Call: 636-227-7207
Call: 636-227-7207

Teachers

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Meet Just Dancing’s Award-Winning Faculty

Steve Brockman

Steve is the studio’s training director. His role involves organizing and conducting daily training for our faculty so they are up-to-speed on the latest specifications for every ballroom dance element, step, and pattern in each of the styles. This ensures our faculty members are teaching correctly and in accordance with worldwide dance standards of excellence. Steve has been teaching ballroom dancing since 1979. He has been teaching at Just Dancing Studio since its beginning in 1987, and is one of the studio’s founders. Widely respected in the ballroom dance community, he has competed in Smooth, Rhythm, Latin, Ballroom and Nightclub styles of dancing, specializing in Ballroom (Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Foxtrot and Quickstep). Steve enjoys teaching all levels of dancer, from people with no dance experience to experienced competitive dancers. He enjoys sharing the fun, exercise of the body and mind, and the challenge of learning something new with his students as they learn to dance.

Michael Fitzgerald

Michael has been teaching ballroom dance for 15 years. He and his students have received numerous awards at competitions across the country. Michael has extensive experience teaching all levels of dancers, from complete beginners to fellow professionals. He has also served as a guest instructor for Webster University’s Theater Department. He has coached and partnered many prominent local business leaders for Dancing With the St. Louis Stars, winning such awards as “Crowd Favorite” and “Judges’ Favorite”. Along with his wife and professional partner Lucy, he has placed as a finalist in the American Smooth style in over 100 professional competitions nationwide.

Lucy Fitzgerald

Lucy has been dancing since the age of four and teaching ballroom dance for 14 years. While her veteran competitive students consistently win top honors at national events, she is also an expert at helping complete beginners feel comfortable on the dance floor. Lucy and her husband Michael have enjoyed a successful competitive career in the American Smooth style, placing as finalists in over 100 professional competitions across the country. Lucy is also proud to be a six-time Dancing With the St. Louis Stars Champion.

Jane Humphrey

Jane has been teaching weekly Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Swing classes for many years in the St. Louis area. She also teaches wedding choreography, West Coast Swing, Lindy, Charleston, St. Louis Shag , Carolina Shag, Nightclub 2- step, Chalypso, Balboa, Onestep, and other ballroom dances. She trained with Frankie Manning, Simon Selman, Louise Thwait, and Marcus Koch to learn Lindy and studied with Joe Grippe for her certification in Original Imperial Swing Dance Instruction. While competing, she was a finalist in numerous Regional competitions including Missouri State, Illinois Traditional, Midwest Challenge, and St. Louis Swing Invitational as well as The Buddy Austin Invitational in Oklahoma and the Dallas Dance Competition in Texas. Her classes emphasize good partner skills and musical interpretation.

Sterling Lawler

Sterling began ballroom dancing in college because he thought it would be a more elegant way to fulfill his PE requirement than what he refers to as “sportsball”. It was love at first step, and he quickly became a founding member of the William Jewell Ballroom Dance team, began taking extra lessons at a local studio, and attended every dance he could find in the area. Shortly after returning to his native St Louis, Sterling started teaching professionally, specializing in American Smooth. Nearly 7 years later, he has taught hundreds of students all styles of dance, and looks forward to teaching hundreds more as he begins the next stage of his career with Just Dancing.

Danyelle Morley

Danyelle is the studio’s student and staff development director. In addition to her role as a certified dance instructor, she is responsible for the studio’s dance curriculum and tools, student and staff certification and training, and student group classes strategy and execution. She also teaches popular group classes and wedding couples. Danyelle began her dancing career at a very young age and spent 12 years dancing classical ballet with a professional company prior to switching to ballroom dancing. At Brigham Young University she toured internationally as a member of the university’s ballroom dance company, and competed individually in Ballroom, Smooth and Latin styles. She has trained with professionals from around the world including Oskar Wojciechowski and Karolina Holody, Jonathan Roberts, Valentina Kostenko, Sasha Altukhov and Andre Paramonov. She joined Just Dancing in 2020 and launched a professional American Smooth partnership with fellow studio instructor Jonathan Wolfgram in 2021.

