Kathleen Massot, owner of the Dance Center of Kirkwood, has an extensive background in performance and teaching. As a young girl, she performed in the childrens chorus of the St. Louis Municipal Opera. Kathy then performed with the St. Louis Civic Ballet for 9 years and was a guest artist at the International Festival of Youth Orchestration in Aberdeen, Scotland. She also performed at the Saddlers Wells Theatre in London, England.
Kathy then attended the National Academy of Arts and danced professionally with The National Ballet of Illinois. After moving to New York City, Kathy danced with the Leon Felder Dance Company. She performed with the Laura Dean Dancers and Musicians, and soon became their co-rehearsal director as well. While in Laura Dean's Company,
Kathy taught at the University of Iowa and at the University of California.
In 1987, Kathy performed in the AIDS benefit at the
Lincoln Center with Master of Ceremonies, Mikhail Baryshnikov. This benefit was organized by Jerome Robbins and Peter Martins. For three summers, she performed at the American Dance Festival at Duke University in North Carolina. Kathy performed throughout the United States in many theaters, including City Center, The Joyce Theatre, and The Lincoln Center. She also performed throughout Europe with a total of three extensive tours.
Kathy teaches ballet, pointe, tap, and jazz at the Dance Center of Kirkwood, and her dancers have won many awards in local competitions. She has also won Best Choreographer Awards. Her students were chosen to perform in Dance St. Louis Spring Festival at the Edison Theatre for three years. She has taken choreographic composition classes at Webster University. Kathy was also a docent for the Educational Impact program for Dance St. Louis.
Karen Brewington has an extensive and successful background in teaching dance and in choreography. She studied with the top dance teachers in St. Louis since her childhood and continues to participate in dance workshops. She majored in Physical Education and Dance at Southeast Missouri State University.
Karen began teaching ballet, tap, and jazz at the Dance Center in 1982. She began the competition program in 1992 with small tap groups. Her competition students have performed in the Macy�s Day Parade in New York City. They also attended national competitions in San Antonio, Texas and Kansas City, Missouri where they have won high ranking scores.
Karen also choreographs shows for groups and individuals other than Dance Center. For the last ten years, she has choreographed the south side Lion�s Club fund raising events. Karen has choreographed a solo piece for Miss Sikeston 2001 and Miss Malden 2002 during their pursuit of the Miss Missouri crown 2001-2003.
Lisa Nicholas spent most of her early years training at the St. Louis Dance Theatre, which was owned by her father, Michael Simms. She also studied under Simms at
Webster University when she was in high school.
As a teen, she studied at the National Ballet of Canada in Toronto. Lisa traveled to Ireland with the Cargill Two Theatre Company and performed in Godspell, Pipin, and Gypsy. She joined the Festival Ballet of Rhode Island in 1979, dancing with Winthrop Corey and Christine Hennessey. Lisa taught ballet at the Ballet School of Rhode Island and at the Simms Academy in St. Louis.
Meredith Smith began dancing at the age of four and soon joined the Dance Center of Kirkwood. As a young teen, she participated in the NSAL ballet competition and performed with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens.
Meredith attended college at the University of Oklahoma and received her B.F.A. in Ballet Performance and her B.A. in Journalism/Public Relations. She performed with the Oklahoma Festival Ballet in The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Carmina Burana, and Young Choreographers Showcase, among others.
Meredith has also performed The Nutcracker with the Kansas City Ballet in the Snow and Flower Corps. She also worked for the Kansas City Ballet doing public relations and marketing. Meredith has been a principal dancer with the Dance Center of Kirkwood in The Nutcracker. She also taught ballet, tap, and jazz for the Dixie Bell Dance Center in Shawnee, Kansas as well as taught ballet at the Kansas City Ballet School.
Emily Smith is currently working towards her Dance Masters certification with an additional course in pre-dance levels. As a dancer she has over 16 years of dance and performance experience in all forms including Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Pointe, and Modern. She was also a member of a competitive dance team for 6 years. Emily has attended multiple Dance workshops and classes taught by Washington and Webster University teachers such as Cecil Slaughter, Beckah Voigt, Christine O’Neill, Anthony Russo and many more.
She started her teaching career as an assistant for many years and then began substitute teaching all levels from pre-dance through advanced before acquiring her own classes at Dance Center of Kirkwood. Her choreography skills include recital work and local talent shows. Emily’s retail background at the Dance Bag has given her a deeper knowledge of dance brands including appropriate shoes and attire for class. In the classroom she stresses good dance etiquette and age appropriate music for a fun and engaging atmosphere.
Erin Warner is a lifetime alumna of the Dance Center. She received her B.A. in Dance and Spanish from Colorado State University, and is currently obtaining her M.F.A. in Arts Management at Webster University.
In 2006 Erin taught dance for the Boston public school district through the Topf Center for Dance Education and danced for Fusionworks II in Providence, RI with Stephanie Sanford and Deb Muenier. Now back in St. Louis, she is a company member of the Slaughter Project under artistic direction by Cecil Slaughter, and dances for Atrek Dance Collective directed by Diana Barrios. She also coaches the colorguard and dance teams at Webster Groves High School.
Sarah Shih has been a member of our ballet ensemble for the past fourteen years and has participated in numerous local and national competitions. She has taken master classes from notable instructors from Webster and Washington University,
including ballet masters from the Alonzo King's Line Ballet and the Houston Ballet. She is also currently part of the Slaughter Project, a modern dance company founded by Cecil Slaughter.
Sarah has also studied and performed with Pilobolus Too and was one of the few chosen to perform in their Cirque du Ballet Gala. Her most notable role includes the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Dance Center of Kirkwood’s annual production of The Nutcracker. Sarah also teaches ballet, tap, and tumbling at the Faith Academy of Montessori.
