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 the area. She is currently going to UNI and is studying Biology as well as Movement and Exercise Science! After her undergrad, she is planning to go to PT school to become a physical therapist.

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 10th year as a dance teacher, her 4th 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.” Rachel is in her 2nd year of teaching at Fusion, and loves to build relationships with her students and watch them grow! 

Miss Katy comes to our studio with many years of dance and baton twirling expertise. She began dancing at age 4 and baton twirling at age 10. She has competed on the local, state and national level receiving many awards. The highest honor was being selected as the Feature Baton Twirler for the UNI Panther Marching Band. She is a graduate of UNI with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications. She grew up in Davenport, IA where she was a member of the Central Marching Band Color Guard, TNT Dynamite Baton and Pom Team, Varsity Cheerleading Team and many other extracurricular activities. She has been an instructor for 12+ years. Katy also offers pageantry prep for pageant contestants of all ages.

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 Green Bay, Wisconsin and began dancing when she was 3 years old at Barb’s Centre for Dance. She started her competition dance career when she was 6 and became a company dancer at the age of 11. Dance has always been her passion, it enabled her to travel across the United States to compete, assist, and take classes. She has assisted Trever Loritz, Samantha Hunt, and Kayla Giard in Temecula, CA, Green Bay, WI, and Las Vegas, NV. Dance has taken her to New York City to train with the Joffrey Ballet School as well as Steps on Broadway. She has performed in various productions of the Nutcracker, the Packer halftime show, and music videos for small artists. Gracie looks to strengthen others’ passion and dedication to dance! She is now in the Waterloo area attending UNI for her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a minor in statistics and actuarial science and then plans to continue her education to receive her Master’s in Healthcare Administration. She cannot wait to
see what is in store for this year!

Bio Coming Soon

Bio Coming Soon