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  INSPIRE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
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Miss Connie
Co-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!
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Molly Weidig
Co-owner/Artistic Director
Instructor: Tap, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Musical Theatre, Mini Movers, Lyrical, Competition Teams, mUvmethod Certified

 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 with a Dance Minor 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.  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 was cast 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. Other credits include Cabaret (Texas/Dance Captain), Shout! (Blue Girl/Dance Captain), and Hairspray (Velma Von Tussle). 
When Molly isn't at the studio, she enjoys teaching and choreographing throughout Northeast Ohio. She is a former teaching artist with Reach Out And Dance
®,  a dance outreach program through Ballet Excel Ohio, and currently teaches  with  Artful Living And Learning, serving the districts of Stark County. She has choreographed for New Directions Performing Arts Academy, The Players Guild, and North Canton Playhouse , Hoover High School, Tuslaw High School, Northwest High School, and St. Paul's.
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!
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Brandi Lowery
​Co-owner/Artistic Director
Instructor: Jazz, Technique, Lyrical, Hip-Hop, Contemporary, Competition Teams

​Miss Brandi has been teaching dance in the area for over 15 years. She has instructed and shared her passion of dance at multiple local dance studios, theaters and school programs. Brandi has experience dancing and teaching in all styles of dance. She has been a competition dance team coach/choreographer for over 11 years and in that time, has won many overall, high score, entertainment and choreography awards!

Before opening Inspire Performing Arts Center with Miss Molly & Miss Connie, Brandi served as an Artistic Director for another local studio and also choreographed for Tuslaw High School musicals and show choirs and for local community theatres. She has choreographed musicals such as The Music Man, The Sound of Music, Seussical, Guys & Dolls and many more! She has also worked in a preschool dance program and as a ballroom dance assistant at local elementary schools. 

Brandi has a Bachelors Degree in Communication from The University of Akron, with minors in Dance and Child Development, as well as, a Child Education certificate.  While at UA, she was able to observe and study under many professionals from The Martha Graham Dance Company, the Pennsylvania Ballet, the Ohio Ballet, Broadway and many more. She focused her dance training mainly on ballet and modern while at UA. When not at IPAC, Brandi works full time for an insurance company out of California or is busy with her husband, and her kiddos. Her daughter, Hayden, is 3 and enrolled in Mini Movers at IPAC and her son, Dax, was just born in August 2020! 

Brandi is so excited and blessed to have opened Inspire’s doors with Miss Molly & Miss Connie! This has been a life long dream! 

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

Miss Amanda has been teaching dance in the area for over 16 years! She has shared her love of the art form at multiple local dance studios and dance education programs. From 2015-2017 Miss Amanda served as an Artistic Director for another local dance studio before becoming a part of the Inspire teaching team. Amanda is well versed in multiple styles of dance and has choreographed for a variety of competitive dance teams, winning many high score, overall, choreography and special judge’s awards.
Amanda has also shared her talent with several Stark county high schools as a show choir and musical choreographer. Currently, Miss Amanda is working with the singers, dancers and actors of Northwest High School in Canal Fulton. To date, Miss Amanda has choreographed for productions of High School Musical, The Wizard of Oz, Fiddler on the Roof, Mary Poppins, Into the Woods, Little Women and many show choir performances.
When not working as a dance instructor, Miss Amanda works as a Kindergarten teacher for Northwest Local Schools. Amanda has a Bachelor’s of Science in Early Childhood Education with a concentration in Reading Instruction from Kent State University. We are proud to have her experienced, talented background with us at Inspire PAC!



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Katie Guist
Instructor: Ballet, Pointe, Competition 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!

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Allison Beler
Instructor: Competition Technique, Competition Ballet, Pointe, Jazz

​Originally from Metairie, Louisiana, Allison Beler obtained her BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from the University of Southern Mississippi. Upon moving to NYC, she worked with Barbie Diewald of TrioDance Collective, Rachel Rizzuto of touche pas dance company, Christy Walsh of Stringdance+media, Edgar Cortes Dance Theater, and Vital Theatre Productions. Choreography highlights include Everyday Inferno Theatre Company’s productions of Glassheart and Quicksand, Ayvaunn Penn’s The Feather Doesn’t Fall Far from the Wing, and The Sound of Music at Columbia Secondary School. Allison currently holds a company member position with Mari Meade Dance Collective (MMDC) and is a Teaching Artist with New York City Ballet and Dancing Classrooms NYC.
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Sarah Galayda
Instructor: Acrobats, Hip Hop

Sarah began dancing at the age of 3 at Vivian Munson Dance Studio. Sarah dance at Vivian Munson Dance Studio for 16 years where she was on the competition team for 6 years and demonstrated classes for 5 years. In 2015 Sarah graduated from Canton McKinley Highschool then graduated from Kent State University in May of 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies with a Child and You Development Concentration and a Psychology Minor. Sarah currently attends Malone University where she is pursuing her master’s degree in Clinical Counseling as well as School Counseling. Throughout her career Sarah has voluntarily taught dance at Canton City Schools Arts academy. Sarah also co-choreographed McKinley High schools’ production of the Whiz, and choreographed Malone University’s production of Next to Normal. Sarah has also studied dance collegiately at the University of Akron and Kent State University.

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Abby Andrego
Instructor: Lyrical, Contemporary

​Miss Abby has been dancing for 14 years, 12 of which as a competitive dancer.  She started at Theater Dance Center and later continued her education at 8 Count Dance. Throughout the years she has shared her talents with the community in various local theater productions. She was also a member of the Green High School Dance Team all 4 years. Abby is a graduate from Walsh University where she was the Co-Captain of the Walsh University Dance Team for 2 years. She has also danced for the Canton Charge basketball team. We are so lucky to have Miss Abby at IPAC!
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Katrina Vales
Instructor: Competition Technique, Ballet 


Katrina graduated from Northwest High school in 2019.  She is currently a dance major at the  University of Akron with a minor in business. When she is not at IPAC, Katrina can be seen dancing with the University of Akron's dance team! She has been dancing since the age of six in a variety of dances styles including  ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, modern, lyrical and hip hop. Her dream is to share her love for dance with the younger generation and later own her own studio when she graduates college. She is so excited to start sharing her love for dance at Inspire Performing Arts Center. 

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  • Home
  • About us
    • Who We Are
    • Programs
    • Our Faculty
    • IPAC Handbook
    • Contact
  • RECITAL INFO!
  • Class Info
    • NEW! 2023/2024 SCHEDULE
    • REGISTER NOW!
    • Competition Team
    • Tuition Rates
    • Private Lessons
    • Master Classes & Performance Opportunites
  • Parent Portal
  • NEW! IPAC GEAR
  • STAFF PORTAL