Megan Zintek
(Owner/Artistic Director)
In 2008 Megan graduated summa cum laude with her BFA in Dance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with over 20 years of experience in her field. She has immersed herself in dance pedagogy since the age of 12, continually sharing her artistry and love of movement with children and adults. It has been her dream, from the first dance class she ever had the privilege of teaching, to open her own dance studio. She felt a calling to give others the same opportunity to grow, mature and express themselves with confidence and strength, just as she had been given as a young girl. Bella Via was not a spur of the moment idea… Megan diligently worked to obtain every tool possible that would ensure her dream not only come to fruition, but would be a powerful force in the dance community.
While receiving her undergrad, she had the privilege of working with and performing for André Tyson, Darci Brown Wutz, Li-Chao Ping, and Simone Ferro. She also had the opportunity to dance in works created by guest artists Daniel Gwirtzman, Laura Dean, and Uri Sands. She studied under the tutelage of Ed Burgess, Janet Lilly, Luc Vanier and Fern Caulker-Bronson. Beyond her studies, she has danced with Wildspace Dance Company, as well as the Catey Ott Dance Collective. During the summer of 2008, she traveled to Brazil to study Capoeira and dance with the company, Bale Folclorico. Megan was chosen to choreograph works for Here Comes Trouble and Art to Art in Milwaukee, and had the privilege of being cast in the film Missed Connections, which premiered in the 2011 Milwaukee Film Festival. She has been a company member of Elizabeth Johnson’s Your Mother Dances since 2008, keeping her connected and inspired within the dance community of Milwaukee. In 2012 she was interviewed and featured on Fox6 WakeUp promoting the launch of her fitness program, BellaBarre.
In 2015 and 2016, she was thrilled to return to UW-Milwaukee as a member of the faculty, teaching Jazz at the very university that inspired and motivated her growth as a teacher and artist. She was also privileged to return in the Spring of 2019 as Rehearsal Director for a guest artist Melanie George’s piece in UWM’s faculty show, SpringDances.
Megan was honored to have been nominated onto the Board of Directors for the Wisconsin Dance Council, beginning in the fall of 2017. This wonderful organization parallels perfectly with everything Megan believes, and strives to further dance education in our communities. She is a continued member of NDEO, the National Dance Education Organization, and is excited to announce that Bella Via is now a National Honors Society Chapter!
Bella Via was named by Megan’s mother, whom she lost in the summer of 2009. Her mother had been her #1 fan and biggest supporter in attaining her dreams. She instilled in Megan the belief that she could do anything she set her mind to, inspiring Megan to encourage that personal belief in others. In the memory of Susan Zintek, Megan opened the doors of Bella Via in October of 2011. Bella Via, aptly named by her Mother, means “the beautiful way” in Italian. Megan’s hope is that it certainly will be for anyone who walks through the studio door.
“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” – Anonymous
Joshua Yang
Joshua Yang is one of the many bright, young minds in the professional dance world today. Partaking in multiple choreography opportunities, Joshua seeks to expand his reach. As a teacher, Joshua works hard to spark confidence, passion, and ambition for his students by creating opportunities in which their light may be liberated. His classes have a reputation for combinations that are intricate, challenging, and physically demanding. Joshua has become a leader in the community of young dancers and recently established an open dance company called “Origins”. He has also been invited to choreograph multiple shows across the Midwest, establishing the first hip-hop program at the Milwaukee Ballet Academy, and became a reoccurring faculty member for the Milwaukee Ballet Summer Intensives. Bella Via has a very special place for Joshua, as it’s the first studio he has ever taught at and finds a sense of community and family here. As much as the students enjoy learning from him, Joshua is privileged to teach them!
Kendra Kramas
Academy Program Director
Kendra Kramas is a performer and choreographer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She began her artistic journey at Main Street Conservatory of Dance, where she trained in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, and Modern. In high school, she was involved in her school’s competitive show choir, dance team, and musicals. She went on to receive her BFA in Contemporary Dance Performance and Choreography at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee in 2014. Additionally, Kendra has since become certified in The Ellove Technique as well as the Youth Protection Advocates in Dance.
Kendra has toured professionally with the KIDS from Wisconsin, and was a performer with Danceworks Performance Company, The Gina Laurenzi Dance Project and SueMo Dance Company. Additional performance credits include Dance MKE, Danceworks “Ignite” Showcase, Milwaukee Fringe Festival, Dance Canvas in Atlanta, and World of Dance Chicago.
