Meet Our Staff
Melissa Strong - Owner, Director, Head Instructor
Melissa Strong has been a dancer, choreographer, and teacher for 30 plus years. She founded the 5678! Dance Studio in North Sioux City, South Dakota in the summer of 2000 with 40 students. Melissa’s studio has now expanded to over 300 students. She was the Dakota Valley High School Dance Team head coach for 20 years, and helped the team win ten consecutive State Championship Honors. Melissa was the head dance coach at Morningside College from 2008-2010. Melissa has received several awards during her time as a dance instructor. She was recognized by Dance Spirit Magazine as being a Who’s Who of U.S. Dance Directors in 2004. She was also awarded Coach of the Year – Top Five in the Nation by DX Americup in 2006, 2011, 2016, & 2022. In 2024, Melissa was awarded Coach of the Year by DX Americup. She was inducted into the DX Hall of Fame in 2015. Melissa has served 2 years on the USASF National Advisory Board. She is currently serving as a Connection Leader for the USASF where she helps shape the future of dance for the organization, leads classes for the National Meeting, mentors other coaches, and more. Melissa is also serving on the USASF Dance Advisory Board, as well as the USASF Worlds Advisory Board.
Melissa graduated from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa in December of 2000. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Communications with an emphasis in Broadcast News and a Minor in English. Melissa trained at Siouxland Movement Arts Center in Sioux City, Iowa. There she studied Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, and Tap. She also danced with Jazzin’ Co., a local jazz company, and Siouxland Civic Dance Association Ballet Company. Melissa taught for Siouxland Movement Arts Center as a substitute and full time teacher for two years. At the University of Minnesota- Mankato she studied Dance as a Minor and danced with the University’s Modern Company. Melissa was also a United Indoor Football League dancer. She now attends workshops and classes across the nation to keep current with the new dance styles and techniques. Melissa is married and has two children, Gracie age 21 and Bode age 16.
Rebecca McNamara - Dance Instructor, Head Ballet Instructor
Rebecca (Hebda) McNamara is a graduate of the University of South Dakota, where she studied Business Management. Becca is also a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach. She has been dancing for 15 years with the Academy of Dance in Yankton,SD. There she took classes in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, character, dance team, hip hop, modern, and advanced technique. She has danced in the ballets of Coppelia, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, and the Nutcracker with Dakota Dance Association. She has participated in many workshops across the country with the Omaha Theater Ballet, Ballet Magnificat, Dance Educator’s of America, The Joffrey Ballet Company, Broadway Dance Center, and Universal Dance Association. And taken class from choreographers like; David Howard, Mia Michaels, Rod Howell, Hayley Cooper, Vickie Moore, Travis Wall, Mandy Moore, Eric Campros and Tracie Stanfield. .
Becca has been a company member for LiRa Dance Theater Company for two seasons as a soloist and corps member. Miss. Becca is also the Artistic Director for Siouxland Civic Dance Association, a local non profit youth ballet company where she teaches ballet company classes and directs productions like The Nutcracker. She has also been named the DX National Coach of the Year 2 seasons (2019 & 2022). In 2024 Becca was accepted the position of Dance Head Coach at the University of South Dakota.
Becca is married and has one daughter Luella age 3. This is Miss Becca’s 13th year teaching at 5678! and she is teaching classes in Pre-Tap, Ballet, Pointe, Parent & Me, Technique, Tap, and Competition Team.
Jenna Winkler Homme - Dance Instructor
Jenna Winkler hails from Nebraska where she danced literally her entire life. Little did her Mom know when she enrolled Jenna at the age of 3 that Jenna would ultimately be spending up to 40 hours a week training in the studio to compete and perform throughout the entire country. She danced competitively from the time she was six years old as well as on her High School and College Dance Teams. Jenna is a 3-time All American and 2-time All Conference collegiate dancer. She also performed with the Nebraska Ballet in numerous productions and as part of their Repertory Ensemble for three years. She trains in all forms of dance, but especially enjoys jazz and contemporary. Jenna has won numerous regional and national titles both as a soloist as well as part of a team. She is in her fourth year with Universal Dance Association where she travels to various high school and college dance camps throughout the country as a Head Instructor as well as working Dance Nationals and Dance Worlds at the ESPN Center at Disney World. She is an award winning choreographer and has choreographed for high school and college dance teams, competitive soloists and teams, pageant soloists, musical productions, flag corps and show choir groups.
