Our amazing Team

Ms. Shannon Rush-Locke

Owner & Studio Director
Ms. Shannon, a dedicated dance educator, has been shaping young minds and bodies through dance for over three decades. As the owner and artistic director of Damascus, Olney, and Wheaton Studios of Dance, she brings her extensive experience and unwavering dedication to each class.A proud alumna of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, Shannon’s journey began at the tender age of three and has since blossomed into a lifelong passion. From ballet and tap to jazz and Zumba, her diverse teaching repertoire caters to dancers of all levels.Beyond the studio, Shannon actively serves her community as a life member of the Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad, Vice President of the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce, and an active member of the Olney Chamber of Commerce.

Ms. Amanda J. Karsner

Assistant Director
Amanda Karsner’s dance journey with Wheaton Studio of Dance began at the age of five, and she has been a dedicated part of the community ever since. A proud member of Dance Masters of America Chapter 17, she is starting her 21st season this fall teaching a wide range of dance styles to students of all ages. Amanda loves creating a fun and encouraging atmosphere, especially for young dancers just starting out.As the Assistant Director and a faculty teacher, she brings her passion to every corner of our community, teaching weekly classes at all three of our locations in Wheaton, Damascus, and Olney. Amanda also works with our competition teams, where she teaches weekly classes and has choreographed numerous award-winning solos, duos, and group routines.Always expanding her knowledge through advanced training, such as the N.Y.C. Dance Teachers Summit and Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT), Amanda also continues her own development by taking weekly classes. She is committed to inspiring and guiding the next generation of dancers.

Ms. Shauntrese Ambush

Dance Instructor
During my 20-year career as a dancer and choreographer, I have traveled all over the United States performing and choreographing in various shows. I am extensively trained in ballet (Vaganova and Cecchetti), tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and Hip Hop.Throughout my career, I have also judged local and national competitions for both dance and cheer, and I have received numerous awards for my choreography. I take great pride in mentoring the next generation of dancers; my former students have gone on to perform with artists such as Beyoncé, Usher, and Rihanna, as well as on Broadway, in professional dance companies, and on cruise ships, while others have become successful dance instructors themselves.Throughout my travels, I have tried to remain humble and give my all in everything that I do. Everyday I feel blessed for all of the opportunities I have been given, and am excited to share my love of dance.

Ms. Tatiana Francisco

Dance Instructor
Ms. Tati grew up dancing at Wheaton Studio of Dance starting at age six. She trained extensively in ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, contemporary, and lyrical, developing a strong technical foundation and a deep love for the art form.Sharing her passion for teaching since 2014, Ms. Tati has taught at all three studio locations and previously coached the mini competition teams at the Damascus and Olney studios from 2016 through 2019.After returning to our faculty last year, she is thrilled to continue teaching at her home studio where her own dance journey began, and looks forward to inspiring the next generation of dancers!

Ms. Meghan Gay

Dance Instructor
Ms. Meghan has been dancing since the age of 3 and has been a part of the Shannon Rush Dance family for many years. Throughout her 14 years of dance training, she has studied ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and acro. She has been a member of the competition team for 9 years, where she has earned many awards at regional and national competitions, including a 3rd-place overall finish at a national competition. Through assisting classes, Ms. Meghan found her love for teaching and working with younger dancers. She believes dance is a place where everyone should feel safe, comfortable, and have fun while building confidence. She is so excited to share her passion for dance and help her students grow this season!

Ms. Tenay Graham

Dance Instructor
Ms. Tenay has been dancing for 19 years, beginning her early training right here at Wheaton Studio of Dance under the guidance of Ms. Shannon. She continued to hone her craft through the dance programs at Blake High School and Shenandoah University. Throughout her dance journey, she has expanded her training by taking masterclasses in New York and Washington, D.C., studying under a diverse range of renowned choreographers and dance companies.Beyond class instruction, Tenay has assisted with musical theater choreography, including a production of Beauty and the Beast at a local private school, and helped develop cheer choreography in Winchester, VA.While she isn't on the regular weekly schedule, she remains a valuable part of our studio family as a substitute instructor and a choreographer for our competition team solos. She is thrilled to share her passion and talent with our dancers!

