Staff

Kayla Daley - Owner/Director/Instructor

Kayla has been teaching dance for over 15 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 taken classes in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Lyrical, Contemporary, Modern and Pointe and has performed regionally and nationally as a competitive dancer. 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 and becoming Vice President for the university’s student dance organization Dance Forum. Kayla’s noteworthy performances include being honored to perform and have her own choreography presented at the American College Dance Festival, and performing in Italy at the Dance Grand Prix Italia. 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 Kumke - Instructor

Natalie has been dancing for 15 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 is studying 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. She has 6 years of teaching experience at Gift of Joy Dance Company, as well as substitute teaching advanced and competition tap classes at Teresa's Academy of Dance, assistant teaching music and movement classes at 242 Community Church’s School for the Arts, and head teaching Ballet and Contemporary classes at the Institution of Dance Arts. 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 plans on becoming a certified teacher of American Ballet Theatres curriculum. 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.

Sarah Cartier - 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!

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.

Brianna Sacco - Instructor

Brianna is a graduate from Pinckney High School and was a captain of the Pinckney Varsity Pom and Dance Team. She has been dancing for about 15 years and has been an assistant dance teacher for Spotlight Dance Studio, Viola Dance Academy, and three HPYFA teams through her school. She has also taught many dances including Hip Hop, Pom, and Lyrical as the captain of her pom team and was on Dance Committee where she was in charge of choreographing over 10 dances per year for the past few years. Her accomplishments include winning many platinum and double platinum awards with Spotlight Performing Dance Company, being awarded best in the Midwest for her pom team her sophomore year, being invited to Disney to perform on the stage and in the light up parade 3 years in a row, and being awarded Miss Badgerette of Michigan in 2021.

Brianna's future plans are to go to college for dance and business, to continue teaching at Inspired Creations Dance Studio, and to eventually open her own studio. She has always loved choreographing and watching kids learn how to control their bodies, and she delights in seeing the joy in their faces when they are dancing. One thing Brianna loves about dance is how it allows you to be unique and different. She wants to share with her dancers how important it is to tell a story through dance, and she wants them to know that time goes by so fast, and you should enjoy every moment.

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.

Allie Ackerson - Instructor

Allie grew up dancing in the Lansing area with the Greater Lansing Ballet Company and Children’s Ballet Theater, where she was trained in classical ballet. While Allie has dabbled in Lyrical/Contemporary and Hip Hop dance, her true passion is ballet. While in high school she took dance classes at Lansing Community College before going to Central Michigan University, where she minored in dance and performed with Orchesis Dance Company. While at CMU she taught dance classes at local dance studios. Allie currently works for LESA as an Early Childhood Occupational Therapist. Allie lives in Hartland with her two young boys. Allie’s family and friends, Christian faith, and golden retriever Ellie are huge parts of her life. Allie is grateful to have the opportunity at Inspired Creations Dance Studio to not only take classes for herself, but to be able to give the joy and gift of dance to others as well!

Lauren Cartier - Instructor

Lauren started dance at a young age, and after thirteen years, she’s still going! Lauren has apprenticed under Kayla Daley who not only is her head ballet teacher, but also a dear friend. Dance has helped Lauren through some very rough times and she hopes to share her joy of dance with others. Lauren has been trained in Tap, Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Contemporary, and Hip Hop. Lauren has also had the opportunity to study with the Rhythm Works Integrative Dance Program which enables her to help teach those with special needs. Although she loves them all, she has always been especially fond of tap. Hip hop is another favorite of Lauren's; she likes going fast!

For several years, Lauren has been an assistant dance teacher and this past Spring she was the head teacher of her own dance class. Lauren’s faith is the most important part of her life, and she fully believes that without the Lord she is nothing and can do nothing. She hopes that God will use her as His instrument and to bring others closer to Him. God has blessed Lauren with the most wonderful family, and the amazing thing is, all five of her siblings also dance! Outside of dance Lauren enjoys going to church, horseback riding, art, the outdoors, and spending time with friends and family. Lauren is looking forward to seeing you all this Fall!

Melissa Ulmer - Assistant 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!

ICDS STAFF