Miss Afton is the proud owner of Fusion Dance & Performing Arts, established in 1999 (formally Attitudes Dance by Aimee), as well as the director of the Innovative Soul Dance Company. While attending college at the University of Iowa, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance, and was a four-year member (and Senior captain) of the nationally ranked Iowa Dance Team. Throughout her 20+ year career as a dance instructor, she has worked for the Universal Dance Association, coached various area high school teams, and has spent 16+ years choreographing and cleaning dances for teams and soloists across the state of Iowa. In 2011, prior to returning to the Cedar Valley, Afton was working as a professional dancer for the Denver Nuggets NBA team, and a fitness instructor in the Denver Metro area. When the opportunity was presented to own a dance studio, she did not want to pass up the chance to share her love, creativity, and knowledge of dance with her hometown. Fusion Dance & Performing Arts serves more than 400 families in the Cedar Valley, and Miss Afton is thrilled to provide the best experience for all.

Miss Rose grew up in Waverly and started dancing when she was three. She danced for Attitudes Dance by Aimee, which transitioned into Fusion DPA! Miss Rose attends UNI, majoring in Kinesiology & Exercise Science. She plans to graduate in 2024 and then get her Doctorate in Physical Therapy. She began assisting classes at Fusion when she still was a student, and then stepped into the role of an Instructor, as well as an Office Manager! She loves teaching with her Fusion Family and sharing her passion for dance with her students!

Miss Miranda grew up in Cedar Rapids and began teaching at MOvMNT Dance Company, where she trained in dance and found her love for the art. She moved to Cedar Falls to attend the University of Northern Iowa and major in Public Relations. While attending college, she taught for Prestige Dance Studio. Miranda then joined the Fusion Family in 2018. This year will mark her 11th year as a dance teacher, her 6th year with Fusion! She teaches Hip Hop, Jazz, Pom, Yoga, and various Adult Classes. You’ll also catch her as one of our Innovate Soul Directors and as a Coach for Waterloo West High School Dance Team! Miranda is excited to watch our Fusion students continue to grow, both as dancers and as good humans! 

Miss Debra grew up in Kansas and began dancing at the age of three. She has trained in all styles of dance. Debra continued with dance in college and attained a BFA in Dance from Wichita State University. While at WSU she was a member of the Wichita State University Dance Ensemble.  She served as vice president of the Mid-American Dance Theatre that helped students produce independent dance concerts. In addition, she was part of Wichita’s traveling company the Wichita Contemporary Dance Theatre.  Debra has danced with several professional and semi-professional dance companies, and has also performed in several productions of the Nutcracker, including a principle role.  In 2004 Debra danced with the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company, which is an outlet for diverse professional dancers proficient in multiple disciplines. From 2005-2007 she was a member of an independent dance collective that performed throughout the Cedar Valley. During her more than 30 years of dance experience, she has completed dance intensives with David Parsons, Denise Veil, Robert Battle, Gus Giordano, Dianne Walker, and many others. Debra has been teaching and choreographing for more than 20 years working with more than seven studios across the Mid-west and Texas.  She has also choreographed musicals and pieces for universities, high schools, community theatres, and dance competitions. She choreographed “Kiss Me Kate”, “The Music Man” and “White Christmas” for CFCT and “Pal Joey” for Wartburg College. She also served as the coach for the Waterloo West Dance Team from 2013-2016. Debra is also a Co-director for Fusion’s competitive dance team Innovative Soul. She is thrilled to continue sharing her passion for dance with the students of Fusion Dance and Performing Arts.

Miss Rachel grew up in Cedar Falls and began dancing at age 4. She started dancing at Fusion in high school, and has studied ballet, tap, pointe, jazz, modern, hip hop, pom, and musical theatre. Rachel danced on the Cedar Falls Dance Team all 4 years of high school, serving as a captain her senior year. She had roles in The Nutcracker with the Minnesota Ballet for many years, from childhood and into her teenage years. She has done summer ballet intensives with the Minnesota Dance Theater in Minneapolis, and has had experience in a number of local musicals and theater productions, often serving as a dance captain and assisting with choreography. Now, Miss Rachel is a student at UNI studying Movement and Exercise Science, as well as Spanish, and hopes to continue to work in the dance and fitness field after graduation. She continues her dance education with the Orchesis Dance Company at UNI, and has choreographed for wedding parties and musicals, including “Frozen Jr.”

Bio Coming Soon

She began her dance career at the age of 10 as a background dancer for an up-and-coming vocal artist performing all around the state of Iowa. She was introduced to the style of stepping by a community group called United As One. She has traveled and performed with multiple drill teams at churches, parades, and competitions. Aj performed in Fine Arts Nationals for group and solo Human Videos.

In high school, Aj was the Show Choir Captain and choreographer for 2 years, Color Guard Captain for 2 years, Dance Team Captain for 3 years, Basketball Cheer Captain for 1 year, and Kickline Captain for 1 year.

After high school, she worked as a choreographer for high school dance teams and high school show choirs. She has currently been training and performing with some of the top hip hop dancers and choreographers in Iowa at Rebel City since 2017. 

AJ is excited to now be with Fusion Dance & Performing Arts

Miss Gracie grew up in Waterloo, Iowa where she attends Waterloo West High School. While in high school she was apart of the West High Dance Team for her first 2 years. With the dance team she was an All Iowa Honors Dancer, and an All American Dancer. Gracie has been dancing at Fusion since she was 4. She enjoys all styles including; ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, lyrical, contemporary, modern, and theater. She has also been assisting dance classes since she was 11. Miss Gracie is so excited to share her passion for this art with all students, and can’t wait for all the new experiences to come. 

Miss Calaney is from Waterloo, Iowa and is currently studying English Teaching at the University of Northern Iowa. She began dancing at Attitudes by Aimee at the age of two and continued at Fusion Dance & Performing Arts. For seven years, she danced with the Innovative Soul Competitive Dance team at Fusion and also participated in the Waterloo West High Dance Team for three years. Miss Calaney started her teaching journey as an assistant teacher at the age of twelve and began teaching at fifteen. This year marks her fifth year as a teacher at the studio. She has a passion for teaching jazz and hip-hop classes and she thoroughly enjoys guiding her students and observing their progress throughout the years. Alongside her love for teaching, she enjoys traveling and exploring new cultures. 

 Miss Mya is from Waterloo, Iowa and is now attending the University of Northern Iowa to study Marketing. She started dancing at Fusion when she was nine years old and later joined the Innovative Soul Dance Company. Miss Mya was on the competitive team until she graduated in 2022 and started teaching at Fusion. She loves dancing and getting to work with the dancers at Fusion! Some of her closest friends were made through dancing at the studio, and she is so excited to be back as an instructor and office staff member.