Nina Middendorf

I was born and raised in Hamburg, Germany. At age 15 I was introduced to ballroom dancing and fell in love with it. I competed in Germany for four years until I moved to St. Louis and started my career as a ballroom dance instructor at Just Dancing. I have been teaching at Just Dancing now for over 22 years and never lost my passion for the art of dance. My specialty is in making everybody feel comfortable on the dance floor from social dancing, wedding couples and large group lessons to ballroom competitions. In addition, I have been teaching ballroom dancing cotillion to 7th and 8th graders for over 10 years. I especially enjoy the progress my students make with every dance lesson and their growing confidence on the dance floor.

David Nyemchek Jr.

Born and raised in St. Louis, David began dancing as a young boy and started competing at age 16.  He and his dance partner Maysen Wilder soon began working together, achieving distinction as International Latin finalists for USA Dance, Pre Champ winners at the 2015 Ohio Star Ball, and USA Dance National Pre Champ Latin winners for 2016.  David turned pro in 2016 and teaches all styles of ballroom dancing.  In 2019 he and Maysen have earned first place in numerous competitions around the country, including the Desert Classic in Palm Springs, Volunteer State Championships in Nashville, and Heart of America Championships in Kansas City.  “I have decided to make this my career and life and want to share the joy and sense of accomplishment with everyone.”

David Nyemchek Sr.

A dancer for 35 years, well versed in teaching all styles and levels of dancer, David received his training in New York. He was trained in the Latin style by Bob Medeiros, Shirley Ballas and Vernon Brock, and in the Ballroom style by Stephen Hillier, Sonny Bennick and by Jock and Bemil McGregor. David is a National Dance Council of America (NDCA) registered judge and travels throughout the country judging NDCA competitions. He is an original founder of the Just Dancing studio.

Diana Roberts

Diana Roberts has won more than 20 professional national dance titles. One of her most prestigious awards includes being a two-time consecutive winner of the “Sammy” award, which is given to the Top Female Pro/Am teacher in North America at the Ohio Star Ball.  Teaching for three nights a week, her classes in American and International Smooth and Latin styles cover all levels from beginning social dance to Gold and Open.  Diana also teaches at St. Louis Ballroom Dancers, Studio B Dance Center in Columbia, and Walters Dance Center in Kansas City. She teaches all levels of dance and also coaches fellow dance instructors.

Rebecca Walthall

Rebecca grew up in St. Louis and began dancing at the age of four in styles such as ballet, tap, jazz, and musical theater. At the age of 15, she was introduced to ballroom and began competing in the style American Smooth. She has gained extensive knowledge and experience in teaching and choreographing for high school and community theater programs. After high school, Rebecca earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Southeast Missouri State University. She has continued to train with elite coaches to progress towards a career as a competitor and instructor. She hopes to spread her love for dance through teaching at Just Dancing.

Jonathan Wolfgram

Jonathan Wolfgram is a professional ballroom dancer and WSDC west coast swing all-star. He currently ranks in the top 24 American Smooth dancers in the country and is one of the youngest professionals in the top 50. In 2023, Jonathan was awarded 10th place Top Teacher in the world and 4th place Top Rising Star Teacher by the World Pro-Am DanceSport series, among a field of over 2,000 competing professionals. Most notably, he and his partner Danyelle were named the Professional Couple of the Year in 2023 by the Dancer’s Cup Tour.Jonathan lives in St Louis, MO, where he teaches both ballroom dancing and west coast swing full-time. He believes in continuous education and is studying to become a certified movement analyst (CMA) with the Laban-Bartenieff Institute in NYC.Outside of dance, Jonathan was published as a theoretical mathematician by Cambridge for his work in paradoxes. He graduated Cum Laude from the University of Minnesota with a BA and BS, where he studied Finance, Philosophy and Mathematics.


