Desiree started her dance training at age 5 in a small dance studio in South Bend, Indiana. At the age of 9 she began dancing competitively while training 5 days a week in Warsaw, IN. She enhanced her training by attending two conventions a year plus added workshops. By age 16 she became a teaching assistant and knew it was the path she wanted to continue on. Desiree has received multiple dance scholarships including the top scholarship from Chicago Human Rhythm Project two years in a row. After graduating high school she began training and teaching in Marion, IN. During that time she performed in a show starring Burt Reynolds and was selected to attend the pre-professional tap workshop, Tap Kids in Vermont. In 2013 she joined a contemporary dance company in Fort Wayne while also dancing in a tap dance company in Chicago. Desiree has performed in the Fort Wayne Ballet’s Nutcracker and was a dancer in the Fort Wayne Philharmonic’s Holiday Pops Show for 3 seasons. She has trained with some of the worlds greatest dancers including Sam Weber, Derick Grant, Michelle Dorrance, Dianne Walker, Mark Yonally, Sarah Savelli, Jason Samuels Smith, Dormeshia, Jason Janas, Mark Goodman, Sarah Reich, Charles Renato, Lisa La Touche, Eddie Moffat, Judy Rice, Joelle Martinec to name a few. She has always had a passion for dance and continuing her dance education.

 

In 2015, Desiree started DES Dance to provide a positive yet intense and focused training program she felt was lacking in the area. DES Dance started with a hand full of dancers in a rented space in Goshen College. It has continued to grow every year and is currently located in the Exchange Suites downtown Goshen. Desiree’s dancers are known for their technique and have won numerous 1st overall, choreography, and technique awards at regional dance competitions over these 8 short years of being in business. Every year gets better and she can’t wait to see how it grows in the years to come.

 

Desiree currently resides in Chicago, IL with her fiancé and two golden doodles and commutes during the week for her students in Goshen, IN.