Ms. Angelina Harper

Dance Instructor
Ms. Angelina has been a part of the Shannon Rush Dance family since the age of 3. She has had almost 15 years of training in various styles including jazz, lyrical, ballet, tap, and hip hop. She has been competing on the Olney Studio of Dance and Wheaton Studio of Dance competition teams for 11 years, where she earned many awards, scholarships, and invitations to dance clinics. Alongside dancing with the studio Ms. Angelina is a part of her high school's Pom and Dance team where she has been a dedicated member. She is very passionate about dance because it has given her numerous life skills, including confidence, patience, and communication skills. Dance has shaped her life, from making her very first friend at her very first dance class to creating lifelong friendships with the people in her classes. Being a small part of her students' dance journey means the world to Ms. Angelina!

Ms. Caleigh Hoffman

Dance Instructor
Ms. Caleigh has been a part of the Shannon Rush Dance family since the age of three. Over nearly 15 years of training, she has studied a wide range of styles including ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, pointe, and contemporary. She spent eight years competing with the Damascus and Olney Studio of Dance competition teams, where she earned numerous awards, scholarships, and invitations to dance intensives, alongside competing as a dedicated member of her high school's Division 1 Dance Team.A recent graduate of Damascus High School, Caleigh will be attending Towson University in the fall. While she will no longer be on our regular weekly schedule during the school year, she continues to serve as a substitute instructor, guest teacher for summer classes and camps, and a contributor to our studio's social media. She is passionate about sharing her love of dance with the next generation and thrilled to help her students grow in both confidence and skill!

Ms. Tiffanie Horner

Dance Instructor
Ms. Tiffanie received her BFA in Dance from the State University of New York College at Brockport, studying on full scholarship at The Draper Center for Dance Education, STEPS on Broadway, and Broadway Dance Center. Her training also includes summer intensives with the Joffrey Ballet, Rochester City Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre. She completed a Pilates Apprenticeship program in Tucson, AZ, and holds a certification in Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT).With over 15 years of experience teaching classical ballet, pointe, variations, modern dance, creative movement, and stretch classes across the country, Ms. Tiffanie has privately coached students who went on to be accepted into premier college dance programs and dance teams. Beyond the studio, she works in Arts Integration as a Teaching Artist for the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts and Arts for Learning Maryland.Her professional performance credits include Rochester City Ballet, Ballet for Young Audiences (New York City), Eglevsky Ballet, Upside Down Dance (Honolulu), Minou Lallemand’s Onium Ballet Project (Honolulu), Honolulu Dance Theatre, and Ballet Tucson.

Ms. Savannah Locke

Dance Instructor
Ms. Savannah has been dancing at Wheaton Studio of Dance for 14 years and loves every second of it! A senior at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, she is an active member of both the school’s dance program and Poms team.
Savannah loves sharing her passion with others and watching her students grow, gain confidence, and become stronger dancers while having fun along the way. Teaching allows her to inspire the next generation of dancers to love dance as much as she does!

Olie Mass

Dance Instructor
Olie Mass is an emerging young artist who began dancing at the age of six, developing a comprehensive background across all styles—including Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Lyrical, Contemporary, Musical Theater, Hip-Hop, Modern, Fusion, and Commercial dance.In addition to middle and high school dance programs, Olie trained extensively through institutions such as Artist Simply Human, Broadway Dance Center NYC, REVEL Dance, The Washington School of Ballet, WILD Dance Intensive, The Ballet Theatre of Maryland, and Joffrey Ballet School’s Spectrum Jazz/Contemporary Dance Program. A member of the National Honor Society for Dance Arts during their education, Olie has earned numerous regional and national awards and scholarships, including the Joffrey Jazz & Contemporary Trainee Program Merit Scholarship, the Fine Arts Classical Dance Scholarship from Bishop McNamara High School, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago Studio Art BFA Merit Scholarship, and several Artist Simply Human Apprentice Scholarships.Recently, Olie’s focus has centered on integrating an infusion of styles, specializing in Lyrical/Contemporary and Hip-Hop Fusion. They also became Acrobatic Arts/Acrodance certified this year. This season, Olie will be choreographing solos for our competition team as well. They are eager to bring their vision to the Wheaton and Olney studios, helping students reach their goals, expand their technique, and build lasting confidence.

