Faculty

Dee is the owner & artistic director of Studio Dee. Growing up in Northern KY, Dee studied all genres of dance and was a competitive gymnast. After graduating high school she attended Western Kentucky University as a Dance major & finished her college career with a BFA in English & Dance from Northern Kentucky University. Dee began teaching dance at the age of twenty where she discovered that she not only has a love of performance but a true passion for teaching the art of Dance. Dee followed her passion and opened Studio Dee along with her husband Rick in 1996. Through the course of her career, she has had the opportunity to judge several competitions; choreograph for numerous productions, including Newport Central Catholic & Beechwood musical theatre productions, and teach Master Classes for Dance Masters of America, Bluegrass Chapter. Her choreography has won several awards and some of her former students have received dance scholarships through many competitions as well as college scholarships and are now pursuing careers in the dance industry. Dee is extremely proud of her current & former students and is so thankful for the opportunity to have watched these young individuals grow into beautiful, well-rounded, successful adults.

Emily Overton

Emily Overton has been a part of the Studio Dee staff for over eight years. She grew up in Northern Kentucky where she began her dance training at the age of three. Emily danced competitively for eight years where she won many regional and national titles and was also a member of Studio Dee's first dance team. She discovered her love for teaching and choreography upon graduating high school. As a student at Northern Kentucky University, she studied English, Creative Writing and Dance. Over the years, her collaboration with Dee has helped lead the award winning dance company. By sharing her passion and knowledge of dance with the children of Studio Dee, her hope is that every child leaves her class with one of the many joys that the art of dance has brought to her life. Emily is very excited for the upcoming season and thankful to Dee for the opportunity to work with her dancers.

Jonnie Lynn Jacobs

Jonnie Lynn Jacobs-Percer has been teaching ballet at Studio Dee since 1998. Jonnie Lynn received her BFA in Dance at CCM and her MA in Dance from Ohio State University. She is on faculty at University of Cincinnati in CCM as the ballet coordinator with the Preparatory Department and an adjunct professor in the Dance Division. Currently Jonnie Lynn is a doctorial candidate in the College of Education at UC. Her dissertation work involves the training of serious classical ballet students and how their training may help them develop higher academic achievement.

Morgan Young

Morgan has taken dance lessons since the age of three. She has been an assistant teacher since the age of 16 and is now leading some of the Preschool classes at Studio Dee. She has such a passion for not only dance, but each and every one of her dancers. Morgan is a Nursing student at Northern Kentucky University.

Allie Heidrich

Allie has been assistant teaching and teaching dance for the past 7 years. She began teaching at Studio Dee in 2010. She has been trained in ballet, tap jazz, and acrobatics for 17 years, and hip hop, pointe, modern, lyrical and musical theater for the past 8 years. Allie is a junior at Northern Kentucky University where she is working towards a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts specialized in dance. Allie is a part of NKU’s dance tour troupe and has also had dancing role in musicals produced at NKU and other community theaters.

Tori Gilman

Victoria Gilman is 17 years old and has been dancing with Studio Dee for almost 14 years. She is a senior at Holy Cross High School. Throughout her dance career she has won several scholarships and awards including; a full year work-shop scholarship for Tremaine Dance Convention, and invitation to Nexstar’s national tour, and she also recently attended Governor’s School for the Art’s for dance. She has been an assistant teacher for 5 years and is looking forward to leading her own classes. Tori also has helped choreographed numerous dances in past performances for Studio Dee. Tori hopes to attend college as a dance major next year, but will always carry Studio Dee in her heart.

Missy Meyer

Missy has been with Studio Dee since 2003 teaching tumbling classes and coordinating the conditioning program for the Dance Company. She earned a BA in Recreation and Fitness from Northern Kentucky University. Prior to coming to Studio Dee, Missy served as the Recreational Manager and co-head coach for the competitive gymnastics teams at Top Flight Gymnastics. Missy also teaches water fitness classes and swim lessons at Silverlake Recreation Centerand serves as the Diving Coach at Brookwood Swim Club. Missy is truly passionate about teaching and developing people of all ages, but especially children and young adults.

Stephanie Schmidt

Stephanie began gymnastics classes in first grade and began performing with my elementary school's tumbling team at exhibitions in third grade. She was a competitive gymnast up through eighth grade when a back injury ended my career as a performing gymnast. In high school, Stephanie began teaching gymnastics at a Cincinnati area YMCA and by college, she coached Levels 4-8 gymnastics at the YMCA and gymnastics clubs. Stephanie graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education and Northern Kentucky University with a Masters degree in Public Administration. She has been teaching gymnastics and tumbling classes again since 2001 and love to see her students learn new skills. She also enjoys her work as a pre-Kindergarten teacher at a Catholic pre-school in Northern Kentucky and Office Coordinator and Tumbling Instructor for Studio Dee. Stephanie also serves on multiple committees for the Girl Scouts of Kentucky's Wilderness Road Council - Licking Valley Cluster and act as Girl Scout Troop Leader to both of my daughter's troops. She lives with her husband, Chris, and their two daughters, Madeleine and Lydia, in Fort Wright.