Desiree Lantz
- Owner / Instructor
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.
Michelle Lantz
- Office Manager
Bio Coming Soon...
Alana Munsell
- Instructor
Bio Coming Soon...
Elizabeth Barrick
- Instructor
Bio Coming Soon...
Stevie Plank
- Instructor
Stevie’s passion for dance has been an important part of her life. She cannot imagine a life without it. Stevie grew up in Goshen, IN and has been dancing since she could walk. From a young age she learned baton from her grandma which she continued through the age of 12. She began dancing at DES Dance in 2015 and has been a competitive dancer with DES Dance Company for 3 years. She has won many high score and special judges awards and placed 1st overall with her solo in spring of 2023 in Chicago. Stevie has trained in ballet, contemporary, lyrical, jazz, tap and hip-hop. She has attended workshops and conventions in Chicago. She began assisting dance classes when she was 14 years old. Stevie has been teaching dance since she was 16 years old. Stevie graduated from Goshen High School in 2023. Along with teaching dance Stevie is a babysitter and absolutely loves working with kids. She is a 10 year member of 4-H and hopes to continue on with them as a leader in the future. Stevie is kind, compassionate, fearless, and lively in everything that she does. She is excited to continue on her 9th season with DES Dance.
Olivia Green
- Instructor
Bio Coming Soon...
Aaliyah Donovan
- Instructor
Bio coming soon...
Aislin Hunsberger
- Instructor
Bio coming soon...
Elizabeth Brow
- Marketing Development Liaison
Liz's appreciation for the arts and the business side of the field began at an early age when she attended her first musical theatre performance of Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Round Barn Theatre, and became captivated with not only the performance, but the "how" of the ticketing and marketing processes that got the audience filling the seats!
She has had the privilege through the years of learning from and working in marketing, development and education with arts organizations such as the Elkhart Jazz Festival, Premier Arts, Elkhart Civic Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Butler University Bands and Orchestra, and the South Bend Symphony, as well as working alongside Grammy winning jazz pianist, Taylor Eigsti.
Liz studied a concentration of nonprofit arts management with a B.A. of Arts Administration at Butler University, and furthered her studies in Mass Communications, Public Advocacy at Indiana University South Bend. When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband and five children. She is also a Walt Disney World and Elvis Presley enthusiast.
Liz is thrilled and honored to be utilizing her skill sets to support the top notch education and performances of the DES Dance Company.