MEET OUR INSTRUCTORS
Megan
Snyder
OWNER & DIRECTOR
Megan Snyder is the proud owner of Debut Dance and is passionate about sharing her love of dance with students of all ages and abilities. Shortly after receiving her B.A. in Dance from the University of Iowa, she opened Debut Dance in 2008. While at the University of Iowa, Ms. Megan spent three years on the nationally ranked Iowa Dance Team cheering on the Hawkeyes and competing at the UDA College National Competition. Ms. Megan has been providing dance instruction to children for more than 25 years and choreographing for the last 20 years. She enjoys teaching a variety of classes at Debut Dance… Jazz is her favorite! Ms. Megan is also the Co-Director of Debut’s award winning competition team, Forte. The Forte dancers compete across the region, winning many accolades including choreography and top studio awards. Ms. Megan has also developed the Debut Prep Academy studio leadership program with her mom helping to train future instructors and leaders. When Ms. Megan is not at the studio, she loves to spend time with her family! She is the mother to three very energetic boys- Milo, Quincy, and Bowen.
Contact Megan
megan@debutdancestudio.com
Kathleen
Fallon
INSTRUCTOR
Kathleen Fallon plays a major leadership role at Debut Dance as one of the lead competition team choreographers and partners with Megan Snyder as a Co. Forte Director. Miss Kathleen has been a part of the Debut family for close to ten years and continues to share her passion and competitive knowledge with the dancers on our competition teams. She has implemented the Progressive Ballet Technique (PBT) into core Company classes and is excited to launch a new team called Company Pro. As Forte Director, Miss Kathleen has received numerous choreography awards and high point awards when her dancers have competed at various regional competitions around the Midwest. Miss Kathleen grew up in West Des Moines studying all styles of dance including ballet, tap, jazz, pointe, hip hop, lyrical, contemporary, modern, musical theatre, and tumbling. She has received numerous titles and scholarships from local and national dance competitions. In high school, Miss Kathleen danced on Valley’s Varsity Dance team for four years and was captain her senior year. Miss Kathleen recently graduated from the University of Iowa studying both Dance and Business Management.
Emily
Applegate
INSTRUCTOR
Emily Applegate is so excited to begin working with Debut! She has grown up in Cedar Rapids Iowa, and graduated from Prairie Highschool. She has been dancing since she was 9 years old, giving her 10 years of dancing experience. Throughout her years of dance she has been trained in many styles such as ballet, lyrical, jazz, tap, musical theater, hip hop, contemporary, modern and more! She was a competitive dancer for 9 years and was on the varsity dance team at Prairie highschool for 4 years. While she was on the dance team she was a captain for 2 years, those being her junior and senior year. Throughout her high school dance team years, her team competed and was awarded at state, UDA regional competitions and UDA nationals in Orlando Florida. Outside of Debut Emily also attends Capri College and plans to audition for a pro cheer team after graduation. She cannot wait to start the new year and dance with you all!
Zoey
Anderson
INSTRUCTOR
Zoey Anderson was born in Iowa city, and has been dancing at Debut since she was four years old. She has been a prestigious member of the competition team since she was ten! She has extended her journey of dance as a varsity member of the West High Dance Team. Her favorite thing is being able to perform on stage, and share her love of dance with family, friends, and students. Her favorite style of dance is contemporary, but she loves doing musical theatre, especially at conventions! She is so excited to extend her knowledge of dance, and be able to share her craft with people who share the same love, all year!
Sarah
Auman
INSTRUCTOR
Born and raised in Cedar Rapids, IA. Ms. Sarah stepped into the world of dance at just three years old, and has been passionate about dance ever since. She has a background that includes 4 years on the dance team at Kennedy High School and 1 year with the University of Northern Iowa’s dance team, where she obtained a National title in pom and top 10 in jazz. For the past decade, Ms. Sarah has dedicated her talents to coaching the dance team at Prairie High School in Cedar Rapids, fostering the next generation of dancers. Ms. Sarah prides herself on training the team to push themselves to dance at the collegiate level and also encourage her dancers to be good people in the classroom, out of the classroom, and in life. While Ms. Sarah has coached at Prairie, the team has obtained top 5 at State, Regional champion jazz titles, and top 10 in large pom at Nationals in 2020. Ms. Sarah is a competitive coach, but loves dancers’ growth and personal victories more than anything else. Outside of dance, Ms. Sarah is a Realtor, a proud dog mom, and happily married to her loving husband, Tyler.
Lauren
Bride
INSTRUCTOR
Lauren Bride is a sophomore at Liberty High School, going into her first year as a lead instructor, but has been a junior instructor for many years. This will be her 9th year dancing at Debut. Lauren is also a member of the C9, All-Star, and Pro teams! She has attended Progressions with Talent on Parade and received numerous scholarships. This year she will be working with Kinder Combo, the Mini, Co Jr, and C5 teams! She can’t wait for a great year with your dancers!
