Meet our wonderful teachers and staff members!
Kathy Pierce
Kathy began her training at a well-known competitive area dance studio. As well as teaching, she is currently celebrating 26 years as a studio owner. She began American Stars of Dance with her business partner and friend, Randee (now retired). She enjoys teaching and instilling the love of dance. Bringing the joy of movement to young and old is a priority. Kathy continues to be inspired by her family and staff, as well as the dancers in front of her each day.
Kathy teaches Pre-ballet & Tap, Ballet & Tap combination classes, and Adult Tap.
Jaime Clesceri
Jaime took her very first dance class when she was nine years old, and Miss Kathy was her teacher. She instantly fell in love with dancing and hasn't stopped since. During her grade school and high school years, Jaime competed dance nationally in Tap, Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Acro and Poms. Jaime was also a gymnast for 10 years and trained at the Gymnastics Spot. She was a member on both the 1992 & 1993 State High School gymnastics teams at Carmel High School. At Carmel, Jaime danced in the Street Scenes performances alongside Becky De Rosa. Jaime graduated college from University of Illinois - Champaign with a degree in Finance and then received her MBA from North Park University in 2008. Jaime has been teaching at American Stars since 2010. Her favorite part of teaching is sharing her passion for dance with her students. She looks forward to another amazing year at the studio!
Jaime teaches our Advanced Combination classes, Contemporary classes, as well as Musical Theater and Tumbling workshops.
Holly Weber
Holly began her dance training studying with Gus Giordano in Evanston. She attended the University of Illinois where she received a B.F.A. in Dance with a specialization in Technical Theater. She then went on to work for the Candlelight Theater in Summit, Illinois and also taught dance for the Morton Grove, Niles and Skokie Park Districts. She taught preschool for 30 yrs and dance for 14 yrs for the Vernon Hills Park District and recently retired from the program. Holly has been with American Stars of Dance for the last 13 yrs.
Holly teaches our Boogie Kids, Pre-Ballet & Tap, and Ballet & Tap Combo classes.
Sarah BOWLIN
Sarah has been dancing with American Stars since the age of 3. She danced for two years on her high school dance team and continued to dance throughout college. She graduated from Carthage College in 2018 with a degree in Business Management and Finance and from Arizona State University in 2022 with a degree in Graphic Information Technology. Dance is her true passion, and she is excited to help her students discover their own passion for dance.
Sarah teaches our Ballet 1, 2 and 3/Pointe, Adult Ballet, and Ballet, Tap and Jazz Combo classes, as well as teaching private lessons.
Brianna Rundle
Brianna started dancing at American Stars when she was 18 months old. Throughout her 13 years at the studio, she participated in the mommy and me, poms, jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop, boy/girl classes. She was on Antioch’s Varsity Dance Team for all four years performing kick, open dance, poms, and hip hop. She continued dancing at Northern Illinois University on the Silverettes dance team. She had the opportunity to perform at Guaranteed Rate Field, Soldier Field, Ford Field, Boca Raton Bowl, and Quicken Loans Arena. She graduated Summa Cum Laude in May of 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and a minor in Business Analytics at Northern Illinois University. She will receive her MBA at NIU in December of 2023. She is employed at Uline as a Product Marketing Associate. In her free time she enjoys listening to country music, hanging out with family, and boating on the Chain.
Brianna teaches our Poms 2 and 3 classes.
Haley Lanahan
Haley has been dancing since she was 10 years old. She was on the Antioch High School dance team all four years. She then continued to dance on the Carthage College dance team for four years. Haley graduated from Carthage in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She is currently working towards her master’s degree in education. Haley is very excited to share her passion of dance with the students at American Stars!
Haley teaches our Jr. Poms and Poms 1 classes
Mara Quane
Mara started to dance at American Stars when she was 3 years old. Her first class was Combo with ballet, tap and jazz. Ballet is her absolute favorite! When she was old enough, she started being a teacher’s assistant with Miss Kathy and then with Miss Sarah. She loves helping with the younger classes. When she turned 12, she started volunteering with Star Squad as a Buddy. She was up for the challenge and thinks everyone should have the chance to try dance. A few years ago, Mara advanced to Pointe. Excited to buy her first pointe shoes is an understatement. Dance is Mara’s passion; she continues to take Ballet 3/Pointe and help in Star Squad.
Mara teaches our Pre-Ballet & Tap class and 4/5-year-old Combo class.
Jennifer chapleau
Jennifer is our office manager and has been with American Stars for over 20 years. She runs the office and collaborates with Miss Kathy planning our full season schedule, summer schedules, and student placement. Jennifer orders all recital costumes, books performance venues, and helps run the backstage during recitals.
Kay Pierce
Kay works in our office, as well as working the ticket table during recitals. She has been with American Stars for over 7 years.
Don Pierce
Don runs the music and sound for all performances. You will also see him on stage on occasion.