Lori Arendsen (Owner/Director)

Miss Lori is celebrating her 28th year teaching dance!  She opened the doors to Rising Star 23 years ago after learning the ropes and teaching with life long friend LeDonna Fair. Miss Lori was a soloist with the Lansing Ballet Company, and received a full tuition scholarship at Lansing Community College where she earned a degree in the Performing & Creative Arts. Her students have gone on to dance, choreograph and perform for Warner Brothers television, Disneyworld, Cedar Pointe, Carnival Cruise Lines, Julie Andrews and Kenny Rogers. Miss Lori’s students have performed and competed all over the U.S. as well as entertaining at the Palace of Auburn Hills for the Pistons, at Michigan State University for the Spartans, and the Chesaning Showboat. Miss Lori judges for Applause Talent, Kids Artistic Review National Dance Competitions as well as numerous pageants, talent shows and theater groups. She is on the Weissman's Designs for Dance/Dancewear Solutions costume advisory panel, the Starlight Dinner Theatre advisory panel, was nominated to the 2004 Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, and choreographed a flash mob dance commericial for CATA's Clean Commute program that is now shown on their website and on YouTube.  One of Miss Lori’s favorite moments in dance came when her elite team, Bruiser’s Bill was chosen for the prestigious, “Best Showmanship” award at the Tremaine Dance Convention. She is very proud of her Starlette Company's sense of charity, they happily donated their earnings from dancing and competition to the Humane Society of New Orleans and to the Relay for Life for cancer research.  She loves to share the pure, cheerful, beauty of dance with all of her students!

LeeAnn Edgerly (Assistant Director)

Miss LeeAnn Edgerly received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Spring Arbor University in May of 2004, majoring in social studies with a concentration in history and psychology. She has been studying dance since she was 5 years old, and teaching for 16 years. Miss LeeAnn has earned many awards dancing in a duet with her brother Michael. Gidget & Moon Doggie Go Hip Hop is our all time highest scoring routine at Tremaine. She has had the privilege of performing for the Chesaning Showboat, The Palace of Auburn Hills, and the Breslin Center. She has judged for Applause Talent as well as many pageants.  Miss LeeAnn has assisted with studio management for the past thirteen years. She was our 2004 Dancer of the Year.  Miss LeeAnn and her husband Jonathan are the proud parents of Gianna Louise (who was born on Miss LeeAnn's birthday!) and Dominic Michael.

Michelle Barber

Miss Michelle Barber has been dancing at Rising Star for 16 years and has worked as an assistant teacher for several years. She just graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Professional Writing. When she is not dancing, Miss Michelle works at the Writing Center at MSU and at Jon E. Arendsen Designs. Though her interests are very diverse, her love of dance has never wavered and she is very excited for her 3rd year on Rising Star's staff!

Julie Haring

Miss Julie Haring has been involved with dance for 27 years and has been an assistant teacher and member of Rising Star’s support team for several years. She has choreographed for Mudges Follies, Holiday Wishes, and the Eaton County 4-H Fair. She is currently a member of the Thunder Floor Cloggers and has competed at Kids Artistic Revue and Premier 2000, clogging her way to a Top First and First Overall award at both events. This will be Miss Julie’s 6th year on our staff and she is looking forward to sharing her love of dance!

Rachel Little

Miss Rachel Little has been dancing at Rising Star for 17 years and is extremely excited to begin her first year on staff! Working as an assistant teacher at the dance studio for the past 5 years, she has also performed at Relay for Life, and various competitions as a soloist and a company member. She choreographed and performed for Starlight Dinner Theatre and is their House Manager for all of their season productions. She attended Lansing Community College on scholarship and will continue her studies at Michigan State University in the fall, working towards a joint degree in physics and mathematics. Miss Rachel is looking forward to passing on her love of dance to a new generation of students!

Kara Manning

Miss Kara Manning has been dancing since she was four years old. Her first 13 years were spent at Rising Star where she participated in the Starlette Company and worked as an assistant teacher. She also spent 4 years dancing for Grand Valley State University’s Dance Troupe as an advanced choreographer and a duet tap performer. She also made the elite troupe 2 years in a row to perform for the Detroit Pistons. While attending GVSU, Kara received her Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology and Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy where she received the Outstanding Student Award. She currently works as an Occupational Therapist and Certified Brain Injury Specialist at Origami Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center in Mason.  She is very excited to start her 4th year on the Rising Star staff!

Erin Nimphie

Miss Erin Nimphie has been dancing for thirty years! She started teaching lessons at Rising Star when she was 16 years old. She has danced on the Chesaning Showboat and in a variety of regional and national competitions. Miss Erin has a B.S. in Education from Central Michigan University and a Master's in the Art of Teaching from Marygrove College. She is looking forward to beginning her 11th year of teaching Kindergarten at Elliott Elementary School in Holt this fall. She lives in Grand Ledge with her husband Brian and her daughter Grace. Miss Erin is blessed to be fulfilling the lifelong dream of teaching her daughter's dance class in the studio where she grew up!

Sha’marie (Spagnuolo) Heberer

Miss Sha’marie Spagnuolo has been dancing at Rising Star for 18 years. She has been competing as a soloist as well as in groups since she was 10 years old. She has performed at many regional and national competitions as well as on the Chesaning Showboat. Miss Sha’marie was an assistant teacher for several years and this will be her 6th year on staff.  She holds a Bachelor of Social Work degree from Spring Arbor University and is currently employed with the State of Michigan. Since becoming a mother in October of 2005, there is nothing that she enjoys more than playing with her son, Frankie. Dancing brings Sha’marie great joy, and she looks forward to sharing that with her students! She was our 2003 Dancer of the Year.

Jenna Spalsbury

Miss Jenna Spalsbury has been dancing at Rising Star for 19 years, and is the 2011 Dancer of the Year! She has been a member of the Starlette Company for 10 years and performed at numerous regional and national competitions. She as been an assistant teacher for two years and continues to compete with Starlettes. Miss Jenna graduated from Excel Academies of Cosmetology in 2006 and has worked at Essex Hair Design for five years. She also attends Lansing Community College working towards an Associate degree in Business. Miss Jenna is eager and ready to share her
passion and love for dance!

Kristyn Stehouwer

Miss Kristyn Stehouwer has been dancing for over 18 years. During this time she has studied various styles of dance and continues as a member of Rising Star’s Starlette Company. Through the years she has competed in many dance competitions across Michigan, including Tremaine Dance Convention. While in high school Miss Kristyn was captain of the Waverly High School dance team her junior and senior year. Currently she works in Marketing at ProAssurance Companies in Okemos as she pursues her business degree. After assisting at the studio, Miss Kristyn is ecstatic to live out her dream of being a Rising Star dance teacher!