Boys I & II
Aaron Lee is a Junior at Le Mars Community High School, a nine-year member of Central Dance Academy, and a first-year teacher. He will be co-teaching the Boys I and Boys II classes this season.
Aaron runs cross country and track and also participates with the Sioux City swim team. He sings and is in the leadership team for band at LCHS.
Outside of school, Aaron plays piano, has earned his Eagle Scout honors and is on the officer team for both FFA and his 4-H club.
We’re All
About Dance!
Our Teachers
Amy Davis
Co-Owner, Tippy Toes, & Youth Combination I
Amy danced at Central Dance Academy under the direction of Tina Hansen since she was three years old. Amy has been teaching for 10 years at CDA. She attended Wayne State College and graduated with a major in Fashion Merchandising and a minor in Music. While in college Amy also continued dancing at a studio in Wayne and was a cheerleader for the college all 4 years.
Amy is very excited to be teaching at CDA teaching and is currently working in the office at Le Mars Community High School. She will be teaching Tippy Toe and Youth Combination I this season. Amy also coached the LCHS Dance Team for 9 years. She is married to Gabe Davis and they have 2 wonderful children, Kyndal and Kemper.
Beth Ruden
Co-Owner & Company Director, Youth Combination III, Ballet I, Jazz I, Tap I, Tumbling III & IV, Competition Teams
Beth started dancing at the age of two under the direction of Tina Hansen. During her time dancing at Central Dance Academy, she was a member of the CDA Company and participated in numerous conventions, competitions, and scholarship auditions. She has been teaching for 21 years at Central Dance Academy. Beth is also the Director of the CDA Company. Her choreography has won many awards: Best in Show, Best Choreography, Most Entertaining, and many other awards. Beth has also choreographed many winning routines for area dance teams, and her dancers have placed in the top 10 at State Individual Dance Team. She has also worked with local college dance teams and judged competitions.
Beth is a certified Dance Masters of America member and a certified NAIA Judge. Whenever the Company travels to conventions, Beth continues to take classes and learn from some of the best teachers in the country. Beth is a certified Dance Masters of America member and a certified NAIA Judge. Beth’s love of dance continues to grow each year she teaches, and is excited for another fantastic year for CDA!
Beth and her fiancé, Scott, are the proud parents of three beautiful girls, Lilly, Lainy, and Maisyn.
Katie Driggs
Ballet IV, Jazz IV & Tap IV
Katie has been dancing for 30 years and teaching for 17 years. She took dance classes under the direction of Tina Hansen at Central Dance Academy for 15 years where she was a member of the Performance Company and taught classes. Katie has coached and choreographed for various high school and college dance teams in the surrounding area for the past ten years.
Her choreography has received awards such as Best in Show, Best Choreography, Most Entertaining, and 1st place at State Dance Team. She graduated from the University of Iowa in 2013 with her B.A. in dance, and from WITCC in 2018 with her A.A.S. as a Physical Therapist Assistant.
Katie is now the proud mother of two beautiful children, Tate and Kya. Katie and Cameron are enjoying their time as parents!
Dory Parkin
Pom, Modern I-IV, Adult Jazz Class
Dory Parkin has been a life long resident of Le Mars. She grew up doing dance and gymnastics at a local studio from a young age and competed in both for several years. Eventually she began teaching both and was the manager of a studio for 8 years.
Her background covers a wide range of Modern, Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Tumbling and Artistic Gymnastics. Following that time Dory taught at the CDA, then The Dance Studio and Contemporary Dance Studio in Sioux City. Dory will be offering Modern, Pom, and an Adult Jazz Class at CDA. Dory began work at Wells Enterprise in Le Mars. She is currently an Environmental Health & Safety Specialist at the South Plant.
After some time away Dory is excited to return to dance and share the love with more children. At home she and her and husband Josh love playing with their son, Elliot. And Dory is an avid bicycle rider, and does RAGBRAI every year.
Kayla Foelske
Butterfly Ballet, Youth Combination II, Youth Jazz/HipHop, CompetitionTeams
Kayla has been dancing for 26 years and teaching for 10. She has danced at Central Dance Academy from the age of 4, participating in Ballet, Tap, and Jazz. She was also involved in the Dance Team at Woodbury Central, where she was captain.
Currently, Kayla works part time as the Quality Coordinator at the Good Samaritan Society in Le Mars. In 2013, Kayla married her husband, Kyle Foelske. In September of 2016, they welcomed their daughter, Adalee and in January 2020 their son Abel. She is excited to continue sharing her love of dance with the children she teaches!
Madison Campbell
Competition Teams, Ballet, Jazz and Tap III, Jazz/Hip Hop II, and Youth Lyrical
Madi has been dancing for the last 18 years and is entering her 10th year teaching. She is a graduate from Buena Vista University where she majored in Business-Human Resource Management and was also a member of their dance team.
