NOW ACCEPTING NEW STUDENTS
Shane Carpenter
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHER
Shane Carpenter is a singer/dancer/actor who has been working and teaching in the performing arts for the last 28 years. Shane landed his first "big role" as Huck Finn in a regional tour of Big River. He has been a performer (dancing, singing and acting) at Paramount Kings Island, Disney World and for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.
Shane coached the Columbus Destroyers Bombshells at Nationwide Arena. He also choreographed the 2007 season opener for the Cleveland Cavs Girls. He has been a guest instructor for Auburn University in Alabama & the MAP program at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, as well as teaching and choreographing at various studios in the Midwest. He has choreographed for IMAGINE Theater Productions and most recently for Delaware Hayes’ Spring Musical and Pickerington Central’s Spring Musical.
Shane has won many regional and national choreography awards and has former students dancing professionally and in colleges all over the country.
He is proud to be the Artistic Director for Infusion Dance and equally proud to share his knowledge, experience and passion with his students and fellow teachers.
Aliane Baquerot Wilson
LYRICAL / JAZZ / MUSICAL THEATER / STRETCH AND CONDITIONING
Aliane was born and raised in NYC where she trained in dance and gymnastics from an early age. She was a member of the 1996 Olympic Rhythmic Gymnastics Team.
Aliane was in the original Broadway Cast of Movin’ Out, as well as Saturday Night Fever. She played a showgirl in Spiderman 3 and a “Paris Dancer” in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. She has danced on the Emmy and VMA Awards and has performed with Brittney Spears, Tony Bennett, Christina Alquilera and Michael Jackson.
Aliane resides in Worthington with her husband, former Olympic gymnast Blaine Wilson and their two sons, Jackson and Bodhi. Together they own Integrity Athletics. We are thrilled to have her teaching and mentoring our students.
Jamie Myers
TAP / JAZZ / MUSICAL THEATER / HIP HOP
Jamie is from Westerville, Ohio where she grew up dancing for 13 years studying in jazz, tap, musical theater, contemporary, ballet, and hip hop. During her years of growing up she was a featured dancer for Joel Grey in Gala Cabaret, studied under scholarship in Chicago with The Gus Giordano Company and lived and trained in NYC as a summer scholarship recipient with NYCDA. Jamie earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance from Wright State University. While still in college, she was a featured dancer and tumbler at Paramount’s Kings Island, a dancer in the theater production of “Crazy For You”, a featured dancer in Fragment for Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. After college, Jamie moved to NYC and was represented by TnP Talent Agency. She trained and performed for 3 ½ years under the direction of Brian Thomas and Glenn Douglas Packard. Jamie has been teaching and choreographing for over 24 years and is known for her innovative and creative work. During her 8 years at Infusion Dance, Jamie has quickly become a favorite of both students and parents. She resides in Westerville with husband Eric and their two children, Ella and Colin.
Taylor Eckerman
BALLET / CONTEMPORARY / JAZZ / LYRICAL
Taylor began dancing at the age of 5. In her adolescence, Taylor trained under the direction of Shane Carpenter attended multiple dance competitions and conventions where she achieved various national and regional awards. Following high school Taylor enrolled with the Joffrey Ballet School’s jazz and contemporary trainee program in New York City. Here, she trained with instructors including Brain Reeder, Gabriela Garcia, Angelica Stiskin, Joanna Numata, Winston Brown, Beatrice Capote, Bradley Shelver, and Michael Blake. Taylor has recently attained her degree in applied science with a focus on physical therapy assisting. She has participated in multiple clinical experiences at Ohio Health and skilled nursing facilities. She has observed surgeries in addition to working with patients of all ages including pediatrics ranging from 6 months of age through 16 years old. Taylor has administered evidenced based interventions to patients impacted by neurologic and cardiopulmonary conditions, with an emphasis on musculoskeletal impairments. She is beyond excited to share her gained knowledge of the human body in order to further train aspiring dancers.
Alanna Newkirk
CONTEMPORARY / BALLET / POINTE
Alanna Newkirk is a dancer/choreographer born and raised in Columbus, Ohio and trained with Shir Lee Wu at Columbus City Ballet School. In 2013, she received her BFA from Marymount Manhattan College with a concentration in ballet and choreography under the direction of Katie Langan.
After graduation until 2018 she danced with several NYC based companies; XAOC Contemporary Ballet, MoveWorks, mishiDance, The Novomisle Project, Copy That Dance, and Mignolo Dance. She has presented her choreography at Ailey Citigroup Theatres, City Center Studios, and Bridge to Dance. In addition she has choreographed Junior/Senior Contemporary Solos and Ensemble pieces from 2016 - 2018 YAGP. She taught dance in Columbus during her summers home from college at both Columbus City Ballet School and as a guest teacher for Infusion Dance, as well as dancing in projects under the direction of Shane Carpenter. During her years in New York she taught at Variations in Huntington, Long Island. After a quick year and a stop in LA, she moved back to Columbus this year and is excited to join the Infusions team.
Lauren Heberling
TAP / MUSICAL THEATRE / CHILDREN DANCE
Lauren was born and raised in Lewis Center, Ohio, and has been dancing for the past 20 years. She graduated from Otterbein University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Public Relations, Health Communications, and Dance. Lauren is trained in multiple genres including tap, jazz, contemporary, ballet, and musical theatre. Prior to attending Otterbein University, Lauren trained at Infusion for two years under the direction of Shane Carpenter. She is ecstatic to be instructing tap and jazz classes at the studio that influenced her love of dancing.