In addition to dancing, Kendra has been teaching and choreographing professionally since 2013. Her contemporary work “After the Storm” (a Bella Via original!) was a finalist in Milwaukee’s “Dance MKE” in 2018. She has received numerous choreography awards for her work with Bella Via’s Company, including choreographing the team’s 2019 Triple S National Championship routine “Skinny Love.” Additionally, Kendra still shares her love for show choir and music by choreographing for the Energy City Voices at Gillette College in Wyoming. She also teaches master classes through The Collective Movement dance intensive.
Kendra has been on faculty at Bella Via Dance Studio since 2013, where she has been honing her craft as a teacher, choreographer, shoe tying expert, and high-five connoisseur. She most recently took on the role of Recreational Program Director in 2019. The highlight of Kendra’s day is getting to see all of her students and dance families at Bella Via. She considers Bella Via her second home, and is looking forward to many more amazing years of More Than Just Great Dancing!®
Alyssa Albers
Bella Company Director
Alyssa Albers began her dance training at a very young age and continues to pursue and develop her craft to this day. Throughout the years, she was heavily involved in the competitive world, gaining knowledge she now passes on to her students. She graduated cum laude from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point in 2015, where she earned both BA Dance and BS Business Administration degrees. During her time at UWSP, she was fortunate enough to work with several world renowned choreographers, such as Keigwin + Company and Autumn Eckman, as well as build lasting relationships with her professors, Joan Karlen, Michael Estanich and Jeannie Hill, that still hold strong today. Alyssa credits so much of her teaching style and who she is as a performer to her UWSP professors.
As a member of Warped Dance Company, Alyssa was able to experience the professional world of dance and aerial work, collaborating with, and setting work on, Maria Caruso’s Bodiography Contemporary Ballet and Lesole’s Dance Project. She was also highly involved in the rebirth of WDC and was a key performer in the company’s first full length production, combining stage and sky, along with the talents of Ms. Andrea Burkholder. Recently, Alyssa’s latest adventure has been tackling the world of ballroom dance! She was warmly welcomed at the Fred Astaire studios and is working very hard on her Latin flair to get back on the competitive stage.
Alyssa has been leading a classroom for 14+ years, beginning as a teacher’s assistant and working her way to lead instructor. Throughout these years, she has gained a wealth of knowledge that equips her to handle a classroom of any size, any ability and any personality. She believes that as each dancer is uniquely special, so should their experience in the classroom. Don’t let Alyssa’s ‘tough love’ approach fool you! She always has her student’s best interests at heart and “wouldn’t push them if she didn’t think they could do it.”
Alyssa has been on faculty at Bella Via since 2012 and plans to stick around for many more seasons! She loves the atmosphere the studio families create and believes wholeheartedly in what the studio stands for: “Building self-confidence through technique and artistry.” You will often hear Alyssa say how much she deeply loves all of her students, and thinks of them as her ‘kids.’ She truly believes that teachers who take the time to build relationships with their students, don’t have students for just one year; they gain students, that turn to friendships, for life.
Sydney Kidd
Performance Troupe Director
Miss Sydney is a graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Peck School of the Arts with a BFA in Contemporary Dance and Choreography. Prior UWM, Sydney danced with many studios across the country training in ballet, jazz, lyrical,contemporary, hip hop, musical theater, tap, and modern. While at UWM, she focused on contemporary styles, choreography, somatic practices, and teaching pedagogy.
Sydney was an active performer at UWM and was featured in multiple works by Daniel Burkholder, Maria Gillespie, Dani Keupper, Debra Loewen and Sophia Nord, aswell as guest artists Dan Schuchart and D’Sabela Grimes. Her performance in Sophia Nord’s Sixth senther to the American College Dance Association Conference, where she was able to spend a week taking a variety of classes from skilled artists and perform Sixth on behalf of the Peck School of the Arts.
Sydney is passionate about sharing her love of dance with children and her community. Her work at UWM led herto participate in multiple outreaches across Wisconsin, giving her a passion for sharing art on and off the stage. She believes that each person has something special to offer to the dance community, and that we should share that ‘something special’ with others. Sydney has regularly taught as a guest artist throughout the midwest and across the country. Her passion and enthusiasm for teaching is what has driven her entire dance career and training. Creating well-rounded and diverse dancers is important to her, which is why she enjoys teaching multiple ages and styles. She believes dance brings so much joy to our world no matter how you choose to enjoy dance: watching dance, training in dance, or just dancing around the house! She is beyond excited to join the Bella Via team, and bring that joy to the lives of her all her students at Bella Via.
