TEPA Staff
Kristine Stickney
Co-Owner
Kristine Burdi-Stickney holds a BA in Theatre with a minor in Dance Performance from Northern Illinois University. For the past 10 years, Kristine has worked as an actor, teacher and choreographer throughout Chicago and beyond. She has an incredible love and passion for dance, music and theatre and is so excited to pass that on to her students right here at That's Entertainment! Kristine has a strong background in Musical Theatre, Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop and Acrobatics. She has performed regionally with many Chicago theatres, including Fox Valley Rep, Chicago Shakespeare, Drury Lane Oakbrook and the Metropolis Performing Arts Center. She has also had the privilege to perform with Six Flags Great America, The Shedd Aquarium, Walt Disney World and Royal Caribbean Cruises. She looks forward seeing you around the studio! https://kristineburdi.squarespace.com/
Carrie Vignali Rossi
Co-Owner
Carrie Vignali Rossi holds a BA in Musical Theatre from the University of Wisconsin Green Bay. Since graduation, she has been performing and choreographing for a variety of theatres in the Chicagoland area, including Metropolis Performing Arts Center, Big Noise Theatre, Light Opera Works, Circle Theatre, and Wagon Wheel Theatre. She also worked in entertainment for many years at both Six Flags Great America and Disney World. Carrie has trained in Stanislovski's acting method and is passionate in guiding young theatre performers to build acting technique alongside vocal and choreography work. She currently supports the TEPA staff by directing, choreographing, and programming technical elements for the productions. In addition, Carrie acts as the Business Manager, overseeing accounting, customer accounts, communication, scheduling, and tech. She looks forward to seeing all of the students learn and grow at TEPA!
Danielle Keys-Magaña
Dance Team & Technique Instructor
Danielle Keys is a graduate of the Northern Illinois University dance program. Prior to Northern, Ms. Danielle attended Chicago Academy for the Arts studying under Randy Duncan, Natalie Rast, and Guillermo Leyva. She also studied at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and performed at the Harris Theatre, as well as WGN. Ms. Danielle danced in various shows at Northern including Art for Life and the Student Choreographic Showcase. She was also selected to represent Northern Illinois at the American College Dance Festival and perform at the John F Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Ms. Danielle began teaching and choreographing while attending college, and she also serves as artistic director and artist for DanceLoop Chicago.
Rose Gould
Dance Team & Technique Instructor
Rose Gould is a dancer, choreographer and artist from Chicago. She graduated from the University of the Arts with a BFA in Dance in 2023. Prior to UArts she attended Interlochen Arts Academy and studied ballet under Joseph Morrissey. Rose has trained in a large variety of styles but directs most of her focus to ballet, floorwork, Horton, contemporary, release technique, jazz, musical theatre, and Pilates. Rose holds certifications in Pilates Mat and Franklin Method: Art of the Plié.
Dorene Wackerfuss
Dance Technique Instructor
Dorene Wackerfuss is a dance teacher, dancer, and choreographer. Dorene has been teaching Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Musical Theater Dance, Ballroom, HipHop, and more for over 50 years. Dorene owned Dorene's DanceXpress in Arlington Hts, where Miss Kristine was one of her students! As a dancer she was in a ballet company in Georgia and also danced in Jimmy Durante's club act at the Empire Room of the Palmer House in Chicago. As a choreographer, Dorene has worked on over thirty shows, many in the Northwest Suburbs. As a teacher, Dorene prides herself on her wide base of knowledge that she she enjoys sharing with her students. She is the current Educational Director of the Chicago National Association of Dance Masters, where she holds a MDE certification (Master Dance Educator). Dorene graduated from Northwestern University.
