Val Lober
NSSOD Director
Val Lober received her pre-professional training at Dance Arts Academy in Traverse City, MI. As a member of Company Dance Traverse, she attended the Young Tanzommer Dance Festival performing throughout Austria, Germany, and Italy. In 2010 she received her BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from Western Michigan University where she was a member of the performance company Western Dance Project, showcased choreography and served on the board of the student-run organization Orchesis, performed several works by esteemed faculty, and trained with world-renowned guest artists. While in college, Val discovered her love for teaching and has been mentoring young dancers in Michigan and across the Chicago area ever since. In addition to being a gifted instructor and program director, Val continues to perform professionally in Chicago with Lucid Banter Project (Paula Grahmann), and THWACK Dance (Anne Marie Loesch) where she also serves on the Advisory Board. A free-lance artist on the side, she has also enjoyed exciting gigs such as performing “Heard” at the Navy Pier Art Expo wearing artist Nick Cave’s iconic sound suits featuring choreography by Will Gill and an immersive performance partnered with Architect Jeanne Gang. When not in the studio, you can find her on the trails solo backpacking, or at home raising her purrfect fur children with her husband. Val is immensely grateful to have her “dream job” and looks forward to continuing to share her love of dance education with her incredible students here at the North Suburban School of Dance.
Joni Goldstein
NSSOD Director Emeritus
Joni is the Performing Arts Director Emeritus for the North Suburban School of Dance. She studied ballet with Bently Stone and Walter Camryn and at the Ruth Page Dance Center, jazz with Gus Girodano, and tap with Tommy Sutton. She has danced professionally since the age of eight. Joni has a BA from the University of Illinois with an emphasis in dance. She is a 25+ year member of the National Association of Dance Masters. Joni has choreographed and taught master classes for the GBN Orchesis program and choreographed for several organizations on the North Shore. In 2009, Joni was chosen as the spotlight teacher for a national dance magazine. She has been teaching at the NSYMCA since 1975.
Leslie Brockley
Leslie Brockley is a proud alumna of the North Suburban School of Dance. She graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University where she received a B.A. Degree in Psychology, but seemed to spend way more time in the dance studios and on stage, earning a minor in Theater Dance. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Special Education and is currently working at a therapeutic high school. Occasionally you might catch Miss Leslie dancing with The Chicago Chorus Girl Project, performing in kicklines at various events and venues as part of The Galaxie, an entertainment group specializing in vintage performance. However, she still maintains that her favorite part of the week is sharing her love of dance with her young ballet, tap, and musical theater students.
Brennen Renteria
Brennen Renteria began his dance training at the age of 10 in Corona, CA. In 2011, he attended the American Academy of Ballet summer intensive & trained with ballet masters David Howard, Sean Lavery, & Galina Samsova. He earned his B.A. in Dance from Cal State Fullerton in 2014 joined Thodos Dance Chicago that same year. While with TDC he worked with choreographers Ann Reiking, Brian Enos, Lucas Crandall, Garfield Lemonius, Brian McGinnis, Kevin Iega Jeff, among others. He also toured around the country and took part in the company’s outreach and educational programs between performances. He joined both Elements Contemporary Ballet and Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre in 2017 where he had the opportunity to work with the former co-artistic director for River North Dance Chicago, Sherry Zunker, in addition to performing alongside the renowned Chicago Sinfonietta. For 2018 Brennen accepted the rehearsal director position for CRDT and continues to be an avid dancer, teacher, and choreographer throughout the city of Chicago and the surrounding areas.
Jenna Shoppe
Jenna Schoppe is a Chicago-based choreographer and performer. Raised in the western suburbs, she started dancing at 3, at the Bonnie Ardelean Dance Studio. Her passion for dance quickly blossomed into a love of musical theatre; she earned a BFA in musical theatre performance from Drake University. Now, calling Chicago home, Jenna is a staple of its theater community. She has choreographed over fifteen musicals over the past decade. Most notably, "Yank: a WW2 Love Story," for which she received the Jeff Award for Best Choreography. As a teacher, Jenna strives to impart joy, and a sense of inclusion in her classes. Mastering technique is of course important, but she also makes sure to remind students of their agency, to move beyond simply memorizing steps to internalizing the dance and making it their own. So join her in class, you are guaranteed to have a blast, build confidence, and perhaps roll your eyes at her corny jokes.
