Our D R E A M Team
Mrs. Lindsay Horton
Owner, Artistic Director
Company, Collective, & Club Dance Instructor & Choreographer
Mrs. Lindsay has been dancing since she was three years old (Wilkins School of Dance “born and raised”), completed the studio’s graduate program, participated and competed in summer conventions, performed in the annual Poquoson Christmas Parade, and is a studio hall of fame recipient. A 2008 graduate of Grafton High School, she was a captain and featured dance soloist in the school’s color guard and traveled throughout Virginia to compete. She graduated from Christopher Newport University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Dance. Driven by her passion for dance, she pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Performance from Old Dominion University, which she completed in 2014. While at both universities, Mrs. Lindsay performed and choreographed in numerous dance concerts and showcases, while completing a comprehensive dance curriculum in ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, musical theater, hip-hop, modern, choreographic composition, teaching principles, dance history, and dance anatomy/kinesiology.
While completing her collegiate studies, she was a dedicated teacher at Wilkins School of Dance for six years. During this time, the joy she shared through dance and her love for teaching continued to grow even more than she could’ve ever imagined. She is currently working at Woodside High School in Newport News as the Associate Director of Dance for their Magnet Program! Over the past nine years, she worked at Elevé Dance Center and was fortunate enough to use her artistic ability through teaching, making music creations, choreographing a variety of styles and pieces including small groups, productions and specialty numbers, etc. Mrs. Lindsay is grateful for having a supportive family throughout all her dance endeavors and so thankful to finally be following her lifelong dream of owning her own dance studio. Mrs. Lindsay is excited to start this new adventure all while building a safe and creative environment for all our dancers to grow and become well educated artists! She’s looking forward to continuing to share her knowledge and passion with our new studio family here at DreamMakers!
Miss Johnna Cwik
Instructor & Choreographer - Company Ballet, Pointe, Collective, Club Dance
Johnna Cwik, from Johnstown, PA, began her love of dance at age 5 at Le Dance Academie. During those formative years, she studied ballet, tap, jazz, pointe, and modern. She student assisted and then began to teach at the age of 16. Johnna attended Slippery Rock University where she graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and Spanish. She has studied and is proficient in ballet, jazz, modern, tap, pointe, afro-colombian, and bharatanatyam. During her time at Slippery Rock, she was a member of the Afro-Colombian Dance Ensemble where she traveled and performed at different community events and Latin Festivals. She also performed in several student choreographed pieces as well as faculty repertoire from Ursula Payne and Nora Ambrosio. Additionally, Johnna served as dance captain and performed in “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” and “The Robber Bridegroom” with SRU Theatre. During her time at university, she presented her choreographic work as part of the Student Research Symposium in partnership with faculty member David Skeele. She proudly choreographed a new age take to the iconic battle in “Richard III”. She also enjoys Latin social dance such as salsa, bachata, and merengue and has studied many Latin styles that she loves to choreograph and teach. In addition to dance, Johnna is an actor, singer, and model.
Johnna is a performer and has been seen dancing/acting at various theme parks. Most recently she was seen at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Scrooge No More (Dance Captain), Jack is Back (Dance Captain), The Mardi Street Party, Spark!, Count's Countdown to Halloween (Dance Captain), and Elmo's Christmas Wish (Dance Captain). She also performed as a scare actor in Fools Court and a comedic actor in the Spritzer Squad at Busch Gardens. She was seen at Kings Dominion in Grande Carnivale Spectacle of Color Parade and Showcase. Johnna has performed in various regional theatre productions including “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Pippin” with Stage Right! of Greensburg, PA. At Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, she was a Fairy Godmother in Training.
When Johnna is not performing, she is teaching and choreographing. She has been teaching various levels and styles of dance for 15 years. She also has choreographed various musical productions for Mount Aloysius College and Cresson Lake Playhouse, both in Pennsylvania. Additionally, she worked with Scott Logsdon (of Broadway's “Les Mis”) to perform and dance captain for various benefit performances. She also loves the technical side of the arts and dabbles in stage management and lighting design. Johnna is excited to share her love and knowledge of dance with anyone she gets the chance to meet.