Mandy
Brumm
INSTRUCTOR
Tatum
Brumm
JUNIOR INSTRUCTOR
Tatum Brumm is starting her second year of teaching here at Debut Dance, but she has been a junior instructor for many years. Tatum has been dancing at Debut for 9 years. She is on Debut’s All-Star and C8 competition teams here at Debut. Tatum is a Sophomore at Liberty High School and is involved in choir! She enjoys traveling for competitions and conventions with her team throughout the season. She trains in multiple styles, including ballet, jazz, hip hop, lyrical, contemporary, tumbling, and musical theater. She cannot wait for another great year with your dancers!
Diane
Fickel
OFFICE MANAGER
Diane Fickel not only is the office manager at Debut Dance, but is also Ms. Megan’s mom! Diane has been part of the Debut family since the studio opened in 2008 and loves watching the dancers perform in and outside of dance class. Diane teaches business at West High School in Iowa City and devotes her free time to spending time with her five grandchildren. Diane is always available to help answer any of your financial questions!
Alaina
Hoffman
JUNIOR INSTRUCTOR
Alaina Hoffman is currently 16 years old and a sophomore at Liberty High School. She has been dancing for several years, but she made the switch to debut in fall of 2021. It’s now her 4th year competing and being a debut dancer, and she couldn’t be happier. In addition to dancing, she also loves to perform in show choir. Last year, Alaina was dance captain of her group and is hoping she can continue to build those leadership skills. Alaina loves Debut’s supportive environment, as well as their commitment to their dancers. She’s very excited to do a little bit of teaching this year, and can’t wait for classes to start!
Isabelle
Kafer
INSTRUCTOR
Isabelle Kafer has grown up in North Liberty, Iowa and is in her freshman year at the University of Iowa. There she is a part of the nationally ranked Iowa Dance team. She competed on Debut’s competition team for 10 years. She was also a part of Debut’s Forte Pro team, an elite group of dancers who travel around the U.S. to showcase their dancing. At Debut, Isabelle trained in ballet, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, tumbling, and lyrical. This past season Ms. Isabelle received various awards including regional titles, many overall awards, and various scholarships at conventions. Last summer and this past fall she became a part of the Celebrity Dance Senior Crew which consisted of assisting classes at their nationals in Anaheim, California and traveling across the country to assist the company in convention classes. This fall she is excited to be dancing at all of the home Iowa football games and start her studies in accounting at the university. Ms. Isabelle’s love for dance continues to grow and she cannot wait to share her passion with many young dancers!
Maddie
Kerr
INSTRUCTOR
Maddie Kerr is so excited to be joining Debut for her first year of teaching. She grew up in Cedar Rapids and began dancing at the age of 4 training in a variety of styles. Maddie was a four year member of Linn-Mar Varsity Poms competing at the local, state, regional, and national levels. During her time on LMVP her team achieved 7 first-place state titles and secured 6 top-five UDA national finishes. In 2018 her team broke school and state history by placing 2nd in the nation in the Medium Varsity Pom category. After graduating from high school in 2019, she attended the University of Iowa, where she majored in Health and Human Physiology and minored in Communication Studies. She now works full-time as a pharmaceutical sales representative. She’s beyond excited to be part of a studio that truly cultivates creativity and inspires individuals to grow—not just as dancers, but as people. Maddie can’t wait to meet everyone and be part of the Debut family!
Audrey
Montgomery
INSTRUCTOR
Audrey Montgomery was raised in Tiffin, Iowa and recently moved to Solon, Iowa. After two years of being a junior instructor here, Audrey is excited to start her first year as a Debut staff member. She is going to be a Freshman at Solon and is a part of the new dance team there as well. Audrey is on the C8 competition team and the new Debut All-Stars team. She works in all kinds of styles that include jazz, ballet, hip-hop, musical theater, contemporary and lyrical. One of her favorite parts of the dance experience is getting to perform on stage and the style she enjoys and connects with the most is musical theater. Audrey has been dancing since she was three and is proud to be going into her eleventh year here at Debut. She enjoys sharing her passion for dance with everyone around her and is excited to get to know and teach all of the young dancers!
Rachel
Mundt
INSTRUCTOR
Rachel Mundt has grown up in North Liberty, Iowa, and has been dancing since she was 3. This will be her 10th year on the Forte competition team at Debut, and she is excited to join the Pro and All-Star team this year as well! She is a senior at Clear Creek Amana High School and is a former member of the West High Dance Team. Rachel trains in styles of jazz, musical theater, hip hop, lyrical, tumbling, ballet, pom, and contemporary. Last summer, she had the amazing opportunity to train as a part of Celebrity’s Senior Crew in Phoenix and Vegas! She has a huge passion for competing and attending conventions with her team, along with choreographing for the mini and performance teams. This will be Rachel’s third year on the Debut Staff, although she was a junior instructor for many years. She cannot wait to pass on her huge love of dance to others, and is excited for a great season with your kids!
