Beth Fowler (BF)

Artistic Director, Creative Dance, Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Lyrical

Mrs. Fowler established the Beth Fowler School of Dance in 1983 at the age of 15. She has a great love for children, which shows in her teaching. Students are eager to learn, as the programs are both enjoyable and self-rewarding. She established the Beth Fowler Dance Company (a professional group of dancers) in 1994. Beth Fowler danced professionally as a principal dancer with the Rockford Dance Company, Judith Svalander Dance Theatre, and the Milwaukee Ballet. She has developed dancers who were accepted with the Joffrey Ballet of New York City, Milwaukee Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Chicago Bulls Luvabulls, and many who received college scholarships for dance.

Ms. Fowler has developed many full-length shows for her students to perform including “The Nutcracker” every December, and 5 rotating March Ballets including: “Sleeping Beauty,” “Cinderella,” “A Storybook Ballet,” “Annie & Piquita,” “Swan Lake & Wizard of Oz.” June shows featuring all other styles of dance include: “Grease & More,” “West Side Story & More,” “Fame & More,” “Dancing thru the Decades,” and “The Greatest Showman & More.”

Brooke Fowler McDonagh(BFM)

Director of Competitive Program, Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Turns & Tricks, Acrobatics

Miss Brooke has been dancing with Beth Fowler since age 3. She has been a member of the Beth Fowler Dance Company since 2009 and has performed in many featured roles including The Arabian Queen and Clara in “The Nutcracker,” Jasmine in “A Storybook Ballet,” the Winter Fairy in “Cinderella,” and the Diamond Fairy in “Sleeping Beauty.” Miss Brooke also competed with the Midwest Movement under the direction of Ted Jackson. As a teacher, she has been praised for her ability to connect with her students as she pushes them to achieve tasks above their age level. Miss Brooke’s choreography has won many awards and has been complimented for the way it brings out the best in her students and for its high entertainment value. Miss Brooke is the director of Beth Fowler’s Competitive Program. Miss Brooke’s students have won 1st place overall every year since they started competing in 2013. For the last two years, her students have been undefeated for two straight seasons as well as the National Champions the past two years in a row. Miss Brooke was certified in the Acrobatic Arts Program and she was also certified in the Ballet Progressions Program.  Miss Brooke has also received 6 Overall Best Choreography Awards in the last 5 years for her National award-winning Competition Team!

Allix (Sester) Reines (AR)

Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Leaps & Turns, Lyrical, Acrobatics, Pilates

Allix Sester started dancing with the Beth Fowler School of Dance when she was just six years old. Throughout the years at BFSD, Allix had participated in over 11 annual Theatre Dance Productions, dance conventions, competitions, and local events. Some of her favorite roles as a Beth Fowler Dance Company Dancer include; Clara and the Spanish Chocolate Soloist in The Nutcracker, and Cinderella in “Sleeping Beauty”. Allix always had a passion for teaching and was a teacher assistant for Creative Dance and
Ballet with Beth Fowler for 10 years.
During her time with the company, she also participated in the Genoa-Kingston Dance team where she was the team captain, won the “All American Award” and was offered the opportunity to join the UDA Camp Staff.
After graduating, Allix spent a year training and competing with some of the top teachers and choreographers in the area. She worked with teachers such as Joey Hernandez, Ted Jackson, Robert Lewis, Stacy Tookie, Travis Wall, Kenny Wormald, Zach Hudson, Jen Kopka, Kobi Rozenfeld, and many others. During this time, Allix also was attending school to receive her Pilates Certificate. She spent over 2 1/2 years studying anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics to receive her Certification. She wanted to apply this new knowledge to her dancing and teaching, realizing it would be a very beneficial combination.
Allix taught at Resilience Dance Company in Rockford and Elite Academy of Dance in South Elgin for 3 years. Allix was very happy to return to Beth Fowler School of Dance in 2017 to join the teaching and competition staff. Allix has taught many different styles and incorporated her extensive anatomical knowledge into her classes to help her students receive the best training in excellent form and technique. Allix’s choreography has received many awards at competitions, such as 1st Place Overall, Most Entertainment, Most Energetic, and Judges Choice Awards to name a few.
With all her knowledge and experience, Allix is excited to be teaching at her home dance school and share what she has learned with all her students!

Rachael Kollins-Merchut (RKM)

Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Tap

Rachael Kollins, a Beth Fowler School of Dance alumni, has been studying dance since the age of three. She began dancing with BFSD at the age of seven and continued through high school. She has studied classical ballet with strong influences from Cecchetti and Balanchine techniques.
She has also studied pointe, contemporary, classical jazz, tap, and modern dance styles. With BFSD, Rachael has performed many roles including Honesty Fairy in Sleeping Beauty, Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, Snow White in A Storybook Ballet as well as Christmas Fairy and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. Through her early life experiences, she fell in love with the art of dance and decided to continue to pursue the technique at the university level. Rachael graduated with her Bachelor in Fine Arts from Western Michigan University in April of 2018.
Through her years at WMU, she studied the techniques, history, and science that support her studies and teachings of movement and choreography. With these experiences, Rachael has also found an interest in musical theatre and has choreographed multiple musicals with the Children’s Community Theatre of DeKalb, including The Little Mermaid, Footloose, High School Musical, and Aida. She has also worked as an Assistant Choreographer with Stagedoor Manor and had the opportunity to work on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Bright Star, and No, No, Nannette. Teaching and sharing the art of dance is something that Rachael strives to do. She has been teaching for over six years and has a very hands-on approach. She takes the knowledge that she has picked up and shares it with her students to help them have a well-rounded understanding of the anatomy of their bodies, as well as the history and influences that have helped develop the dance world into what it is today.

