Dance Gallery

Dance Gallery has been serving Lawrence, Kansas for 42 years, founded and owned by Grant and Kristen Ryan. The studio operates two distinct programmes: recreational classes for ages 2 and up, and a highly recognised competitive troupe. The recreational schedule runs Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings, with classes ranging from 30 to 45 minutes. Tiny Tots classes (ages 3–6) introduce the youngest dancers to tap, ballet and general movement. Older recreational students (ages 6–12) can explore Hip Hop, Combo (mixing styles), and Intro to Acro.

The troupe programme is significantly more intensive, running during the day with a sophisticated curriculum. Summer classes include Conditioning, Ballet, Pointe, Jazz (in multiple levels), Acro, Tap, and technical classes like Green Technique and Combo. Dancers work through a graded structure: Tiny Troupe, Prep Troupe (Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Acro), then colour-coded levels (Purple, Blue, Red, Pink, Green) that build technique and choreography skills. The troupe encompasses multiple competition teams at various levels and ages.

The faculty brings significant professional experience. Sydney Mein, Troupe Director, danced competitively at Le Dance studio in Overland Park, was a Rock Chalk Dancer at the University of Kansas for four years (captain for two), competed in Pom and Hip Hop at UDA Nationals in Orlando, and has spent the past four years choreographing for high school and college dance teams across the US. She coached Free State High School's dance team for two years and is now pursuing a Master's degree in non-profit administration at the University of Missouri – Kansas City.

Olivia Ryan began at Dance Gallery aged 4, danced competitively for 14 years, and is now a Kansas State University sophomore studying Public Relations and Advertising. She has been a 5x national solo champion, won six group dance championships, and attended intensives including the Joffrey Ballet Intensive in New York and San Francisco and the American Ballet Theater Intensive in New York. She dances with the Kansas State Classy Cats and has performed at the BIG12 Championship in AT&T Stadium and the Sugar Bowl in the Superdome. She specializes in musical theater, lyrical and ballroom, and teaches technique, jazz, tap, acro and tiny tots.

Jordan Mayfield has been an instructor and choreographer at Dance Gallery since 2018, teaching classes across ages, styles and levels. She trained at Encore! Dance Company in Stillwater, Oklahoma, taught dance to military families at Fort Sill Military Installation, and taught and choreographed for Oklahoma State University. She holds a Master's in Social Work from the University of Kansas and is a Licensed Clinical Addiction Counselor; she has been voted a Best of Lawrence finalist for mental health counselor for three consecutive years. She specializes in jazz, hip-hop and tap.

Katie Lomshek trained in jazz, musical theatre, hip hop and lyrical, earning numerous overall awards and judges choice awards. She won two duet/trio National Championships and was an NDA All-American for all four years at Lawrence High on the Pom Squad. She graduated from KU in 2014 with a degree in Sport Management and a minor in business, and is currently in her fourth year as a Kansas City Chiefs Cheerleader.

Cathy Patterson, ballet technique coach, grew up at The Institute of Performing Arts/Dance Factory in Topeka and graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in Human Biology with a concentration in dance. She trained under professors Janet Hamburg and Scott Morro, studied in LA under Doug Caldwell and Sally Whalen, performed with the Scott Morrow Dance Theatre and the LA tap/hip hop company Rhytmatix, and worked commercially for The Fine Living Channel and HGTV. She previously owned a 700-plus student dance studio, is owner and artistic director of Point B Dance (18+ studio), has choreographed and produced over 45 professional stage shows, and is technique coach for the Baker University Dance Team. She has judged at Prestige National Talent Competition, West Coast Dance Explosion, Dance Masters of America, Starquest and O.N.E. Love Movement. She is certified with Youth Protection Advocates in Dance.

Lauren Finke trained at Above the Barre Dance Academy in Overland Park in modern, contemporary, jazz, tap and ballet. She was captain of the dance team at Blue Valley Southwest for two years and led the team to multiple top ten national placements. She now dances with the University of Kansas Rock Chalk Dance team while studying Exercise Science on the pre-physical therapy track. She taught recreational classes and mini company at Above the Barre for two years and began teaching at Dance Gallery in fall 2023.

Recreational classes are held Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Choose from Tiny Tots (ages 3–6), Mini classes (ages 6–9) or Youth classes (ages 9–12), with options in Tap, Hip Hop, Combo and Acro. Classes are 30–45 minutes long depending on age and style. Troupe dancers attend daytime classes structured by technique and level, progressing through named troupes and colour-coded levels with conditioning, ballet, jazz, acro and tap components.

Sydney Mein leads the troupe programme as director, bringing UDA Nationals competition experience and four years of choreography for high school and college teams. Olivia Ryan teaches recreational and troupe classes, a 5x national solo champion trained at Joffrey and American Ballet Theater intensives. Jordan Mayfield, an instructor since 2018, specializes in jazz, hip-hop and tap, with experience teaching military families and collegiate dancers. Katie Lomshek, a four-year Kansas City Chiefs Cheerleader and former NDA All-American, teaches troupe and recreational classes. Cathy Patterson coaches ballet technique and has choreographed over 45 professional stage shows. Lauren Finke joined in fall 2023 and teaches across age groups.