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Shawna’s relationship with dance began at age five, when her father asked if she’d like to take dance lessons. Standing barefoot on an old green picnic table bench, singing “I’ve Got the Joy, Joy, Joy Down in My Heart,” she said yes—and never stopped moving.

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Her dance journey was shaped by generations of strong, nurturing women: her grandmothers Yvonne Kay and Margaret Ann, her great-aunt Patricia Ann, her great-grandmother Lois Ruth, and her mother Signa Ann.

Two of these women—Yvonne Kay and Patricia Ann—danced themselves and forever influenced Shawna’s creative path. Patricia Ann helped her access dance education whenever she could, planting the seeds of a lifelong commitment to making dance available to others. Yvonne Kay became Shawna’s favorite clogging and tap partner—both in childhood and adulthood. Together they traveled to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, attending national-level clogging conventions that deepened Shawna’s love for rhythm, storytelling, and connection through movement.

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Shawna also holds dear the memories of dancing the tango with her Aunt Donna, moments that wove together music, laughter, and the beauty of being fully present in movement. Those dances—joyful, expressive, and imperfectly perfect—reminded her that connection is the most powerful choreography of all.

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As a young dancer, Shawna trained in a rigorous studio environment, completing Cecchetti ballet exams throughout her teens. She credits that foundation for instilling the discipline, structure, and precision that shaped her early training. She also grew up performing as part of a clogging trio with her grandmother and sister, discovering the melting pot of clogging—a joyful blend of cultures and generations moving in rhythm together.

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Her early exposure to community engagement began long before Ignite was born. As a child, she performed with her local studio at nearby retirement homes—experiencing firsthand the joy that dance could bring to others. Alongside her great-grandmother Lois Ruth, she often visited her great-grandfather in those same spaces, playing piano for residents and learning the quiet magic of showing up with presence, compassion, and music. These experiences planted the earliest seeds of what would one day become Ignite’s outreach and senior initiatives.

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Over time, Shawna blended those roots of rigor with the softness, adaptability, and insight gained from both her lived teaching experience and her studies in Children’s Dance Education at the University of Michigan. She furthered her academic journey through graduate-level work in Positive Psychology at Arizona State University, exploring how creativity and movement can serve as protective factors that promote resilience and hope across the lifespan.

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Beyond the studio, Shawna is a passionate creative who finds joy in both the arts and the kitchen. Her love of baking inspired the creation of “1st Position Pies,” a fundraiser that ran for seven years and became a cherished tradition for dancers and families. Built from her commitment to providing quality, meaningful fundraising opportunities, these pies helped make access to dance education possible for more children. Over time, 1st Position Pies grew beyond Ignite and has even been offered in other studios—extending its reach and impact to dancers across Michigan.

Even today, Ignite still uses 1st Position Pies for special events, and Shawna often tells her youngest dancers to imagine what kind of pie they’re baking with their feet when learning first position—a playful nod to her belief that joy and learning rise best when mixed together.

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Shawna is also the proud mother of a large blended family, including a child with special needs—a journey that has deepened her capacity for grace, patience, and resilience. Her lived experience as both mother and advocate has profoundly shaped Ignite’s inclusive heart and its dedication to meeting every dancer, family, and community exactly where they are.

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Alongside her love of dance, Shawna is a lifelong musician—a percussionist who also plays piano and flute—and she loves weaving rhythm and music theory into the dance experience to connect emotion, movement, and story.

Through all these experiences, she has learned that movement alone—especially when it leaves room for creativity and self-expression—holds tremendous power for both the brain and the soul. Because of this, Shawna does not always bring formal technique into every dance experience, particularly within outreach initiatives. Instead, she focuses on movement as healing, creating environments where individuals can connect, express, and rediscover joy through the simple act of moving.

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For Shawna, dance is not only healing and igniting—it is empowering. It shows up in the moments of life that call for confidence, calmness, and grace: during job interviews, in spaces of personal growth, while advocating for others, and within relationships that require presence and empathy. Dance education and experience offer countless gifts to the human spirit—helping individuals carry poise, resilience, and hope wherever life leads them.

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This unique combination—formal training, lived experience, motherhood, creativity, and academic study—has shaped Shawna’s holistic approach to dance education, where technical excellence, empowerment, and emotional wellbeing move together in harmony.