Shirley Van’s Dance Studio was started more than 60 years ago and has been providing quality and affordable dance instruction ever since. At Shirley Van’s, our students’ progress is our first priority. Our goal is to provide each student with the best possible dance training, emphasizing proper technique, in a fun and nurturing environment. We help them develop self-esteem, self-confidence, self-discipline, and a true love for the performing arts. Our students do not just learn choreography for a dance, they become dancers!
Shirley Van has been instrumental raising the visibility of the art of dance to the Greater Green Bay area. In addition to her own dance studio, Shirley founded The Young People’s Ballet Company, known today as The Dance Company, and was co-founder of the Green Bay Chapter of Adventures in Movement. For nine years, Shirley acted as the choreographer and director of the Green Bay Packers cheerleaders and spent six years at St. Norbert College as an instructor in Movement and Dance in the Theatre Department. She was recognized with the Fort Howard Paper Company John P. Cofrin Award for her contributions to the artistic life in our community. Shirley studied classical ballet at Stone and Camryn Ballet School. She also studied under the direction of Gus Giordiano, Luigi, Joe Tremaine, Matt Mattox and Fran Scanlon.
Carrie has more than 40 years of dance experience, including more than 25 as a dance/gymnastics instructor. She is a 35-year member of The Dance Company, serving 19 years as Dance Captain. She also competed in rhythmic gymnastics and was an All-American gymnast in vault at UW-La Crosse. She choreographed Bay Port High School musicals for five years.
Jami began dancing at Shirley Van’s Dance Studio at the age of 2 and over the years studied every dance style the studio had to offer. She joined Shirley Van’s teaching staff in 2013 where she has taught many styles of dance including ballet, jazz, lyrical, tap, gymnastics, pointe, and pom. Jami’s dance experience also includes performing with The Dance Company and both dancing with and coaching the West De Pere High School Dance Team. When she is not teaching dance, Jami works for the West De Pere School District. After teaching 5th grade for ten years, Jami now serves as the Library Media/Instructional Technology Specialist for the West De Pere Intermediate School.
Bryanna began dancing at the age of 5 in Illinois and was welcomed into the family at Shirley Van's in 2008. Prior to joining Shirley Van's, Bryanna also performed in over a dozen musicals. She joined The Dance Company in 2009 and has performed in many productions with the group, including productions of The Nutcracker (Clara/Sugar Plum Fairy), The Wizard of Oz(Tin Man), The Lion King (Rafiki), and Frozen (Olaf) and also serves as the company’s dance captain. At Shirley Van's, Bryanna teaches ballet, jazz, lyrical/performance and tap (her favorite). When she’s not at the studio, Bryanna is an elementary teacher for the Unified School District of De Pere.
Elaine started her dance career at Shirley Van’s Dance Studio. Her main focus growing up was ballet and jazz. During a unique opportunity to study dance in Aspen, Colorado for the summer she was introduced to Modern dance and Contemporary ballet. From there, Elaine went on to study dance at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and made a pit stop back in Green Bay to perform with The Dance Company before heading out to New York to study with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Elaine shares her love of Contemporary ballet, Classic ballet, and Jazz with her students.
Beginning at age 7 in Michigan, Jenny studied tap, jazz, and ballet, and became a student of Shirley’s at age 13 when her family relocated to Green Bay. Jenny has competed at the local, regional and national levels, and performed in her high school's musicals, where she was made dance captain and had solo and featured performances in Anything Goes, Annie Get Your Gun, and 42nd Street. Now, her love of dance is focused on tap, as she teaches the adult beginning/intermediate tap and adult advanced tap classes at Shirley Van’s.
Emily has over 20 years of dance experience, starting at the age of three. She began dancing in her hometown of West Bend, WI where she danced with Mirror Image Dance Academy and later All the Above Dance Company, studying primarily ballet and pointe. Emily danced on her middle and high school dance teams and spent four years on the St. Norbert College Dance Team, which she also coached for a few years after graduating in 2016. Emily loves being able to keep her love of dance alive with her dancers at the studio.
Ana began doing gymnastics when was 8 years old for a performing team in Belen, New Mexico that combined dance and gymnastics. She later moved to Wisconsin and joined The American Turners Association in Sheboygan. Since then, she has also practiced gymnastics with teams in Cuenca, Ecuador and San Rafael, Argentina. Ana started coaching when she was 16 and loves sharing her passion for gymnastics with her students. When she is not coaching, Ana is a full time Spanish teacher at Pulaski High School in Pulaski, WI.
Katelyn began dancing at the age of 3 and has learned a large variety of dance styles including: ballet (& pointe), tap, jazz, contemporary, Irish dance, ballroom, hip-hop, & more! She has over 15 years of dance teaching experience and holds a degree in Business Management. Katelyn joined the Shirley Van’s Dance family as a dancer in 2011, and performed various roles as a Dance Company Member such as: Ballet Doll (Nutcracker), Glinda (Wizard of Oz), Scar (Lion King), and Agatha (Beauty & The Beast). Now, she is excited to be joining the team for her first year teaching at the studio and working behind the scenes as the new Office Manager! Outside of the studio, Katelyn is a stay-at-home mom to her daughter and twin boys.