allie buchweitz
co-owner, dance company director & instructor
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Allie Buchweitz received a BFA in Dance and a Minor in History from the University of Arizona. While at school, she performed works by faculty members including Susan Quinn, Michael Williams, and James Clouser. She also had the opportunity to learn and perform Balanchine’s Concerto Barrocco. During her senior year she performed as a dancer with the Arizona Opera in their production of Beauty and the Beast, and also taught dance for an after school enrichment program in the Tucson Unified School District. Since graduation, she performed in Chicago as a company member with Joel Hall Dancers II, RASA Dance Chicago, and Corpo Dance Company in addition to working with numerous choreographers to perform in Dance Chicago, Chicago Freelance Dance, and the Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival. She spent 6 seasons performing as a company member with Esoteric Dance Project. Allie has been sharing her love of dance with her students for over 16 years.
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corey lozier
co-owner, preschool & tap curriculum director, & instructor
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Corey Lozier graduated from Western Michigan University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance with a minor in business, magna cum laude in April of 2000, where she studied all elements of pedagogy, kinesiology, and choreography. After moving to Chicago, Corey was a founding member of the innovative tap company Chicago Tap Theatre, under the direction of Mark Yonally. She performed professionally with Chicago Tap Theatre for 2 years. She then became a member of the internationally touring dance company, Jump Rhythm Jazz Project, under the direction of jazz icon Billy Siegenfeld. She performed with Jump Rhythm for over 5 years. Corey won an Emmy Award for her Performance in the PBS Documentary "Getting There: Jump Rhythm Jazz Project"in 2007. Although she has taught dance for over 20 years, for the past 10 years, Corey has turned her focus completely back to teaching and sharing the rhythm. Corey's choreography has won several awards and has been sought after by local youth dance companies. Corey has taught master classes at Stevenson High School as a part of the Odyssey program; choreography workshops for Fremd High School's Orchesis dancers; and has taught master classes and set choreography on the Orchesis dancers at both Buffalo Grove and Wheeling High School. Corey is on a mission to share the joy of movement and rhythm!
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rebecca robertstad
ballet curriculum director & instructor
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Rebecca Robertstad is a dancer, dance educator and choreographer in the Chicagoland area. She received a degree in dance from Columbia College Chicago with a concentration in teaching. Most recently Rebecca completed the ABT® teacher training intensive and is certified in Pre-Primary - Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She is also certified in Progressive Ballet Technique and has completed. her 200 hour Yoga certification.
Rebecca has preformed with Momenta, IDC Speaks, Esoteric Dance Project and is a guest artist with J. Lindsay Brown Dance. She has had the pleasure of working with various independent choreographers and has attended intensives with Luna Negra Dance Theater, The Seldoms and the DanceCOLEctive. Her choreography has been showcased at Going Dutch and at Kaliedescope Dance Festival. |
sam welbel
instructor
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Sam Welbel is an interdisciplinary performing and teaching artist who grew up in Buffalo Grove taking dance classes from Corey and Allie, and was fortunate enough to be on BGHS Orchesis for 4 years as a performer and choreographer. Sam studied dance in Israel through Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and has performed work by Choreographers Noa Zuk, Jin-Wen Yu, Corey Lozier, and Allie Buchweitz (:P). More recently, Sam has performed original work for both Hot Kitchen Collective, and Stop Motion Plant in Chicago. Sam is very excited to be teaching regularly at Movement and Sound again, and can't wait to help your dancers learn and grow!
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meghan griffin
instructor
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Meghan Griffin graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in May 2023 with a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Composition. There she was a member of Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honors Society and upon graduation received The Hope Ellen Page President’s Club Award in the Fine Arts. At Illinois Wesleyan she used her passion for music and tap dance to premiere a composition recital centered around pieces that combined live musicians and a tap dancer. Before college, Meghan studied dance with Corey and Allie for 14 years. She continued her tap studies at Illinois Wesleyan with Jessica Riss-Waltrip. Meghan has been actively involved in theatre her entire life both on stage as an actor and playing bass in pit orchestras. She has also done choreography for the Buffalo Grove High School Theatre Department with shows including Spamalot, Elephant and Piggie’s “We Are In A Play!”, and A Chorus Line. After growing up in the dance studio with Corey and Allie, Meghan is thrilled to be teaching at Movement & Sound!
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daniel williams
instructor
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Daniel Williams otherwise known in the Chicago street dance community as Daniel D.F.Y.H. is the co founder, and director of photography for Purus Motus dance film company. He started his unofficial training of the street arts in Iowa city at the age of 19 under his older brother. Now in his 15th season of teaching hip hop in various north shore studios, Daniel has become a leading specialist in the field of self identifying improvisation. Also well known in the underground dance circle as having started the battle series “Aux Cord Call Outs” presented by his late crew Mad For No Reason. Learning house, bboying, locking, Chicago footwork, popping, hip hop, and krump from some of the most decorated crews in the city such as Electric Funkateers, Crooks crew, So Swift, ChiBuck, and many more, Daniel has become a Swiss army knife of movement. Winner of Boogie Therapy seven to smoke in 2022, an event thrown by Chicago’s very own Stylin’ OUT crew, Daniel continues to climb the ladder amongst his peers. Making it multiple times in top 8 at WORLD of DANCE Chicago, and into the finals and final four at BATTLE of the EAGLE in Logan Square, Columbia College seven to smoke finalist, and a multitude of competitions, Daniel has made his way on to the judge panel for a handful of these events in the region. With influences from Nomi dance company and Cocodaco dance project, Daniel has learned to take street art and apply it to the concert realm becoming a cinematographer, and already a choreographer for Purus Motus alongside renown choreographer Katie Carey. Broadcasting a dynamic range of emotion and motion when it comes to bounce, groove, jack, hit, rock, and waving, the details in what Daniel is able to translate is reflected in the clarity in the movement amongst his students.