Elena Lyashenko

Elena Lyashenko has been a professional ballroom & latin dancer for more than 30 years. In her native Belarus, she & her husband were the National Professional Dance Champions for multiple years and represented their homeland in 40 World and European DanceSport Professional Championships. In 2000, Elena moved to the USA with her daughter and husband to teach competitive dance. She is certified by the world’s leading dance professional organizations.Her dedication to her students, combined with her knowledge and expertise, generate a contagious enthusiasm.  Elena loves to teach anyone who wants to learn to dance; she works with beginners or experienced dancers alike, offering her great teaching ability to all her students. Her encouragement and committed instruction have already led many of us to achieve more on the dance floor than we ever thought possible.

Tracy

From classroom to ballroomAfter a fulfilling career as an elementary teacher, Tracy discovered a new passion – ballroom dancing. What started out as a hobby quickly became a lifelong love, leading her to compete and embrace the artistry of dance. Along the way she also found balance and strength through Pilates, enhancing both her movement and well-being.Now, she’s thrilled to be part of the team at Just Dancing Studio. Whether it’s answering the phone, assisting the owner, or simply encouraging joy on the dance floor, she loves helping everyone discover the magic of ballroom- just as she did.


Meet Just Dancing’s Award-Winning Faculty

Steve Brockman

Steve is the studio’s training director. His role involves organizing and conducting daily training for our faculty so they are up-to-speed on the latest specifications for every ballroom dance element, step, and pattern in each of the styles. This ensures our faculty members are teaching correctly and in accordance with worldwide dance standards of excellence. Steve has been teaching ballroom dancing since 1979. He has been teaching at Just Dancing Studio since its beginning in 1987, and is one of the studio’s founders. Widely respected in the ballroom dance community, he has competed in Smooth, Rhythm, Latin, Ballroom and Nightclub styles of dancing, specializing in Ballroom (Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Foxtrot and Quickstep). Steve enjoys teaching all levels of dancer, from people with no dance experience to experienced competitive dancers. He enjoys sharing the fun, exercise of the body and mind, and the challenge of learning something new with his students as they learn to dance.

Michael Fitzgerald

Michael has been teaching ballroom dance for 15 years. He and his students have received numerous awards at competitions across the country. Michael has extensive experience teaching all levels of dancers, from complete beginners to fellow professionals. He has also served as a guest instructor for Webster University’s Theater Department. He has coached and partnered many prominent local business leaders for Dancing With the St. Louis Stars, winning such awards as “Crowd Favorite” and “Judges’ Favorite”. Along with his wife and professional partner Lucy, he has placed as a finalist in the American Smooth style in over 100 professional competitions nationwide.

Lucy Fitzgerald

Lucy has been dancing since the age of four and teaching ballroom dance for 14 years. While her veteran competitive students consistently win top honors at national events, she is also an expert at helping complete beginners feel comfortable on the dance floor. Lucy and her husband Michael have enjoyed a successful competitive career in the American Smooth style, placing as finalists in over 100 professional competitions across the country. Lucy is also proud to be a six-time Dancing With the St. Louis Stars Champion.

Jane Humphrey

Jane has been teaching weekly Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Swing classes for many years in the St. Louis area. She also teaches wedding choreography, West Coast Swing, Lindy, Charleston, St. Louis Shag , Carolina Shag, Nightclub 2- step, Chalypso, Balboa, Onestep, and other ballroom dances. She trained with Frankie Manning, Simon Selman, Louise Thwait, and Marcus Koch to learn Lindy and studied with Joe Grippe for her certification in Original Imperial Swing Dance Instruction. While competing, she was a finalist in numerous Regional competitions including Missouri State, Illinois Traditional, Midwest Challenge, and St. Louis Swing Invitational as well as The Buddy Austin Invitational in Oklahoma and the Dallas Dance Competition in Texas. Her classes emphasize good partner skills and musical interpretation.

