Anne-Marie Brunner Abderholden was born in Holland and spent most of her childhood in Switzerland. At age seven she joined the Opera Ballet School in Zurich. Upon graduation at age eighteen, she joined the Opera Ballet in Zurich. She also performed with the Volksopera Ballet in Vienna, the Stadttheater Badden and toured with Munich Opera. She enjoyed working with choreographers such as Patricia Neary and Hans van Manen. Anne-Marie later received an advanced degree in the teaching of classical ballet, (extended Vaganova) at the Music College in Cologne. She taught at the Opera Ballet School in Zurich, at the Swiss School for Professional Dancers and at the Theater Ballet School in Krefeld and Monchengladbach, Germany. In 1991 she moved to Madison, Wisconsin with her family where she taught for the Monona Academy of Dance. She was a choreographer for the Wisconsin Dance Ensemble and the Performing Arts for Children. She was co-owner and artistic director of Turning Pointe School of Ballet. Anne-Marie has worked with many children who have gone on to professional dancing careers, such as Principal Dancer with the Charleston Ballet Theater, Hamburg Ballet, Germany and Morgan Scott Company in New York.

Deb Butcher earned a B.A. in Dance from San Diego State University in 1998. She danced with Patricia Sandack & Dancers in San Diego, a modern dance company, and with Brockus Project Dancers in Los Angeles, a modern/jazz dance company. Her love for dance began at an early age when she first saw "The Nutcracker" at the age of three and told her parents "I want to do that". She enjoys working with children and has taught children of all ages in San Diego, California; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Neenah, Wisconsin. Her modern dance background is eclectic with the merging of various modern dancers, such as Jennifer Muller, Paul Taylor, Isadora Duncan, Doris Humphrey, Martha Graham, and her own interpretation of what modern dance can be.

Tracy Campbell has been teaching dance in the Fox Valley for over seven years and has been studying and teaching tap, jazz, ballet and lyrical dance at several area studios. She also studied Irish dance in Co. Donegal, Ireland as part of a study abroad program in college. She is currently working toward a Masters Certificate in Dance at Chicago National Association of Dance Masters. Tracy enjoys teaching and watching the creative energy of the younger students and challenging the older advanced students to stretch and break out of their structures and reach back to their creative freedom.

After being inspired by a performance of Riverdance, Andrea Chapin began her study of Irish Dance under Brenda Buckley, TCRG at Scoil Na dTri Irish Dance Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota. Since then, she has performed at Minnesota's Irish Fair, Landmark Center's St. Patrick's Celebration and other venues in the Twin Cities area.  Andrea graduated from North Central University where she earned her B.A. in Cross-Cultural Studies.  She has lived in Ireland and was married there in 2000.  Andrea enjoys teaching Irish step dance and ceili dance to youth and adults alike.  As a strong advocate for the arts, one of her goals is to broaden the knowledge and love of authentic Irish dance in all its captivation and enchantment. 

Jane Chen was born and raised in Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton), China. Ms. Chen's parents saw she had a natural talent for dance. When she was very young, she was one of only 30 children accepted into a prestigious dance art school in Guangzhou which trains young dancers to become professional dancers. Over the years, Ms. Chen has won many awards as a solo performer as well as winning awards for her choreography. She is currently the choreographer and lead dancer for the Fox Valley Chinese Dance group that performs throughout the State of Wisconsin.

Sheldon Hampton is an actor, playwright, director and head of the Theatre and Media Department at the Academy. He has previously taught for Kaleidoscope at Lawrence University, directed shows for Attic Theatre and UW Fox Valley. He is currently developing a classic children's theatre.He received a grant from the Downtown Appleton Rotary Club to research and write a play about Adam Clayton Powell which he toured with for two years.

Beth Howell is a graduate of the University of WI - Platteville were she was involved in theatre, musique and dance. She studied ballet under Ms. Jeanne Parus in Madison, WI. Since moving to the Fox Valley area, Ms. Howell has continued to teach arts and growth and development curriculum. She particularly enjoys teaching creative ballet classes to preschool, youth and special needs students.

Deb MacKenzie has been a licensed Kindermusik® teacher since 1993. She has a Bachelor of Music Degree in Music Therapy from the niversity of Iowa, and a Master of Music Degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy freom the University of WIsconsin. She resides in Oshkosh with her husband and four children.

Norama Meidl has been teaching world languages for the Appleton Area School District for seventeen years. An experienced educator, Mrs. Meidl is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Northern Iowa.  She completed her teaching certification at Lawrence University.  Her Master’s degree in Spanish Language and Literature was earned as a student in residence in Soria, Spain.  She is an active member of the Wisconsin Association of Foreign Language Teachers (WAFLT), and has presented and organized several conferences on their behalf. Mrs. Meidl received certification from the Translator’s Institute of the University of Heidelberg (Germany), where she was a scholar in residence for three years.  She is a member of the American Translator’s Association, and with her skill is a principal translator of print materials for the Appleton Area School District and many businesses.

Jody "Joe" Vanesky, formerly education director at Appleton Art Center, offers visual art classes for preschool students, elementary students, and adults. Jody is a graduate of Lawrence University with post-baccalaureate study at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He brings years of experience as an award-winning artist and art educator.

Rebecca Young, a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, did most of her dance training at Donna's Dance Place, where her primary teachers were students at the University of Iowa. She is now a student at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, studying voice and violin and majoring in music education. Her dance background includes tap, ballet, pointe, modern, and jazz, she was captain of an award-winning high school dance team, and has taught students ages 3-18 in all levels. She most recently performed in Lawrence University's production of "Hansel and Gretel" as a Forest Sprite and was dance captain for the production. She has choreographed high school and middle school show choirs and musicals in both Iowa and Maine.

Zhen Lucy Wang teaches the Chinese Language class at Valley Academy for the Arts and is also a member of Fox Valley Chinese Dance group. She graduated from Tianjin Commerce College, Tianjin, China. Ms. Wang volunteers as an interpreter in Appleton and Huntley School and as a Road Runner Reading program at Huntley School.