Miss Connie
C0-owner/Office Manager

As a former pre-school teacher and life-long advocate of the arts, Miss Connie has always dreamt of creating a place where students could come and pursue what they are most passionate about. She brings with her many years of administrative and classroom experience, as well as the invaluable wisdom of being a mom. We are so lucky to have her!

Molly Weidig
Co-owner/Artistic Director
Instructor: Tap, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Musical Theatre, Lyrical, Zumba, Competition Teams

 Molly Weidig grew up in Canton and has studied dance for nearly two decades. She began her training at Vivian Munson Dance Studio and later studied at Turning Pointe School of Dance under the instruction of Inna Strabova and Dmitriy Tuboltstey. In 2008, she graduated from Jackson School of the Arts and went on to get her BFA in Musical Theatre Performance from Western Michigan University.
 
While at WMU, she pursued her passion of dance and theater in a conservatory environment under the guidance of theater, dance, film, and television professionals. She took part in numerous performance opportunities that prepared her for a career as a professional actor/dancer, including a summer spent with Santa Rosa Repertory Theatre in California. There she performed in Hairspray (Velma Von Tussle), Company (Sarah), and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Sophia/featured dancer).
 After graduation, Molly moved to New York City where she was cast in the national tour of “Ramona Quimby” and had the opportunity to travel and perform for many children throughout the country. Upon returning to the area, Molly took part in Weathervane Playhouse’s “The Drowsy Chaperone” (Janet Van de Graaf) and “Hair” (Jeanie) both under the direction of Broadway producer and performer Gwen Arment. While there, she also taught theater classes to children ages 7-12 through their Community Outreach Program. She most recently had the pleasure of working under the direction of Broadway performer Jon Tisevich at the Players Guild Theatre in their production of “Cabaret” (Texas/Dance Captain).
 She loves sharing her passion of story telling through dance by working with theaters and show choirs in the community. She currently serves as the choreographer and Assistant Director for Tuslaw High School and choreographer for Northwest High School. She has also choreographed pieces for the Players Guild Theatre’s production of “The Little Mermaid” and is currently working on North Canton Playhouse’s “Beauty and the Beast”.
 Opening a studio and sharing her passion of dance and theater with her hometown community has always been a dream of Molly’s. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to inspire others!

Brandi Lowery
Co-owner/Artistic Director
Instructor: Jazz, Technique, Lyrical, Hip-Hop, Contemporary, Competition Teams

​From the moment Brandi attended her first dance class, she was in love. She began attending multiple dance studios growing up and began dancing competitively, performing with local community theatres and demonstrating for dance classes weekly, which quickly lead to the opportunity for Brandi to work as a substitute dance teacher. Once Brandi got the opportunity to instruct and share her passion for dance, she was hooked!
After high school, Brandi attended The University of Akron, where she earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in Communication with a Primary Minor in Dance, Secondary Minors in Child Development and Family Development, and a Child Education Certificate.  While at UA, she was able to observe and study under many professionals that once performed with The Martha Graham Dance Company, the Pennsylvania Ballet, the Ohio Ballet, and on Broadway. She focused her dance training mainly on ballet and modern. During these years, she also studied ballroom dance and was given the opportunity to work as a Ballroom Dance Assistant for classes at local elementary schools and she began teaching her own dance classes at Vivian Munson Dance Studio and The Little Gym. The Little Gym provided child development training and provided Brandi the opportunity to teach cheerleading and gymnastics classes, as well as, dance instruction. 
Brandi has taught in the area for over 11 years. Most recently, working as an Instructor and Artistic Director at Starlight School of Dance. Over the years, Brandi has coached and choreographed multiple competitive dance teams, earning high score and overall placements, costume awards and special judge’s awards at dance competitions all over Ohio and the surrounding states.
Brandi has also worked as a choreographer for The Canal Fulton Players, providing choreography for their productions of The Music Man and The Sound of Music. She has also worked as the Choreographer and Assistant Director at Tuslaw High School, providing choreography for their show choir, The New Horizons, and their productions of Suessical, Les Miserables, Into The Woods and Guys & Dolls.  

Amanda Leemaster
Instructor: Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Jazz, Mini Movers, Lyrical, Competition Teams

Miss Amanda has been teaching dance in the area for over 12 years! She has shared her love of the art form at Vivian Munson Dance Studio, Our Lady of Peace After School Enrichment Program, Imagine on Superior Charter School and most recently, at Starlight School of Dance, where she served as Artistic Director from 2015-2017. Amanda is well versed in multiple styles of dance and has choreographed for a variety of competitive dance teams, winning several high score, overall and special judge’s awards.
Amanda has also shared her talent with Tuslaw High School, choreographing their musical, High School Musical. Previously, Miss Amanda worked as the choreographer for Massillon High School, where she had choreographed for their productions of The Wizard of Oz, Fiddler on the Roof and Mary Poppins.
When not working as a dance instructor, Miss Amanda works as a Kindergarten teacher for Rootstown Local Schools. Amanda has a Bachelor’s of Science in Early Childhood Education from Kent State University. We are proud to have her experienced, talented background with us at Inspire PAC!

Katie Guist
Instructor: Ballet

Miss Katie began taking ballet classes at the age of three and received the majority of her training at Nan Klinger Excellence In Dance in Cuyahoga Falls, OH. She was a member of the Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet, now Ballet Excel Ohio, where she performed in ballets choreographed by world-renowned choreographers. During the summers, Katie attended intensive dance programs at Lake Erie Ballet, Briansky Saratoga Ballet Center and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Upon graduation in 2001, Katie went on to further her education on scholarship at Mercyhurst University. There, she continued her dance education, taking courses in anatomy, kinesiology and pedagogy. She was also a member of the Mercyhurst Ballet Theater. In 2005, she graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Dance. Katie has danced professionally with Ballet Concerto and Pointe West Performances.Katie has been teaching ballet in the Northeast Ohio area since 2006. In 2011, she was afforded the opportunity to teach with Reach Out And Dance®, the dance outreach program of Ballet Excel Ohio, where she taught dance education in Northeast Ohio public schools. From 2016-2017, she served as the Dance Program Coordinator for Wayne Center for the Arts in Wooster, OH.
Katie is excited to share her knowledge of and passion for ballet at Inspire Performing Arts Center. We are so lucky to have Miss Katie at Inspire!

Lauren DeGuia
Instructor: Acrobats, AcroCheer

Lauren DeGuia has been involved in Cheerleading almost all of her life. Lauren had the privilege of being the Varsity Cheerleading Captain at Northwest High School and later went on to cheer at Malone University. In addition to cheering on both high school and collegiate levels, Lauren was also a member of a nationally ranked competitive cheerleading squad.
 Lauren has been a cheerleading coach for seven years, training a variety of ages and experience levels in the community. She has coached middle school, freshman, JV, and Varsity squads as well as competitive cheer squads.  She is so excited for the opportunity to help young girls develop in their skills and confidence at Inspire Performing Arts Center!

Kaitlyn Leonard
Instructor: Jazz, Lyrical

Miss Kaitlyn has been dancing for 16 years. She began at the age of three at 8 Count Dance and is a graduate of Jackson School of the Arts. As a competitive dancer, Kaitlyn won Title at Rainbow's 2017 Dance Competition in Columbus and was ranked 1st overall in the senior solo division at Next Level. She is currently pursuing her BA in Elementary Education at Walsh where she is a member of both the Cheerleading and Dance Teams. We are so fortunate to have Kaitlyn as part of the IPAC team!