Meet Our Staff
Melissa Strong - Owner, Director, Head Instructor
Melissa Strong has been a dancer, choreographer, and teacher for 30 plus years. She founded the 5678! Dance Studio in North Sioux City, South Dakota in the summer of 2000 with 40 students. Melissa’s studio has now expanded to over 300 students. She was the Dakota Valley High School Dance Team head coach for 20 years, and helped the team win ten consecutive State Championship Honors. Melissa was the head dance coach at Morningside College from 2008-2010. Melissa has received several awards during her time as a dance instructor. She was recognized by Dance Spirit Magazine as being a Who’s Who of U.S. Dance Directors in 2004. She was also awarded Coach of the Year – Top Five in the Nation by DX Americup in 2006, 2011, 2016, & 2022. In 2024, Melissa was awarded Coach of the Year by DX Americup. She was inducted into the DX Hall of Fame in 2015. Melissa has served 2 years on the USASF National Advisory Board. She is currently serving as a Connection Leader for the USASF where she helps shape the future of dance for the organization, leads classes for the National Meeting, mentors other coaches, and more. Melissa is also serving on the USASF Dance Advisory Board, as well as the USASF Worlds Advisory Board.
Melissa graduated from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa in December of 2000. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Communications with an emphasis in Broadcast News and a Minor in English. Melissa trained at Siouxland Movement Arts Center in Sioux City, Iowa. There she studied Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, and Tap. She also danced with Jazzin’ Co., a local jazz company, and Siouxland Civic Dance Association Ballet Company. Melissa taught for Siouxland Movement Arts Center as a substitute and full time teacher for two years. At the University of Minnesota- Mankato she studied Dance as a Minor and danced with the University’s Modern Company. Melissa was also a United Indoor Football League dancer. She now attends workshops and classes across the nation to keep current with the new dance styles and techniques. Melissa is married and has two children, Gracie age 19 and Bode age 14.
Rebecca McNamara - Dance Instructor, Head Ballet Instructor
Rebecca (Hebda) McNamara is a graduate of the University of South Dakota, where she studied Business Management. Becca is also a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach. She has been dancing for 15 years with the Academy of Dance in Yankton,SD. There she took classes in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, character, dance team, hip hop, modern, and advanced technique. She has danced in the ballets of Coppelia, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, and the Nutcracker with Dakota Dance Association. She has participated in many workshops across the country with the Omaha Theater Ballet, Ballet Magnificat, Dance Educator’s of America, The Joffrey Ballet Company, Broadway Dance Center, and Universal Dance Association. And taken class from choreographers like; David Howard, Mia Michaels, Rod Howell, Hayley Cooper, Vickie Moore, Travis Wall, Mandy Moore, Eric Campros and Tracie Stanfield. .
Becca has been a company member for LiRa Dance Theater Company for two seasons as a soloist and corps member. Miss. Becca is also the Artistic Director for Siouxland Civic Dance Association, a local non profit youth ballet company where she teaches ballet company classes and directs productions like The Nutcracker. She has also been named the DX National Coach of the Year 2 seasons (2019 & 2022). In 2024 Becca was accepted the position of Dance Head Coach at the University of South Dakota.
Becca is married and has one daughter Luella age 1. This is Miss Becca’s 13th year teaching at 5678! and she is teaching classes in Pre-Tap, Ballet, Pointe, Parent & Me, Technique, Tap, and Competition Team.
Jenna Winkler Homme - Dance Instructor
Jenna Winkler hails from Nebraska where she danced literally her entire life. Little did her Mom know when she enrolled Jenna at the age of 3 that Jenna would ultimately be spending up to 40 hours a week training in the studio to compete and perform throughout the entire country. She danced competitively from the time she was six years old as well as on her High School and College Dance Teams. Jenna is a 3-time All American and 2-time All Conference collegiate dancer. She also performed with the Nebraska Ballet in numerous productions and as part of their Repertory Ensemble for three years. She trains in all forms of dance, but especially enjoys jazz and contemporary. Jenna has won numerous regional and national titles both as a soloist as well as part of a team. She is in her fourth year with Universal Dance Association where she travels to various high school and college dance camps throughout the country as a Head Instructor as well as working Dance Nationals and Dance Worlds at the ESPN Center at Disney World. She is an award winning choreographer and has choreographed for high school and college dance teams, competitive soloists and teams, pageant soloists, musical productions, flag corps and show choir groups.
