Nina Middendorf
I was born and raised in Hamburg, Germany. At age 15 I was introduced to ballroom dancing and fell in love with it. I competed in Germany for four years until I moved to St. Louis and started my career as a ballroom dance instructor at Just Dancing. I have been teaching at Just Dancing now for over 22 years and never lost my passion for the art of dance. My specialty is in making everybody feel comfortable on the dance floor from social dancing, wedding couples and large group lessons to ballroom competitions. In addition, I have been teaching ballroom dancing cotillion to 7th and 8th graders for over 10 years. I especially enjoy the progress my students make with every dance lesson and their growing confidence on the dance floor.
Steve has been teaching ballroom dancing since 1979. He has been teaching at Just Dancing Dance Studio since it's beginning in 1987, and was one of the studio's founders. He has competed in the Smooth, Rhythm, Latin and Ballroom styles of dancing, with Ballroom (Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Fox Trot and Quickstep) being his specialty. Steve enjoys teaching all levels of dancer from people with no dance experience to very experienced competitive dancers. He enjoys being able to share the fun, exercise of the body and mind, the challenge of learning something new with his students as they learn to ballroom dance.
Michael has been teaching ballroom dance for 15 years. He and his students have received numerous awards at competitions across the country. Michael has extensive experience teaching all levels of dancers, from complete beginners to fellow professionals. He has also served as a guest instructor for Webster University's Theater Department. He has coached and partnered many prominent local business leaders for Dancing With the St. Louis Stars, winning such awards as "Crowd Favorite" and "Judges' Favorite". Along with his wife and professional partner Lucy, he has placed as a finalist in the American Smooth style in over 100 professional competitions nationwide.
Lucy Fitzgerald
Lucy has been dancing since the age of four and teaching ballroom dance for 14 years. While her veteran competitive students consistently win top honors at national events, she is also an expert at helping complete beginners feel comfortable on the dance floor. Lucy and her husband Michael have enjoyed a successful competitive career in the American Smooth style, placing as finalists in over 100 professional competitions across the country. Lucy is also proud to be a six-time Dancing With the St. Louis Stars Champion.
Jane Humphrey
Jane has been teaching weekly Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Swing classes for many years in the St. Louis area. She also teaches wedding choreography, West Coast Swing, Lindy, Charleston, St. Louis Shag , Carolina Shag, Nightclub 2- step, Chalypso, Balboa, Onestep, and other ballroom dances. She trained with Frankie Manning, Simon Selman, Louise Thwait, and Marcus Koch to learn Lindy and studied with Joe Grippe for her certification in Original Imperial Swing Dance Instruction. While competing, she was a finalist in numerous Regional competitions including Missouri State, Illinois Traditional, Midwest Challenge, and St. Louis Swing Invitational as well as The Buddy Austin Invitational in Oklahoma and the Dallas Dance Competition in Texas. Her classes emphasize good partner skills and musical interpretation.
Elena Lyashenko
In her native Belarus, Elena and her husband Vassily were the National Professional Dance Champions for multiple years and represented their homeland in 40 World and European Dancesport Professional Championships. Elena has been a professional ballroom and Latin dancer for more than 40 years. In 2000, Elena moved to the United States with her daughter and husband to teach competitive dance. She is certified by the world's leading dance professional organizations.
Vassily Lyashenko
A full fellow of the North American Dance Teachers Association and the Belarus Professional Dance Union, as well as a full member of the British Association of Teachers of Dancing, Vassily has been teaching dance for more than 40 years. He's an examiner for DVIDA International and an NDCA judge. Together with his wife Elena, they were 5 times semi-finalist of the World Professional Championships. Vassily's students have won 12 US National Pro/Am Championships and he has won top teacher honors at more than 30 NDCA competitions.
