanco and had the privilege to perform works of many world-renowned choreographers, including Lou Conte, George Faison, Gus Giordano, Harrison McEldowney and Diane McIntyre. Other training in professional dance experiences includes the River North Chicago Dance Summer Intensive program and a contract with Royal Caribbean Productions. Lisa has performed in Thodos New Dances 2008 and 2009. She is a company member with Inaside Chicago Dance for her second year. Lisa choreographed for an Inaside Chicago Dance performance in 2009. Lisa enjoys teaching at several dance studios, including  a gym, near the chicago-land area. Most recently, Lisa was honored to be named an Ambassador for Lululemon Athletica and looks forward to seeing you at one of her community events!

MEREDITH ANN SEELEY began her dance training in Rochester, NY at the Orcutt/Botsford School of Dance. Her advanced training came from the Draper Center for Dance Education, school of the Rochester City Ballet. As a member of RCB, she performed many leading roles in a variety of productions such as The Nutcracker, Firebird, Don Quixote, and Cinderella. Meredith later danced with the Saint Louis Ballet under director Gen Horiuchi who created the leading role for her in his original production of Beauty and the Beast. She also danced several ballets including Black Forest Carousel and A Tribute to Astaire under choreographer Francis Patrelle. In Chicago, Meredith works with many companies including The Alma Dance Company, Civic Ballet of Chicago, Chicago Ballet, and Schaumburg Dance Ensemble. She was honored to perform in the Dance For Life 2008 finale choreographed by Randy Duncan. Meredith is a certified Pilates instructor through Core Dynamics Pilates and holds her Associate II Teaching certificate from the Cecchetti Council of America.

TONY SUHADOLNIK grew up in Seattle where he started dancing at a neighborhood studio at the age of ten. He furthered his training at the Arc School of Ballet in Seattle and, while in high school, was nominated for several 5th Avenue Musical Theater Awards. In 2007, Tony moved to San Francisco to train for two years at Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet School’s Training Program. While there, Tony worked with Robert Moses, Alonzo King, Yannis Adoniou and several other Bay Area choreographers. After graduating, he then guested with Moving People Dance Theater in Santa Fe, New Mexico before moving to Chicago. Tony is now dancing with Inaside Chicago Dance, and has been working with many Chicago base choreographers.