Y-Dance
Teachers
Winter 2015
Deedra (Director) Y-Dance teacher and director, began her formal dance training at age four. During
that time Deedra studied ballet, jazz, tap, and pointe. Upon entering junior high and high school, drill
team became her passion. In 1995 Deedra founded the McCutcheon High School dance team and after
eight years, five state championships, and two national titles she began Y-Dance in 2003. (Y-Dance began
with 3 classes and 15 dancers.) Deedra came back to McCutcheon in 2010, helping the Varsity team
secure five more state titles. Deedra truly loves all her dancers and looks forward yearly to not only
competitions but to the Y-Dance spring recital which has become to be known in the community as “a
show”.
Abbie is a senior at McCutcheon High School. She has been taking Y-Dance since the eighth grade and
this will be her second year teaching. Abbie is a four year member of the McCutcheon Dance Team and is
currently a member of the Varsity Team. She is also involved with Student Council, National Honor
Society, and has been on the Academic Wall of Fame for the past three years at McCutcheon High
School. Abbie enjoys reading, camping, and spending time with her family and friends. She is very
excited to be teaching again this year.
Alayna is a sophomore at Harrison High School. She has been involved in Y-Dance since she was 4 years
old. This will be Alayna's second year assisting in the Y-Dance program. She is looking forward to
teaching again this year!
Alyna is a 2014 graduate of McCutcheon High School. She began dancing when she was four years old.
She moved to Lafayette in 2005 and became the youngest member of a ballet company. She has
performed in five Nutcracker performances and yearly spring recitals with various dance studios and with
Y-Dance. While dancing on the McCutcheon Dance Team, Alyna received three State Championships
and was in the top 10 Sr. Soloists. Alyna is now coaching Wainwright Middle School Dance Team and
working at Menards. Her favorite genre of dance is ballet. She has six siblings and loves spending time
with them and her parents.
Amberly is a Purdue student studying Psychology and Creative Writing with a minor in Dance. Born
and raised in Los Angeles, California, she grew up training for musical theatre and figure skating, both of
which had a peripheral focus on dance. When she was in middle school, she made the formal switch to
studying dance and has since focused her energy into jazz, hip hop, ballet, pole, nontraditional partnering,
and modern dance techniques. She currently dances for the Purdue Contemporary Dance Company
where she choreographs original modern works, several of which center on social activism, and organizes
the annual event for the women’s empowerment organization One Billion Rising. Amberly is very
excited to be able to share her love of modern dance and unique approaches to movement with dancers at
the YWCA. When she finishes her undergraduate degrees, Amberly intends to keep dancing and
hopefully create her own repertory dance company. We are very pleased to have Amberly as a new staff
member to Y-Dance! We look forward to her helping our dancers increase their movement repertoire and
artistic abilities.
Brittany is a Purdue graduate with a degree in Social Studies Education. She has been involved in dance
for over 15 years in both the studio competition circuit and with the Indiana High School Dance Team
Association, winning titles at both the state and national level. This is her fourth year teaching in the YDance program and she loves interacting with the community and watching her dancers grow and
improve with each passing semester. She recently became Deedra Newby’s Y-Dance Assistant Director
and is looking forward to getting to know each and every Y-Dance student as she embarks on this new
facet of the Y-Dance program. She is also in her third year as Assistant Director of the McCutcheon
Dance Team and enjoys watching her team improve as well and knows that she is making a profound
impact on her dancers’ lives both on and off the dance floor. In her free time, she enjoys dancing,
choreographing, and spending time with her family and friends.
Cassidy is a senior at McCutcheon High School. She has danced for 7 years and has been on the
McCutcheon Dance Team for all four years. During her sophomore year, she and her team won state in
Advanced Jazz and Hip Hop. She has been captain of the team for three of her four years. She enjoys
drawing, cooking, dancing, running, and spending time with her family. This will be Cassidy's third year
teaching Y-Dance and she is looking forward to it!
Corrin is currently a senior at McCutcheon High School. This is her fourth year on the McCutcheon
Varsity Dance Team, and she is spending her last year as a Varsity Captain. She has been dancing for
several years and participated in gymnastics for seven years prior. Corrin is also a member of the National
Honor Society and is on the Academic Wall of Fame. She also enjoys drawing, painting, reading, and
spending time with her friends and family. This will be her third year teaching for the YWCA and she
very much enjoys it.