Jenna is a recent graduate of Morningside College where she managed to obtain a BA in Chemistry and a BS in Biology in only three years! She is currently in a masters program to get her M.S. in Medical Laboratory Science. She also recently got married, and loves her life with her husband and her puppy Bleu.
Jenna believes that her background in dance has enabled her to have incredible amounts of discipline and endurance, and how to be a team player in every aspect of life. Her pet peeve is when technique suffers for the sake of tricks, and she encourages all dancers to practice every single day!
"Even professional ballerinas take ballet class every day."
Haley Hutton - Dance and Tumbling Instructor
Haley Hutton began dancing at the age of 4 at 5678! Dance Studio in 2000, the year Melissa first opened her studio doors. Haley danced on the first Mini All Stars competitive team and continued to dance on all of the All-Star teams throughout her years st 5678! She competed at several regional and national competitions throughout those years earning various titles. Haley has also competed at the Dance Worlds in 2013 with the Senior All Stars, and again in 2017 and 2018 with the Open All Stars. Haley went to high school and danced at Sioux City North and was a captain her Senior year. At the Iowa State Dance Competition, her team placed first in Military in 2012 and 2013, and placed first in Pom in 2013. Their team also competed at the MA Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas in 2013 where they received first place in all three routines. Haley competed solos competitively from third grade on. Her Junior year at MA Nationals, she received 6th place out of over 100 dancers. Her Senior year, she competed at the IA State Solo Competition where she placed 3rd out of 97 dancers. Haley went on to dance at South Dakota State University for three years. Her team competed at NDA Nationals in Daytona Beach, FL where they placed 11th in 2015, 8th in 2016, and 9th in 2017 in the competitions largest division. She also danced on the sidelines at football and basketball games. Haley teaches tumbling, hip-hop, lyrical class, and competition teams currently. She is also a member of our Open team. She has choreographed all over the Midwest for high school and All Star teams.
Madison Mahr - Tumbling & Dance Instructor
Madison has been dancing from a young age and began competing at the start of her dance career. She grew up training in Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, and Tumbling at a local dance studio. While attending East High School, she was a member of the Raiderette Dance Team, where she was named a superior soloist and contributed to four of the team’s state titles. Madison was also recognized for her outstanding community service.
After graduating, Madison joined the Morningside University Dance Team. During her time there, the team won the 2022 NAIA Dance National Championship for the first time in program history. Madison was honored as a 3x All-Conference and All-American athlete and served as co-captain in her junior year.
Madison’s dance journey led her to 5678! when she joined the Open Team. She danced with the Open Team for four seasons, including 2021, when the team was named World Champions. After her first season, she fell in love with All-Star and joined the 5678! staff.
Madison graduated in December 2022 from Morningside University with a B.S. in Marketing. In addition to teaching classes and coaching all-star teams at the studio, she also manages 5678!’s social media and serves as the head coach of the Sioux City West Dance Team.
Tricia Jernberg - Dance Instructor
Tricia began dancing when she was 3 years old, taking studio classes in ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, pom, and clogging. She attended Lawton-Bronson High School where she was a part of the dance team and served as captain for two years. Her team earned multiple state championships in Pom, Hip Hop, and Kick. She also competed in the State Solo Competition and earned 4 th place in the state in 2006. Tricia also earned multiple awards with Dianne’s Dance Studio in jazz, tap, and clog. Her competition team attended national conventions and performed on stage at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. Tricia went to Morningside College and earned her degree in Business Administration in 2010. She also studied multiple forms of dance and was a part of the Mustang Dance Team. Serving as captain for 3 years, her team competed at the NDA Nationals in Daytona Beach, FL and Minneapolis, MN. Tricia also coached the Lawton-Bronson High School Dance team for 7 years and led them to multiple state titles in Iowa. Tricia began her 5678 Dance Studio career in 2006 where she coached All Star teams and taught classes in jazz, pom, ballet, and hip hop for all ages until 2013. She then earned her favorite titles of wife and mother of two. In 2023, Tricia went from a 5678 Dance mom back to 5678 Dance teacher and is loving every minute of it! Tricia and her family live on her family farm in Lawton, IA, where she works for the City of Lawton.
