Who We Are

Director & Instructor

Melissa McInnis has been teaching with DCA since 2007 and became the Director in 2021. She holds a B.A. (magna cum laude) in Dance and Performance Studies from Roger Williams University. She is a native of Maine and received her early training at Casco Bay Movers and The Portland Ballet. After college, Melissa continued her dance training with Marcus Schulkind at Green Street Studios, Boston. Melissa has danced professionally in Boston and Indianapolis with Influxdance, The Aminius Ensemble, Motus Dance Theater (now Indianapolis Movement Arts Collective), Praise In Motion Dance Ministry and many independent choreographers. Melissa has been teaching for over 20 years and has taught both children and adults and specializes in Contemporary. She believes in teaching a clean technique in the early levels and breaks down all steps into their most basic form for her beginning students. Once her students reach an advanced level, Melissa enjoys giving them artistic freedoms in class and watching them grow as artists. Melissa has several students who have gone on to have professional dance careers, college dance majors and dance educators. Melissa has taught at Anderson University and multiple studios in Maine, Massachusetts and Indiana. She feels so blessed to be part of DCA and thanks God every day for leading her here! Melissa and her husband have three children. Melissa is PBT (Progressing Ballet Technique) Certified.

Instructor

Stephanie Lusch has been with Dance Creations Academy for 29 years having joined the faculty in the 1997-98 season. She started the jazz program at DCA and is also a choreographer for our Repertory Company Jazz and Apprentice Ensembles. Stephanie holds a BA in dance from Butler University in Indianapolis, IN where she danced with the Butler Ballet Company in productions of Cinderella and the Nutcracker. After graduation she became a professional cheerleader for the NBA Indiana Pacers, participating in 41 home games and the NBA All-Star game. Stephanie held the title of Mrs. Indiana America 1999 and currently is the producer and a board member for the Mrs. Indiana America Pageant. She has also been the choreographer, stage manager, coach and director for national and international beauty pageants. She has two grown children, Andrew and Brittany and three grandsons.

One of Stephanie’s favorite dance quotes comes from Agnes de Mille: “To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful. This is power, it is glory on earth and it is yours for the taking.”

Instructor

Mrs. Priest has been with DCA since 2016. She holds a B.A. and M.A. (magna cum laude) in dance from Butler University in Indianapolis. She previously taught at the prestigious Butler University/Jordan College Academy of Dance in Indianapolis and was Artistic Director of the Indianapolis Youth Ballet Company. Mrs. Priest danced professionally with the Louisville Ballet and has been teaching for more than 40 years. A highly talented and dedicated teacher and choreographer, Mimi has created original choreography for children’s ballet productions including “Peter Pan”, “Little Orphan Annie”, “The Wizard of Oz” and “Alice in Wonderland”. She has staged many classical ballets including “Les Sylphides”, “Raymonda”, “Paquita”, “The Mistake Waltz” and “Pas de Quatre”. Her focus has primarily concentrated on training pre-professional dancers. She has trained dancers for professional careers that went on to dance in many ballet companies including American Ballet Theater 2, Washington Ballet, Houston Ballet, Texas Ballet, Hubbard Street and the Christian ballet company, Ballet Magnificat in Jackson Mississippi. Mimi loves teaching the beautiful art of ballet and tries to help every student to be the best that they can be, to feel they have accomplished something at the end of every class and to help them dance for the glory of God.

Instructor

Miss Cami joined DCA in 2008 and graduated summa cum laude from Anderson University with a degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Spanish. She taught elementary school for 8 years but now stays home with her children. Dance has been a huge part of Cami’s life. She grew up studying tap, jazz, and ballet at The Dancers’ Place Studio in Avon, IN and continued her training at Anderson University. She is a former member of Praise in Motion dance ministry and has been seen on stage at Indy Fringe Festivals and many community theatre productions. She was most recently seen on stage in Matilda (Mrs. Zinnia Wormwood) and Into The Woods (The Witch). She is honored to work among such a talented staff at Dance Creations Academy and hopes to pass along a love for dance to the next generation. Cami is PBT (Progressing Ballet Technique) Certified.

