THE RIVER RHYTHMS
DANCE CENTER STAFF

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Kristyn Ewald, Studio Director/Instructor
Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary,  and Musical Theater

Kristyn Ewald is the artistic director and owner of River Rhythms Dance Center. She is a graduate of LeMoyne College where she was the head choreographer of the LeMoyne Student Dance Company and received a BA in Psychology with a minor in Elementary Education. Working with the children and students in the educational atmosphere inspired her to combine her love of teaching children with her passion for dance and the arts and she decided to open a dance studio where she could get the best of both worlds.

Her choreographic versatility has earned her students and studio numerous recognitions and awards. She has earned choreography awards at the regional, national, and even international level when she took students to compete at the World Dance Championship. Her studio has repeatedly won admission into the Association of Dance Conventions and Competitions for their success at dance competitions. Students in her competitive dance program consistently win scholarships and titles at conventions and competitions for their technique and performance quality.

Kristyn is always looking to advance her knowledge and training by studying new teaching techniques and participating in ongoing educational opportunities. Yearly she attends the Dance Teacher Summit which is a collaboration of classes, exhibits, and performances which is designed to give dance teachers ongoing motivation and inspiration to continuously re-energize their passion for their art and improving their business. She is also a member of CLI studios which is the leading online industry resource for dance studio owners which connects top choreographers and dance studio owners all over the world. Her affiliation with the Association of Dance Conventions and Competitions allows for the opportunity to work with an association which unites studios and dance teachers to promote quality, integrity, and opportunity for their dance students.

Continued education is something that Kristyn also continues to promote to her students. River Rhythms Dance Center has a well trained and well rounded staff all of whom are experienced and dedicated professionals, however Kristyn also continues to constantly seek opportunities for her students to take classes from other professionals in the industry. Because dancers can get used to the way that their studio teachers present information and their teaching style, Kristyn brings in master instructors once a month to give dancers an opportunity to be exposed to the endless varieties of style in the dance world and give them the chance to work with adults who may provide information and training to them in a new and different way. Kristyn is also the owner and founder of Rhythm Revolution Dance Convention which brings some of the best and brightest dance talent right to Central New York. This 2 day convention gives her dancers the opportunity to receiving challenging dance instruction without having to travel or pay more money to attend dance conventions out of town.

As a respected teacher and award winning choreographer for almost 20 years, Kristyn is dedicated to teaching and inspiring young dancers to believe in their dreams and help them reach for the stars. “Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you will land among the stars”.

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Alexis Earle, Instructor
Toddler Creative Movement, Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical

Alexis grew up in the village of Baldwinsville and has been dancing since she was 2 years old.  At the age of 8, she began dancing competitively and fell in love with it!  She trained in ballet, lyrical, jazz, tap, acro, contemporary, some musical theater and hip-hop at Tawn Marie’s Dance Centre, enjoying musical theater and jazz the most. Although most of her training came from the studio, Alexis also expanded her dancing at many summer camps in NYC and Rutgers University, along with master classes presented by the studio. 

​In 2004, she began privately training and assistant teaching under the direction of Kristyn Ewald. This is what paved the way for her career as a dance instructor in various styles and age groups for the past 12 years, specializing in the toddler and kinder levels.

Alexis is currently earning her Bachelor’s Degree in English Literacy and her Master’s Degree in Early Childhood/Special Education at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY, as well as serving at Chili’s on the weekends and teaching dance at River Rhythms during the week. Alexis’ love for teaching dance is what helped her realize her true passion for teaching in general. She loves utilizing and sharing her new knowledge of teaching in each dance class so that every student can feel excited, motivated, focused, and free to learn! 

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Sarah McCombie, Instructor
Ballet, Pointe, Modern, Lyrical, and Jazz

Sarah began studying dance at a young age under teachers on the East and West coast and found a great passion in Jazz and Ballet. As a young dancer she danced competitively and performed shows in Hawaii, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and with the Syracuse Opera Company.  She spent her high school years studying Ballet, Jazz, and Modern at The Center Of Ballet & Dance Arts. 