Senzo Makhaye
Senzo was a South Africa national rhythm champion at age 11, the year he began dancing. From an extended family of dancers in Pine Town, a suburb of Durban, he was a South Africa national international Latin finalist three times. Before coming to the U.S. in 2012, he danced competitively on "Superdance South Africa," a competition TV series focused on Latin. Senzo, paired with Sue McCollum, won 2014's Dancing With the St. Louis Stars. He and professional dance partner Agnieszka Strojek have competed in American rhythm since 2012. Their list of championships is growing, with first-place finishes at Florida State Dancesport, Virginia State Dancesport, Wisconsin State Dancesport, and Twin Cities Open in just the past few months. He teaches all ballroom, rhythm and swing dance styles.
David Nyemchek Jr.
Born and raised in St. Louis, David began dancing as a young boy and started competing at age 16. He and his dance partner Maysen Wilder soon began working together, achieving distinction as International Latin finalists for USA Dance, Pre Champ winners at the 2015 Ohio Star Ball, and USA Dance National Pre Champ Latin winners for 2016. David turned pro in 2016 and teaches all styles of ballroom dancing. In 2019 he and Maysen have earned first place in numerous competitions around the country, including the Desert Classic in Palm Springs, Volunteer State Championships in Nashville, and
Heart of America Championships in Kansas City. "I have decided to make this my career and life and want to share the joy and sense of accomplishment with everyone."
David Nyemchek Sr.
A dancer for 35 years, well versed in teaching all styles and levels of dancer, David received his training in New York. He was trained in the Latin style by Bob Medeiros, Shirley Ballas and Vernon Brock, and in the Ballroom style by Stephen Hillier, Sonny Bennick and by Jock and Bemil McGregor. David is a National Dance Council of America (NDCA) registered judge and travels throughout the country judging NDCA competitions. He is an original founder of the Just Dancing studio.
Suzy Nyemchek
A dancer of 39 years in all styles, Suzy is an original founder of Just Dancing studio, and loves to teach great lessons incorporating fun and humor.
Tom Obermeier
Serving as a dance instructor for 23 years, Tom has spent 16 of them at Just Dancing. He also studied 16 years of jazz dance and ballet, with 12 years St. Charles Dance Co., and two years at Star Dance Ballroom Dance Co. "My favorite style of dance is whatever style I'm dancing at the time. My talent is my determination and willingness to work – 2% nature – 90% nurture."
Diana Roberts
Diana Roberts has won more than 20 professional national dance titles. One of her most prestigious awards includes being a two-time consecutive winner of the "Sammy" award, which is given to the Top Female Pro/Am teacher in North America at the Ohio Star Ball. Teaching for three nights a week, her classes in American and International Smooth and Latin styles cover all levels from beginning social dance to Gold and Open. Diana also teaches at St. Louis Ballroom Dancers, Studio B Dance Center in Columbia, and Walters Dance Center in Kansas City. She teaches all levels of dance and also coaches fellow dance instructors.
Agnieszka Strojek
A professional dancer from Poland, I have been dancing since the age of seven. My 20 years of professional training has included instruction from many world dance champions, such as Eugene Katsevman, Andre and Natalie Paramonov, Donald Johnson and more. Now, it's YOUR turn! Whether you want to learn some moves for your wedding dance, get your little ones dancing, or would like to re-connect and spark romance in your marriage through the pleasure of dancing with your spouse, I can teach and inspire you to be the king and/or queen of every dance floor.
Maysen Wilder
Maysen has been a dancer for over 20 years, beginning her dance career at 2 years old in the styles of ballet, tap, and jazz at The Dance Academy St. Louis. At age 15, Maysen started ballroom dancing as a student competing in American Smooth. By 17, she began to focus solely on ballroom when she started competing with her current partner, David Nyemchek Jr., as an Amateur Latin couple. It was in this style that she and David earned the title of 2015 Ohio Star Ball Pre-Champ winners and 2016 USA Dance National Pre-Champ Champions. She began teaching at Just Dancing in 2016, teaching all styles of ballroom to all ages. In April of 2018, Maysen began her professional career alongside David Nyemchek Jr., competing in the American Rhythm style. In the past year, she and David have won 6 Professional Rising Star Rhythm titles at various competitions across the nation. She is looking forward to continuing her dance career as both a teacher and competitor with Just Dancing for years to come!
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