Michelle Murnen

Director/Instructor

Michelle Murnen began her dance training as a young girl at Denise Sabala’s School of Dance in Lake Zurich, Illinois. There she began dancing all styles of dance, including tap, ballet and jazz and later danced competitively at that studio. As a young dancer, Michelle earned dance scholarships to dance conventions all over Chicago. At the age of 12, Michelle was scouted out and chosen to be a part of the Sesame Street Production which toured across the United States. She performed various dance numbers with the entire cast and dancers of all ages.

Michelle continued to dance through high school and was a member of Neuqua Valley’s orchesis troupe and Pom Squad. When she wasn’t entertaining a crowd at high school football and basketball games, Michelle continued to commit herself to studio dance and also began assisting and teaching classes at local studios at the age of 16.

Michelle went on to graduate with honors from Columbia College Chicago in 2006 with a B.A in broadcast journalism. During her 4 years in college, she continued to teach dance at Steps Dance Center in Aurora. There, she had the opportunity of working with all levels of dance and founded their hip hop program which she grew to become one of the most successful troupes in the area. Her award winning choreography and creative hip hop pieces earned the highest scores at competitions and her dance was chosen to be a part of the Dance Olympics in Germany.

Michelle has put years of hard work and dedication to her passion and is excited to finally have the opportunity to begin her own business and build what will become one of the most successful studios in the area. Surrounding herself with the best instructors and the most creative and innovative choreographers, Michelle is proud to call Midwest Edge Dance Academy her new home.

Cindy Berkley-Mooney

Instructor

Cindy’s passion for dance began at the age of three. At Denise Sabala’s Dance Studio in Arlington Heights, she began her dance education in ballet, tap, and jazz. As a member of their performing group, Cindy danced in competitions earning scholarships to Gus Giordano and Joel Hall. During high school, she was a member and choreographer for Waubonsie Valley’s Orchesis Dance Troupe, Varsity Pom Squad, and Swing Choir, as well as performing in Crazy For You, Music Man, and Grease. Cindy continued her education in dance receiving her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Dance Performance and Business Management from Ball State University in 2004. There she studied several styles of dance: ballet, tap, jazz, modern, lyrical, musical theatre, clogging, and hip hop. As a member of Ball State Dance Theatre, Cindy danced on stage for the American College Dance Festival receiving a student choreography award. She participated in Junior and Senior Choreography showcases and choreographed Violet and The Fantasticks. In 2002, Cindy spent her summer dancing in the Character Show and parade at Six Flags Great America. Studying abroad in Australia, she had the opportunity to dance with Edith Cowan’s Dance Company in 2003. For the past four years, Cindy has taught a variety of styles to all ages at Steps Dance Center. During this time, she continued her education receiving a Masters degree in Special Education. Cindy currently teaches at Oswego East High School. She looks forward to this wonderful opportunity to work with the talented instructors and students at MidWest Edge Dance Academy.

Debbie Ford

Instructor

Debbie Ford was born in St. Louis, MO. At an early age, it became very apparent as to where Debbie’s gifts and passion laid. She began dance lessons at the age of five. By the age of ten she was accepted into the junior company of a regional ballet company and by age 13 she was performing with the senior company. Also during this time, Debbie explored many other forms of entertainment. She took piano, voice, drama, acrobatic and even trapeze lessons.

Ms. Ford has appeared with the St. Louis Municipal Opera, Six Flags Over Mid-America, and supered with several international and national professional ballet companies (Stuttgart Ballet, The Royal Ballet Company, Harkness Ballet Company, New York City Ballet). At the age of 16 she was chosen to be a recipient of a scholarship to Juilliard School in New York. During her senior year in high school, she tore the ligaments in her knee and lost her place with the ballet company, as well as her scholarship.

Debbie decided that her ballet career was over and decided to switch over to Broadway. She has performed with Dick Van Dyke in “Music Man”, Carol Channing in “Hello Dolly”; as well as several other touring companies and has appeared in numerous commercials.

In 1998, Debbie decided to share her passion of dance with other eager young dancers and opened a ballet studio in Portland, Oregon. In June 2001, her husband was transferred to the Chicago area. Since being in Chicago area she has taught for Steps Dance Center, Gold Star Dance and Storm Dance Alliance. But it wasn’t until she began teaching at Midwest Edge that she finally felt like she found her “studio” home!

Elizabeth McGleam

Instructor

Elizabeth McGleam began studying dance at the Salt Creek Ballet Company in Westmont, Illinois under the direction of Sergey Kozadeyev and Zhanna Dubrovskya. At Salt Creek, she performed in many classical ballets such as The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Alice in Wonderland, and Paquita. McGleam graduated from Butler University in May 2010 with a Bachelors of Arts in Dance Pedagogy. At Butler, she had a chance to perform in classical works such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Coppelia, Giselle, and Cinderella, along with choreographic works by Marek Cholewa, Cynthia Pratt and Tong Wang. She also traveled with Butler Ballet to St. Petersburg, Russia for a month in 2007, where she performed and took various classes throughout the city. She spent the summer of 2008 at BalletMet’s summer intensive, studying with Gerard Charles and Rebecca Rodriguez while performing Serenade, and as a soloist in Colores de Alma. She is extremely passionate about dancing and teaching, and thoroughly enjoys sharing her knowledge and love for dance with others.