Alison Brown, Owner & Founder
Miss Ali is the founder of the Hearts in Motion Dance Project. She was formally trained at the Grand Rapids Ballet, then continued her dance education locally through her high school years. She holds an elementary teaching certificate from Grand Valley State University as well as a degree in public relations and business. She spent five years involved with GVSU Dance Troupe, choreographing seven pieces for the organization and serving on the executive board as head of fundraising. Miss Ali loves to continue her dance education by taking dance classes in the community as well as attending various conferences. She has attended the Dance Teacher Summit three times, where she has studied both business and teaching courses under professionals like Twitch, Doug Caldwell, Mandy Moore, Mia Michaels and more! She has also taken classes at Broadway Dance Center and Steps in NYC and is module 1 certified to teach Acro through Acrobatic Arts. Miss Ali is part of the executive group of More Than Just Great Dance. She has attended both member rally and Studio Owner University for a few years and continues to train weekly with the group for best dance and business practices.
At Hearts in Motion, Ali teaches many of the classes from baby ballet classes to Senior competitive team. She loves working with all different levels and styles of dancer as each of them is wonderful and unique! One of her favorite parts of teaching is seeing her students set and reach their goals! She started The Hearts in Motion Dance Project with the simple thought that everyone can dance!
Kylie Krason, Director of Development & Instructor
Kylie Krason started dancing at the age of four in Flushing, MI, where she studied ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, and tumbling. She attended Grand Valley State University where she was a part of GVSU Dance Troupe for three years and the Dance Troupe Ensemble. After graduating from Grand Valley with her B.S. in Psychology she spent some time in Australia where she attended dance workshops and classes to further her dance education. Kylie has previously taught at Center Stage Dance Academy in Flushing and is a former member of Vertical Ambition Dance Company. She also coached the Grand Rapids Drive dance team in its first year. Miss Kylie also works to continue her education and has attended the Dance Teacher Summit three times to further her teaching practices taking classes from industry professionals. Kylie is also module 1 certified to teach acro through Acrobatic Arts.
This is Kylie's seventh year with Hearts in Motion and we love having her smiling face at the studio! You will see Miss Kylie teaching on Monday and Tuesday evenings - teaching jazz, tap, acro and private lessons. Miss Kylie is also competition co-director. She will be choreographing some pieces and will be part of all competition planning!
everyone can dance!
Kaitlyn Pacini, Instructor & Competition Staff
Kaitlyn is from Grand Rapids, MI and began her training locally at the age of 3. She began competing around 9 years old up until 17 years of age. She attended Western Michigan University where she furthered her education in dance and earned a Bachelor of the Fine Arts performance degree. As part of her education, she studied the history of dance, lighting and staging/production management, pedagogy, kinesiology, and various courses of choreography and movement exploration. She had many opportunities to perform in both professional and faculty works set in the Winter Gala concert every year. Her choreography was selected to perform in the Orchesis Dance Concert for four years in a row, in which she produced the choreography, and music/costume/lighting design. Kaitlyn also began teaching at a local dance studio in Kalamazoo in 2009 and taught jazz, ballet, contemporary, hip hop, and privates up into 2018. In Kaitlyns second year at WMU, she became the General Director for Hip Hop ConnXion, which is a Chicago-based hip hop company, and she directed the company for 3 years. Kaitlyn had opportunities to travel to San Francisco and train with Alonzo King Ballet Lines, travel to Seattle to train at Velocity Dance Center, and was selected to participate in an international initiative program to China. Kaitlyn spent 3 weeks training and performing in Taiwan, Chengdu, and Beijing, China, and she also taught hip hop master classes in both Taiwan and Chengdu. Upon graduation in 2013, Kaitlyn moved to New York City to further her career. She then performed on Holland America Cruise Line and Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line.
Kaitlyn is now still working individually with some dance students she’s had over the last 10 years, and she is going on her fifth season working for CRU Dance. She is living in Rockford and is busy planning her wedding and playing with their 1 year old German Shepherd. Kaitlyn is so excited to be back teaching dance classes and can’t wait to meet all of her students. She is so happy to be a part of Hearts in Motion Dance!
Briana Scoby, Instructor & Competition Staff
Briana Scoby is a Dance instructor/Choreographer originally from Central Florida, currently living in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her love of dancing began at the age of 2 when her parents realized that she preferred to dance through the house rather than walk, and they quickly enrolled her at a studio. Her passion for dance continues to this day. Briana studied Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Hip Hop, Jazz, Lyrical & Modern dance at A Dancer's Place; James Dance Center and Susan's Danceworks, all in Central Florida. She was a member of the James Imagemakers Dance Company & Susan's Danceworks Dance Company winning gold, high gold & platinum awards. She won the title of Miss Teen Dance on the Beach in 2008. Briana began student teaching at the age of 12, and following graduation in 2010, accepted a position as a dance instructor in Central Florida. Briana has done choreography for The Florida Lake Symphony Orchestra, East Hollywood Pictures "What the Dickens" Flash Mob Contest & Florida Hospital.
After relocating to Michigan in 2017, Briana spent the next year teaching Ballet and Tap at The Dance Network. She has trained with Mr. Juan Sanchez of Dance Educators of America, Miss Judy James, formerly of the St. Louis Ballet, Miss Kat Wildish, formerly of the New York City Ballet & the American Ballet Theatre and at the Ailey Extension and Broadway Dance Center in New York City,Miss Kari Huffman, a former dancer with the Royal Caribbean Cruise line & former director of Kari's Dance Factory in Key West, Fl. Briana has also performed at Disney Springs; at Universal Studios, Fl, and with the LC Swing Band in Central Florida.
Recently married to Kevin Scoby, her childhood sweetheart, Briana spends her time away from the studio working in her father-in-law's business, exploring her new home state of Michigan and working towards becoming an American Ballet Theater Certified Instructor.
Ãndrea Peck, Instructor
Miss Ãndrea started studying dance at Carol Ann’s Dance Studio at the age of eleven. She began teaching dance while in high school in East Tawas, West Branch and Pinconning, MI. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Central Michigan University in Integrative Public Relations and Journalism. During the summers while attending Central, she would attend Dance Masters of America Teacher’s Training School at S.U.N.Y Buffalo in Buffalo, NY. As a post graduate of their program, she has successfully passed her exams in ballet and jazz. She has been a member of Dance Masters of Michigan, Chapter 4 since 2011.
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Miss Ãndrea continued teaching throughout Michigan in other studios and taught ballet to competitive figure skaters until she moved to the west side of the state to attend law school. While in law school, Miss Ãndrea, albeit minimally, kept dance in her life by teaching ballet and hip hop in a recreational program in Wyoming, MI and doing choreography for various types of performances. In 2018, Miss Ãndrea earned her Juris Doctorate degree from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School and also studied at Hertford College at the University of Oxford in Oxford, England.
Abigail Fleszar, Instructor
Miss Abbey began her dance career at age 3 at the River Raisin Center for the Arts in Monroe, Michigan where she studied ballet, modern, contemporary, tap, jazz, and hip hop with a concentration in classical ballet technique and performance. During this time, she spent summers dancing with Cincinnati Ballet, Grand Rapids Ballet, and the Cecchetti Council of America during summer intensives. She is a recent Grand Valley Graduate where she received her B.A. in Dance. During this time she worked for the Cecchetti Council of America and the American Ballet Theater for their summer intensive programs. Her recent capstone work has also been selected and submitted to the American College Dance Association. Miss Abbey is so excited to be a part of the HMD staff and is looking forward to having fun and working hard!