After struggling with a recurring knee injury and not being able to dance herself, she decided to turn her passion towards educating the next generation of dancers. She's been teaching in Central NY for a decade and on a competitive judging panel for eight years. 

She currently teaches Ballet, Pointe, Modern, Jazz, Stretch, Contemporary/Lyrical and works with the Elite program. Sarah is proud to teach ballet and to share its tradition of elegance, beauty, and rich heritage.

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Kellie Bateman, Instructor
Fitness

Kellie has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary and Special Education from SUNY Geneseo.  She was a 3rd grade teacher for 8 years until her youngest daughter was born and she decided to stop teaching to be a stay at home mom.
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In 2013, she tried her first Zumba class and instantly fell in love with the group fitness environment and with dance fitness as a form of exercise.  In 2014 she became a licensed Zumba Fitness® instructor and a member of ZIN (Zumba Instructor Network).  Currently she teaches Zumba at the Northwest YMCA 3 days a week.  Zumba has allowed Kellie the opportunity to share her love of dance and fitness with adults of all ages and abilities.
 
This is Kellie’s second year teaching fitness classes to the competitive dancers at the studio. In her classes, she uses cardio aerobic exercises and anaerobic exercise programs like High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and Tabata.  Through isometric and plyometric training techniques, her goal is to help dancers gain cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, and balance to enhance their performances.

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Rochelle Hummel, Instructor
Preschool, Kinder, Level 1 and Level 2 Dance

Rochelle grew up in Oneida Castle, NY and started dance training at the age of 2. Rochelle trained at Sandy Fukes Dance Academy in Oneida, NY and with Charlene Bauer's Center for Dance arts and Aerial Training in Whitesboro, NY from ages 2-16. Her background in dance includes training in Tap, Jazz, Classical Ballet, Pointe, Acrobatics, Lyrical and even Baton! Rochelle started competitive dance training at age 6, performing groups, duets and solos in tap, jazz, ballet, acrobatics and lyrical, and was a member of the traveling competition team at her studio with many regional, state, and national awards in her career. Rochelle was also an assistant teacher at her studios from age 12-15. She received much of her advanced dance training by traveling to NYC with her team every summer to study under David DeMarie, Leonard Castilone in the genres of tap, jazz and lyrical and with Arthur Mitchell for ballet and pointe from NYCB corps and Dance Theater of Harlem. Rochelle also broadened her dancing by taking master classes as often as she could. She also had the privilege to take classes with the Rockettes for two summers.

Rochelle holds a Bachelor's degree in Nutrition Science and an advanced degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from Syracuse University and works part time as an outpatient Registered Dietitian for the Syracuse VA. Rochelle enjoys sharing her nutrition knowledge with her dance students as part of her teaching philosophy to care for the athlete's body. She believes in helping each of her students develop stronger character, greater self-confidence and positive body image, and a better appreciation and respect fro the art of dance.

​Rochelle has been teaching preschool, Kinder and levels 1-3 for the past 9 years as a recreational and most recently as a competitive level instructor at River Rhythms Dance Center. Dance has always been a big part of her life and with her three daughters of her own, who all dance competitively. She feels very fortunate to be able to share her passion with her students and her own children every day, and she plans to do this for many years to come. 

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Renee Valerino, Instructor
Acro

 

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Patty Lyons, Administrative Support
Front Desk Administration​

What is your hometown?
Rochester, NY

What is your favorite style of dance and why? 
Jazz, because​ it can be funky & fun or mysterious & fierce

What is your favorite Quote? 
“All ​our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” 
- Walt Disney

What music is on your playlist right now? 
Rather Be, A Sky Full of Stars, Bailando & Break Free 

What are your hobbies outside of dance? 
Traveling, Pilates, decorating, gardening & stamping cards


Pat DeKay, Administrative Support
Building Principal, Front Desk Manager​

What is your hometown?
Richfield Springs, NY

What is your favorite style of dance? 
Tap

What is your favorite Quote? 
“When you love what you have, you have everything you need.”

What music is on your playlist right now? 
Silence, I hear enough music at the dance studio.

What are your hobbies outside of dance? 
Reading, kayaking, hiking and finding my zen in Lake Placid.