Emily is a junior at McCutcheon High School and is a member of the junior varsity dance team. Along
with dance, Emily enjoys soccer and art. She has been living in Indiana her entire life and attended
Wainwright middle school. Miss Emily has studied tap at the YWCA for eight years, since the program
began, and is especially looking forward to teaching tap this year!
Haley is a sophomore at Purdue and is majoring in Elementary Education. She has been dancing with the
Y-Dance program for 12 years. She was a four-year member of the McCutcheon Varsity Dance Team
and is the most highly decorated medal winner in the history of MDT. Haley was a member of the
McCutcheon Soccer team for four years and graduated with academic honors and National Honor
Society. After completing her first year at Purdue, she achieved Academic Semester Honors and was
named to the Dean's List. Haley also works at Kiddie Kollege Preschool and Childcare. She coaches both
the Southwestern and Wea Ridge Middle School dance teams along with teaching dance at the YWCA.
This will be Haley's 5th year teaching Y-Dance and she is excited to stay involved with this dance
program that she loves.
Jessica is a senior at McCutcheon High School. This is her fourth year being a part of the McCutcheon
Dance Team and she enjoys every second of it. She began her gymnastics career at the age of four. She
later transferred to a gymnastics club where she was a part of their level 8 team. She loves dancing and
competing. Competing is one of her passions, as she has been doing it her entire life. She also enjoys
painting, drawing, and being with friends and family in her spare time. This is her third year involved
with Y-Dance. She is excited and looking forward to teaching this semester!
Laura a junior at McCutcheon High School and is on varsity dance team after joining the team as a
sophomore. She was a part of the McCutcheon Jr. Varsity team who received State Runner-Up March
2013. Laura has studied ballet, gymnastics and cheerleading in middle school. This is her first year
assisting and she is extremely excited to be a part of this side of our Y-Dance family.
McKaylee is a senior at McCutcheon High School. She has been involved in the Y-Dance program for
ten years. This is her fourth year on the McCutcheon Dance Team and her second year on
varsity. McKaylee is on the Academic Wall of Fame at McCutcheon High School and is actively
involved in National Honor Society, Student Council, and International Club. McKaylee enjoys dancing,
working with young children, volunteering, as well as spending time with family and friends. She is so
excited to be teaching again this semester!
Megan is a senior at McCutcheon High School. She has been dancing at the YWCA since 4th grade. She
is on the McCutcheon Varsity Dance Team with two gold medals/State Championships. She has also
served as a captain of the team. Megan enjoys reading and spending time with family and friends. She is
looking forward to teaching and being involved in Y-Dance!
Molly is a junior at McCutcheon High School and has been dancing with the YWCA since she was seven
years old. She has competed for McCutcheon Varsity Jazz and Hip Hop since her freshman year, and was
also in the Lyrical and Large Ensemble her sophomore year. Her favorite dance memory is winning state
her freshman year in Varsity Jazz and Hip Hop. Molly is very excited to keep improving in dance and
can't wait to start teaching for the YWCA!
Skyler is currently a junior at McCutcheon High School. This is her first year on the McCutcheon Varsity
team after dancing on JV for two years. She served as JV dance team captain as a sophomore, the year JV
team took first in jazz at regionals and state runner up. She started dancing at age three in Greencastle
Indiana before moving to Lafayette at age 5, where she continued her dance education. Skyler has also
taken tumbling and cheer classes and was a cheerleader throughout her middle school years. Skyler takes
academics very seriously and has been a wall of fame 4.0 student the past two years at McCutcheon. She
enjoys spending her free time with family and friends as well as dancing and singing.
Staci has recently relocated to Indiana from Utah with her husband and two children. She graduated with
her bachelor’s degree in Speech Communications from Utah State University and is a licensed Registered
Nurse through Weber State University. Staci’s love for dance and formal training started over 20 years
ago, specializing in jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, military, and modern styles. She trained in studio, won first
place state and national titles two years in a row as the captain of her drill team in Ogden, Utah, along
with many personal dance awards, and continued her training as she worked toward her degrees in
college. Staci is looking forward to continuing her love for dance at Y-Dance and helping others express
their emotions and talents.
Sydney is a senior at McCutcheon High School. She started dancing when she was three. She is a
member of the McCutcheon Varsity Dance Team with two State Championships under her belt. She has
also served as captain of the team. In her spare time she enjoys playing with her dog, bike rides, and
spending time with her family and friends. She is ecstatic to be working in the Y-Dance program this
year.