About the teacher

Mady Thelen grew up in Wood River, Nebraska, and began dance at the age of 4 at The Dance Company in Grand Island. She danced there for 14 years and then went on to attend the University of Nebraska at Lincoln where she received a B.A. in Dance. Here she studied modern and ballet techniques, anatomy/kinesiology, pedagogy, and many more areas. Her choreography was featured in multiple different dance shows across campus and she performed across the Midwest at 3 different ACDA conferences. After graduation, she moved to Kansas City where she danced professionally for 4 years. Mady was a member of a Modern Dance Company called City in Motion. Here she performed and stage-managed in multiple other gigs around the city, including Cerca Trova’s dance company, Open Stage at the J, and was a singer/dancer for an amusement park. Aside from performing she taught multiple different dance and fitness classes throughout the week. Mady teaches ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, lyrical, and acro/tumbling classes to all ages. With this, she has choreographed award-winning dances and taught across the city at different studios and school programs. She also has a passion for helping people with their fitness, she teaches HIIT, Barre, and Strength/Stretch classes. Seniors have a special place in her heart as well. She taught a dance movement class to people with Parkinson’s Disease that focused on fine motor skills, balance, flexibility, and full-body movements. Mady is also a certified Rock Steady Boxing Instructor that focuses on fighting back against the disease. She is certified in Enhanced fitness which is a Senior Fitness program to keep us moving into the later stages of life. Mady is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and would love to help people of all ages in their fitness journey to a healthier life.