Kae Orgel
Kae Orgel is a performer, dance educator, and choreographer. They have over a decade of experience teaching in studios, arts education programs, and school settings. They are currently part of Noumenon Dance Ensemble, a contemporary dance company in Chicago. Kae received their Bachelor of the Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Dance from Northeastern Illinois University. They have studied and worked with several Chicago-based companies and choreographers such as Joel Hall Dancers and Center, The Cambrians, Rasa Dance Chicago, Avondale Dance Collective, and Such Creatures. Some of their choreographic highlights include Hair (Moraine Valley Community College), Shakespeare in Love (Harper College), and Chicago (North Shore Country Day School).
Julia Rzonca
Julia Rzonca, a dancer, teaching artist, and choreographer from Chicago, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Western Michigan University in May 2021. At Western Michigan, she learned from notable mentors including Jeremy Blair, David Curwen, and Monique Haley.
Julia’s dance training began at The School of Ballet 5:8 Conservatory, where she studied Vaganova method under Julianna Slager. She furthered her education at Western Michigan, specializing in ballet, jazz, and modern through the Trifold program. During college, she discovered her passion for teaching and choreographing young dancers at a local studio in Kalamazoo.
Since graduating, Julia works as a Teaching Artist at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, South Chicago Dance Theater, and various Chicago studios. Additionally, she has pursued professional opportunities with companies like Banks Performance Project. Her dedication lies in training students, and she eagerly anticipates making a lasting impact on more dancers in the future.
Rachel Pike
Rachel began her training at the North Shore School of Dance in Highland Park, Illinois. She spent her early summers training at Interlochen Arts Camp, on scholarship at the Orlando Ballet School, under the direction of Peter Stark and Fernando Bujones, and at the Washington School of Ballet in Washington, DC. Rachel received a BFA in Dance Performance from Butler University where she performed soloist roles with the Butler Ballet. Rachel also choreographed works for the Butler Ballet’s touring troupe in Moscow and St. Petersburg, where she was selected as a finalist choreographer in the St. Petersburg Conservatory State Competition. Upon graduation, Rachel studied on scholarship at the Lou Conte Dance Studio, and at the Batsheva Dance Company’s GaGa Workshop in Tel Aviv in the summer of 2012 under the direction of Ohad Naharin. Her choreographic works as an independent artist were finalist selections for DanceWorks Chicago’s Dance Chance Redux at Northeastern Illinois University in both 2012 and 2013. Rachel is currently dancing with Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre and is enjoying teaching ballet.
Caroline Walsh-Kuhl
Since graduating with honors from I.S.U., Caroline has been having a lot of fun teaching, choreographing, and performing. Some experiences include Zebra Crossing Theater Company, Temporary Theater Company, Pheasant Run Dinner Theater, The Funny Firm, Light Opera Works, Zephyr Dance, Ameba Dance, Motivity Dance, Chi-Town Jazz Dance scholarship program, several Las Vegas shows, and a tour of Japan. A long-time teacher in the north shore, Caroline keeps busy taking tap and jazz with Julie Cartier, along with chasing after her 8-year-old daughter.
Perry Denton
Perry Denton comes to us from Soul 2 Sole Dance, Inc. where he has been an instructor for over ten years. He has also been the assistant director, dancer, and choreographer for Gifted Souls Dance Group, one of the biggest salsa and hip-hop dance companies in Chicago, Texas, New York, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee. He was a principal dancer in the Bollywood movie Dhoom 3 and danced for many stars including Brooke Hogan and Ce Ce Pension, Black Eyed Peas, and Chicago’s very own BenOne. Perry appeared three times on the Oprah Show and was in the Chicago Fire. He received his training from Colombia College in Chicago where he studied all forms of dance including ballet, jazz, and modern. Perry has taught throughout the Chicagoland area. He continues to teach more dance styles including poms, African and Latin dance. Perry is eager to pass along his gift and love of dance to all his students.