Our Staff is committed to providing a safe environment for your child to learn, grow, and have fun!
Youth Protection Association for Dance
Certified Staff
Background Checked (even the owner!)
CPR-Certified
First-Aid Certified
Specially Trained in Injury Prevention, Signs of Abuse, Eating Disorders, Psychology of Dancers, Dancer Wellness, & Industry Best Practices
Natalie Orr-Andrea
Owner & Director
Natalie Orr-Andrea opened Creative Motion Studios, LLC, in 2011, fulfilling a lifelong dream she had from the age of ten to own a dance studio in her hometown of Akron, Ohio. She has taught various forms of dance throughout Northeast Ohio for more than twenty-seven years. Natalie graduated Cum Laude from the University of Akron with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and minors in Dance and Entrepreneurship. Her collegiate training included studying under former members of the Pennsylvania Ballet, Ohio Ballet, Martha Graham Company, and Jennifer Muller/The Works. While at Akron, she choreographed and performed in numerous Choreographer's Workshop and Spring Into Dance concerts, performed with the University of Akron Dance Company (UADC), ranked among the top ten percent of graduating seniors in the College of Business Administration, and was a member of the Terpsichore Dance Club, the National Dean's List, and the Golden Key National Honor Society. Committed to lifelong learning, Natalie regularly continues her education through seminars, conferences, and workshops in both dance and business to better serve her students, families, and staff. She travels to New York City annually to study with leading dance educators and is a Certified Flexibility Instructor through MuvMethod (Levels I & II). She has also completed coursework for Rhythm Works Integrative Dance and Relative Motion (Upper & Lower Body), and is certified through Youth Protection Advocates in Dance (YPAD), Youth Mental Health First Aid, and Darkness to Light. Throughout her career, Natalie has taught and choreographed for numerous dance studios and performing arts programs across Northeast Ohio. As Director of the CMS Company performance and competition team, she has received multiple choreography awards, including Industry Dance Award nominations. Her former students have gone on to study dance at universities, perform professionally, and teach in private studios—including returning to teach at CMS. Natalie and her husband, Brenton, choreographed the Akron Children's Hospital Charity Ball Presentation for more than a decade, combining their passion for dance with community service. She continues to partner with the Akron Children's Foundation through the annual Dancing for the Kids fundraiser, serving as a choreographer, judge, and coach for the dance partnerships. Together, these efforts have helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Showers Center for Pediatric Oncology and Blood Disorders. In 2024, Natalie accepted the Association of Fundraising Professionals Northeast Ohio Chapter National Philanthropy Day Youth in Philanthropy Award on behalf of Creative Motion Studios for its partnership with Akron Children's Hospital. She was also honored with the Revere District PTA Helping Hands Award in 2026 for her contributions to the community and continues to serve as an active PTA volunteer and leader. Although she enjoys performing, Natalie's first love has always been teaching. She believes dance educators should continue learning throughout their careers and encourages her faculty to do the same. The CMS Dance Family Values remain at the heart of everything she does, and she is passionate about creating a safe, welcoming community where every student can grow in confidence, character, and a lifelong love of dance.
Caiti Basler
Instructor
Caiti Basler, AFAA-CGFI, DMA, STOTT IMP, is a dance and fitness instructor from the NE Ohio area with over 13 years of teaching experience in the classroom. She has been dancing for over 30 years in many styles, but her first love will always be tap dance. She was fortunate to serve as assistant director of NE Tap Collaborative and had the pleasure of taking class and becoming friends with some of the industry’s top talent. She’s received her grade 1 Certification from Dance Masters of America TTS, and most recently completed the iTap Teacher Certificate Program (Level 1) under the guidance of Hillary-Marie at iTapOnline.com, with a focus on the 5 Fundamentals of Tap Dance. She is also certified by the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (NASM) and is a certified STOTT PILATES Instructor. She serves as Lead Master Trainer and Director of Education for Zumbini, an early childhood music and movement curriculum for ages 0-6 created by Zumba and BabyFirst TV. She travels the country for speaking engagements and conducting trainings, providing professional development for early childhood educators. Career highlights include TV credits on TLC and DCTV, traveling to China to launch Zumbini in Asia, presenting at Zumba’s Instructor Convention and being a featured presenter for Parents Magazine. She serves as a certified national competition adjudicator and prides herself on creating an encouraging atmosphere where students feel safe to explore and grow their craft. With a heavy focus on musicality and artistry, she believes that dance and movement are gifts that everyone should enjoy!
