BELLA COMPANY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Assistant
- Company Director
- Member of Warped Dance Company
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.
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!
Job Titles:
- Recreational 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!®
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!