Madi was part of the Central Dance Academy Company for 8 years and is happy to be back teaching where her love of dance started.
Madi and her husband, Zach, are the proud parents of their sons, Kruze and Knox!
Lexie Landis
Butterfly Ballet, Twinkle Toes, Tippy Toe, Youth Combination I, Tumbling I, Competition Teams
Lexie has been dancing for 21 years and teaching for 6. She took dance classes under the direction of Tina Hansen at Central Dance Academy for 15 years. Of those 15 years she spent 10 on company, assisted classes, and taught for one year.
Lexie is currently the coach of LeMars color guard, LeMars Winter guard, and Gehlen Dance Team. While coaching she has choreographed shows for the marching band, group routines, and solos for both winter guard and dance team.
She has received awards for top 10 placements for both winter guard and dance at State Dance Team, top 10 placements at marching band competitions, and won the title of Miss Dance Chapter #47 in 2014.
Her choreography has received awards such as Best in Show, Most Entertaining, and has received Best Choreography.
She is married to her husband of 5 years Jon Landis and has 3 beautiful children Braxten, Avery, and Paisley.
Cassidy Pravecek
Tumble Tots, Tumbling I & II, Twinkle Toes, Tippy Toes, Youth Combination I & II, Hip Hop I/II & III/IV, Competition Teams
Cassidy has been taking dance and gymnastics most of her life at local studios and gyms. She started gymnastics at the age of two and dance at the age of seven. She competed in both for several years, earning many awards for both.
Cassidy started teaching both dance and gymnastics as an assistant and eventually started teaching her own classes. In all four years of high school she was a member of the LCHS Dance Team.
Cassidy is excited to continue teaching at the CDA. She continues her dance education by taking classes at CDA, traveling with the CDA Company to conventions and competitions.
Kristin Iverson
Youth Musical Theater, Musical Theater I/II, Musical Theater III/IV
Kristin has been active in music and dance her entire life. She studied dance at Mary Helen’s School of Dance in Webster City, IA starting at age 4.
She grew up being very involved in dance, as well as countless musical activities. She holds a bachelors and masters degree in music education from the University of South Dakota. Previously, Kristin was a Choral Director in Sioux City, IA and Vermillion, SD where she directed many choirs, show choirs and different musicals. During that time, she was an active choreographer for her musical groups and spent her free time judging Show Choir Competitions in the area.
Currently, Kristin is the elementary general music teacher at Clark and Franklin Elementary in Le Mars. When she is not at school, she enjoys spending time with her very busy family. She is married to Mark and they have three great kids, Tyler, Tanner, and Tessa. Kristin is thrilled to be teaching musical theater classes at the CDA.
Maile Narkon
Competition Teams, Youth Jazz/Hip Hop
Maile is beginning her 14th year of dance, 12th at the CDA, 10th in the CDA Company. She is looking forward to continuing teaching company technique and rehearsal classes as well as the Jazz/Hip Hop on Wednesdays.
As a competition dancer, Maile has won numerous soloist awards including first place overall for teen solos at Fluid Nationals in 2023. She has also received other top honors at multiple regional competitions, multiple improv challenges, and scholarships.
Maile has traveled to Wisconsin (Starz Nationals), NYC (Broadway Dance Center and “The Sweatshop”) , Missouri (The Branch), Colorado (Perry Mansfield YAI program), Arizona (Fluid Nationals), California (The Brea Space), and most recently, Canada to attend Camp Protege, to participate in Nationals and dance intensives.
Maile is thrilled to have been selected as a Fluid Force member for the 2024-25 season for her second season with Fluid Force! She will travel to multiple cities again this season, including Nationals in Phoenix, Arizona.
Maile has also enjoyed performing locally with The Browns for the HomeTown Christmas in Le Mars celebration as well as their Celtic shows since 2020. She has also had the privilege of being cast as the Snow Queen in 2021 and Dew Drop in 2023, among other roles, for the Siouxland Civic Dance Association’s bi-annual production of The Nutcracker. Finally, she has enjoyed performing with Flux Dance Company in Summer 2023 and 2024.
She’s looking forward to continuing her dance training at the Central Dance Academy and wherever her dance education takes her, as long as it takes her to the stage!
Braelyn Richardson
Crystal Company
Bree is a Senior at MMCRU. Her high school activities include football cheer, speech, and student council. She also works at the Hy-Vee Store in Cherokee.
She is beginning her 15th year of dance, and 6 of those years she has been a member of the CDA Company, and 3 years as an assistant at CDA.
In her free time, she likes spending time with friends and reading a good book. Bree will be co-teaching the crystal Company this year.
Zella Freking
Crystal Company
Zella is an eighth grader at Gehlen. This will be her 11th year dancing at CDA and her 4th year in Company. This year she will competing Jazz, Contemporary, Tap, Hip Hop, and a solo.