Erika Rutan
Instructor
Erika Rutan has been dancing since she was 2 years old, training in all types of dance including: Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, and Modern Dance. After Graduation, she went to college at Kent State University, danced with the Kent Dance Ensemble, and graduated Cum Laude with a BA in Dance Education and a BA in Marketing in 2004. Upon graduation, Erika moved to NYC and danced with wonderful teachers and choreographers such as Alexandra Bellar. After moving back to Ohio and teaching for a few years, Erika decided to switch artistic careers and follow in her Mom's footsteps and become a hairdresser. She attended Casal Aveda Institute and is now a licensed Advanced Cosmetologist and has been a hairdresser for the past 18 years. Erika taught on and off in the beginning of her hairdressing career, but in recent years she just filled in as a substitute here at CMS. Erika's daughter Nyra has been a student here at CMS since 2018 and is a member of the CMS Company for the past 3 years. Erika is excited to be going back to her passion for teaching dance and bringing joy through movement to the students at CMS. She is very grateful for the opportunity to be creative in this way again!
Kensi Evans
Instructor
Bio Coming Soon!
Willow Freed
Instructor
Willow Freed is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher, and is currently getting her B.F.A. in Dance Performance at Kent State University. At Kent, she is President of the Student Dance Education Organization and Student Director of the 2023 B.F.A. Senior Dance Concert/Student Dance Festival: Redefining. Her performance credits include the Kent Faculty Concerts 2019-2021, the 2022 ACDA East-Central Conference, and the 2022 Concert Kent Dance Ensemble: No Permission Needed, directed by Gregory King with Guest Artists Hope Boykin, Amy Hall Garner and Stefanie Batten Bland. Willow’s piece “From the Eyes of Girl” premiered at the 2022 B.F.A. Senior Dance Concert/Student Dance Festival: Awakenings and received two awards for outstanding choreography. She recently completed a Seasonal Internship with The Movement Project and has been teaching and choreographing at Creative Motion Studios since 2019, with styles ranging from ballet, jazz, hip-hop, acro, lyrical, and contemporary. Willow is looking forward to graduating and exploring all of the artistic opportunities the future holds.
.jpg)
Anisha Delarber
Instructor
Anisha Delarber began her dance career at 3 years old, studying a variety of styles such as ballet, tap, hip hop, jazz, lyrical, and musical theater through her senior year of high school. She also danced competitively from the ages of 9 until 18 in styles such as jazz, tap, lyrical, hip hop, and large group productions. Anisha graduated from Point Park University in the spring of 2024 with a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Psychology, and a minor in Sports Arts and Entertainment Management. From a young age, Anisha knew she had a passion for sharing her love of dance with others. She was a student teacher from her junior year of high school through her senior year, and assisted in classes such as ballet, tap, hip hop, and jazz. After graduating college, Anisha knew she wanted to continue her love not only dance, but also being an encouraging mentor and positive role model to younger generations of dancers. She was fortunate to find a welcoming home in the Creative Motion Studios family, and joined the staff in the summer of 2024. Anisha also works as a registered behavior technician at Wolff & Phan Autism Center, working with children on the autism spectrum. In her free time, Anisha enjoys reading, dancing, hiking, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. Just like her fellow staff members, Anisha has found CMS to be her second home and family. She is grateful to have the opportunity to share her love of dance with the amazing students, and the encouraging staff, at CMS.
Sarah Lakatos
Instructor
Sarah Lakatos began dancing at the age of five, studying ballet, tap, jazz, and lyrical through her senior year of high school. Sarah graduated Cum Laude from the University of Akron Honors College in 2010 with a degree in Corporate Finance and a minor in Dance. During her time at Akron, Sarah participated in Touring Ensemble, Spring Into Dance and Choreographer’s Workshop concerts, and the University of Akron Dance Company (UADC). During her first year after college, she realized that a huge part of her life was now missing and was extremely grateful to find Creative Motion Studios when she did. Sarah currently lives in University Heights and works for WTW as a Health and Benefits Associate. She received her MBA from Cleveland State University in 2021. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading, Orange Theory Fitness, working out, Cleveland Sports, dancing, trying new restaurants and spending time with her parents and friends. Sarah has realized that to have a hobby that has lasted over 30 years is something special and unique. CMS has become a second home and she is grateful that she gets to share her love of dance with the amazing dance students, as well as the truly kind-hearted staff, of CMS.
