Lori Arendsen (Owner/Director)
Miss Lori Arendsen (Owner/Director) is celebrating her 41st year teaching dance! She opened the doors to Rising Star 36 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, Disney World, Cedar Point, 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 has judged for Applause Talent, Kids Artistic Review National Dance Competitions as well as numerous pageants, talent shows and theater groups. She is on the costume advisory panel for Weissman’s Designs for Dance/Dancewear Solutions, on the Starlight Dinner Theatre advisory board, and choreographed a flash mob commercial for CATA’s Clean Commute program that can now be viewed 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 Relay for Life for cancer research. The Starlettes were invited to entertain for the Zendaya meet & greet at Art Van and they donated their earnings again to the Relay for Life. Miss Lori loves to share the pure, cheerful, beauty of dance with all of her students!
LeeAnn Edgerly (Assistant Director)
Miss LeeAnn Edgerly (Assistant Director) 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 this will be her 32nd year teaching and 28th year of studio management! 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 and dance teams. 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!), Dominic Michael, and Anya Marie.
Katlyn Arnett
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Miss Katlyn Arnett has been dancing with Rising Star for 22 years! She has been an assistant and has competed with the Starlettes company for many years. While in high school, Miss Katlyn was a featured ballerina in Grand Ledge High School’s production of “Phantom of the Opera”. After high school, Miss Katlyn graduated from Paul Mitchell the School Lansing in 2017 and is currently working at Salon VivEsta in Lansing. She is excited to share her passion for dance with all of her students!
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Kara Christy
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Miss Kara Christy 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 Master’s 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 for her 16th year on the Rising Star staff! Miss Kara and her husband Chip are the proud parents of Cal, Luke, Clark, and James.
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Cristy Dowker
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Miss Cristy Dowker began dancing at 4 years old and continued through high school and beyond, participating in several dance competitions across Michigan with Starlette tap and the adult tap class. She began assistant teaching in high school, taking a short break before returning for the last several years. She graduated from Davenport University with a degree in business administration. She is currently working for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Victim Services as a contract analyst. Miss Cristy and her husband Nicholas have two daughters, Addison and Josie. Together they enjoy game nights, traveling, and camping. Miss Cristy is very excited to continue to share her love of dance with her daughters and watch them as they experience the dedication, inspiration, and love for dance that will shape them and enrich their lives.
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Michelle Haskell
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Miss Michelle Haskell has been dancing at Rising Star for 30 years. She performed in a variety of competitions across Michigan during her time in Starlettes and was an assistant teacher with the studio for several years. Miss Michelle graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Professional Writing and is a marketing and foster family recruitment specialist with Lutheran Social Services of Michigan. She also helps local small businesses with social media marketing through her own small business, Social Storytelling. Though her interests are very diverse, her love of dance has never wavered and she is very excited for her 16th year on Rising Star's staff! Miss Michelle and her husband Brandon are the proud parents of Kennedy and Kade!
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Sha’marie Heberer
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Miss Sha’marie has been a part of the Rising Star family since she was 7 years old. She was an assistant teacher and a teacher for many years and we are so happy to have her on our staff! She has performed at many local, state and national competitions, on the Chesaning Showboat and earned the Dancer of Year from Tremaine Dance Convention in 2003. Miss Sha’marie has a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Grand Valley State University and has been working in the field of medical social work for almost a decade. Miss Sha’marie and her husband Chad have three children-Frankie, Amelia and Penelope-and as a family they enjoy traveling, snow sports and spending as much time together as possible.
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Amanda Hengesbach
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Dance has been a part of Miss Amanda’s life since she was 3 years old and she has been a part of Rising Star since it started. Some of her fondest memories are being a part of the elite team where they performed at Tremaine, Chesaning Showboat, and a Detroit Pistons game. Miss Amanda also shares her love of dance as a choreographer for the Grand Ledge High School musicals and owner and Cardio Dance instructor at Ledge's Sweat Shop. She received her Master’s Degree in Family and Consumer Sciences from Michigan State University and is a teacher at Grand Ledge High School. Miss Amanda is the proud parent of Delayne and Ashton. She feels extremely blessed to share the stage with both of them! Miss Amanda was chosen as the Grand Ledge Educator of the Year 2019!
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Jamie Losch
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Miss Jamie has been a part of the Rising Star Studio since the beginning. From the Chesaning Showboat to Tremaine Competitions, dancing has been an integral part of Miss Jamie’s life. She began as an assistant teacher with Miss Lori when she was in 8th grade. She started teaching her own classes in high school, which sparked a passion for working with students. She earned her B.S. in Education at Western Michigan University and a Master’s in Education through Spring Arbor University. Miss Jamie is in her 22nd year of teaching at Grand Ledge Public Schools. After taking a few years off from teaching dance to start a family with her husband Greg, she has returned to Rising Star to share her love of dance. Miss Jamie is excited to dance with all of her new students, including her own daughters Jordan, Jaylen, and Jenna.