Ms. Lily Prue

Dance Instructor
Lily Prue is a native DMV area dancer, choreographer, and instructor with 15+ years of experience teaching dance and fitness classes for ages 2 through 80. Lily began dancing at the age of 3 at the Wheaton Studio of Dance. She later danced competitively with Wheaton Studio and the Montgomery Blair Pom Squad. Lily continued her dance training at the University of Pittsburgh, earning a minor in Dance Education. While in Pittsburgh, Lily trained, choreographed, and performed with the Pitt Dance Ensemble and choreographed annually for Sigma Delta Tau for Greek Sing. Lily continues to train, choreograph, and perform throughout the DC area. Her performance credits include Pitt Dance Ensemble, Six Flags America Entertainment Team, Artistic Rhythm Alliance (ARA), and Urban Empire DC. Lily has trained and taught in several styles including creative movement, ballet, tap, hip-hop, jazz, pom, modern, and contemporary. She is passionate about creating safe, welcoming, and challenging environments for dancers of all ages, levels, and abilities to improve in their artistry and athleticism within dance. Outside of dance, Lily has her Doctorate in Social Work and works as a clinical social worker. If not taking a dance class herself, you can often find Lily working on a new craft, trying out a local coffee shop, or spending time with her husband, Tim, and their dog, Bear.

Ms. Sophia Romero

Dance Instructor
Ms. Sophia brings over 21 years of dance experience to her students, having begun her early training right here at Damascus Studio of Dance before joining the Olney Studio of Dance competition team in middle school. She is formally trained in ballet, jazz, hip hop, lyrical, and modern dance.In addition to her dance background, Ms. Sophia has spent over a decade in the world of Poms. After competing all four years on her high school team, she spent seven years coaching All-Star Pom, leading numerous teams to prestigious national and international championship events.Ms. Sophia has taught dancers of all ages and skill levels and is thrilled to return to the studio community where her own passion started. She looks forward to inspiring her students, sharpening their skills, and helping them create lasting memories.

Ms. Julia Smith

Dance Instructor
Julia is a life-long dancer, beginning dancing in Finksburg, Maryland, where her passion grew from an early age. She continued her training at the University of Maryland, where she pursued a degree in Communication, while continuing to dance and choreograph. During her time at Maryland, she was a part of DCX, honorary dance fraternity, and she choreographed for the UMD Student Dance Concert, UMoves.For the past four years, Julia has taught at Wheaton Studio of Dance and is excited to continue teaching at Olney.

Ms. Rachel Timmerman

Dance Instructor
Rachel has been dancing since she was 5. Rachel is a Maryland native and has been teaching since 2017. Her education is well-rounded in different styles of dance. She teaches Lyrical, hip-hop, Jazz, Latin Jazz, Contemporary, ballet, modern, and has her PBT and Acrodance certification. Rachel received her BA in Dance with a minor in humanities, health, and medicine from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is also a certified personal trainer. She has a passion for teaching as well as helping others learn and grow their love for dance. Rachel has danced with many community groups. To name a few, Rachel was a part of the Montgomery college dance company which is directed by Alice Howes. In addition, Rachel has danced in one-act works by emerging choreographers Faith Rokowski (2023) and Svetlana Nikoloff (2024) through the ICONS Choreographic Institute program. She currently dances with the Effervescence Dance Collective. In her free time Rachel loves to line dance and travel!

Ms. Kaitlyn Valle

Dance Instructor
Kaitlyn’s dance journey began at the age of two at Damascus Studio of Dance. She is a graduate of the Academy for the Fine Arts and was a dedicated member of the Damascus, Olney, and Wheaton competition teams, earning multiple scholarships and top overall placements throughout her competitive career of 10 years.Kaitlyn is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Shenandoah University, double majoring in Dance and Media Communications, where she continues to train under nationally recognized dance artists and educators. She has furthered her education through summer intensives in the DMV as well as New York.Her training ranges in ballet, pointe, contemporary, lyrical, jazz, modern, acro, musical theatre styles.As an instructor, Kaitlyn strives to inspire each student to grow both as a performer and as an individual. She is passionate about creating a positive and encouraging environment where dancers build strong technique, confidence, and a genuine love for the art form.

Mr. Darren Wilson

Dance Instructor
Mr. Darren’s love for sound and rhythm began at a young age, studying dance at Knock on Wood Tap Studio in Silver Spring, Maryland as a member and dance captain of the resident Tappers With Attitude Youth Tap Ensemble. Through countless rehearsals, master classes, and performances at venues such as the Kennedy Center and Wolf Trap, his early training was made even more special by sharing the experience with his mother, a member of the co-resident ensemble Step Aside.He went on to attend Michigan State University, pursuing a degree in broadcast journalism while serving as a rhythm and Broadway tap instructor for the award-winning Synergy Dance Academy competition team in Okemos, Michigan. Beyond the studio, Darren brings extensive educational experience into the classroom as he enters his ninth year teaching in the Montgomery County Public Schools system.Darren is excited to join this amazing faculty and can't wait to hit the floor. In the words of one of his favorite dancers, Sammy Davis Jr.: "If I should die, let me do it with my tap shoes on."