Madeleine Mennett
Instructor
Madeleine Mennett began dancing at age 3 and is a former student of Creative Motion Studios. She is currently a senior at the University of Akron pursuing a BFA in Dance and a BA in Child & Family Development. During her time at Akron, she has performed in The University of Akron Dance Company (UADC) and at the American College Dance Association (ACDA) Conference. She currently serves as President of the Terpsichore Dance Club. She has had the opportunity to study under Colleen Barnes, Christine Howe, and Alec Lytton as well as work with a variety of nationally recognized guest artists. Since joining the Creative Motion Studios staff in 2023, Madeleine has taught dancers of various ages in a variety of different styles. She enjoys sharing the knowledge and experiences she has gained throughout her training with her students and is passionate about creating a positive and comfortable classroom environment. As she continues her education and training, Madeleine looks forward to graduating and expanding her experience as both a performer and educator!
Hayley Glessner
Instructor
Hayley Glessner is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher from Stow, OH. She brings with her 26+ years of dance training, a bachelor’s degree in dance from Ohio Wesleyan University, and 5+ years of teaching in ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, and contemporary. While at Ohio Wesleyan, she was President of the tap dancing club OWU Rhythms, where she co-taught and -choreographed tap for college-aged students, from complete beginners to advanced dancers. She also danced in seven showcases, and choreographed for three of the student-led yearly dance performances, Terpsicorps, and two of the faculty-led annual dance productions, Orchesis. Additionally, she performed in Cabaret as a Kit Kat Club dancer. Off campus, Hayley taught ballet, hip hop, and tap across ages at The Arts Castle in Delaware, OH. Over the summers, she was the Dance Counselor for the Performing Arts Summer Spectacular (PASS) camp in Uniontown, where she choreographed their productions of Fame Jr. and Annie Jr. Lastly, Hayley spent her senior fall semester in New York, interning under Amanda Selwyn of Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre. She worked for the company and its nonprofit, Notes in Motion, which provides free dance programming in New York City public schools. More recently, Hayley taught ballet, contemporary, and jazz at Footnotes Dance Center in Northfield. She currently takes dance classes and performs in bi-annual showcases with Cleveland Dance Project. In the classroom, she values a balance between creativity and structure, and aims to make all students feel comfortable and confident in their abilities. Outside of dance, she’s an avid reader, works as a digital marketing writer, and is currently pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing in the low-residency program at Converse University.
Madeline Wilson
Instructor
Madeline Wilson began her dance training at age four with Dublin Dance Centre & Gymnastics in Columbus, Ohio. While at DDC&G, her training focused on ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical, and modern, and she also took classes in gymnastics, hip-hop, Irish, and stilt dancing. She performed throughout the community with the cast of the holiday show Toyland for six seasons and was a member of the studio’s Repertory Company, taking master classes at Walt Disney World and the Ohio Dance Festival. She earned solos in DDC&G’s annual recitals, portraying Bert in Mary Poppins and the Magic Carpet in Aladdin. She was also a dance captain for Visions Show Choir at Buckeye Valley High School and was a charter member of the school’s International Thespian Troupe chapter, appearing in Singin’ in the Rain, Bye Bye Birdie, Oklahoma!, and more. In 2005 Madeline was accepted to the Baldwin-Wallace College Musical Theatre Summer Honors Institute for high schoolers. She enjoyed the experience so much that she attended Baldwin-Wallace for her undergraduate work. While there, she studied dance under Janiece Kelley-Kiteley, Gregory Daniels, and Sara Whale, and she studied acting under Jack Winget and Karen Sabo. Madeline graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and a double minor in Dance and Theatre. Prior to teaching at CMS, Madeline spent nearly three years working with children of all ages at the School Age Child Care program for Buckeye Valley Local School District. Recently, she has taken classes at North Coast Hula in Twinsburg under the direction of Kumu Hula Michelle Taylor. When she’s not dancing, Madeline enjoys reading, knitting, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.
Megan Olesen
Office Manager
Megan Olesen is the friendly face behind the front desk. She’s been a dance parent since 2021 and her daughter, Emma, has been a company dancer for many years now beginning her 5th season. She answers to Miss Megan, Miss Emma’s mom, Miss Dance Mom, or pretty much anything in between. As Office Manager, she loves helping families feel at home from the moment they walk through the doors. Whether she’s answering questions, handing out bandaids and hair ties, or keeping everything running smoothly behind the scenes, Megan enjoys making each dance season a positive experience for dancers and their families. Megan believes that a dance studio is about so much more than classes—it’s about building confidence, creating lasting friendships, and making memories that last a lifetime. She loves being part of a team that encourages every dancer to grow both on and off the stage.