Danielle Haahr- Dance Instructor
Danielle Haahr is a graduate from Wayne State College. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a focus on Human Resources. Since completing her degree, she has spent the past five years building her career in the HR field.
Throughout high school, Danielle danced on the West Sioux Dance Team where they competed at the Iowa State Dance Competitions. Her senior year she was the team captain when they received 5th place in Pom. Her team attended many dance camps throughout high school, including Just for Kix!
Danielle was also a cheerleader in both high school and college. She became a flier and would cheer and performed at football, basketball, volleyball games and halftime shows.
Her love for dance continued into college where she became a teacher at Wayne Dance Company, teaching Hip-Hop, Pom, Jazz, and Tap. She has been teaching dance for 9 years, and dancing for 13 years.
Danielle is married and has a son named Colter and a golden retriever named Gus. This is her fifth-year teaching at 5678! Dance Studio where she will be teaching performance pom and hip-hop.
Anne Marie Warrington - Dance Instructor
Anne Marie began studying dance in Ohio as a child at Abby Dance Center, which gave her a foundation in ballet, pointe, lyrical, tap, and jazz. There she competed nationally earning titles to become a member of the I Love Dance Sweetheart Touring Group, Dance USA National Dance Team, and Starpower PowerPak. During that period she also performed in national venues such as Las Vegas, New York City, and Lake Tahoe. Anne Marie also studied at the Manchester School of Classical Ballet while competing, and was a member of the Manchester Dance Ensemble, an educational touring company.
To continue her education Anne Marie pursued a BFA in dance through the University of Akron, which allowed her to study under professors from the Pennsylvania Ballet, Ohio Ballet, Martha Graham Company, and Jennifer Muller/The Works Dance Company. She performed lead roles in Crystal Divertissements a pas de trios and Tribute to Swing a jazz tap production. She also began teaching and choreographing for the studio she grew up in.
Anne Marie’s choreography has received numerous awards over the past decade along with her students receiving honors in mastered technique and performance. She has judged competitions nationally, been ZUMBA certified, and produced, choreographed, and performed in Project 7 a dance media event in revue for publication. She has taught all ages in styles such as contemporary, lyrical, tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, and modern at studios from across the nation and most recently in Florida. Her students have earned overall placements, regional and national titles, many scholarships / ballet summer studies, appeared on So You Think You Can Dance, danced professionally with the Radio City Rockettes and Oakland Raider Raiderettes, as well as who have went on to pursue degrees in dance and start their own studios.
Over the past few years Anne Marie has continued to grow and broaden her skills having taken classes internationally from Paris to Tokyo and nationally from New York City to Los Angeles. She continues to stay current attending conventions, doing guest choreography, and teaching master classes. She believes in a nurturing dance environment that encompasses creativity, performance, discipline, technique, and progression, as well as attention to each individual student. She firmly believes that her purpose is to educate young students in dance while also influencing them in a positive life manner.
Anne Marie is excited to share the knowledge and talent she’s been given with her students and is thankful for the opportunity to do so.
Favorite Quote: “I don’t want people who want to dance. I want people who have to dance.”
Liv King - Dance Instructor
Liv King is a graduate of Iowa State University, where she received her Bachelor of Science degrees in Management and Psychology. She currently works in Human Resources while continuing to pursue her passion for dance and teaching.
Liv has been dancing since the age of 5 and has trained in a variety of styles, including Pom, Kick, Lyrical, Contemporary, Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Hip-Hop. Throughout high school, she was a member of the North High Dance Team, where she competed at the national level and was a finalist at Nationals. Liv was also a member of the 5678 Senior All Star Team, where she competed and became a finalist.
Her love for dance and teaching began at a young age when she worked as an assistant instructor. Liv continued growing her teaching experience as a Universal Dance Association instructor for three years, where she had the opportunity to work with dancers of all ages. She has also been choreographing for the past four years, creating routines and helping dancers develop their skills and confidence.
Liv continues to share her passion for dance as a coach for the North High Dance Team. This year, she is excited to return to 5678! Dance Studio, where she will be teaching Pom and Hip-Hop.
Liv's favorite part of teaching is watching her dancers grow, both as dancers and as individuals. She loves getting students excited about dance and helping them discover the joy of being part of the dance world.
Kaelynn Schutter - Dance Instructor
Bio Coming Soon!
