Jody Myslinski - Director of Operations

At the age of 10 Jody began traveling to NYC to study with Al Gilbert at DEA workshops. Dance has always been a major part of Jody's life. Jody has also been recognized artistically throughout her teens and has had her art work showcased at many exhibits. At the age of 15 Jody was awarded a summer scholarship to Pratt Institute for Art & Design, Brooklyn, NY. At 17 she was 1 of 2 students from her high school accepted into New York University's early admissions program, thus skipping her senior year at high school. The NYU campus of Greenwich Village only enhanced her understanding of dance & the arts, and further provided her with easy access to train with the best. She continued dancing throughout college while also achieving a computer science degree. Jody's love of dance kept her performing and competing until she was 31.

For many of the last 31 years, Jody taught dance to students from 2 years to adult. Lately with all the technical and computer advancements, Jody has hung up her dancing shoes and taken on the rule of Director of Operations at Rising Stars. Having an extensive dance background makes the daily ooerations at Rising Stars run effectively and smoothly. She is certified and qualified by DEA (Dance Educators of America) to teach tap, jazz, modern, Latin, acrobatics, ballet and pointe. She has and continues to study with some of the best teachers in the world, including Al Gilbert, Darryl Retter, Raymond Lukins, Charles Kelly, Gus Giordano, Steve Sirico and Germaine Salsberg. Jody continues to keep up with the current dance trends to make sure Rising Stars remains cutting edge. Jody's competition classes have been awarded numerous 1st places standings, Platinum Awards, Golds, Hi-Golds. Jody's teams have been awarded the has won "most entertaining", "best costuming", "best musical selection" among a few.

Jody's proudest moment was watching her Senior LID tap group perform on stage at the Leonard Nimoy Theatre at 95th & Broadway, NYC, with some of the greatest names in the tap industry. She was even more delighted when a photo of their performance appeared in a major dance magazine, Dancer. Her enthusiasm & supportive interaction with her students makes it natural for them to bond with her. Most of her graduated students return to visit and share their accomplishments with her year after year. Some of her students have continued their dance education after high school, excelling in their college/university dance teams as dancers & choreographers! Jody is the tap teacher for all the tap competition classes and coordinator of the pre-school through 6-year-old programs. Her greatest joy is re-living the joys of dance through her students and watching them perform.