Nancy Brown

Nancy Brown has twenty six years of teaching experience. Her dance career began in the Texas Panhandle, when at the age of sixteen she was chosen to teach dance and gymnastics for a local dance company. She moved to north Texas in 1977 and enrolled as a dance major at Texas Christian University. In addition to pursuing her dance education, Nancy began teaching dance for recreation to neighborhood children from a small studio she had built in the back of her home. Nancy’s love of dance, genuine excitement and charisma was immediately noticed and quickly her student body increased through the word of mouth advertising. The home studio was expanded and her student base doubled every year for the first four years. In 1986, she opened the doors to Nancy Brown’s Studio, her first commercial location. The studio thrived, additional teachers were hired, and after ten years of success it was time to expand again. In 1992, she moved to her current location, changed the studio name to Dance Connection, recognizing that this hobby turned business had grown into much more than a one woman operation. Nancy currently has seven instructors on staff, two large dance rooms within her spacious Fort Worth location. She also has a second location in Granbury, Texas and has enjoyed the same continued success with the Granbury studio over the last five years. Nancy has trained under some of the most notable leaders in the dance industry such as Luigi, Joe Tremaine, Patrick Swayze, and the Hoctor’s. Her students have won countless awards and are featured at many local venues including Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, and TCU halftime shows. Many of Nancy’s students have gone on to become broadways dancers, musical theatre directors, Dallas Cowboy and Houston Rocket cheerleaders, Dallas Mavericks dancers, and even college dance team members. Nancy has also produced some of the best dance teachers in the business. She readily acknowledges how grateful she is for all the individuals who have contributed to making her journey a success. She is a kind hearted, fun-loving woman who after all the years says that her favorite thing about dance is the joy she has received from contributing to so many students.

Stevo McMaryion

Stevo McMaryion started dancing right out of high school.  He quickly realized his passion for dance and joined the West Texas A & M University program studying ballet & modern.  He has since trained in many different styles allowing him to take his abilities to the next level.  Stevo has trained with some of the best teachers in the industry and has assisted many of them at conventions such as Tremaine, Adrenaline, the Pulse and others.  He has worked with Disney on musicals and with Carrie Underwood as a background dancer.  Spending the last 6 months in L.A. training at the Edge, Millennium & Debbie Reynolds Studio Stevo is now back sharing his creative talents with the DFW area.

Micah Lynch

Micah Lynch has been teaching dance for thirteen years. She is an "all-around" dance teacher who is trained in virtually all dance subjects and is competent and effective working with dancers of all ages. Her preschool students love her while her older performance and competition classes praise her innovative routines that always win top placement. Micah has been recognized by two national talent competitions. Star Power Competition gave her an "Outstanding Choreography Award"  and Star Systems Competition recognized her as one of their "Top Teachers." All of her routines won overall placement and her amazing senior hip-hop routine scored platinum and won first place at every competition. Micah has studied under and assisted many instructors such as Joshua Allen, Marty Kudelka, Roger Lee, Nick Zombrowski, Gerard Heintz, Scott Benson, and many others.  She is one of the Dance Connections most familiar faces, and her classes are always filled with fun and excitement.

Marlon Lewis

Marlon Lewis has been teaching hip-hop at the Dance Connection for eight years. He began dancing at age 17 and quickly realized he wanted to share his excitement of dance. Marlon has worked hard to perfect his ability and he is now one of the Dance Connections most asked about instructors. His laid back teaching style allows students to feel comfortable, since his teaching philosophy is " fun before perfection." He has studied under Marty Kudelka, Roger Lee, Nick Zebrowski, and many other local and nationally recognized hip-hop choreographers. Marlon's work is carefully choreographed, always current, and fun to watch. In addition to his hip-hop classes, Marlon is Nancy's instructing partner for cotillion classes, and is involved with the studio on many levels. He is loved by all who have the opportunity to work with him.

Julie Riger-Ballew

Julie Riger-Ballew received her early balet instruction at the Elizabeth Hames School of Ballet in Dallas, Texas. She was awarded the Alexandra Dnilova Scholarship for futher study, and, at age seventeen, was accepted into the School of American Ballet, in New York City. While studying at SAB, she was chosen by George Balanchine to be in his "special class". This was a group of twelve girls that were being trained in the Balanchine technique, and groomed for professional careers. While performing as an apprentice with the New York City Ballet, Julie was picked by Frederic Franklin to dance as a soloist with the National Ballet, in Washington DC. After five years with the company, she came back to Texas to attend T.C.U. Locally, Julie has performed with the Hip Pocket Theater, Stage West, Fort Worth Theater, Casa Manana, T.C.U. ballet, and Dallas Opera. In addition to the Dance Connection, she also teaches at Tarrant County College Southeast campus, the Pinnacle School, as well as several other area studios and schools.

Jackie Booth

Maegan Stewart

Maegan Stewart has been studying dance for over twelve years. She has studied at the Kirov Ballet Academy, the Joffrey Ballet School in New York, under the instruction of Durrell Martin, and at Debbie Allen’s. She was a member of Ballet Concerto of Fort Worth and has won scholarships at WCDE, Dupree, Co. Dance, VIP, and Tremaine. She has studied all genres of dance but has a deep passion for Jazz, Contemporary, and Ballet. She has been choreographing for five years and has had great success at numerous competitions, winning awards for her musicality, creativity, and personality.

Anne Lukowiak

Anne Lukowiak received a BFA in Ballet and a minor in Educational Studies with a teaching certification from Texas Christian University in Dec 2009. She has attended various summer intensives, including Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, American Ballet Theater, and the Kirov Academy. In high school she was accepted into Susan Jaffe’s new studio, Princeton Dance and Theater, where she choreographed pieces in 2004-2005 and created and taught a Dance History and Choreography class. In June 2007, Anne was an intern and dancer with Ballet Concerto, and is now a company member. She student taught dance at Arlington Heights High School in the Fall of 2009. Her favorite memory of dancing with TCU is performing the Queen of the Dryads from Don Quixote in 2009. This year Anne is teaching at TCU, Dance Connection, and Dance Etc. Anne looks forward to her first year teaching at Dance Connection!

Guest Instructor - Nicole Hill

The Dance Connection is proud to welcome Nicole Hill back to their staff after returning from an exciting four years in Los Angeles, California. Nicole was selected out of thousands to be one of Justin Timberlake’s core dancers for his worldwide Justified tour. She has worked on solo projects with Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas, has been featured in numerous MTV music videos, and she has assisted in the choreography for many of L.A.’s hottest industrial shows. Nicole has studied under and worked with some of the world’s most notable choreographers such as Wade Robson, Mary Kydelka, and Roger Lee. She is also a north Texas native who grew up in Arlington where she began dancing at the age of five. She was a member of the UTA dance team, Dallas Powerhouse Competition & Performance Troupe, and as a solo competitor she has won countless awards. She is an accomplished dancer, instructor, and choreographer.

Guest Instructor - Tiffany McMath