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chloe knackstedt
instructor
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Chloe Knackstedt is currently a student at Harper College pursuing an Associate degree of science. Chloe has trained in various styles of dance over the course of the past 16 years. For 11 of those years she has taken classes from Corey and Allie. In particular, she has a love for tap and modern and has been fortunate enough to compete in the two styles for 10 years. Throughout high school, she had been on Palatine High School’s Varsity Poms Team and worked at Movement & Sound. During her time at Movement & Sound she worked as; an assistant, substitute teacher, and a camp and birthday party leader. Chloe is excited to share her experience and continue to work with young dancers!
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sari stark
instructor
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Sari Stark has recently been a teacher and choreographer in Wisconsin for the last year. Growing up in the Arlington Heights area, she has been a lover of dance since four years old. She was lucky enough to be taught by Corey and Allie for 15 years. Sari continued her dancing experience outside the studio by choreographing and being a part of the BGHS poms team. She also continued into college, where she danced with the Carroll University Dance team. Within Movement and Sound, she was a leader for camps, as well as a substitute teacher. During that time she also began helping with birthday parties in the studio, which she still does and loves today! In between dancing, Sari also followed her passion for working with kids. She was a nanny and a preschool teacher for two years and loved every minute. After moving to Wisconsin and getting back into dance, Sari is beyond excited to be back and teaching with her Movement and Sound family!
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kate sabres
instructor
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Kate Sabres graduated from University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education and Special Education in December of 2017. She graduated with a masters in autism spectrum disorders in October 2022. She grew up dancing and doing acrobatics at Karen’s School of Acrobatics and Dance in Park Ridge, IL. She taught acrobatics and tumbling for 17 years prior to the studio closing during COVID. Kate was a varsity cheerleader for four years at Lane Tech High School in Chicago because of her acrobatics and tumbling skills. She continued to cheer in college. While teaching special education in Chicago Public Schools, Kate choreographs for Special Gifts Theatre in Chicago, Winnetka, and Wilmette. Kate is excited to get back to teaching acrobatics!
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katelyn dundovich
choreographer
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Katelyn Dundovich graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Dance Teacher Education and Physical Education. She is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree with a specialization in Teaching and Learning from the University of St. Francis. In addition, Katelyn recently earned her 200-Hour Yoga Teacher certification. Katelyn danced throughout college as a company member of Illinois State Dance Theatre, where she had the pleasure of performing pieces set by nationally ranked faculty and guest artists; as well as, four years as a member of Illinois State’s Official Dance Team, Redline Express.
Katelyn grew up studying dance in the Northwest Suburbs, where she had the opportunity to learn from Corey and Allie. Her choreography has been showcased in numerous festivals, concerts, and competitions including Going Dutch Festival, Dance Inventions, Freestage, Wheeling High School’s Pom Team, and Buffalo Grove Bills Cheerleading. Her choreography has received praise from judges for being age-appropriate, creative, and fun to watch! Outside of sharing her passion for dance at Movement & Sound, Katelyn teaches dance and wellness at Gemini Middle School and is the JV Dance Team Coach of the award-winning Titan Poms Dance Team at Glenbrook South High School. |
kristina saldarelli
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Kristina Saldarelli is a dance educator & choreographer who lives in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago with her three children and husband. She believes dance is for everyone and strives to create an environment of fun and connection in every class. Kristina holds her M.F.A. in Dance from University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee where she received The Chancellor’s Graduate Student Award and Peck School of the Arts Dance Department Scholarship. Her thesis examines historical and contextual gaps upheld within tap and jazz educational and creative practices through an autoethnographic lens. In addition, she holds her M.A. in Communication, Media, and Theatre from Northeastern Illinois University and her B.A. in Theatre Arts: Dance from University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point. In addition to teaching at Movement & Sound, Kristina is currently on faculty at the College of DuPage where she teaches dance courses. She is an active member of the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO),
Dance and Child International (dAci USA), and a frequent participant and teacher at American College Dance Festival (ACDF). For the past 20+ years, she has provided recreational and competitive dance education to students at universities & colleges, studios, private & public schools, and community organizations throughout Illinois and Wisconsin. Kristina served as an Adjunct Instructor of Dance at Carthage College for 8 years. During that time, she directed Away from the Mirror (2016, 2018, 2020, 2021), created several original works, and choreographed Something Rotten and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. From 2005-2018, she danced with JUMP RHYTHM® Jazz Project, a national and international touring, Emmy-Award winning professional rhythm company. She was also a Guest Adjunct Lecturer of Jump Rhythm® Technique at Northwestern University. Her choreographic work has been adjudicated at ACDF, produced in professional concert venues, and ranked highly in youth dance competitions. She has been teaching at Movement & Sound since 2019 and is excited to return for another season along with her two daughters and son. |
