Staff
Introducing Dance Fever's 2023-24 Teaching Staff:
Karlie Krizanik
Owner/Director
Karlie's love for dance began in Erie, PA at the age of three- training in ballet, tap, jazz, acrobatics, hip-hop, gymnastics, cheerleading, and more. As a teen, she joined her studio's Acrobatic Adagio Company and danced/cheered competitively. She began teaching at 13 and has been doing so ever since! Karlie earned a Bachelor's in Child Development and Family Relations with a minor in Dance from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Upon moving to Charlotte, Karlie attended the University of North Carolina Charlotte for graduate school, earning a Masters in Dance Education. Karlie has been employed as a Dance Educator with Rowan-Salisbury School District, Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District, and has experience specializing dance instruction for students with special needs. After teaching with Dance Fever, Karlie fulfilled her lifetime dream of becoming the studio owner and director. She is beyond excited and proud to call Dance Fever home. Karlie's goal is to continuously learn and grow as a life long student of dance and to share that knowledge, providing excellent dance education to all students! "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." -Aristotle Acrobatic Arts Certified Instructor
Taryn Moreno
Charlotte Manager / Instructor
Acrobatic Arts Certified Instructor Taryn was raised in Fort Mill, SC where her passion for dance began at the very young age of two. She began performing and competing all around the country in Tap, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Musical Theatre, Acrobatics, Pom, Lyrical, and much more! Taryn began teaching at the age of 19 while receiving her degree in Sport Management at Winthrop University. She has had the privilege of dancing for the University by performing with the Dance Department in many different showcases and musicals. Taryn danced professionally for the Charlotte Checkers CheckMates and coached the Winthrop Spirit Squad upon graduation.
April Carte
Instructor
April has been a part of the Dance Fever family since she was 5 years old and started competing at age 8. As a student at Dance Fever, she trained in all dance styles and spent many hours student teaching and working the front desk. April is excited to have joined the teaching staff and remains an important part of the Dance Fever family. April is a graduate of Mallard Creek Highschool and UNC Charlotte.
Gabby Lockovich
Instructor
Acrobatic Arts Certified Instructor Gabby Lockovich was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. A graduate of Lake Norman Charter High School and UNCC. She started dancing at Dance Fever Charlotte in seventh grade, training in ballet, jazz, acro and was a part of the competition team as well as a student-teacher. In her free time, she loves to travel, shop, and spend time outdoors.
Brianna Graves
Instructor
Brianna started dancing at the age of 2 in Arizona and is entering into her 20th year dancing, as well as her 8th year teaching dance. She trained at a young age in both Arizona and California before moving to Charlotte, North Carolina. She started competing with dance at the age of 8 and has trained in many diverse styles including ballet, tap, jazz, modern, musical theatre, latin dance, and hip hop. She began assisting dance classes through the fine arts program at her school in the 6th grade and eventually started teaching her own classes before graduating high school. She has experience working with various ages of dancers ranging from preschoolers up to adults in many styles. She recently graduated from Appalachian State University with a Bachelor's degree in Dance Studies. Throughout her college experience she had the opportunity to perform in and choreograph for main stage shows, such as the Appalachian Dance Ensemble, as well as club showcases. She was also the President of Entropy Dance Crew, a hip hop and street styles dance club at App State. After graduating, she moved back to Charlotte and is very excited to start teaching at Dance Fever this year as she continues spreading her knowledge and passion of dance onto the younger generation of dancers!
Nikki Underwood
Instructor
Nikki’s love for dance began at age 3 in Troy, AL and she joined the competition team soon after. She is a well-rounded dancer trained in ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, and contemporary. During her years of competing, she trained with many well-known instructors, including Brian Friedman and Mia Michaels, and was titled West Coast Dance Explosion’s Elite Dancer and Hollywood Vibe’s National Dancer of the Year in her high school years. After graduating, she went on to become a member of the University of Alabama’s Crimson Cabaret and RipTide dance teams, a Nike Industrial dancer in 2008, and choreographed and participated in student dance shows on campus. Nikki has 18 years of teaching experience in jazz and contemporary with kids of all ages. She has a passion for technique and strength training, as well as helping students unlock their unique styles and musicality. In addition to teaching dance, Nikki works full-time in marketing and is a wife and mom of two!