She has been assisting for 3 years in various classes: Tippy Toe, Combo I, Tumbling I, and Crystal Company Rehearsal. She is also involved in student council at school.
In Zella’s free time she enjoys hanging out with friends and family, going to the lake, and babysitting.
Zella is excited to be co-teaching the Crystal Company Rehearsal this year!
Aaron Lee
Boys I & II
Aaron Lee is a Senior at Le Mars Community High School, a ten-year member of Central Dance Academy, and a second-year teacher. He will be teaching the Boys I and Boys II classes this season.
Aaron runs cross country and track and also participates with the Sioux City swim team. He sings and is in the leadership team for band at LCHS.
Outside of school, Aaron plays piano, has earned his Eagle Scout honors and is on the officer team for both FFA and his 4-H club.
Karen Nuebel, Alisha Jelken & Tara Narkon
2024-25 CDA Office Ladies
Karen, Alisha and Tara are happy to help students, parents and faculty as a CDA office lady!
2024-25 Students of the Month
September
Alexa Arreola
Alexa was chosen as our September Student of the Month because she has a good attitude, and comes to class to and tries her best even when she’s not feeling her best.
Alexa keeps steadily improving each week!
Keep up the great work, Alexa!
October
Audi Schultz
Audi was chosen by her teachers as our October Student of the Month because she comes to class eager to learn! She works really hard in class and is always positive when learning new steps or being corrected. This year Audi is expanding her dancing by joining the CDA Company, which she continues to be a great leader! Keep up the great work, Audi!
November
Who Will It Be?
December
Will It Be You?
January
Who Will It Be?
February
Will It Be You?
March
Who Will It Be?
April
Will It Be You?
May
Who Will It Be?
Get to know us in person!
Our Policies
CDA’s friendly office staff is happy to help! We expect questions and are eager to introduce you to our facility, faculty, and classes.
See our policies below or reach out with any questions. *Policies are subject to change. We will update the website asap with any new information.
Payment Policies
All fees are due by the 5th of each month. CDA accepts Debit cards, Credit Cards, Checks, Cash, and Automatic Withdrawals as forms of payment for tuition and other fees.
Late Fees
Accounts are considered past due when not current by the 6th of each month and are charged a $10 late fee.
Registration Fees
CDA’s Registration fee is $20.00 for the first student and $10.00 for each additional student. This fee must be paid in full prior to the commencement of classes and is non-refundable.
Performance Fees
CDA is extremely proud of our annual production! In order to continue to provide a quality performance, we require a performance fee and sell tickets to each performance. The Performance Fee is NON-REFUNDABLE . The performance fee is charged in January or February. Our Performance Fee is based on stage time, determined by how many total dances your student(s) are in for the show.
1 dance – $15 plus tax
2-3 dances – $30 plus tax
4 dances – $45 plus tax
5 dances or more – $55 plus tax
Videographer Fees
*Ben Sitzmann is retiring from doing videography. We are working on securing a new videographer and will list fees asap.
Trial Classes
CDA offers Free Trial Classes in order to help students find the right class for them. Ask our office staff or your current dance teacher how you can try a class you are interested in!
Withdrawals
If and when a student wants to withdraw from all of their classes at CDA, we require the parent to fill out a withdrawal form by the 7th of the month, and the student will finish the month. CDA does not accept any withdrawals after January.
Costumes
Costumes are charged to accounts on October 12th and are ordered by November 1st to ensure timely delivery. We measure students in class and provide the measurements to ensure the proper fit of costumes.
Annual Performances
Our performances are held at the Le Mars Middle School Auditorium. We have 3 shows on both Saturday and Sunday. One Tiny show, one Youth show and one Pre-Teen/Teen Show. Performances for 2024-25 are June 7th and 8th.
Dress Rehearsal
Students have class on stage the week before the performance. Dress Rehearsal is on Friday, June 6, 2025, with the students practicing in their costumes. Full schedule will be provided at the final class observation of the season.
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Get to Know
Central Dance Academy
Central Dance Academy has talented, enthusiastic dance instructors devoted to bringing quality dance and performing arts instruction to all ages and abilities. We are proud of our role in our students’ lives, instilling a strong sense of self-confidence, self-respect, discipline, and appreciation of dance and the arts in our students.
We hope to inspire each student to release the creativity inside of themselves. Whether students are learning beginner steps or interested in competition dance, we have dance classes for everyone at every level! Visit our Le Mars, IA studio today!
Curious About Classes?
Hours:
Monday - Thursday
3:30 P.M. – 9:45 P.M.
Saturday
9:30 A.M. – 12:30 P.M.
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Central Dance Academy are proud Athletic & Music Boosters for our local schools!