Jenna is a recent graduate of Morningside College where she managed to obtain a BA in Chemistry and a BS in Biology in only three years! She is currently in a masters program to get her M.S. in Medical Laboratory Science. She also recently got married, and loves her life with her husband and her puppy Bleu.
Jenna believes that her background in dance has enabled her to have incredible amounts of discipline and endurance, and how to be a team player in every aspect of life. Her pet peeve is when technique suffers for the sake of tricks, and she encourages all dancers to practice every single day!
"Even professional ballerinas take ballet class every day."
Haley Hutton - Dance and Tumbling Instructor
Haley Hutton began dancing at the age of 4 at 5678! Dance Studio in 2000, the year Melissa first opened her studio doors. Haley danced on the first Mini All Stars competitive team and continued to dance on all of the All-Star teams throughout her years st 5678! She competed at several regional and national competitions throughout those years earning various titles. Haley has also competed at the Dance Worlds in 2013 with the Senior All Stars, and again in 2017 and 2018 with the Open All Stars. Haley went to high school and danced at Sioux City North and was a captain her Senior year. At the Iowa State Dance Competition, her team placed first in Military in 2012 and 2013, and placed first in Pom in 2013. Their team also competed at the MA Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas in 2013 where they received first place in all three routines. Haley competed solos competitively from third grade on. Her Junior year at MA Nationals, she received 6th place out of over 100 dancers. Her Senior year, she competed at the IA State Solo Competition where she placed 3rd out of 97 dancers. Haley went on to dance at South Dakota State University for three years. Her team competed at NDA Nationals in Daytona Beach, FL where they placed 11th in 2015, 8th in 2016, and 9th in 2017 in the competitions largest division. She also danced on the sidelines at football and basketball games. Haley teaches tumbling, hip-hop, lyrical class, and competition teams currently. She is also a member of our Open team. She has choreographed all over the Midwest for high school and All Star teams.
Gabbie Jansen - Dance and Tumbling Instructor
Gabbie is a proud member of the 5678! Dance Studio family. She has spent 16 years as a dancer and is entering her sixth season as a coach. Her journey with 5678! began in childhood, and after graduating high school, she continued dancing for two years on the Open team. Gabbie is entering her third season as the assistant dance coach at Dakota Valley High School. Her passion for dance drives her to share the joy of movement with her students, helping them achieve their fullest potential on and off the stage.
Tricia Jernberg - Dance Instructor
Tricia began dancing when she was 3 years old, taking studio classes in ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, pom, and clogging. She attended Lawton-Bronson High School where she was a part of the dance team and served as captain for two years. Her team earned multiple state championships in Pom, Hip Hop, and Kick. She also competed in the State Solo Competition and earned 4 th place in the state in 2006. Tricia also earned multiple awards with Dianne’s Dance Studio in jazz, tap, and clog. Her competition team attended national conventions and performed on stage at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. Tricia went to Morningside College and earned her degree in Business Administration in 2010. She also studied multiple forms of dance and was a part of the Mustang Dance Team. Serving as captain for 3 years, her team competed at the NDA Nationals in Daytona Beach, FL and Minneapolis, MN. Tricia also coached the Lawton-Bronson High School Dance team for 7 years and led them to multiple state titles in Iowa. Tricia began her 5678 Dance Studio career in 2006 where she coached All Star teams and taught classes in jazz, pom, ballet, and hip hop for all ages until 2013. She then earned her favorite titles of wife and mother of two. In 2023, Tricia went from a 5678 Dance mom back to 5678 Dance teacher and is loving every minute of it! Tricia and her family live on her family farm in Lawton, IA, where she works for the City of Lawton.
Madison Mahr - Tumbling & Dance Instructor
Madison has been dancing from a young age and began competing at the start of her dance career. She grew up training in Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, and Tumbling at a local dance studio. While attending East High School, she was a member of the Raiderette Dance Team, where she was named a superior soloist and contributed to four of the team’s state titles. Madison was also recognized for her outstanding community service.
After graduating, Madison joined the Morningside University Dance Team. During her time there, the team won the 2022 NAIA Dance National Championship for the first time in program history. Madison was honored as a 3x All-Conference and All-American athlete and served as co-captain in her junior year.
Madison’s dance journey led her to 5678! when she joined the Open Team. She danced with the Open Team for four seasons, including 2021, when the team was named World Champions. After her first season, she fell in love with All-Star and joined the 5678! staff.
