Faculty
Lauren Satink
She was part of NEOD’s pre-professional company under the directorship of Brenda and Christopher Stygar for six years. During her years with the company, she performed many lead roles in NEOD’s annual production of the Nutcracker.
To further her training Lauren attended summer intensives at the Dance Institute (Akron, OH), BalletMet (Columbus, OH), Ad Deum (Houston, TX), Inlet Dance Theatre (Cleveland, OH) and Ballet 5:8 (Chicago, IL).
After graduating high school in 2020, Lauren continued her dance training with Ballet 5:8 under the direction of Julianna Rubio Slager for their 2020 - 2021 season. She performed in some of Rubio Slager’s various works including Strangers and Angels and Beyond the Nutcracker.
After leaving Chicago, Lauren decided to switch her focus from ballet to modern. Lauren joined Inlet Dance Theatre under the directorship of Bill Wade in 2021. She is trained in Erick Hawkins’ release technique and Alison Chase non-traditional partnering. She has performed some of Wade’s various works including Cohering (2023) with the Cleveland Orchestra and What Do You Do With An Idea? (2024) at the Civic Center in Des Moines, IA.
She has been teaching jazz, hip hop, modern and ballet at Northeast Ohio Dance since 2021 and performed the role of Sugar Plum Fairy as a guest artist in their 2023 production of the Nutcracke
Outside of the studio, she loves spending time with her family, hiking, reading and playing with her dog, Savannah
Christopher Stygar
His touring credits include the European cities of Athens, Biarritz, Milan, Florence, Geneva, Paris, Spoleto (both in Italy and the US festival in Charleston, SC) and Verona.
After retiring from dance he was appointed Company Manager with Ohio Ballet where he coordinated the artistic and business operations of that company which included the beginning of their bi-annual seasons in New York at the Joyce Theater. He helped organize and conduct Ohio Ballet’s successful two-month tour of South and Central America and Mexico that culminated in a week of performances at the prestigious Cervantes Festival in Mexico City. Mr. Stygar taught at the university level at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana where he began a dance department. While at Notre Dame he conducted special classes for Fighting Irish football team members to aid in flexibility and injury control. He has been on the faculty of The Dance Institute of the University of Akron.
He is on the faculty of the Northeast Ohio Dance Academy and served as Co-Director of the Northeast Ohio Dance performing company.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree with a double major in English Literature and Philosophy from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and is currently employed as a Business Development Representative with Concept Services Ltd. in Wadsworth, OH.
Brenda Stygar
Ms. Stygar served as the Director of the Northeast Ohio Dance Academy.
She also teaches ballet at Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts and taught Creative Movement at Discovery Montessori School. She has choreographed for regional companies in Ohio, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee, Illinois, and Washington, and has taught master classes throughout the United States, South America, and Central America.
In 2001 she was awarded a special grant from the New York Council for the Art to create a new work for the Albany-Berkshire Ballet.
Ms. Stygar holds a Bachelor's degree with a major in dance and a minor in education, graduating cum laude from Adelphi University outside New York City. She earned her accreditation in teaching Dance K-12 from Kent State University.
Kim Sulek
She’s been teaching for over 40 years including 33 years in the Akron area where she founded Dance Kraze a student dance competition team in 1994. Those dancers have received many awards including “Best Technique, Best Emotional Execution, Highest team scores, Best precision, Best Choreography, Best storytelling” and many more.
Kim has also judged dance/show choir competitions and choreographed over 28 musicals for Cuyahoga Falls and Stow High School. She was also fortunate to be a part of Ballet Theatre of Ohio for 30 years where she performed many fun character parts as well as rehearsed and choreographed small portions for many of their productions.
Lastly, she is a very happy wife and mother of 4, all of which seem to have her same energy.
Julia Webb
Julia has studied many forms of dance including but not limited to Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Modern, and Hip-Hop. She was also a part of NEOD’s company under the directorship of Brenda and Christopher Stygar for four years.
Julia decided to further her career at Kent State University not only to obtain a BA in dance studies but also a BFA in photography with a study in graphic design. She has performed in many productions at Kent State including Fall Faculty Concerts (2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022), Student Dance Festival (2021, 2022, and 2023), Kent Dance Ensemble (2022 and 2023), and Kent State 8.
Julia has worked with many Choreographers for staged pieces throughout her college career including Catherine Meredith, Barbara Allegra Verlezza, Jennifer Black, Samuel McIntosh, Jeffrey Marc Rockland, Alice Blumenfeld, Micaela Taylor, Lisa Viola, and Amy Hall Garner. In the 2022-2023 season she joined the Hip-Hip company Levitated (the training group for Elevated) performing/competed at the World of Dance in Chicago (2022) and The Elevated Gala (2023).
Julia Performed at the Lords Of The Land II (2022) put on by the 10kMovement and still trains/works with the organization today under the directorship of Samuel McIntosh. She most recently competed in the Red Bull Dance Your Style Audition (2024).
Julia currently teaches at Jillian Rian’s Dance School and Northeast Ohio Dance.
Outside of teaching she is a freelance photographer and a photographer/graphic designer for the photography company Ripcho in Cleveland.
In her freetime she enjoys exploring other art forms such as painting, drawing, and exploring with photoshop. She is looking forward to continuing to learn and grow throughout life’s adventures.
Julia loves spending time with her family, friends, and her many pets at home! She is looking forward to continuing to learn and grow throughout life’s adventures while helping others through their dance journey along the way!