On Your Toes Staff

Our 2009 Teaching Staff

Jeff Nehrbass
(Fellow, Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing) Former World and United States National Pro/Am Ballroom Champion, National champion coach and US Championship Adjudicator, he and his wife Cindy own and operate On Your Toes School of Dance. Mr. Nehrbass received his B.A. degree at the University of Wisconsin and M. Div. At Luther Theological Seminary. He is a member of the National Dance Council of America and certified to teach ballroom through the North American Dance Teachers Association and the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance (ISTD). He is a past professional champion of numerous American Ballroom and International Standard competitions around the country. Mr. Nehrbass is a former executive officer to the ISTD National Committee.

Cindy Nehrbass

Cindy is a member of the the North American Dance Teachers Association. Cindy has a Bachelor's degree in Dance Performance and Choreography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with specialization in modern, lyrical, jazz and musical theater. Since college, she has taught and professionally competed ballroom dance at the national level with her husband, Jeff. As Artistic Director of On Your Toes Dance School, she has experience teaching dance to all ages for over 24 years. She has been studying dance for over 30 years and received extensive training in all styles from master teachers from Chicago to L.A. She has performed extensively with M.M. Colbert Ballet Company, The Melrose Motion Company, community and outdoor theater, as well as opera companies. She is co-founder of Reaching Skyward Liturgical Dance Company and Artistic Director of A Call to Dance in Minneapolis, as well as choreographer for local commercials and High School musicals.

Grigoriy Ilyevskiy

Grigoriy joins us originally from Moscow Dance University (Russia) and currently the St. Croix Academy is Stillwater, MN. He has a strong background of dance education at the university, Miami Ballet, the Russian Dance Company, Ballet Minnesota, James Sewell Ballet, and Ballet Jubilates. He continues to choreograph and perform in shows, as well as teach proper Russian ballet form and technique for our dancers at On Your Toes. Grigoriy continues to perform with multiple companies and most recently performed in Miami.

Lexi Zimmerman

At a young age, Lexi became a part of the company program at Dance Express in Mankato, MN. Ever since, she has excelled in all areas of dance, and she knew she would become a professional dance teacher and performer. While working on her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Spanish Liberal Art at the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire, Lexi was the captain of their dance team, responsible for all choreography, practices, fundraisers, performances and competitions. Her ability to lead the team rewarded them with their most successful years in UW-Eau Claire history. Lexi also has exceptional performance experience. She toured as a dancer with the Rocco Altobelli Salon and Dayspa, performing throughout the Twin Cities and New York, NY. Most Recently, Lexi has been a professional dancer with the Minnesota Timberwolves, where she is constantly learning new techniques, dance styles, and choreography.

Kalie French

After earning her Bachelor of Science Degree in K-12 Dance and Theatre Education and Communication from Minnesota State University, Kalie took a position as Performing Arts Teacher at Northeast Minneapolis Middle School. She began teaching at Dance Express in Mankato, and has also taught at Stages Theatre Company, Dance Xchange and North Minneapolis High School. She has also trained in dance and performing arts from the Minneapolis Children’s Theatre, Dance Tech Competition Lines, Fine Arts Interdisciplinary School, Zenon, and is trained in Stott Pilates.

Bryson Hunter (KB)

Bryson has been dancing for as long as he can remember. While in high school Bryson was Co Captain of his high school hip hop dance team Deeply Royals. Since then Bryson has been performing all around the the Twin Cities at various events such as Minnesota Art Museum, Celebration Of Lake Street, Virgin Islands celebration, Minnesota Vikings Games, Timberwolves Games, Hopkins Performing Arts school, Visage Night Club, Karma Night Club,Epic Night Club, Excape night club, Along with several out of state and country shows. Bryson has also taught at several dance studios such as Art Of Dance, Zenon, Fairview Park, Hopkins High, and North Point Dance Studio. Bryson Continues to choreograph and perform in shows for various major recording artists and local artists.

Abbie Bak

Abbie earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Dance and Business Marketing from Minnesota State University. As part of the MSU dance company, Abbie placed in the top ten at ADCF collegiate dance convention and participated in master classes throughout the USA. In addition, she was a member of the MSU dance team, competing at a national level for four years. Abbie has performed as a dancer and singer at Valleyfair, and most recently has performed as a lead dancer and singer for Bella Diva and Hey Sugar Productions, performing in venues throughout the twin cities.

