Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Emily has been a member of Leap of Faith since 2005. She has grown up dancing at the studio and now enjoys teaching the current LOF students. Emily has trained in multiple styles of dance including: Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Lyrical, Contemporary and Pointe but she particularly loves Tap! She strives to help her students find their true artistry and connection with the Lord in their dance experience and believes that Leap of Faith fosters a dancer’s faith through serving, application of truth and godly friendships. Emily also has a heart for children with learning differences/special needs and holds a certification with “Rhythm Works Integrative Dance” Program. Emily has also stepped up in directorship and oversees all Shining Lights Teams. She is committed to her dancers and studio and will continue sharing her heart with everyone who steps into her classroom!

Arlette “Chelly” Benzinger
Born in the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, where she performed as a child for the acclaimed choreographer Sophy Sanfiorenzo, it’s easy to see how Chelly got her unique “flavorful” style. She studied the performing arts at NIU, where she concentrated in ballet and modern dance and spent
summers honing her skills at the Salt Creek Ballet. For over 30 years, Chelly has taught Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical, Hip hop, Ballet, Latin Dance, Musical Theater and Tap to children and adults of all ages. She has worked for Geneva Dance Academy, Dance Dimensions in Bolingbrook, Center for the
Arts in Bolingbrook, the Bolingbrook Park District (as Assistant Director for DanceForce and Manager of the Power Dance Project) , C.W. Avery YMCA (as Artistic Director/Founder of the Y Dance Ensemble/Thrive Dance Program), The Music and Dance Suite and Plainfield Dance Academy. Her
choreography has been seen at NIU through Northern Dance Theater, Orchesis , Dança Quente (Latin Dance Group) and as a freelance artist including the performing with the Chicago Samba School and choreographing for Radio Disney recording artist Amanda Garland and indy recording artist Petra Luna where she also made her debut as a singer. Chelly believes putting God first is the key to life, and she is blessed with two adult children and a wonderful husband. A resident of Plainfield, Chelly is thrilled to be a part of the LOF family of dancers.

Ms Jamie has been dancing since the age of three and teaching since 2002. Starting her training under Kathleen Sims Villari (Ballet Russe De Monte Carlo) and Maria Villari at American Dance Center where she trained in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Modern. She performed nationwide including the International Dance Festival in California. She was a cast member of Chicagoland's longest running original ballet "Hansel and Gretel" from 1995-2000. She also performed in The Joffery Ballet's "Nutcracker". Jamie's modern training (Graham, Horton, and Cunningham) came from Melody Geraci. Jamie also trained with Olga Ravasi, Joel Hall, Dardi Mcginley-Galivan, Christie Lowe (ABT), Eduardo Vilaro (Ballet Hispanico), Adam Sklute (Ballet West), and John Magnus (Joffery Ballet) to name a few. She continued her education at Columbia College Chicago where she majored in Dance. She is a registered CNA in the state of Illinois. Jamie worked with Alzheimers and Dementia residents whom she loved running dance and exercise classes with. She continues her training as she never wants to stop learning and growing as an artist. She is a certified instructor for Joel Hall technique. She is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique. Jamie has also been certified in Discover Dance, a child dance and development program. She was formerly YPAD (Youth Protection Advocates in Dance) Certified which was a child safety program with extensive training, background checks, CPR and much more. She has been teaching in the Chicagoland area for 20 years and continues to guest teach and substitute teach where she is needed. Jamie is currently at Innervisions Performing Arts Center in Frankfort, IL and Leap of Faith Plainfield. She has taught for conventions such as Dance Masters Wisconsin. She enjoys judging and teaching at local conventions and competitions. Some of Jamie's favorite musical credits include, Gypsy, 1776, Music Man, and Cats. Jamie is the founder of the Child Exploitation Awareness Task Force (CEAT) which is an organization promoting awareness and education on child exploitation, abuse, and trafficking. Jamie, her husband David, and their two children Lila and Killian reside in Plainfield Il.-- 

Kia Coquoz was born and raised dancing in Colorado. She loved training in all styles of dance. Kia went to Calvary Chapel Bible College in California where she began to dance with a local Christian studio and the Lord began to teach her how she could surrender her movement to Him and use dance as worship. After college, Kia joined Reverent Rhythms Performing Arts Company in Colorado, where she met and fell in love with her husband. She was able to be a part of the company from their first show in 2018, up through their first tour season in June of 2021. In July of 2021, Kia moved to Connecticut for her husband's grad school. Living on the East Coast, the Lord opened so many doors for Kia in the Christian dance world. She danced for Open Sky Arts Collection, Connecticut, a contemporary ballet company that is mission-minded and brings the love of Jesus to underserved communities through dance and arts. During that time, Kia also danced for Dance Revolution in the Rev Collective, where she was able to do virtual rehearsals and then traveled and performed with Dance Revolution convention for their 2021-22 season. In 2023 Kia and her husband moved to San Francisco and she had the privilege to dance with Open City Dance, a modern/contemporary professional company that toured in the Bay Area. In the Summer of 2024, Kia moved to Chicago and is very excited to be a part of the Leap Of Faith family. When Kia is not dancing, she is the owner of TeaJoy Daily Devotionals, a faith-based tea shop that pairs organic loose-leaf tea with biblical devotionals.

 

Mrs. Ana grew up in the Washington DC area, training at The Washington Ballet and competed at a local studio lead by Gloria Hampton. During her professional career, she has performed with a multitude of ballet companies; from the Maryland Youth Ballet to the Royal Danish Ballet. She has performed on  Broadway, completed several national tours and performed in multiple productions by Debbie Allen and numerous productions with The Dance Institute of Washington. 

She has done choreography for multiple professional dance teams, dance companies, and theaters nationwide. As a teacher and choreographer for the past 15 years, she looks forward to sharing her experiences and knowledge with the next generation of dancers and performers. 

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!