Jennifer Flatland (JF)

Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Lyrical, Leaps/Turns

Jennifer (Jen) Flatland started dancing at Beth Fowler School of Dance at the age of 3 in 2004. Since then she has been trained in ballet, pointe, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, tap, and hip-hop. After progressing through the BFSD program she joined the Beth Fowler Dance Company, she has performed as a soloist and corps dancer in the studio’s tri-yearly productions and continues to do so. Jen had the opportunity to perform many roles, but her favorites are Rose Queen and Arabian Queen in “The Nutcracker”, Snow White in “A Storybook Ballet”, Fairy Godmother in “Cinderella”, and Lilac Fairy in “Sleeping Beauty”.
Jen studied at Elgin Community College and received her Associate in Arts Degree and uses much of the information received in her schooling to better set up her students for success with their goals and to structure her classes in a way that keeps everyone engaged and excited. Jen began as a teaching assistant in the Creative Dance and beginner-level classes with Beth Fowler in 2011 and then continued to teach her classes of all levels in 2016. She enjoys teaching others and strives to inspire students, to nurture a growing passion for dance. Jen encourages positive behavior to lift the students up and push them to become the best they can be. She believes that with focus, perseverance, and a love for dance, progress can be made no matter the obstacles.

Sonia Gaytan (SG)

Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Lyrical, Leaps/Turns

Sonia discovered her passion for dance at the young age of 3 with Beth Fowler School of Dance and danced many roles with Beth Fowler Dance Company until she graduated from high school.
Sonia has been trained in Ballet, Contemporary, Lyrical, Jazz, & Hip Hop.
At 18, Sonia trained in California and received certification with Millennium Dance Complex, trained under choreographers such as Nick Lanzisera, Nika Kjun, Cj Salvador, Mosi, and many more!
Sonia trained with the Chicago Team, “Coda World” and performed with them for 3 Seasons, getting to work with Farman Scoop and Dj Sultan for a filming opportunity. Sonia then became a Chicago Bulls Luvabull in 2019 and performed at Chicago Bulls games, training with Wildabeast, Janelle Ginestra, Kristen DeCesare, and Sarah Mitchell just to name a few. The most recent appearance this year was to work with Leikyn Bravo, a new upcoming artist performing with her in Chicago! Sonia has been teaching and choreographing for the BFSD Competitive Program since 2019, and is thrilled to be in her hometown, teaching where she grew up and first fell in love with dance.

Miguel Villagomez (MV)

Director of BFSD Hip Hop Program

Miguel started dancing with Beth Fowler in 2011 in the BFSD Stage Production of “West Side Story.” He then started training and competing with Hip Hop Master Robert Lewis who competed on MTV’s Hit TV Show, “America’s Best Dance Crew.” Miguel and Robert have worked together for many years as they led the BFSD Hip Hop Program. Miguel has also run successful Hip Hop Teams at BFSD that have had undefeated Seasons, and have won many National Championships! Miguel is the Director of the BFSD Hip Hop Program and has earned great respect and trust after 10 years of running Hip Hop Teams.
Miguel has also trained under Trae Turner of Hubbard Street Dance in Chicago, Millennium Dance Complex, Movement Lifestyle, and Edge Performing Arts Center. Most recently, Miguel has finished training and performing professionally with AQ Dance Center. Miguel embraces his cultural dance in the Latin Field with Reggaeton and Latin cultural styles. Known for his ever-expanding passion for dance, enthusiastic personality, and challenging classes, Miguel hopes to share his knowledge and passion with many dancers. Miguel is a mentor and also offers emotional support for dancers wishing to escape through the Art of Dance.

Anna Rose Nolazco

Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical, Tap, and Hip-Hop

Anna Rose Nolazco started dancing with the Beth Fowler School of Dance in 2010. She is trained in ballet, pointe, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, tap, and hip-hop. During her time in the Beth Fowler Dance Company, Anna performed various roles including Snow Queen and Rose Queen in The Nutcracker, Maria in West Side Story, and Summer Fairy in Cinderella. She has also trained with Joffrey Ballet School in New York and Ballet Chicago.

Anna graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2020 with a degree in Psychology. She began teaching at BFSD in college when she was home for the summers. Anna then returned to Chicago and attended the UIC School of Law while continuing to teach part-time. She obtained her Juris Doctor in 2022 and is now a practicing criminal defense attorney. Despite her legal career, Anna remains committed to the dance community and sharing her love of movement with others.