Miss Cathy's Dance Academy
About Us...
At Miss Cathy's Dance Academy, we aim to stimulate the mind, challenge the body and help you to discover your inner dancer. Our studio has a family atmosphere in which we strive to learn about each of our students and engage them to grow and learn in the art of dance. The founder, Cathy Thomas, has taught dance in the WNY area since she was 15 years old, and we are now entering our 56th season. Our teachers have various backgrounds in various styles of dance, teaching, gymnastics, dance and musical theater. Come dance with us to explore a new world of motion!
Owner/Instructor/Choreographer
Cathy Thomas
Miss Cathy has taught dance in the WNY area since she was 15 years old. She is a former Buffalo Jill and has judged and choreographed many performances outside of her own school. She holds a Grade One Cecchetti Teachers certificate. She has experience is many different forms of dance. Miss Cathy has always had a love for dance and never passes up a chance to share that with her students and always treats them like children of her own.
Instructor/Choreographer
Nicole Butcher
Miss Nicole is Miss Cathy's daughter and grew up as part of Miss Cathy's Dance. She has been teaching for over 35 years here. Miss Nicole focuses mainly on teaching our littlest dancers in tap, jazz, acro, and dance with me. Her goal is to make sure the little ones have fun, socialize with each other, and have a good experience starting dance.
Instructor/Choreographer
Katelyn Newbould
Dance has always been something Miss Katelyn's incredibly passionate about, and there’s nothing she loves more than sharing that passion with her students. She's been a part of Miss Cathy’s for 20 years, starting as a student and now an instructor! From tap and jazz to hip hop and lyrical, She has done it all, any dance style that was available she was willing to learn it. Now being able to teach something that she's loved for 20 years is truly something she is grateful for.
Instructor/Choreographer
Alivia Mariano
Miss Liv will be entering her fourth season teaching with us this year! She teaches multiple forms of dance, including ballet, jazz, lyrical, modern, musical theatre, and hip hop. Miss Liv has been dancing for over 18 years and is formally trained in the Cecchetti method of ballet under the Cecchetti Council of America. She is so excited to be back for this season and can’t wait for classes to begin!
Instructor/Choreographer
JuneAnn Chadima
Miss JuneAnn has been with Miss Cathy's Dance academy for 25 years as a student, assistant teacher and, now, instructor/choreographer. She has a Master's Degree in Occupational Therapy from Keuka College where she continued her love for dance on the competitive collegiate team. She has a BIG heart for the middle and high school dancers. Her passion lies in tap and hip hop, but she loves teaching and learning all styles of dance!
Instructor/Choreographer
Kiera Oppelt
Miss Kiera is a senior dance major at the University at Buffalo. She has been dancing since she was 3 years old, training at Marilyn Schneider’s School of Dance in Rochester, NY where she grew up. She has also trained with Dance Masters of America for 10 years before attending college, where she received the title of Miss Dance of Western NY Chapter 8 2022. Kiera has been teaching for 5 years and she is excited to continue her teaching journey at Miss Cathy’s Dance Academy.