Erica Billiter has been dancing since the age of four. She studied ballet, tap and jazz for 16 years with Marva Joyce Dancers in Waukegan. She was the number one dancer at the studio since the age of twelve. With the Marva Joyce Dancers she performed in dance shows and parades. Once in college she performed with Prairie Spirits Dance Troupe for eight years. Erica traveled to Arkansas to perform in the World Festival of Dance representing the College of Lake County, preformed in Dance Chicago, and the Chiwaukee Dance Festival. She was a member of the College of Lake County’s Lancersttes Dance Team for two years. Erica has a BFA in Visual Communications from the Illinois Institute of Art. Additionally, she holds certifications in Zumba and Group Exercise.

Aspen Leith started dancing at the age of 2 and was hooked from her very first ballet class and continued to dance competitively from the age of 6 until 18, where she won multiple awards in dance competitions around the country. She has been trained in ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, modern and her favorite, Musical Theatre. After her first performance at the age of 8 in a theatre production, she had found what she wanted to do. Her love for Musical Theatre led to her enrollment at Denver School of the Arts where she majored in Theatre with a concentration in Vocal and Dance. She graduated in 2020 with her arts endorsed High School Theatre degree. There, she trained with professionals in all aspects of performance. She was also very involved in her schools Thespian Troupe, in which she qualified for multiple national performances, including her role as Kathy in 9 to 5 the Musical, which was awarded at the 2020 National Thespian Conference. Additionally, Denver School of the Arts’ production of Chicago, where she portrayed the role of June, was nominated for Best Musical at the Colorado High School Musical Theatre "Bobby G. Awards".

Currently, when she’s not teaching, you can find Aspen at Six Flags Great America where she has been performing for the past year and was recently awarded the 2022 Six Flags Superstar award. Her love for kids and teaching lead her to start directing and assistant directing theatre productions for Kidstage Theatre company at the age of 14. After being an assistant teacher for many years, Aspen started her teaching career at Dance Institute in Denver, Colorado and has been teaching dance for 5 years now. She has taught all ages 2-adult and in all styles and has been involved in multiple productions as a choreographer and teacher. Aspen is so happy to join your dance family and is very excited for her first year at Gurnee Park District.

Nicole Lother received her BFA in Dance Performance from Northern Illinois University. While attending NIU, she performed in the Garland Waltz for Sleeping Beauty, in the Spanish Trio for Nutcracker and was a Wilis in Giselle. Nicole was a Director of NIU's Student Choreographic Showcase for two years. She received the Theatre Dance Service Award and the Talented Student Scholarship her senior year. She has been a member of Chicago National Association of Dance Masters for over 25 years. Nicole has continued her dance training by taking master classes from Kristen Gurbach Jacobson, Reginald McLauglin and Sandi Frahm. Nicole has been with Gurnee Park District since 2005 teaching everything from Tiny Dancer; our beginner level classes, to high level ballet and pointe. In addition, for the last 5 years, Nicole instructs, coaches and choreographs for the competitive dance company, Above the Barre.

Samantha Murphey has been dancing since the age of two. She has continued her dance education by learning and performing with teachers from Girodanos Dance Company, The Joffrey Ballet and dancers from Justin Bieber's Believe Tour. Samantha was the captain of the Grant Community High School Varsity Dance Team in 2011. That year they won 6th in state for Hip Hop, and she was awarded the Sportsmanship Award at the Team Dance Illinois State Competition. She continued to be a part of the High School dance team scene by becoming a coach for the Warren Township High School Dance Team for a year and then become a certified judge for IHSA Dance. Samantha is our lead instructor for our Above The Barre Dance Company at the Park District. Her companies have received many 1st, 2nd, and overall awards for her choreography. In 2018 was awarded the Dance Teacher Excellence Award at the I Love Dance Competition. When she is not at the dance studio she is a preschool teacher in Barrington. Samantha has been teaching dance at Gurnee Park District since 2011.

Marie San Pedro received her early training in ballet with Josette Salang and tap training under Jun-Jun Mabaquiao at Julie Borromeo Dance Arts. She continued to train in pointe technique at the Cultural Center of the Philippines under the British master Mr. William Morgan. In college, Marie became a member of the U.P. Filipiniana Dance Group under the direction of Corazon. During this time, she had the chance to perform in France, Germany, Bangkok and Jordan at the International Festivals. In 1990, she performed on T.V. with Powerdance, a professional jazz company. In 1993, she became a choreographer and dancer on one of the Philippine T.V. hip hop dance shows. She choreographed the Round Lake Park District’s production of The Nutcracker. Marie has been teaching dance at Gurnee Park District since 2008.

Sarah Syverud has been dancing since the age of 14 and began her dance training right here at Gurnee Park District! During her high school years, she danced as a member of the Above the Barre Dance Team and received multiple awards for performance in solos and groups as well as student choreography. Sarah graduated from Carthage College with a major in elementary education and a minor in dance. She was a very active part of her university dance department and performed in 8 dance shows and choreographed for 3 collegiate showcases. One of her works received department-wide recognition and an award for distinguished performance in dance. She was the president of Carthage’s National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) chapter and graduated with honors as a member of National Honor Society for Dance Arts (NHSDA). She has been teaching dance at Gurnee Park District since 2019, and loves sharing her joy and passion for dance with all of her students.