Sarah Reid
Instructor
Sarah Reid began her dance training in her New Jersey hometown, participating in competitions and conventions nationally. Sarah diversified her dance technique and performing arts education at the Academy for Visual and Performing Arts High School where she supplemented her training with multimedia, theater, and stage production. Sarah earned her B.A. from Muhlenberg College, double-majoring in Dance, with an education concentration & Psychology. While attending Muhlenberg, Sarah taught modern, ballet, and jazz classes at the Muhlenberg Community Dance Center and was a performing member of DanceMax Moving Company. In 2013, Sarah studied at the Florence University of the Arts (Italy) where she had the opportunity to choreograph and perform site-specific solo works alongside the Florence Dance Company. She also studied with Pilobolus Dance Theatre during their summer workshop series. Sarah is a 500 hour Registered Yoga Teacher. Professional performance credits include works by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, regional touring in Philadelphia, New York City, and the Northeast as a founding member of the Megan Flynn Dance Company, and other collaborative projects as a freelance dancer. For the past 6 years, Sarah was the Program Manager and a teacher on faculty at the Philadelphia Dance Academy. She is excited to continue to share her passions for dance performance, education, and production.
Sarah Webb
Instructor
Sarah was born and raised in Greensboro North Carolina. She started dancing at the age of three and danced competitively from eight to eighteen years old. She has trained in many different styles including ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, hip-hop, musical theatre, pointe, and modern. Sarah is currently a senior at UNC Charlotte double majoring in Applied Dance Studies and Organizational Management. She is apart of a dance student-run organization called Range of Motion (ROM). There, she rehearses and preforms several dance numbers ranging in styles from contemporary, jazz, and Hip-Hop. Sarah is very excited to be apart of the Dance Fever team!
Molly Haughey
Instructor
Molly is a Charlotte native who grew up dancing at Dance Fever from the age of 3, and started competing at age 9. As a student at Dance Fever, Molly trained in all styles, and spent time student teaching and working at the front desk. Molly joined the teaching staff in 2022, and is excited to continue her teaching journey with the Dance Fever family. She is a current student at Queens University of Charlotte where she plans to graduate in 2027, and is also a member of the dance team!
Cordelia Hogan
Ballet Instructor
Cordelia Hogan, a Virginia native, began dancing at age four at a competitive studio in her hometown. She trained in many styles, including ballet, jazz, modern, lyrical, hip hop, musical theater, and contemporary. Cordelia graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Dance and Linguistics, where she danced in several performances sponsored by the Duke Dance Program, as well as performances by Devils en Pointe, the only student-run ballet company on campus. Also at Duke, Cordelia played the trumpet in the Duke University Marching and Pep Band, performing at all home Football and Basketball games. She is excited to have the opportunity to share her passion for ballet with the students at Dance Fever.
Murphy Bivens
Office Administrator
Murphy is a former lyrical and contemporary dancer, and danced competitively in high school. She has recently moved to Huntersville from Charlotte where she has been working in finance, HR and office management for almost 10 years. She spends her free time with the love of her life, her 9 year old pit bull! She is excited to be combining her love for dance with her passion for her career, and happy to be a part of the Dance Fever team!
Kylee Cannon
Instructor
Coming Soon!
Leandra Marchesin
Ballet Instructor
Leandra has worked for over 20 years as a Classical Ballet teacher and choreographer. She has a degree in Classical Ballet and Jazz and has been a professional classical dancer since 1996 when she joined the "Cisne Negro Compania de Danca" (Black Swan Professional Dance Company - Contemporary) in Sao Paulo/Brazil. As a soloist dancer, she perfromed with Joinville Dance Festival, Danca Ribeirao, Promodanca Solo a Cinq, RV Promocoes, Grand Prix Brazil, Festidanca, Bravo Festival de Danca, Passo de Arte, Sao Paulo Dance Festival and others. As a professional dancer and classical ballet teacher she took over the coordination of "Grupo Cadencia de Classico Avancado" (Advanced Classic Amateur Group), where was responsible for teaching the daily classes of classical ballet, developing choreographic projects (classical, freestyle, and contemporary), revising, or adapting classical ballet repertoire in groups or with soloists. MIss Leandra has worked for more than twenty years as a classical ballet teacher at and has extensive experience in teaching this art to children. Leandra also is a Ballet/Pilates instructor and specializes in several other modalities like XtendBarre, Balletpilates and Progressing Ballet Technique – PTB Level 1. We are so excited to welcome Leandra and watch her share her knowledge and passion with her Dance Fever students.
Abbigail Blanchard
Instructor
Coming Soon!