Instructor

Miss Shannon has been with DCA since 2013 and was trained in Indianapolis under Bev Wohrle and Barb Liebschutz. She was a Prelude Awards finalist in Dance. She continued her training in New York City at New York University and Broadway Dance Center, including tap training with Jimmy Tate. She has performed in many theater productions including “Crazy for You”, “Children of Eden”, “Anything Goes”, and “Big River”. She was a member of the 2002 National Champion New York University Dance Team. She performed in the 2012 Super Bowl halftime show. Shannon has a Masters Degree in Social Work and is passionate about her work with foster and adopted children.

Instructor

Miss Holloway joined the DCA faculty in 2021. She is originally from Fort Worth Texas where she started dancing at age 3. She trained with Ballet Frontier until she moved to Boston to attend Walnut Hill School for the Arts. Prior to college, she moved back to Texas to dance as a trainee with Ballet Austin performing in a variety of professional productions. Holloway then went on to graduate from Butler University with a Dance and Arts Administration degree. She has performed lead roles in various classical ballets including The Nutcracker, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty, as well as a many contemporary works choreographed by professional artists. In addition to her performance career, she has experience teaching dance to numerous age groups.

Instructor

Miss Christina joined DCA in the spring of 2019. She is originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana where she received her dance training at Fort Wayne Ballet, starting at the age of six. She attended Butler University where she studied as a Dance Performance major and Communication Sciences and Disorders minor. Dancing with Butler Ballet, she was given the opportunity to travel internationally to perform in Poland and Russia. Upon graduating from Butler with her BFA in Dance Performance, Christina spent the following year in Washington, DC dancing professionally with Dissonance Dance Theatre and ArasDance. She danced with Ballet Theatre of Indiana for 5 years where she performed a variety of roles in ballet classics including The Nutcracker, Firebird, Giselle, and Dracula, as well as contemporary works set on the company. In 2020 Christina co-founded her own dance collective, Ballet INitiative and is Pilates certified.

Instructor/Production Assistant/Admin Team

Miss Hannah has been teaching on the DCA staff since 2019. She is also a DCA alumni and has been dancing with us since the age of 4. Hannah has trained in many styles including ballet, pointe, tap, contemporary, and jazz. She is most passionate about using dance as worship to praise her Creator. She is involved in her local church and teaches in the children’s ministry as she has a deep love for children. Hannah continues her professional development by attending workshops and professional-level classes to further her education. She is also PBT (Progressing Ballet Technique) Certified. She has performed locally with Ballet INitiative’s “Nutcracker with a Twist” as well as other outreach programs. Hannah feels so blessed to be able to teach and share her love of dance with her students. Hannah was recently married and enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband.

Instructor/Social Media Manager/Admin Team

Miss Alex started with DCA in 2018 and studied dance at Ball State University where she choreographed numerous pieces and was cast in various shows. Before her collegiate training, she studied ballet, pointe, contemporary, modern, jazz, liturgical, and tap in the Indianapolis area. She was part of the In Step Dance Company and a member of the Academy of Dance Arts Ensemble. Alexandra has taught dancers at the preschool through pre-professional levels, was the director of summer dance training camps at Indy Dance Academy and was a co-teacher for In Step Dance Company. Alexandra received her degree in Communication Studies and a minor in Dance Studies at Indiana University Purdue University in May of 2020 and has performed with Meraki Dance Company in Indianapolis.

Instructor/Admin Team

Miss Maddie joined the DCA faculty in 2024. She is from Saint Louis, Missouri and began dancing at the age of 4, where she took recreational classes at a local community program through middle school. In 8th grade she transferred to M&M Dance Academy where she began to train in Ballet, Pointe, and lyrical more seriously. Throughout her time there in high school she competed in YAGP and played roles such as Dew Drop and Sugar Plum Fairy in her studio’s Nutcracker. Throughout high school she did two summer intensives at Nashville Ballet and took master classes at Kansas City Ballet and Joffrey Ballet. She graduated high school in 2023 and currently attends Butler University as a Sophomore Arts Administration major. In her time at Butler thus far she has taken Ballet classes and through her participation in the Ballet Club has performed the role of Giselle in the ballet Giselle along with performing in the ballet adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. Maddie loves to use dance as a way of expression and praise to our heavenly Father. She is so excited to be teaching at DCA!

