Meet Ronda Brinkman
Ronda Brinkman has been a member of the Springfield arts community most of her life and she has been the Owner of Springfield Dance since 1995. Ronda danced with Springfield Ballet Company for 16 years, dancing many leading roles, including Sugar Plum Fairy and Snow White and held staff and board positions with SBC. Teaching for 30 years, she is pleased to be the founding director for Springfield Dance Theatre, a subsidiary organization of Springfield Dance, dedicated to enriching the lives of children through the performing arts and has been recently elected to the Springfield Area Arts Council board of directors.
Meet Becky Gowin!
A Springfield native, Becky Gowin currently resides in Dawson, and just got married this October! She has been dancing under the instruction of Ronda and Springfield Dance since she was 5 years old! She was a member of the Springfield Ballet Company for 5 seasons and has also studied with Nashville Ballet and Carolina Ballet Theatre. Teaching ballet, jazz, tap, and hip hop, this is Becky’s 12th year teaching and choreographing with Springfield Dance, and she spent many years prior as a class assistant. Watching her students grow into beautiful, talented dancers that appreciate the arts is her favorite part of the job. She is grateful to share her passion with her students and looks forward to an exciting year with all the kiddos!
Meet Marsha Butcher
Marsha Butcher began her dance training in Springfield, dancing in the Springfield Ballet Company and as a member of the Rochester Rockets pom squad. She also attended summer dance intensives with Nashville Ballet and David Howard. Marsha is a 2008 graduate from Illinois State University with a double major in Dance and Elementary Education. While attending ISU, Marsha was a member of Illinois State Dance Theatre and president of Illinois State Dance Association. She also had the opportunity to perform works by a variety of guest artists including artists from Joe Goode Performance Group, Hubbard Street, Paul Taylor, Trisha Brown, Eddy Ocampo and Shelter Repertory Dance Theatre. Marsha has been teaching at Springfield Dance for 8 years and is excited to have her dancers dancing with her.
Meet Andrew Maynerich
For 8 years, Andrew Maynerich has been teaching Tap at Springfield Dance and he specializes in intermediate to adult levels. Andrew has been tapping for almost 20 years and he is heavily involved in the local theater community, singing, dancing, acting and choreographing for many shows. As a teacher he encourages students and adults alike to give everything at least a try. There is no such thing as a bad dancer, as everyone has their own unique style. It is his goal to bring out that style, drive emotion through the feet, and mix music and movement in a fun, upbeat, and artistic environment!