Liz Kinney Berger, Owner
Liz began her dance training at the age of 3 here in Iowa City, IA. She continued to train and compete in the styles of ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, lyrical and pointe throughout her childhood and teenage years. At the age of fifteen Liz began assisting the director of her studio with lower level classes. As time went on Liz realized how much she loved sharing her passion of dance with others, which inspired her to pursue a career as a teacher. Her senior year of high school she
auditioned for and was accepted into the American Dance Pedagogy program at Oklahoma City University’s Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment. This is an intense four-year program that focuses on building technically strong and professionally focused dancers who will succeed in the entertainment industry. At OCU Liz trained under skilled ballet mistresses including Jo Rowan, Kay Sandel, Mary Price-Boday and Veronica Wilcox along with Broadway veterans such as Brian J. Marcum. She also performed with the American Spirit Dance Company in the annual “Home for the Holidays” Show and Spring Show. In the summers she would go back to Iowa to teach at her home studio’s summer technique programs. During her final year at OCU she ran and taught at the school’s “Community Dance Center” along with four other senior Dance Pedagogy majors. After college Liz moved to Clearwater, Florida to begin her teaching career. She taught styles ranging from jazz, tap, contemporary, hip-hop, lyrical, tumbling, and specialty classes at two studios over the four years she was there. She choreographed for both studios’ competition teams and earned many top awards for her choreography. In August 2017 Liz decided to move back to Iowa to pursue her ultimate dream of running her own dance studio which she officially opened in October 2018. She is very excited to have the opportunity to share her love for dance with her hometown and introduce “Life’s Your Stage Dance Company” to the Iowa City area!
Emme Keith
Emme teaches our advanced tumbling classes at LYSDC! When Emme was 5 she enrolled in tumbling at her local dance studio in Washington, Iowa. This is where she discovered her love for the craft. She decided to further her tumbling career and enroll in gymnastics. She began competing in gymnastics here in Iowa City, IA at the age of 6. After high school she continued her career at Indian Hills community college where she was a collegiate cheerleader while also running cross country. Emme competed with her stunt group at nationals and placed 2nd! That same year she became an All-American cross country runner; it was a big year for her! Emme then transferred to the University of Iowa and joined the club
cheerleading team. Emme says, “I am truly excited to work with you all, and have the opportunity to share my knowledge of tumbling. From gymnastics, cheer, and tumbling I have learned a wide variety of skills and I am so excited to share them all with you!”
Cassie Williams
Cassie is teaching the musical theater dance class. She recently graduated with a BFA in Musical Theater from Culver Stockton College, and she’s been dancing her entire life. She grew up dancing at Velocity Dance Studio in Oklahoma City for 6 years where she trained in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip-Hop and other various styles. During high school she taught at Kendi’s School of Dance for three years. She’s super excited to be a part of Life’s Your Stage Dance Company and can’t wait to get started!
Abbey Thornton
Abbey began her dance journey at the age of three and stepped into the competitive scene by the time she was five. Abbey’s passion and dedication led her to train pre-professionally for six years with the Visceral Studio Company in Chicago, where she honed her skills and developed a deep understanding of the art.
In high school, Abbey was a member of her varsity dance team for four years, during which she served as the team's captain for two years and was honored as the MVP in her senior year. After graduating in 2021, she continued to contribute to the team by choreographing multiple routines and teaching dance techniques.
Currently, Abbey is in her final year of college at the University of Iowa, majoring in dance, with a long-term goal of owning her own dance studio. Abbey’s journey has been shaped by a love for dance and a commitment to inspiring the next generation of dancers.