Dance Instructors
Marianna Sailor
Assistant Competitive Director/Instructor
Ms. Marianna has been dancing since the age of three, and she has training in Jazz, Pom, Lyrical, Contemporary, Hip hop, and Belly Dancing. Marianna is a graduate of Waverly High School, where she was a member of the dance team for four years. While on the Waverly Dance team Marianna danced competitively in NDA, UDA, and Showcase America Competitions. She also attended UDA and NDA summer dance camps were she has been recognized with numerous awards.
Since high school Marianna has danced All-star Jazz competitively from 2011-2012 as well as All-star Hip-Hop from 2012-2013. She has choreographed and assisted with award winning competitive dance choreography at the regional, state and national levels while achieving highest adjudications.
Ms. Marianna has also taken classes/instruction from some of the best in the industry. She has been lucky enough to learn from Tessandra Chavez, Dr. Ew, Markus Shields, and Phil Orsano to name a few. She was able to expand her dance education by attending conventions, intensives, and workshops.
Ms. Marianna also has a love for working with dancers with special needs, being a mom with a child with extra needs as well she wants to make sure everyone gets a chance to dance!
Marianna has been with KIO since the grand opening in 2012! She is a busy mom of 3 and has a passion for the art of dance! Marianna teaches recreational & competitive dance classes at KIO!
Avery Humphrey
Competitive/Recreational Instructor
Miss Avery has over 12 years of dance experience and 3+ years of teaching/assisting experience. She danced competitively for 10 years, during that time she won multiple special awards such as Miss Elite Senior Starquest, Judges Choice, Top 3 in Celebrity’s Dance Down Competition, and top 5 placements. She specializes in Jazz, Ballet, Contemporary, Modern, Musical Theater, and Hip Hop. Over the years, she has worked with some of the industries top choreographers and dancers, most recently she studied with Markus Shields. In 2022, Avery worked professionally with the Dynasty Dancers, the dance team for the Lansing Pharaohs. She is a current student at LCC and is actively working on expanding and continuing her dance education.
Avery is also doing our Competitive Social media for our Competition Team. Capturing incredible photos and sharing them to everyone via our pages.
Kaye Hubbard
Competitive/Recreational Instructor
Miss Kaye is a 2021 graduate from Michigan State University. She has a degree in Kinesiology with a minor in Health Promotion. Kaye grew up dancing competitively at The Dance Connection in the Metro-Detroit area. She competed in most genres and traveled to both regional and national competitions. She also was a four-year member of the PCEP High School Dance Team. Kaye went on to become a Universal Dance Association staff member where she helped teach and coach high school teams. Kaye’s main genres include jazz and contemporary. In her free time she loves being outdoors, weightlifting, and spending time with her two cats. Kaye is so excited to be part of Kick It Out! and can’t wait to start this new journey in the dance world.
Grace Krajewski
Competitive/Recreational/Ballet Lead Instructor
Miss Grace is a pre-med student at MSU with minors in both Dance and Spanish. Her dance training began at the age of 3 as a student at Deborah’s Stage Door in Rochester Hills, Michigan. Grace later moved to Rochester School of Dance, where she received most of her formal dance training in styles including ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and modern. There, she was a member of the main company at Michigan Ballet Theatre and performed various principal roles in performances of The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and Coppélia. She also traveled with Michigan Ballet Theatre to YAGP (Youth America Grand Prix) competitions around the country, and to the world finals in New York City, New York. Grace also has significant experience in hip-hop and pom, styles she focused on while on her high school dance team. Grace was on the Stoney Creek High School Varsity Dance Team for all four years of her high school career, and was a captain for her junior and senior year. Her team competed at UDA nationals, where in 2019 they were pom national finalists and achieved 3rd place in the game day category.
Karina Polovka
Tumbling Lead/Strength & Condition/Instructor
Hi everyone, I’m the new Tumbling/Strength Conditioning Instructor! My name is Karina. I’ve been coaching competitive gymnastics and teaching tumbling for the past 5 years, after practicing gymnastics myself for 7 years. My favorite skills to teach are aerials. Even though they look easy, there’s so much that goes into making them look amazing! In my free time I competitively powerlift, cook vegan dishes and love to learn new tumbling tricks. I’m very excited for this new chapter of my life in East Lansing with all of you!
I’m very excited to help the dancers build the critical muscles and stamina to make them highly successful.
One fun fact about Miss Karina is that she recently got a Kitten to add to her family!