Deane Tasler

Tap teacher Deane Tasler trained largely at Larkin Dance Studio, with a little help from the nice folks at Zenon. His training includes tap, jazz, hip hop, ballet and a lot of musical theater. Over the last ten years, Deane has performed in nearly 20 shows with Ashland Productions (Joesph..., Fiddler on the Roof, Wizard of Oz, Children of Eden), Lakeshore Players (Crazy for You, The Laramie Project), Bloomington Civic Theatre (West Side Story, Hello Dolly! with Sally Struthers, Cabaret), and most recently in the Metropolitan Ballet's "A Midsummer Nights Dream" and "Agnes DeMille's 'Rodeo.'" At the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre he appeared as a twice-featured dancer in the tap-happy Anything Goes, as the cart-wheeling rug in Disney's Beauty and the Beast, as Bernardo in West Side Story, and as the sound engineer in Singin' in the Rain. Other performances include the 2003 St. Paul Winter Carnival and the Mrs. Minnesota America Pageant. No, he was not a contestant. Deane's choreography credits include the musicals West Side Story, Guys and Dolls, Grease, Anything Goes, Jack and the Beanstalk, and HONK! His tap choreography has been featured at Theatre Latte Da's Latte Dark, and other pieces have appeared in various variety and revue shows. Additionally, Deane has done show choir choreography, mass choir choreography and has taught for Ashland Productions and Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' summer camps. The past couple years have brought Deane's focus to tap shoes and all the incredible music they can make. Deane attended the 2006 Maui International Tap Festival in Hawaii. While there he took classes from tap greats Yukiko Misumi, Grant Swift, Jimmie Payne Jr., Mark Yonally, Chloe Arnold and Jason Samuel Smith. More locally, he has taken class with Rick Ausland of Buckets and Tap Shoes and Anthony LoCascio who appeared in Tap Dogs. Deane hones his tap skills by teaching at several Twin Cities dance studios. He is thrilled to be a part of the team here at On Your Toes and is excited to share his love of tap dancing with you and your family.

Maria Fontana

Maria began dancing at the age of 3. She studied ballet, tap and jazz. At the age of 10 she started to intensely study ballet. Maria studied and performed with the Des Moines Ballet Company under the direction of Stephan Laurent and Kenneth Oberly. She performed various roles in the Nutcracker, Cinderella, Coppelia, Swan Lake and Four Sisters. In the late 80's, she studied with the Milwaukee Ballet Company under the direction of Jeanette Marvoka, Larry Long and Basil Thomas. She performed in the America ballet division and placed 1st and then again in 1987 in the pointe division and placed 2nd. She studied at the American Ballet Theater, Steps with David Howard, Alvin Ailey, Broadway Dance Center in NYC, the New York City Ballet and with Gus Giordano in Chicago. She performed in One River Mississippi in 2006. Maria has been teaching dance for the past 12 years. She has taught dance at Minneapolis Community College, Holly's Centre Stage Dance, Pratt Community Center, Holland Elementary, Lake Harriett Dance, Whittier for the Arts, the YWCA, and On Your Toes School of Dance. Along with teaching, she also choreographs many pieces for her students to perform in recitals and benefits. Maria has an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts. She has done freelance art jobs for Concord Jazz label, Minneapolis Elementary Schools, dance studios, Color Wheel Art Gallery and Dance apparel shops. She continues to take classes at Zenon, MN Dance Theater.

Morgan Kirvida

Morgan has come to On Your Toes with an extensive ballet, choreography and performance background. She earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Dance Performance from the University of Minnesota, and has trained at Zenon, Ballet Arts Minnesota, Milwaukee Ballet Company, Andahazy School of Classical Ballet, and St. Anthony School of Dance. Morgan has previously taught ballet at St. Croix School of Dance in Stillwater, MN, and also taught ballet, jazz, and tap at studios in Clearwater and Tampa, Florida. Morgan has been a choreographer and performer for many productions In the Twin Cities held at the Guthrie Theatre, Orchestra Hall, State Theatre, Minneapolis Convention Center, and Ted Paul Theatre. In addition to her experience within the dance industry, Morgan is a cosmetologist with training and experience in performance hair and make-up.