Mary Liz Gilbert:    Mary Liz started dancing at age 4 with the Evelyn Knight School of dance for eight years, followed by six years of training at Corita's School of Dance.  Mary Liz studied dance at UW Madison for one year, then transferred to the College of St. Theresa in Winona, MN, where she graduated with a B.A. in Dance Performance in 1980.  Mary started En Avant in the fall of 1980, and taught part time at the UWEC for two years while she was developing her own program.  She also taught dance classes at Regis High School for nine years while her studio rented space there.  Mary Liz teaches all of the 4-8 year old classes as well as some of the beginning jazz and intermediate ballet classes.  She has an amazing gift for working with young children, and has been inspiring "budding ballerinas" for almost 30 years.

Heather Schwahn:   Heather is Mary Liz's niece, and she is the primary jazz and Modern teacher at En Avant.  Heather started dancing at Corita's School of dance in Eau Claire from 1974-1979.  She then took class at En Avant from 1980-1988 when she graduated from high school.  Heather danced for the UWEC concert dance company for two years, followed by three years in the dance department on the University of MN, where she completed the B.A. dance program.  She has been teaching full-time at En Avant since 1993.

Gina Toutant:  Gina was a student at En Avant for 13 years and also took classes for three years at the WI North Youth Ballet. She graduated from the University of Madison WI as an English major, and currently teaches English at the Chippewa Falls Middle School. She took Ballet classes and danced on the Madison Dance Elite team for 4 years of college, and has been teaching ballet and jazz part time at En Avant since 2005.

Traci Blodgett:  Traci was also a student at En Avant for 13 years and took classes for three years at the WI North Youth Ballet.  In addition, she took classes with the Minnesota Ballet company for two years including a summer intensive program in Duluth. This past year Traci danced with the UWEC Concert Dance Company, and taught two ballet classes at En Avant.  This will be Traci's last year at En Avant, as she is heading to college in Milwaukee or Minnesota to pursue a career in dance.