Xosé López
Salsa/Bachata Instructor
Mr. Xose is originally from Vigo (Spain), and has more than 17 years of experience in Latin dance, attending, teaching, and performing in dance congresses. His Latin dance education comprises salsa, bachata, chachachá and merengue, and notions of afrocuban dances (Orishas and Palo). Salsa is a syncretic dance form with origins from Cuba as the meeting point of Spanish (European) and African cultures. Salsa is normally a partner dance, although there are recognized solo forms such as solo dancing “suelta” and “Rueda de Casino” where multiple couples exchange partners in a circle. Salsa can be improvised or performed with a set routine. We are lucky enough to have him with us for another dance season!
We have cherished having Xose on our staff providing his incredible skills.
Hilary Langin
Competitive/Recreational Instructor
Hilary Langin is a talented dancer and dedicated social worker, bringing a unique blend of passion and expertise to our dance studio. With a strong foundation in dance, Hilary’s journey began as a member of the Ithaca High School Pom Pon Squad from 2004 to 2007, where her team achieved remarkable success, winning two national championships. In addition to her dance background, Hilary holds a license as a Master of Social Work (MSW) and has extensive clinical experience working with children and families. Her commitment to helping others and creating a nurturing environment shines through in her dance instruction, where she effortlessly combines her passion for dance and her understanding of human development. Her dedication, creativity, and ability to connect with students of all ages and backgrounds truly set her apart. We are thrilled to have Hilary as part of our team, bringing her expertise and love for dance to our studio and inspiring the next generation of dancers.
Kyla Mitchell
Recreational Instructor
Miss Kyla has danced for over 10 years. She is a Dance Theatre major studying at Lansing Community College. Her hobbies are cooking and hanging out with family and Friends.
We are excited for Kyla to join our staff and bring her energy to our classes.
As a Dance Teacher, Kyla feels that it is important for her students to feel confident, motivated and inspired at all times and that they are in an environment they feel comfortable in. She wants to see her students succeed, be proud of their accomplishments and enjoy all of the hard work and dedication they put into dance.
Tiffany Lovett
Competitive/Recreational Instructor
My name is Tiffany Lovett! I grew up dancing at Sue’s School of Dance in Caro, MI and competed for 5 years there getting to experience many conventions and learning the values of a strong team dynamic. I then proceeded to audition for Lansing’s “the INstitute of Dancers” in 2017 and trained in pre-professional and commercial dance for 5 years there. In my time there I trained with MANY industry professionals, auditioned for the Latin Billboard Awards, participated in acting classes, and filmed numerous music/concept videos. I taught weekly drop in classes and the occasional company class there as well. My favorite styles of dance are hip hop, jazz funk, and contemporary. Overall I have been dancing for over 15 years and have 5-6 years of assisting/teaching experience. I also have about 4 years of childcare experience from ages 3 months-6 years and am first aid and CPR certified. I’m so excited to be teaching young ones the love of dance again after taking a little time off! In my free time I love to go thrifting, spend time with my family and friends, do some more dancing of course, and do my hair and makeup.
Mason Shaw
Ballroom Instructor
Hi all, my name is Mason Shaw.
I have had a passion for Ballroom and all things dance since I was young, but my passion grew into a career into my late teens to mid-twenties. I have choreographed wedding dances, showcases, taught group classes and private lessons. While serving in the United States Army for twelve years I was unable to continue my passion and have been looking for the time to come back to it. “Ballroom Dancing” is an umbrella term, it covers a wide variety of styles and subsets, I look forward to bringing my passion for ballroom to share with everyone.
Jazlyn Dingfelder
Drama/Vocal/Recreational Instructor
Jazlyn Dingfelder is the holder of a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from Young Harris College. She is a professional actress, singer, and dancer in from Atlanta area.
Highlighted credits include “Agave” in “The Bacchae”, “Lady Anne” in Richard III, and her most recent professional role as “Parmalee Flynn”, a romantic lead with the TEXAS! Outdoor Musical, performing over 60 times over 3 months!
She has a passion for children’s theatre, crediting “Wanda” in Wanda’s Monster (TYA) in undergrad as her most impactful role in her educational journey.
She is excited to join KIO and bring her amazing talents and provide them to our performers!!
Lilli Harris
Competitive/Recreational Instructor
Miss Lilli is an MSU student pursuing a bachelors degree in elementary education. She started dancing at the age of 3 at On Stage School of Dance in Holly, Michigan. On top of dancing at the studio she was also an assistant teacher for 5 years. Once entering high school, Lilli was a team member of the Fenton Varsity Dance Team all 4 years, including being captain her senior year. She is now in her second year of assistant coaching for the Fenton team. She has years of experience in ballet, tap, hip hop, contemporary, lyrical, and jazz. Lilli strives to make all my students feel welcomed and important in my classroom, and is looking forward to sharing my passion for dance with KIO!
You will also find Lilli helping out at the front desk this year!! She is also doing our social media posts for the whole studio!