MEET OUR Staff
Jennissa Voorhees-Gertge: Director
When I was three years old, my parents gave me the gist of ballet classes for my birthday, but little did they know it was a gift that would shape the rest of my life. I was not the most disciplined child, and dance training provided the focus and self-control needed to pursue my dreams of dancing professionally. I have been blessed to have a very successful dance career at Disneyland, on cruise ships’ national tours, on and off-Broadway theater, screen, and print work in New York City and Los Angeles.
When I took over as The Studio Director in 2008, I knew I wanted to give the community of Northern Colorado the same opportunity I had to receive excellent technical training. Over the years, I have developed a passion for developing leaders with solid work ethic, determination, and high standards of morals and character.
We love what we do here and the community we have created. Please feel free to check us out, and if you are ready to grow and belong, we are excited to serve you!
Monica Taplin
Monica grew up dancing at a pre-professional ballet studio in Montana. There she danced with their Company and performed in ballets such as Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Coppelia, Don Quixote, and many more. Monica also studied Horton and Graham Modern technique at her studio and college. Monica began teaching dance in college as well, where she discovered her calling on her life was not engineering, but in teaching. She has been teaching for eleven years now, and just recently received her Masters Degree in Dance Education from UNC.
Monica’s teaching style prioritizes deep technical understanding, anatomical awareness, muscular strength and endurance, and artistry to develop the whole dancer, create a strong foundation, prevent injury, and nurture dancers’ love for the art. Monica’s favorite thing about dance: “Dance is the only art of which we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made.” – Ted Shawn.
Emily Hawk
Born and raised in CO, danced at The Studio starting at age 12 and then never stopped! Her senior year she got an amazing scholarship to dance at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She lived in Philly for four years, working as a fitness instructor and dancing in a modern company. She was lead back to CO to continue teaching fitness but then soon took a passion to floral design. She now owns her own business, Mae Florals, where she does weddings and special events.
Emily teaches Jazz and Contemporary and strives to always have the best new jams to dance to! She is married to the man of her dreams and they have two sassy Huskies together. Every weekend if she’s not doing a wedding, they are snowboarding, mountain biking, or on some new adventure. Her favorite thing about dance is finding her inner groove and improving!
Allie Daniels
Allie grew up in Wisconsin with a big family. She has loads of energy and loves to help everyone. She moved out to Colorado on her own during the summer of 2021, and she has been having so much fun finding her! She loves cows, anything yellow, and being outside. Dancing means so much to me because it’s a form of release. She shakes everything off when the music starts and allows her to release everything. Even though there is noise and music when she’s dancing, the world seems quiet.
Marissa Nehrete-Eckles
Marissa is from Long Beach, CA and moved to Colorado in March 2023. She started dancing at the age of three and fell in love with it. Marissa has been trained in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, contemporary, and hip hop. She started competing at the age of six and continued all the way through high school. While attending high school, she was also on cheer/song and dance team at her school. Marissa later attended San Jose State University where she got her BFA in dance while being on the schools pre professional dance company. After college, she went back home and coached at her high school for the same programs.
Her favorite thing about dance is the release and finding freedom in her movement. Dance has always been her outlet and still is to this day. She loves being a teacher to give back to her community. On her free time she loves to spend time with her dogs.
Ashliana McIntosh
Ashliana was born and raised in Highlands Ranch, CO. She started dancing at the age of two and instantly fell in love with it! She started competing with her studio at the age of five and continued until eighth grade. She decided to join her high school poms team and absolutely loved it. They had the opportunity to compete at State, Nationals, Regionals, and more. Her team won Nationals in 2017 and State in 2018. College came around and she wanted to keep dancing, so she was blessed with the opportunity to be on the Grand Canyon University Dance Team. She has been trained in ballet, jazz, musical theater, contemporary, hip hop, lyrical, and pom. She loves her family and friends very much. She loves getting to help people and see others flourish, so teaching dance is a growing passion for her. Her favorite thing about dance is getting to express herself when she can’t find the words to say and getting to dance with people to build deeper relationships.
Carrie David
Carrie holds a BFA in Dance from Southeast Missouri State University. While at Southeast, she performed in dance concerts including guest artists’s works such as Sabor A Mi, choreographed by Jose Limon, restaged by Brenna Monroe-Cooke. After she graduated, she went on to train with Dustin Crumbaugh and Geoffrey Alexander in the Big Muddy Dance Company Training Program. She has also danced with Leverage Dance Theater along with Ashleyliane Dance Company. Carrie has been teaching, choreographing, and directing since her early 20s.
This is her sixth year with The Studio as a dance teacher and choreographer. It is her vision to see her students grow not just as dancers, but as loving and amazing people in all aspects of life. Her favorite thing about dance is the freedom of it. She loves the gracefulness, feeling herself flow through the music, and getting lost in the music. She loves the way it takes you out of reality and transfers you somewhere where you are truly present.
Marissa Nehrete-Eckles
Matt Bishop, a versatile performer and choreographer passionate about hip-hop, modern, and tap, started dancing for fun at the age of 9 with Rhythm & Shoes Dance Studio in Tontitown Arkansas. He started competing at 13 and has since competed solos, duos, small groups, and large groups in hip-hop, tap, jazz, contemporary, and lyrical. Additionally, he’s danced with a kick-line, the Silver Stars of HAR-BER High School, and has supplemented his technique with 10 years of ballet. After high school, he decided to take his vitality for dance and turn it into a professional career, which led him to move 900 miles away to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Dance at Colorado State University. During his time in college, he has taken up the role of Vice President and Financial Officer for the CSU Hip-Hop Dance Club. This position has enabled him to use his passion for hip-hop to facilitate a positive, supportive, and inclusive environment for a club that seeks to bring the culture of hip-hop dance to the community. Additionally, Matt found an interest in lighting design and enthusiastically pursues opportunities that can develop his career as a dance-specific lighting designer. My favorite thing about dance is that it’s an outlet for me to release my energy in a way that can facilitate creativity.