Miss Dodie grew up tumbling at Ka-Larks and became an accomplished gymnast throughout her youth. She was able to share this experience with her mother, Miss Dorothy, as Dorothy began her tumbling teaching career there. An inspiring coach at the gym took Miss Dodie and four other girls and exposed them to dance. Miss Dodie fell in love with dance and found her calling. She enrolled in classes at Rehearsal School of Dance and danced on the Natrona County High School dance team all four years. Miss Dodie attended dance workshops and clinics any chance she could. The only thing she wanted for her birthday each year was to attend Dance Caravan, and this was her present each summer for as far back as she can remember. Miss Dodie began teaching dance the first year Rising Star opened, founded by her mother in 1983, and in several years Miss Dodie started a competitive dance company. Miss Dodie’s teams have won many awards under her tutelage, including Outstanding Entertainment. Miss Dodie herself is the recipient of multiple awards for her innovative choreography. Rising Star is the recipient of the Studio of Excellence Award for three years in a row, and has also garnered awards for Studio Kindness, Studio Spirit, and Exceptional Choreography. There is only one thing that Dodie loves more than dance, and that is working with children. Growing up she told her mother that she would have “ten children and no husband because a husband is just a pain”! Miss Dodie (despite her plans) is married to a wonderful man and she is mother to four children and grandmother to seven. Miss Dodie considers the studio her life, and her family. Dodie understands all too well what the studio represents to some children and families- that it is more than just a place to learn to dance. When Dodie lost her father suddenly and tragically as a young woman, the studio held her and her mother together. The outpouring of love and support that Dodie experienced then actually continues every day at Rising Star and makes it “like no place on earth”. Miss Dodie cherishes every moment of the 35 years the studio has been operating and she is touched to see the second generation, the children of former students, walk through the doors of Rising Star. She considers it an honor and a gift to be entrusted with the education and care of these little ones, and she is excited and hopeful for the many years to come at the place she calls home!