Miss Kelly Hall
Instructor & Choreographer - Modern, Strength & Conditioning, Company, Collective, Club Dance
Miss Kelly started her dance journey at the age of 5 and soon found a studio home at Wilkins School of Dance. She graduated from Grafton High School in 2014 and knew she had a strong passion in dance technique, teaching, and the health of athletes. She continued her education at Old Dominion University earning a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science in 2018 and her Bachelor of Arts in Dance in 2019. She had many performance opportunities such as University Dance Theatre Concerts and showcases, SITES festivals (featured in “Expect Us”) and she wrote and directed her own dance film through Campus MovieFest. She has trained and studied in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, contemporary, character, hiphop, and improvisation! Many courses shaped Miss Kelly into the teacher and choreographer she is such as, Dance Composition, Teaching Principles, Rhythmic Analysis, Dance History, and Dance Anatomy. In addition to teaching, Miss Kelly also works in Industrial Injury Prevention at Pivot Physical Therapy. She runs physical ability tests and teaches proper lifting technique and safe work movement patterns.
Miss Kelly started at Elevé Dance Center as a teacher assistant following her senior year of high school during her first year at ODU. She has taught and assisted many classes within the past 9 years and has gained great experience teaching ages 2-18! She is a very bubbly, high energy teacher and choreographer and loves to share her knowledge of dance while making sure we are doing all we can to prevent injuries! She loves to teach Conditioning and to create strong and smart dancers who will become lifelong athletes! Miss Kelly took many classes that she is able to apply to her technique classes such as Prevention and Care of Injuries in Physical Activity, Strength and Conditioning Leadership, Anatomical Kinesiology, and Nutrition for Fitness and Sport. She is a certified Personal Trainer and committed to furthering her education monthly with continuing education courses. Miss Kelly loves to learn, bring her positive energy and make DREAMS come true!
Miss Haylee Carlstrom
Instructor & Assistant, Choreographer - Club Dance, Company, Collective / TikTok Creator & Manager
Miss Haylee has been dancing since she was 4 years old. She started her training at Wilkins School of Dance, where Mrs. Lindsay taught her the most. When she was 11 years old, Miss Haylee shifted over to Elevé Dance Center. During her time there, she was trained in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, modern, hip-hop, character, pointe, and salsa. She completed the four year graduate program, where she student-assisted for four years with elementary combo and petite classes. She worked the front desk at Elevé for two years, during her junior and senior year of high school. Furthermore, she has attended multiple DanceMakers Conventions where she was able to attend classes taught by professionals. Miss Haylee graduated from Menchville High School in 2022.
As a new school year began this past year, she stepped into a new role as an assistant dance instructor and is looking forward to learning more as she thrives along that path. She is continuing her dance career at Old Dominion University, where she is double majoring in Criminal Justice and Dance. Miss Haylee’s passion for dance runs in her family; both her mother and her grandmother were dancers. Even though she had tried other sports like tee ball and gymnastics, none of them stuck. Her passion for dance grows as she grows. Miss Haylee is so excited to start this new chapter of her life doing what she loves with the people she loves.
Miss Danielle Jeffers
Our Resident Sub
Miss Danielle has been dancing for over 20 years, trained in tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, modern, ballet, pointe, hip hop, and ballroom. Born and raised in Newport News, she graduated from Woodside High School, where she took part in the Dance Magnet program and Dancy History classes. While attending TNCC, she took Ballroom and competed at Princeton in the Rumba. Miss Danielle also comes with an extensive background in competitive swimming. Swimming taught her the importance of cross training, stretching and a strong mindset. In her free time she enjoys taking barre classes, running, and reading to further expand her knowledge and experiences.
Danielle has grown from a student to teaching hip hop, jazz, lyrical and conditioning classes. Her passion for dance creates a fun, positive and encouraging environment for dancers to learn, to step outside their comfort zones and try new things. She considers it a privilege to teach and, in return, learn from her dancers. Danielle brings a positive, energetic, and nurturing attitude with a desire and excitement to help young dancers find confidence in the vulnerability of chasing after a dream and a passion. She is excited to witness and help other dancers reach their full potential.
A Professional Touch
Here at DreamMakers, we foster a safe learning environment while providing our dancers with professional education. Each of our instructors hold or are working on dance degree(s) from accredited universities, have a minimum of five years teaching experience, and some professional performing experience. All of our dancers will receive a disciplined and structured training experience filled with terminology, technique, passion, and teamwork.
Our DreamMakers Company Members work many years to participate in our conservatory program for which one of their requirements is student assisting our professional instructors with a weekly class. We feel it is important that our dancers grow not just technically and artistically, but also be able to apply what they’ve learned from a “teacher” standpoint. This further emphasizes one of DreamMakers’ goals to build a well-rounded and educated dancer.
Each class size will not exceed 12 students and will include a minimum of one professional instructor and one student assistant.