Sterling Lawler

Sterling began ballroom dancing in college because he thought it would be a more elegant way to fulfill his PE requirement than what he refers to as “sportsball”. It was love at first step, and he quickly became a founding member of the William Jewell Ballroom Dance team, began taking extra lessons at a local studio, and attended every dance he could find in the area. Shortly after returning to his native St Louis, Sterling started teaching professionally, specializing in American Smooth. Nearly 7 years later, he has taught hundreds of students all styles of dance, and looks forward to teaching hundreds more as he begins the next stage of his career with Just Dancing.

Danyelle Morley

Danyelle is the studio’s student and staff development director. In addition to her role as a certified dance instructor, she is responsible for the studio’s dance curriculum and tools, student and staff certification and training, and student group classes strategy and execution. She also teaches popular group classes and wedding couples. Danyelle began her dancing career at a very young age and spent 12 years dancing classical ballet with a professional company prior to switching to ballroom dancing. At Brigham Young University she toured internationally as a member of the university’s ballroom dance company, and competed individually in Ballroom, Smooth and Latin styles. She has trained with professionals from around the world including Oskar Wojciechowski and Karolina Holody, Jonathan Roberts, Valentina Kostenko, Sasha Altukhov and Andre Paramonov. She joined Just Dancing in 2020 and launched a professional American Smooth partnership with fellow studio instructor Jonathan Wolfgram in 2021.

Nina Middendorf

I was born and raised in Hamburg, Germany. At age 15 I was introduced to ballroom dancing and fell in love with it. I competed in Germany for four years until I moved to St. Louis and started my career as a ballroom dance instructor at Just Dancing. I have been teaching at Just Dancing now for over 22 years and never lost my passion for the art of dance. My specialty is in making everybody feel comfortable on the dance floor from social dancing, wedding couples and large group lessons to ballroom competitions. In addition, I have been teaching ballroom dancing cotillion to 7th and 8th graders for over 10 years. I especially enjoy the progress my students make with every dance lesson and their growing confidence on the dance floor.

David Nyemchek Jr.

Born and raised in St. Louis, David began dancing as a young boy and started competing at age 16.  He and his dance partner Maysen Wilder soon began working together, achieving distinction as International Latin finalists for USA Dance, Pre Champ winners at the 2015 Ohio Star Ball, and USA Dance National Pre Champ Latin winners for 2016.  David turned pro in 2016 and teaches all styles of ballroom dancing.  In 2019 he and Maysen have earned first place in numerous competitions around the country, including the Desert Classic in Palm Springs, Volunteer State Championships in Nashville, and Heart of America Championships in Kansas City.  “I have decided to make this my career and life and want to share the joy and sense of accomplishment with everyone.”

David Nyemchek Sr.

A dancer for 35 years, well versed in teaching all styles and levels of dancer, David received his training in New York. He was trained in the Latin style by Bob Medeiros, Shirley Ballas and Vernon Brock, and in the Ballroom style by Stephen Hillier, Sonny Bennick and by Jock and Bemil McGregor. David is a National Dance Council of America (NDCA) registered judge and travels throughout the country judging NDCA competitions. He is an original founder of the Just Dancing studio.

Diana Roberts

Diana Roberts has won more than 20 professional national dance titles. One of her most prestigious awards includes being a two-time consecutive winner of the “Sammy” award, which is given to the Top Female Pro/Am teacher in North America at the Ohio Star Ball.  Teaching for three nights a week, her classes in American and International Smooth and Latin styles cover all levels from beginning social dance to Gold and Open.  Diana also teaches at St. Louis Ballroom Dancers, Studio B Dance Center in Columbia, and Walters Dance Center in Kansas City. She teaches all levels of dance and also coaches fellow dance instructors.