Ainsley
Proud
INSTRUCTOR
Ainsley Proud has grown up in North Liberty Iowa, and is a Senior at Liberty High School. She has been dancing at Debut for 15 years, 10 of those years on the competition team. Currently Ainsley is on the Forte Company, Pro and Allstar team! This is her 3rd year as a lead instructor and 2nd year as a competition choreographer for our Mini, P+, and Co Jr teams. She loves many styles including jazz, musical theater, tap, tumbling, hip hop, lyrical, and contemporary. Ainsley had the opportunity to work,train and travel with Celebrity at their National Compitition and be apart of their Senior Crew summer 2025. One of her favorite parts about Debut is the family like atmosphere, competing with her Pro team, and learning from new teachers and choreographers. Outside of dance Ainsley participates in NHS and is Senior chair of the You Matter project at Liberty. She cannot wait to share her passion for dance with Debuts dancers for another year!
Addie
Schroeder
INSTRUCTOR
Addie Schroeder is so excited to be back for her third full year with her Debut family! She has 20 years of dancing experience, and was a competitive dancer for 15 years. She danced on the West High Dance Team for four years, where her team won two state titles and placed top 10 at UDA High School Nationals. She went on to dance on the University of Iowa Dance Team for the following four years. During that time, she earned five top 5 placements at UDA Nationals. At the end of her senior year at Iowa, she was voted Dancer of the Year by her fellow teammates. Addie graduated from the University of Iowa in May 2024 with a degree in Computer Science and Engineering and a minor in Mathematics. She is now working full time as an Electrical Engineer at Design Engineers in Cedar Rapids. She is so excited to continue to share her life-long passion for dance, and she can’t wait to see what we can all accomplish together this year!
Emmy
Schroeder
INSTRUCTOR
Emmy Schroeder is a sophomore at Liberty High School, has been dancing at the studio since the age of 3 and has been in the Forte program for 9 years. She is a part of the company team as a C9 and a member of the Pro team as well. This is Emmy’s 3rd year as an instructor and she will be working with the recreational classes. She trains weekly in styles of jazz, ballet, tumbling, and many others. She is excited for another year to share her love and passion for dance!
Joscelyn
Siloro
INSTRUCTOR
Joscelyn Siloro is the new Forte Assistant Director at Debut Dance and is going into her third year of teaching. Joscelyn is from West Liberty and moved to Tiffin in the 3rd grade. Joscelyn has been dancing since she was 5 and joined the Debut family in 4th grade. She’s been a part of Debut’s competition team for 7 years! In past summers she’s worked with Celebrity Dance as a part of their Senior Crew, and has also trained with the Commercial Dance Intensive Program in learning how the professional dance world works, which included seminars, mock auditions, taking classes from Broadway alumni, working with professional dancers, and even being in her first music video! She trains in all sorts of styles like ballet, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, hip hop, and tumbling. Some of her accomplishments include, receiving Title Winner at both Masquerade and Kar, numerous first overalls and Scholarships, and being invited to perform in prestige conventions. This year she’ll be working with all of the Forte teams and can’t wait to get the year started!
Stella
Skelley
INSTRUCTOR
Stella Skelley was born in Burlington and then moved up to North Liberty where she has grown up. Stella is a Sophomore at Clear Creek Amana High School but was a former member of the Liberty varsity dance team. This year will be Stella’s 11th year at Debut and 10th year competing on the Forte Competition Team. Stella is also on the Forte Pro team where they travel the U.S to learn from many professional dancers and choreographers and they also showcase their dances that they learn from special choreographers. She is a part of the new allstar team at Debut to train and compete in pom. Stella was a Junior Instructor for 5 years and now is a lead instructor for the 2nd year. Stella also trains in many different styles like Lyrical, contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, musical theatre, pom, ballet, and tumbling. Stella is so excited to start the year and work with your dancers and share her love for dance!
Avery
Wilson
INSTRUCTOR
Avery Wilson grew up in North Liberty, Iowa and has lived there her whole life. She is currently a sophomore at Liberty High School and has been dancing at Debut for 10 years. Avery has trained in various styles of dance including, ballet, jazz, tap, hiphop, lyrical, contemporary, musical theater, ballroom, and tumbling. Avery is currently on the C9 and Pro team here at Debut. Also one of her passions is teaching, Avery has been a junior instructor for 5 years and she is excited to say this is her second year as a Debut staff. Avery has won many high point awards, scholarships, and more.. Avery is beyond excited to start the new year and she hopes to see you in class!