Marcia Voelkel
Marcia was born in Pittsburgh, PA where she grew up dancing. She studied ballet, pointe, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, musical theater, tap and hip hop. Marcia earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance at Point Park University on a full scholarship.
She was the the dance captain of the original Broadway cast of Saturday Night Fever and the 1st National Tour. She has also performed in Grease, West Side Story and Me and My Girl.
Marcia later moved to Las Vegas to perform in shows starring Michael Crawford, Tommy Tune and David Cassidy produced by MGM studios. She was also the dance captain of We Will Rock You the Queen musical.
Dance and theater have given Marcia the opportunity to travel the world which she is forever grateful. Marcia is also a certified pilates instructor and currently resides in Columbus, Ohio. She is thrilled to share her knowledge, inspire and mentor the students at Infusion Dance.
Alvin Tovstogray
Alvin Tovstogray is from Dnipro, Ukraine – where he trained with Viacheslav Volkov and graduated from Dnipro State Choreographic School in 2008. Later he studied at San Francisco Ballet School, and then spent two seasons with The Washington Ballet’s Studio Company.
After joining Oklahoma City Ballet in 2012, Mr. Tovstogray was promoted to soloist in 2014 and again to Principal Dancer in 2015.
Notable awards include third place at the Istanbul International Competition (2010), Bronze Medal at World Ballet Competition Orlando (2011), and Gold at Tanzolymp (2012).
He has performed works by George Balanchine, Antony Tudor, August Bournonville, Jiří Kylián, Nacho Duato, Twyla Tharp, Helen Pickett, Ma Cong, Stanton Welch, Septime Webre, Michael Pink, Matthew Neenan, Amy Seiwert, Robert Mills.
His favorite roles include Romeo in Romeo & Juliet, Albrecht in Giselle, Prince Seigfried in Swan Lake, James in La Sylphide.
Mr. Tovstogray is an American Ballet Theatre® National Training Curriculum Certified Teacher.
Tiffany Robinson
Tiffany started dancing at the age of 3 and was competitively dancing by age 6. She competed all throughout high school and trained in various styles including ballet, lyrical, contemporary, jazz and hip hop. Tiffany also started cheering and gymnastics that she continued from middle school through high school. She was chosen to compete in Hawaii her junior year of high school at the AACD (All American Cheer and Dance) Competition in a solo cheer routine. She took home the first place $5,000 scholarship and also was chosen as 1 of 5 to be a back up dancer during the Pro Bowl halftime show. She continued her love for dance in college dancing for the well known multiple champion University of Cincinnati Dance Team. That led her to continue on to cheer and dance for the Cleveland Cavaliers for three seasons. She loves continuing to teach dance, gymnastics and acro and can’t wait for share her love for all of it with the kids at Infusion!
Sarah Yankovich
Sarah Yankovich was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio where she discovered her love for dance and teaching at a young age! She has trained in multiple styles including ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, musical theatre, tap and began teaching by the time she was 16. Throughout her dance career she had the opportunity to learn from countless award winning choreographers and instructors. She traveled to conventions with NYCDA and Break The Floor winning numerous scholarships, and also consistently placed in regional and national level competitions. One of her favorite experiences as a dancer has been auditioning for the Radio City Rockettes summer intensive and being offered a spot for 5+ years.
Sarah graduated from The Ohio State University receiving a B.A. in Arts Administration with a Minor in Business Administration and Dance. Her education allowed her to focus on dance history, writing, and in studio movement discovery which she has implemented into her teaching method.
Sarah is so excited to be joining the Infusion Dance team! She is thrilled to not only share her love for dance but to also ensure every single dancer becomes the best they wish to be!
GUEST FACULTY
Mia Deweese
LYRICAL / CONTEMPORARY / JAZZ / BALLET
Mia DeWeese is a New York City based dance performer, teacher, and choreographer. She is originally from Columbus, Ohio where she trained at Infusion Dance under the direction of Shane Carpenter. She received her BFA in dance from Marymount Manhattan College under the direction of Katie Langan. She has performed with contemporary dance companies BodyStories: Teresa Fellion and 10 Hairy Legs Projects. She was a performer in Sonya Tayeh’s New York Live Arts and Jacob’s Pillow commissioned piece, “You’ll Still Call Me By Name.” She was ensemble/dance captain in the off-broadway production of “The Lucky Ones.” She was assistant choreographer and ensemble for “Rent Live” on Fox Network. She is a founding member of contemporary company Freemove Dance under the direction of Jenn Freeman. She is an associate choreographer to Sonya Tayeh at “Moulin Rouge! the Musical.”
Makahla Ross
HIP-HOP
A native of Columbus OH, Makahla Ross has been dancing since the early age of four. She studied at Infusion Dance, under the direction of Shane Carpenter, and trained in contemporary, hip-hop, jazz, tap, salsa, and ballet. Makahla is currently working with some of today's top choreographers, and has been a featured dancer along side of Pharrell, Soulja Boy, Vanilla Ice, Twenty One Pilots, and Daft Punk. She has also danced in various award shows including The American Music Awards, The GRAMMY'S, and The Streamy Awards.
Makahla has also been a featured dancer in many music videos such as Akon, Pitbull, and Dj Felli Fel's "Boomerang", Kreayshawn's "Go Hard", and Pixie Lott's single "All About Tonight".