Amelia Teare
Noellani (Lani) Hodges
Lani began dancing when she was two years old at S&R Dance in Freeport, IL. Over her many years in dance she was part of the recreational program and then decided to try out and become part of the competitive dance team at S&R around the age of nine. This competitive team allowed her to be on many teams utilizing skills in hip hop, ballet, contemporary, tap, and jazz. The exposure to other teams and competitions helped her passion for dance grow. She was an active member of the Freeport Middle School and Freeport High School Poms teams, at FHS she was a captain and a strong leader there to support her team. Lani continued her passion for dance and advocated and helped create the first dance team at Highland Community College. She was an active member of this team for two years and the community loved having a dance team perform at the basketball games after many years with no half time entertainment. The team had to fundraise and purchase all the uniforms and equipment needed as there was no former program. This gave her an opportunity to work with the community to build options for future dancers at HCC.
In May of 2022, Lani graduated from UW-Milwaukee with a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work. She is currently working towards obtaining her Masters in Social Work as well as her license to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, LCSW. During her time in Milwaukee she has volunteered at Vivent Health Food Pantry to help provide needed items during COVID. Recently, Lani became a Family Youth Advocate, YFA at Pathfinders Youth Shelter. These opportunities to work with youth is a passion that continues to grow.
You can find Lani’s enthusiastic energy behind the front desk, decorating bulletin boards, and in the classroom at Bella Via! Lani started at Bella Via Dance studio in 2020 as a front desk assistant. In 2021, Lani started teaching at the studio. Lani has a passion for working with the Baby Bellas and Twinkle Tots. She strives to teach confidence, positive mindsets and building positive body image starting from a young age.
Kaitlyn Moore
Marissa Seban
Assistant Troupe Director
Marissa Seban began her dance training at Mirror Image Dance Academy and All the Above Dance Company, where she trained in ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, modern, and musical theater. She was a part of both the performance company and competitive teams of these studios. In high school, she helped choreograph for her high school dance team and intern at her dance studio. She went on to pursue her passion for dance at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where she received her BFA in Contemporary Dance Performance and Choreography as well as a minor in Somatics. Since then, Marissa has become certified in Acrobatic Arts, The Ellove Technique and Youth Protection Advocates for Dance.
While in college, Marissa had the opportunity to perform and compete with UWM’s Panther Dance Team for four years and become a two-year captain. While on the team, she performed and choreographed for the university’s basketball and soccer games, competed at UDA college camp and nationals in Division 1, and choreographed and performed with New kids On The Block in Milwaukee.
Marissa has been inspiring today’s youth through dance since 2018. She has coached 2 WACPC middle school teams and an All Star Team and choreographed for many high school teams. Marissa now teaches and choreographs for two studios in the suburbs of Milwaukee. She continues to pursue her passion for dance every day in hopes that she can inspire a young dancer in the way she was inspired by her teachers.
Isabelle (Izzy) Duckert
Izzy has been dancing for 13 years and has trained in all styles of dance (including ballroom!). She has been with Bella Via for 11 of those 13 years, competing on the Elite Bella Company since her first season with her dance home. Izzy’s hard work and determination has awarded her national recognition for not only her group dances, but her tap duets as well. Izzy is a Senior Honor student at Cedarburg High School, and a vital member of the Best Buddies program through school. She has always loved every opportunity to work with the younger dancers through her Bella Via journey, and leads with heart and compassion. She is very excited to have the opportunity to teach and inspire the next generation of leaders at Bella Via!
Tallyn Kubicki
Tallyn has been a part of Bella Via Dance Studio since it first opened! She has trained and excelled in every genre of dance, while competing with Bella Via’s Elite competition team earning national titles in multiple categories. She is extremely hardworking, both in and out of the studio and believes in always going full-out in dance and in life! Beyond the studio, she has been a part of the Homestead High School Dance Team since she was a freshman and has has the opportunity to attended and compete at UDA Nationals at ESPN World of Sports. She has always found a love for being around kids, and she strives to help them grow as individuals while also creating wonderful memories and fostering lifelong friendships. Tallyn is a very outgoing, compassionate, and uplifting person and is beyond excited to teach and inspire her students at Bella Via!