Rhonda Sylvester
Owner/Business Manager
Rhonda is a long time dance mom whose daughter, Raygan, began dancing at MKDS at the age of 5. She is thrilled to be the owner and business manager of Ms. Karen's Dance Studio and to continue the tradition of exceptional dance instruction in North Little Rock.
Tara Beebe
Studio Manager and Competitive Team Director
Tara is a proud MKDS Alumni and attended the University of Arkansas where she was a competitive coach for 6 years and discovered her love for teaching dance. Tara is trained in several genres including jazz, clogging, tap, ballet, hip hop and pom. She is Acrobatic Arts Certified.
Aly Smith
Instructor
Aly Smith began dancing at MKDS at the tiny age of one and continued dancing for the next 17 years. She was a member of the competitive team for 10 years. Aly earned a degree from OBU in Mass Communication and Graphic Design. She loves to share her passion for dance with children of all ages.
Katie Robinson
Instructor/Director of Curriculums
Katie began dancing at MKDS at the age of 5 and is proud to have been a member of the very first competition team. She attended Ole Miss where she was a Rebelette and received a degree in Education. Katie has a Master's Degree in Instructional Technology and is the Director of Academic Technology at Episcopal Collegiate School. Her two daughters Abby Grace and Payton are members of the competition team. She is Acrobatic Arts Certified.
Lauren Throneberry, M.S.E.
Instructor/Mini Team Director
Beginning before age 2, Lauren grew up training in ballet, tap, jazz, clogging, pointe, pom, and Hip Hop. She attended the University of Central AR where she was a member of the National-Finalist UCA Dance Team. In the summers, Lauren worked for the Universal Dance Association and continues to choreograph for HS and JH teams around the state of Arkansas. Lauren taught dance and coached all-star cheerleading, tumbling, and gymnastics at Sonshine Academy in Conway. She graduated in 2009 with a Bachelors in Education and her Masters soon after. She currently works as an administrator for Arkansas Virtual Academy. Lauren is thrilled to share her love for dance with the students of MKDS, including her daughter Kinley, MKDS Company Member. Lauren is Acrobatic Arts certified.
Tawny Carter
Instructor/Creative Director
Tawny began dancing at the age of 2 and has trained extensively in jazz, musical theater, lyrical, tap, pointe, and her favorite - Hip Hop! She won many regional and national awards for her dance before graduating high school. She was the captain of the University of Central Arkansas Dance Team and choreographed their performances for 2 years. She earned her degree in Family and Consumer Science from UCA.
Tawny is now the coach for the UCA Dance Team and is in grad school getting her Master’s in Education. She is Acrobatic Arts certified.
Madeline Nelson
Instructor
Madeline is from Bloomfield, Iowa, where she took studio dance the from ages 3-18, and competed for the last 6 years. After high school, she received a dance scholarship to a Junior College in Kansas and a dance scholarship to compete for the UCA Honeybears at UDA. She is an Art Education teacher in the Pottsville School District. Her favorite style of dance is either Contemporary or Hip- Hop, but she really loves it all! In her free time, she enjoys drawing, running, and hanging out with her cat, Tux!
Andrea Arias
Instructor
Andrea is a former collegiate cheerleader, and performed in season two of the Netflix show Cheer. She is certified in Acrobatic Arts and Progressive Ballet Technique.
Gabi White
Customer Care/Instructor
Gabi has been teaching dance, cheer, and gymnastics across the country since 2013. She is a military spouse and moved to Little Rock in 2022. She has a passion for helping others, and loves being a part of the MKDS team.