Rebecca Walthall

Rebecca grew up in St. Louis and began dancing at the age of four in styles such as ballet, tap, jazz, and musical theater. At the age of 15, she was introduced to ballroom and began competing in the style American Smooth. She has gained extensive knowledge and experience in teaching and choreographing for high school and community theater programs. After high school, Rebecca earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Southeast Missouri State University. She has continued to train with elite coaches to progress towards a career as a competitor and instructor. She hopes to spread her love for dance through teaching at Just Dancing.

Jonathan Wolfgram

Jonathan Wolfgram is a professional ballroom dancer and WSDC west coast swing all-star. He currently ranks in the top 24 American Smooth dancers in the country and is one of the youngest professionals in the top 50. In 2023, Jonathan was awarded 10th place Top Teacher in the world and 4th place Top Rising Star Teacher by the World Pro-Am DanceSport series, among a field of over 2,000 competing professionals. Most notably, he and his partner Danyelle were named the Professional Couple of the Year in 2023 by the Dancer’s Cup Tour.Jonathan lives in St Louis, MO, where he teaches both ballroom dancing and west coast swing full-time. He believes in continuous education and is studying to become a certified movement analyst (CMA) with the Laban-Bartenieff Institute in NYC.Outside of dance, Jonathan was published as a theoretical mathematician by Cambridge for his work in paradoxes. He graduated Cum Laude from the University of Minnesota with a BA and BS, where he studied Finance, Philosophy and Mathematics.

Elena Lyashenko

Elena Lyashenko has been a professional ballroom & latin dancer for more than 30 years. In her native Belarus, she & her husband were the National Professional Dance Champions for multiple years and represented their homeland in 40 World and European DanceSport Professional Championships. In 2000, Elena moved to the USA with her daughter and husband to teach competitive dance. She is certified by the world’s leading dance professional organizations.Her dedication to her students, combined with her knowledge and expertise, generate a contagious enthusiasm.  Elena loves to teach anyone who wants to learn to dance; she works with beginners or experienced dancers alike, offering her great teaching ability to all her students. Her encouragement and committed instruction have already led many of us to achieve more on the dance floor than we ever thought possible.


Tracy

From classroom to ballroomAfter a fulfilling career as an elementary teacher, Tracy discovered a new passion – ballroom dancing. What started out as a hobby quickly became a lifelong love, leading her to compete and embrace the artistry of dance. Along the way she also found balance and strength through Pilates, enhancing both her movement and well-being.Now, she’s thrilled to be part of the team at Just Dancing Studio. Whether it’s answering the phone, assisting the owner, or simply encouraging joy on the dance floor, she loves helping everyone discover the magic of ballroom- just as she did.


Why Just Dancing

Just Dancing, The Midwest’s premier ballroom dance school, offers a variety of programs and events designed to meet the needs of dancers of all levels and interests. The diverse range of dance style we teach ensures there is something for everyone to enjoy and explore.

We are committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment where you can feel comfortable, confident and inspired. So step onto the dance floor with us. Let the music move you and experience the joy and magic of ballroom dance!

What people are saying…

My fiancé and I were instructed by Sterling for first dance lessons! We had a wonderful experience and the dance was tailored to our skill level. After 3 lessons, we decided we would like to come back for group classes after the wedding to learn more!

– Emma H.

My husband and I have been going to the Latin dance class with Danyelle for several months now and we love it! It's a fun class and Danyelle is great at explaining everything which makes it easy and enjoyable. Would definitely recommend!

– Kayla T.

Just Dancing is my happy place! So glad I found them and started group classes again after moving back to St. Louis. Rebecca is a wonderful instructor…talented, kind, patient and positive. Truly the best part of my week is her group class!

– H.O.

We took wedding dance lessons with Danyelle! She was great at explaining basic steps and partnering and gave so many great tips. Thank you for a fun experience in the studio—we did it, dip and all!

– Claire H.