Amy Malouf
Voice, Piano, and Theatre Instructor
Amy Malouf is beyond thrilled to be a part of the staff here at That’s Entertainment Performing Arts. Amy has been teaching musical theatre and voice for over 10 years. She hold a BA in Musical Theatre from Illinois State University. She has performed professionally for 12+ years in a variety of musicals and cabarets as well as a touring band for 6 years. She is a singer/songwriter who currently performs locally all over the Chicagoland area. Nothing makes Amy happier than teaching her passion to children who are equally passionate about their future.
Emma Robie
Dance Team, Technique, and Theatre Instructor
Emma Robie is so excited to be part of the staff at that's Entertainment Performing Arts. She has been dancing since the age of 3, being trained in styles such as Tap, jazz, Ballet, Lyrical, and musical theater. Her favorite style to dance is Tap. When not performing or teaching dance classes, Emma is a special education teacher in an elementary school in Schaumburg. She is so excited to work with all of her talented students!
Sydney Tschosik
Dance Team & Technique Instructor; Theatre Choreographer
Sydney Tschosik grew up in Batavia, IL, and has been dancing since age three. At age 11 she joined the pre-professional SoleUnique Dance Company where she trained in Jazz, Ballet, Contemporary, Hip Hop and Tap. In her time with the company she became an award-winning soloist and scholarship recipient. She continued her dance training at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she blossomed as an up-and-coming choreographer. In May 2023, Sydney received a BS in Recreation, Sport & Tourism, and a Minor in Dance. During her time with the Dance at Illinois program, Sydney performed at the BFA Senior Thesis Concert in the spring of 2020 and spring of 2021, as well as November Dance 2020. Since graduating, Sydney has continued to share her passion for dance training the next generation. She has choreographed for competition teams and companies for the last 3 years and is thrilled to continue to do so. Sydney has also developed her performance career doing musical theatre across the Chicagoland Area. Her recent credits include The Drowsy Chaperone with Schaumburg Summer Theater, Shrek the Musical with Deerfield Theater and Disney’s Newsies with Surging Films and Theatrics
Kaavya Senthil
Hip Hop Instructor
Kaavya is a passionate Hip Hop instructor, choreographer, and performer. She recently choreographed competition routines for Studio North Academy of Performing Arts where she also taught Hip Hop classes at all levels and built their cirriculum. She has experience as an instructor at multiple area studios, and previously choreographed for the 22 person Fremd Orchesis Team.
Mark Stickney
Theatre, Acting, & Private Lesson Instructor
Mark has been singing professionally since 16 and doing Musical Theater professionally since he moved to Chicago at 19. Mark has worked with Stage Right Dinner Theater, Metropolis, NightBlue, Theater Nebula, Music On Stage . . . to name a few. He has been teaching acting, creative writing and improv in the local area for a number of years. For the last 5 years he has also been doing fight choreography for many productions. He is always happy to meet new students and watch their craft grow into something wonderful!
Maddie Swets
Dance Technique Instructor
Maddie is a dedicated dance instructor and performer with experience teaching children and youth in a variety of settings. She has taught movement and beginner-level dance classes at the Park District of Forest Park and assisted at Synergy Dance Academy, where she supported classes and recital preparation. Maddie also choreographed and directed youth musical camps with Overshadow Productions for several years, blending her love for performance with her passion for working with kids. She recently graduated from Concordia University Chicago with a degree in Psychology, a background that enhances her ability to connect with and inspire her students. With training in ballet, jazz, contemporary, and musical theater, she brings creativity, patience, and enthusiasm to every class she teaches.
Moira Burdi
Theatre Instructor, Office Coordinator, Costume Mistress
Ms. Moira holds a Bachelors in Music Education with a minor in Drama and Art, from Northern Illinois University as well as a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction and a Masters in Leadership from Concordia University. She has taught Music, Art, Drama and Movement Early Childhood to 8th grade for the past 34 years. She has performed locally in a variety of Theater Productions and enjoys both being on stage and working backstage. Ms. Moira is very excited to expand her role here at TEPA and looks forward to working with all our talented students - and especially with our youngest artists!