Ms. Emily Morrison
Owner & Artistic Director
Ms. Emily Morrison has held a passion for dance her entire life. She trained with S&R Dance under Mary Berryhill and Nikki Spinden-Meagher in tap, jazz, lyrical, and hip hop, and ballet with Jill Johnson at Studio 121 in Freeport, Illinois. Throughout her dance journey she has had the privilege of taking classes and workshops with a variety of instructors from all over the country. She joined the competitive circuit at age 8 and has not left it since!
Ms. Emily began assistant teaching at the age of 14 and by age 18 was able to take on classes as a solo instructor. She holds a BSW from Carthage College and during her time there also minored in dance. During her college years she continued teaching, doing for hire choreography for dance teams, coaching dance team, and choreographing each year for the Carthage dance show. Before graduating Carthage, Ms. Emily received the first Leadership in Dance award ever to be given out from the college. She now holds a masters in Arts Administration from Winthrop University.
Ms. Emily is now looking forward to her 14th year as a dance instructor. She has not only been an instructor, but she also created & directed two competitive programs for two different studios for 4-5 years each. She created a full jazz and lyrical curriculum for one of the studios, choreographed for her employers as well as freelance choreography for dance teams, coached a dance team for two years, and has become a master at rhinestoning costumes for competition by hand. She has even begun dabbling in amateur dance photography. All the photos on the website are by Ms. Emily of current EM’s Dance Center students.
Ms. Emily prides herself in understanding that as an instructor she is also a student. To best serve her dancers, Ms. Emily continues to educate herself with the changes and additions to the dance world and is always looking for new challenges! She holds certificates in dance instruction with Chicago National Association of Dance Masters (CNADM), National Dance Education Association (NDEO), Wisconsin Dance Masters (WDM), and the Wisconsin Dance Council (WDC) that she renews annually.
On a more personal note, Ms. Emily lives here in Kenosha with her husband and “fur-babies”, is an avid film lover, enjoys reading, and spending time with her family. She is extremely excited to welcome you to her dance studio family to continue to share her love of dance with her students!
Ms. Mckenzie Johnson
Instructor & Assistant Director
Mckenzie Johnson has been dancing for 15 years, she has studied tap, ballet, jazz, lyrical and modern. Mckenzie trained under Emily Morrison as a teacher’s assistant for 6 years before she began teaching at a studio in 2017. She is currently a senior at University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, where she is majoring in American Sign Language Interpreting with a minor in dance. During her time at UWM, Mckenzie had the privilege of attending the American College Dance Association regional conference on scholarship from UWM. She has performed in works by local Milwaukee artists, Gina Laurenzi, Dani Kuepper, and Simone Ferro. She has also performed and collaborated in a variety of student works. In addition, Mckenzie has performed in a student composition showcase, performing a solo of her own choreography. She is excited to join EM’s Dance Center to continue her dance journey!
Kennedi Johnson
Instructor
Kennedi Johnson has been dancing for 11 years, learning the styles of tap, jazz, ballet/pointe, hip hop, and lyrical. For the past 7 years, she has competed at various competitions. At a convention in 2022 she received a scholarship into Rhythmic Souls Youth Tap Company and has danced with them since. She has also taken master classes through Chicago Human Rhythm Project. Along with that, she has been training as an assistant for 4 years and has recently begun choreographing. Kennedi is looking forward to joining the EM’s staff this fall and continuing her dance education.
Colby Rudo
Instructor
Colby Rudo is extremely passionate about dance. She has been trained in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, and hip hop for 13 years. Colby has had the privilege of being a member of her high school dance team, as well as being a student of Emily Morrison for about 10 years. She loves to dance and teach, and is excited to do so at EM’s Dance Center.