Rylee Eyres - Dance Instructor
Rylee is joining the studio for her first year as an instructor at 5678! She has been dancing since age two and has trained in ballet, jazz, modern, tap, hip hop, and pointe.
Throughout her childhood, she was part of competition teams and a local dance company. She has attended numerous dance conventions and had the opportunity to train and learn from New York choreographers.
During her high school years, she attended Iowa State Dance where she placed Division I all four years and Top 10 in her solo division for two consecutive years. She graduated from Lawton-Bronson High School in 2024.
Rylee is currently a junior at the University of South Dakota, where she is pursuing degrees in Elementary Education and Deaf Education. Her experience teaching dance throughout high school sparked her passion for working with children and creating a positive, encouraging, and inclusive environment for her students. Her experience working with individuals with exceptionalities also inspired her to pursue Deaf Education and further her passion for making learning accessible to every student.
In addition to teaching, Rylee serves as a captain on the University of South Dakota Dance Team. Throughout her role, she continues to strengthen her skills as a dancer, leader, and mentor. Rylee is excited to bring her passion for dance and education to 5678 and looks forward to helping students grow in confidence, technique, and their love in dance!
Kaela Wiig - Dance Instructor
Kaela’s love for dance began at age 3 with ballet and tap in Beaumont, Texas. After moving to Iowa, she continued her training at Debera’s School of Dance in Carroll, studying ballet, tap, jazz, modern, lyrical, and hip-hop. During high school, she served as a captain on both the dance and cheer teams and began choreographing for state dance competitions and school musicals. She was also honored to perform twice as a member of the All-Iowa Honor Dance Team in addition to multiple team placements at ISDTA competitions.
Kaela continued her dance education at Morningside College, where she was a member of both the dance and cheer teams and earned a minor in dance along with her bachelor’s degree in psychology. Kaela was also a member of the cheer team at Morningside and began to expand her knowledge in cheer as well. During college, Kaela began to expand with choreography for both dance and cheer and formally teaching in a studio and with an all-star cheer team.
Following college, Kaela coached the Sioux City West dance team for three years before becoming Director of the Briar Cliff University dance and cheer teams for three years. She has continued to contribute to the dance community through teaching, choreography, judging, and coaching, including judging NAIA competitions since 2021.
While dance has always been an important part of Kaela’s life, it took on an entirely new meaning when her daughters began dancing. Watching them discover the joy, confidence, friendships, and sense of accomplishment that dance can provide has become one of her greatest joys. Today, Kaela is passionate about sharing that same love of dance with the next generation and helping young dancers grow both in their technique and in their confidence.
Kaela currently lives in Sergeant Bluff, IA where she works full time as a social worker. She is married to Kyle and has three daughters; Thea, Molli, and Mara.
Carey Baczwaski - Dance Instructor
Carey is excited to return to 5678! Dance Studio this season! She previously taught at 5678! from 2009–2023 and loves being back in the studio sharing her passion for dance with the next generation. She previously taught the youth, junior, senior, and open All Star teams. She is excited to return and coach the Tiny team this year!
Carey grew up dancing at Siouxland Movement & Arts from ages 4–18, training in ballet/pointe, tap, and jazz. She performed with Ballet Sioux, Tap Inc., and Jazz Co. She was also a member and captain of the Sioux City North High School Blue Squad. At birth she competed in kick, pom, and military. After high school she continued dancing at Morningside College, where she was coached by Melissa Strong. There she competed in pom, jazz, lyrical, 30:30:30, and sideline!
Carey is currently in her sixth season as Head Coach of the Dakota Valley High School Dance Team, where she has led the team to five consecutive state championships. She has also been nominated twice for Coach of the Year at DX Dance Nationals and was inducted into the DX Hall of Fame in 2022. She is a certified NDCA level 2 judge and enjoys judging and critiquing!
Outside of the studio, Carey is a Nurse Practitioner. She earned her BSN from Morningside College in 2011 and her MSN-FNP from Clarkson College in 2017. She has worked at Dunes Pain Specialists since 2018. She also co owns an aesthetic clinic, Vibrance Medical.
Carey loves helping dancers build confidence, develop strong technique, and discover the same love of dance that has been such an important part of her life.
Kinnzie Smidt - Dance Instructor
Bio Coming Soon!
Kylie Krajicek - Dance Instructor
Bio Coming Soon!
Payton Bernard - Dance Instructor
Bio Coming Soon!
