En Avant School of Dance

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.

Associate Teachers:

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.

Sabrina Gilchrist: Sabrina has been a student at En Avant School of Dance for 11 years. She graduated from UW-Eau Claire with an English-Literature major and a dance minor, and while she attended, she was also a member of the UWEC Concert Dance Company. In addition to studio dance, she has experience with dance team, as both a member and as a coach. She coached the Regis Middle School Dance Team for five years. She was also the assistant coach for the Regis High School Varsity Dance Team for four years and the head coach for two years. Sabrina has been teaching jazz classes part-time at En Avant since 2007.

Katie Konkel: Katie has been studio dancing since age 3 and has been a student at En Avant since 1994. She also studied dance at UWEC, Université de Caen in France, under Rose Vruno, and at Duluth Ballet workshops. Katie competed on the Memorial High School Dance Team and UW-LaCrosse dance team. She has choreographed for local show choirs and musicals. She is currently coaching the Altoona High School Dance Team. Katie has been teaching at En Avant since 2007.

Amy Jackson: Amy was a dance student for 11 years at Betty Jo’s Dance Center in Rosemount, MN. While attending Rosemount High School, she also participated in the dance program. She then attended the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Dance. Before moving to Wisconsin, Amy taught ballet, tap, jazz, and modern at Betty Jo’s Dance Center for 5 years. She continues to take dance classes through the Minnesota Dance Institute and the Zenon School of Dance in Minneapolis. Currently, Amy teaches ballet and creative movement at the YMCA for children ages 3-7. Amy has been teaching part-time at En Avant since 2008.