Instructor

Miss Renee joined the DCA faculty in 2024. She has been dancing since the age of 4 and is trained in ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, musical theater, contemporary, lyrical, gymnastics, and vocal performance. In high school, she competed with the varsity dance team as a soloist and in large ensemble. She also performed and choreographed for show choir and plays/musicals. Since 2015, Renee has been seen singing, dancing, and acting in nine Footlite Musicals Productions. She served as a dance captain for Beauty and the Beast, Big Fish, and the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and she received featured dance roles in each production. In 2016, Renee became a certified Zumba instructor and taught recreational and college credit courses at Indiana University Indianapolis (IU Indy) through 2020. She also was an assistant dance teacher for Modern Dance Workshop courses at IU Indy. In 2018, Renee earned a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and a Certificate in Personal Training, and in 2021, she earned her Doctorate in Occupational Therapy-all at IU Indy. Since 2019, Renee has been teaching studio dance classes and choreographing for Nutcracker, dance team competitions, and spring performances/showcases. In 2025, Renee became certified in PBT (Progressing Ballet Technique). Besides teaching and performing, Renee works as a full-time occupational therapist at Riley Hospital for Children. She developed a children’s group therapy program at Riley that uses dance as the main modality for OT intervention. Because of her medical background, Renee ensures to implement injury prevention and promote proper body mechanics while teaching. Renee feels blessed to call DCA her dance family!

Instructor

Miss Gwen is originally from Morrison, Missouri, started dancing competitively at age 5 and fell in love with ballet at 12 and began training under Alexandra Zaharias at the Alexandra School of Ballet. She then joined the school’s pre-professional company and spent summers at Kansas City Ballet and Butler University’s Ballet Summer Intensive.

Gwen went on to earn her B.F.A. in Dance Pedagogy from Butler, graduating cum laude with the program’s highest honor. During her time with Butler Ballet, she performed in Giselle, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and original works by the program’s esteemed faculty members. After graduating from Butler, Gwen joined Lexington Ballet, where she performed in featured roles such as Dew Drop Fairy, Snow Princess, and Marzipan lead in The Nutcracker. She also appeared as a soloist in world premieres by Ayako Hasebe Lloyd (Cincinnati Ballet faculty), Patrick Garr (of Broadway’s Hamilton), and Eric Trope (Artistic Director of Ballet Des Moines). Beyond performing, Gwen is a passionate teacher with experience in ballet, pointe, variations, jazz, contemporary, and creative movement. After teaching throughout central Kentucky, she’s thrilled to be returning to Indianapolis to continue inspiring the next generation of dancers. Ms. Gwen is also PBT certified.

Instructor

Miss Casie is a professional ballet dancer from Fishers, Indiana who began training at age 3 with the Central Indiana Dance Ensemble. She graduated early to pursue a professional career and trained at prestigious summer programs including the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, The Rock School, and Milwaukee Ballet.

Her professional career included performances with Charlotte Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Nevada Ballet Theater, Ballet Theatre of Indiana, and Fort Wayne Ballet. She danced principal roles including Nikiya in La Bayadère and Belle in Beauty and the Beast, and performed works by George Balanchine and collaborations with Cirque du Soleil.

Throughout her career, Casie has been dedicated to dance education, serving on faculty at multiple academies including six years with Indy Dance Academy and as Youth Company Director at Central Indiana Academy of Dance. In 2020, she co-founded Ballet INitiative in Indianapolis, where she continues to perform and teach the next generation of dancers. Ms. Casie is also PBT certified through level 3 of their program, and PCT certified.