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Erin Nimphie
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Miss Erin Nimphie has been dancing for over thirty years. She started teaching lessons at Rising Star when she was 16 years old. She has danced on the Chesaning Showboat, at a Detroit Pistons game, 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 22nd year at Elliott Elementary School in Holt this fall. She lives in Grand Ledge with her husband Brian and her daughters Grace and Lauren. Miss Erin is so blessed to be fulfilling her lifelong dream of teaching both of her daughters’ dance classes in the studio where she grew up and learned the love of dance.
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Sarah Richardson
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Miss Sarah Richardson is excited for her 7th season teaching at Rising Star! She has been a part of the Rising Star family for 20 years, including dancing with the Starlette Company for four years as well as assistant teaching for several years. After taking some time off for school she's thrilled to be back in the studio again—this time to share her love of dance with students. She graduated from Michigan State University in 2014 with a Bachelors Degree in Advertising and Specializations in Public Relations and Design. She currently works as a graphic designer at Michigan Farm Bureau where she creates a wide variety of marketing and promotional materials for the company and outside clients.
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Marsha Roberts
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Miss Marsha is excited to be joining the Rising Star Staff to teach Pom! She grew up attending Grand Ledge schools and dancing from the time she was 5. While at Grand Ledge High School she joined the Pom team where she fell in love with performing, competitions, and choreography. Miss Marsha started her Pom career immediately following high school as the new Grand Ledge JV Pom Coach! She advanced to a Varsity Coach position with GL after college and has come full circle since she currently is coaching her 14th year as the Grand Ledge JV Pom Coach! In addition to coaching, Miss Marsha has been a pom instructor at a local studio for the last 4 years. Miss Marsha currently works full time at Sparrow Cardiovascular Surgery and in her spare time is a dance/pom mom to her daughter, Nora!
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Marie Savala
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Miss Marie has danced at Rising Star for 31 years, and this will be her 11th year teaching! Miss Marie started competing at the age of 9 and performed at a large number of competitions including Tremaine Dance Conventions. She also had the privilege of performing on the Chesaning Showboat when she was 12 and was a member of the Starlettes Company for 10 years. In 2012 she received an Ultimate Victory award for her solo, Smooth, at the Creation Dance Competition. Miss Marie was also on the Lansing Community College Cheerleading team from 2006-2009, and served as one of the main choreographers for the team during her last two years with them. In 2014, when she and her husband were living in Florida, she was offered a position as a cheer and dance coach at Power Cheer Allstars in Port Orange, Florida. While there, she coached their junior hip hop dance team to win multiple titles and awards, including First Place and Dance Grand Champions at Reach the Beach Nationals in Daytona Beach, and U.S. Finals Champions at the U.S. Finals in Pensacola! Miss Marie graduated from Protégé Academy of Cosmetology in December of 2011, and is currently working at Salon Blush in Holt. On July 31, 2010, Miss Marie married her husband, Brian. They welcomed their son, Riley Walker, on November 4, 2015 and Kinley in November 2017.
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Jenna Spalsbury
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Miss Jenna Spalsbury has been part of the Rising Star Family for 33 years. Her dance career with Rising Star started at just 4 years old. Over her career Jenna danced with the Elite competition group as well as the Starlettes, and competed for many years all over Michigan. After high school Jenna graduated from Excel Academy of Cosmetology, and worked as a licensed cosmetologist for over 8 years in East Lansing. During this time she also attended Lansing Community College, and graduated magna cum laude while earning her associates degree in business. Miss Jenna continued to assist, teach, and dance competitively at Rising Star, and was named the 2011 Tremaine Dancer of the Year. In 2014, she moved to California and completed an intensive dance program at International Dance Academy in downtown Hollywood. Miss Jenna has come back to Michigan to start a family of her own, and is thrilled to once again have the opportunity to teach and share her passion for dance this season with her Rising Star family!
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Abbey Wieferich
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Miss Abbey Wieferich has been part of the Rising Star family for 15 years. She was an assistant teacher for 11 of those 15 years. She has been working in the medical field for the last 8 years, starting as a caregiver. She graduated from Lansing Community College in 2021 with a degree in Nursing and she currently works as a Registered Nurse at Capital Area Medilodge. Miss Abbey married her husband, Ryan in September 2022. They enjoy spending lots of time outside with their fur baby Judge, going on hikes, camping and gardening. Miss Abbey is excited to start teaching and share her passion for dance for years to come.
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