Meet Our Staff

Studio Owner & Instructor

Catie has a passion for dance and has been dancing for most of her life. She danced competitively during her youth, volunteered with a special needs dance troupe throughout high school, and studied dance at Hope College. She has led workshops in liturgical dance in West Michigan and abroad. Before founding Dance United, Catie taught at Discovery Dance in Fennville, Michigan for 9 years. Her students are dancing on college dance teams, have earned scholarships for dance, and are teaching at other dance studios. 

Catie is married and a mother of 4. She also earned her MA in Health & Wellness Coaching. She pulls from both skill sets when working with her students to create a holistic and encouraging experience for her dancers.  

Breaking & Hip Hop Instructor

Jacob has been street dancing since 1997, competing and traveling throughout the Midwest. He has opened for hip hop and R&B artists such as Fat Joe, Dead Prez, B2K, Boyz to Men, and many others. He also danced for the Grand Rapids Rampage Football Team, the Red Bull Streat Team, and with Coleman Production, traveling to colleges in the Midwest to educate students about hip hop and the hip hop culture. Jacob has a passion for youth and the community, volunteering his time by teaching a dance style now known as “breakin”, at the Boys and Girls Club, youth centers, and schools around the Holland area.  

Jacob is married and a father of 2 young children. Jacob also enjoys creating poetry and art in his free time. 

Competition, Beginning & Advanced Level Instructor  

Mari has been dancing most of her life. She is trained in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical/contemporary, modern dance, and hip-hop. Growing up she was a member of competitive/performance group, where she was lucky enough to travel nationally & internationally dancing. Mari went on to study dance at Hope College, earning a dance minor. While at Hope, she was in several student and faculty shows, as well as, a member of Insync Dance Theatre, a professional dance group. After graduating, Mari became a member of the dance faculty at Hope, teaching jazz dance. 

Mari has been teaching dance for the past 20 years - starting at her hometown studio - and most recently, at Discovery Dance of Fennville for the past 7 years. Her dancers have gone on to dance on college dance teams, earn scholarships, and even become dance teachers themselves. 

Mari has been a first grade teacher at Fennville Elementary for the last 15 years. She has one son. In addition to dancing, Mari loves spending time with friends & family, reading, singing, and playing guitar.

Hip Hop & Competition Team Instructor 

Taina started her dance career with recreational dance classes at a small studio where she trained in breaking and Mexican Folkloric. Dance has been a passion of hers and she began dancing consistently in 2016, joining a locally known hip hop. Taina was captain of her high school's dance team and is currently in her fourth year of training with DanceSpire. Taina's performance opportunities include dancing at MSU's Spartython, MC3, dance performance at 20 Monroe Live as well as high school dance competitions. She has also been a part of DanceSpire connect which has allowed allowed her to teach at multiple different studios to grow as not only as a teacher but a better student. 

Taina is currently a full time student at Grand Valley in her final year of pursuing her bachelor's in psychology. She also works as a Coffee Fanatic Manager at Biggby Coffee. 

Beginning/Intermediate Level Instructor  

Ballet Instructor 

Myléne (pronounced muh-lane, she/hers) is a West Michigan native returning home after eight years in Orlando, Florida. She has experience in competitive, recreational, and concert/performance dance across her fifteen years of teaching at W.E Dance Academy, the Zeeland Dance Program, Discovery Dance of Fennville, Studio K (Orlando, Fl), and Windermere Preparatory Academy (Windermere, Fl) 

While living in Orlando, Florida, Myléne performed with Universal Studios Orlando in Universal’s Holiday Parade Featuring Macy’s for three seasons as five different roles and Halloween Horror Nights for four seasons where she has worked closely with performance directors for both Universal and Netflix. In addition to her performance opportunities, her eight year employment as a Cast Member at Walt Disney World provided an atmosphere of fun and creativity while challenging the way she interacted with people every day. These interactions showcased the importance of an inclusive environment for her dance students within the studio where every dancer feels heard, valued, and respected. 

Myléne spends her spare time hanging out with her black lab named Tucker, planning her spring 2024 wedding with her fiancé, taking pilates classes, and doing arts and crafts! She is so excited to be back in the Mitten, teaching dance at a Dance United as it aligns so perfectly with what she values most as a teacher and dancer.