Staff

Kayla Daley - Owner/Director/Instructor

Kayla has been teaching dance for almost 20 years. She is originally from Hillsdale, Michigan and started dancing when she was 5 years old. A passion for dance grew as she continued taking various styles and learned more about the artform. She has studied Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Lyrical, Contemporary, Modern and Pointe, and she performed regionally and nationally as a competitive dancer for several years. She became an assistant dance teacher at age 14 and taught classes of her own by the time she was a senior in high school. She went on to pursue this passion for teaching and performing in college, attending Eastern Michigan University’s Dance Program. In addition to the Dance Program, Kayla was Vice President for the university’s student-run dance organization Dance Forum, and she was also a captain on the university's dance team for a season. Kayla’s noteworthy performances include being honored to perform and have her own choreography presented at the American College Dance Festival, performing in Italy at the Dance Grand Prix Italia, and being selected to perform for the university's Undergraduate Symposium. In 2009 she was the recipient of the Dance Major of the Year Award. Kayla graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Dance (studio management) with a Business Minor in 2010 where she heavily studied both Ballet and Modern dance techniques.

Kayla has been privileged to teach at several dance studios and work with many wonderful students over the years. She was a long-time teacher at Spotlight Dance Studio, Co-Owner and Co-Director of Spotlight Performing Dance Company. During her time at Spotlight, she received several choreography awards and top overall scores for her competitive dances. Kayla was also an instructor and head of the ballet program at Gift of Joy Dance Company. She is now excited to have her own studio, Inspired Creations Dance Studio, where she can continue to share her love and passion for dance in a positive and uplifting environment.

Kayla’s main focus as an instructor is to provide encouragement and inspire students to be the best they can be through quality dance training. Her focus is on building a strong technical foundation, and she believes that repetition, along with hard work and discipline, will help students achieve success. However, she has been quoted for saying, “Don’t just do the steps, dance them!”, encouraging her students to find a connection between the dance steps and music, and to use what they are feeling to “dance from the heart.” She feels that dancing is truly a gift, and she hopes that others can use dance as a tool to help them through difficult circumstances in life, provide them with a method to express feelings through movement, or simply dance as a way to have fun and bring joy into the lives of others. She is grateful for each day that God allows her to dance and share her passion with those around her.

Natalie Conner - Instructor

Natalie has been dancing for 17 years. She has always had great love and passion for dance. This passion blossomed when she took her first dance class at 5 years old and has grown and carried into young adulthood, leading her to pursue a degree in Dance Education. She studied as an apprentice under Kayla Daley who was her head ballet instructor for 7 years at Gift of Joy Dance Company. Natalie has studied Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Contemporary, Tap, and Hip Hop. Natalie started out as an assistant teacher when she was 12 years old and has been a head dance teacher for 5 years. Natalie is a certified Rhythm Works Integrative Dance instructor, a dance program geared towards teaching classes for children and adults with special needs. She has used that certification to co-teach children's and adult Rhythm Works classes. Natalie is a certified teacher of American Ballet Theatres National Training Curriculum (pre-primary through level 3). Natalie’s family is her biggest supporter and as one of twelve children that means lots of support. Her faith is a huge part of her journey through life. She enjoys volunteering at her church through youth groups, choir, and other ministries. She loves any opportunity to share the joy of dance with anyone who is willing to learn.

Therese Noch - Instructor

Therese’s love for dance started at the age of three and continued to grow. She studied ballet, modern, and jazz at Ballet Chelsea, and early on she discovered her passion was for ballet. In high school she became a part of the pre-professional ballet company at Ballet Chelsea, and participated in many Nutcrackers and spring productions. She danced the lead roles of Clara, Sugarplum fairy, a swan in Swan Lake, and Hermia in Midsummer Night’s Dream. Along with performing in shows, she achieved level IV Cecchetti and won several awards at the Michigan Youth Arts festival at Western Michigan University. Therese recently has graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a major in Art History and a minor in Dance. At Eastern she performed in several student productions including the lead roles of Black Swan in Swan Lake and Aurora in Sleeping Beauty. Therese plans on teaching and performing and she continues going to school.

Melissa Ulmer - Instructor

Melissa has been dancing for 11 years and it is one of the most important parts of her life. She grew up watching her older sister dance and she knew she wanted to dance too. She is classically trained in Ballet and Pointe, and has a few years experience dancing Lyrical and Contemporary as well. Melissa has had a passion for teaching ever since she was young, she loves to help people and wants to share the joy of dancing with as many people as possible. She has been
blessed with life-long friends that she has made through dancing, and a family who has always been there to support her. Melissa has taught at Theresa’s Academy of Dance and has assistant-taught at Brighton School of Ballet. Melissa believes that dance, while aiming to be technically correct, is really about feeling the freedom of moving and praising God with every movement. Melissa’s faith has guided her through many of life’s difficulties and she has always expressed
her faith through her dancing. She is beyond excited to begin this new journey!

Faith Falzon - Instructor

Bio coming soon!

Lydia Bonney - Instructor

Lydia's love of the stage began at three years old with her first tap dance routine. She has since studied all styles of dance, including ballet, tap, jazz, acro, lyrical, contemporary, musical theater, and hip hop, with her greatest love being tap dance. Beyond competing for six years, she is an active member of the Detroit Tap Repertory, where she has served as a dance captain and company assistant for the last seven years. Along with DTR, she has also performed with Tap Dance Detroit and Tap 24.7 in shows throughout the Detroit and Cleveland areas, including the Detroit Pistons Halftime Show, American’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Motor City Soles, House of Blues Cleveland, TapSpeak, Murder at the Tap’Ocho, Beatles on Tap, and live on TV. She has taken many master tap dance classes and has had the opportunity to learn from Savion Glover, Jason Samuel Smith, Diane Walker, Gregg Russell, Sam Weber, Brenda Bufalino, Miller & Ben, and many more modern hoofers. She has also worked as an intern for the Motor City Tap Fest. Her performance training extends into music and acting. She has trained with Interlochen Center for the Arts summer theater program and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art of London dynamic young actors program. Always moving, Lydia’s physical training also includes taekwondo, kick boxing, rock climbing, and yoga. Lydia enjoys working with people of all ages and is excited to share her love of dance and performance with her students.

Sarah Case - Instructor

Sarah has been dancing since she was 4 years old and has not stopped since! She has been teaching dance for several different dance companies and organizations for the past 7 years, teaching all styles of dance to kids of all ages. Sarah is the lead instructor for 2/42 School for the Arts and an instructor at the Legacy Center. She also was an instructor at Gift of Joy Dance Company for several years. Being a dance teacher has been the most rewarding job Sarah could ask for, sharing all her years of knowledge and training with kids and helping them grow. Along with training in Ballet, Tap, Hip Hop, Pointe, and Contemporary dance, Sarah also has a Rhythm Works Integrative Dance certification that’s provides skills and knowledge to teach kids with all abilities including those with special needs. She has also apprenticed under Kayla Daley where she has studied how to implement a strong technical foundation when teaching Ballet. Sarah is so happy to meet your dancers and share her love of dance at Inspired Creations Dance Studio!

ICDS STAFF