Madison graduated in December 2022 from Morningside University with a B.S. in Marketing. In addition to teaching classes and coaching all-star teams at the studio, she also manages 5678!’s social media and serves as the head coach of the Sioux City West Dance Team.
Anne Marie Warrington - Dance Instructor
Anne Marie began studying dance in Ohio as a child at Abby Dance Center, which gave her a foundation in ballet, pointe, lyrical, tap, and jazz. There she competed nationally earning titles to become a member of the I Love Dance Sweetheart Touring Group, Dance USA National Dance Team, and Starpower PowerPak. During that period she also performed in national venues such as Las Vegas, New York City, and Lake Tahoe. Anne Marie also studied at the Manchester School of Classical Ballet while competing, and was a member of the Manchester Dance Ensemble, an educational touring company.
To continue her education Anne Marie pursued a BFA in dance through the University of Akron, which allowed her to study under professors from the Pennsylvania Ballet, Ohio Ballet, Martha Graham Company, and Jennifer Muller/The Works Dance Company. She performed lead roles in Crystal Divertissements a pas de trios and Tribute to Swing a jazz tap production. She also began teaching and choreographing for the studio she grew up in.
Anne Marie’s choreography has received numerous awards over the past decade along with her students receiving honors in mastered technique and performance. She has judged competitions nationally, been ZUMBA certified, and produced, choreographed, and performed in Project 7 a dance media event in revue for publication. She has taught all ages in styles such as contemporary, lyrical, tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, and modern at studios from across the nation and most recently in Florida. Her students have earned overall placements, regional and national titles, many scholarships / ballet summer studies, appeared on So You Think You Can Dance, danced professionally with the Radio City Rockettes and Oakland Raider Raiderettes, as well as who have went on to pursue degrees in dance and start their own studios.
Over the past few years Anne Marie has continued to grow and broaden her skills having taken classes internationally from Paris to Tokyo and nationally from New York City to Los Angeles. She continues to stay current attending conventions, doing guest choreography, and teaching master classes. She believes in a nurturing dance environment that encompasses creativity, performance, discipline, technique, and progression, as well as attention to each individual student. She firmly believes that her purpose is to educate young students in dance while also influencing them in a positive life manner.
Anne Marie is excited to share the knowledge and talent she’s been given with her students and is thankful for the opportunity to do so.
Favorite Quote: “I don’t want people who want to dance. I want people who have to dance.”
Danielle Schreiner- Dance Instructor
Danielle Schreiner is a graduate from Wayne State College. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a focus on Human Resources.
Throughout high school, Danielle danced on the West Sioux Dance Team where they competed at the Iowa State Dance Competitions. Her senior year she was the team captain when they received 5th place in Pom. Her team attended many dance camps throughout high school, including Just for Kix!
Danielle was also a cheerleader in both high school and college. She became a flier and would cheer and performed at football, basketball, volleyball games and halftime shows.
Her love for dance continued into college where she became a teacher at Wayne Dance Company, teaching Hip-Hop, Pom, Jazz, and Tap. She has been teaching dance for 4 years, and dancing for 8 years.
This is Danielle's second year teaching at 5678! Dance Studio where she will be teaching performance pom and hip-hop.
Brooklyn Mace - Dance Instructor
Brooklyn has been dancing at 5678! Since she was about 5 years old. She has been on a competition team since Youth All Stars in grade 5. Since then she has worked her way up to Juniors, Seniors, and Open all stars, where she finally retired dancing at the age of 20. She had competed in the Worlds competition in Orlando, Florida since grade 8, maintaining top 10 in the world every year.
She also danced at Dakota Valley High school where she was a four time state champion and a captain of the team her senior year. Her favorite styles of dance include Pom and lyrical.
Brooklyn had also enjoyed running track where her junior year she had placed at state track and would had continued her senior year if covid hadn’t disrupted the season. She is currently a junior in college where she is working towards her Associates in Science of Nursing at St. Lukes college here in Sioux City. She started her education at the University of Iowa for her freshman and sophomore year and has transferred back home this past summer. She also works for Unity point PACE where she is a home health CNA.
Jocelyn Hendrix - Dance Instructor
Jocelyn is a graduate from Morningside University and she graduated with a bachelors in elementary education. This year she will begin teaching Elementary Language Arts at Siouxland Christian.
Jocelyn started dancing in Kindergarten in her hometown of Council Bluffs. She joined her studio’s competition team in 5th grade and competed until she graduated. Jocelyn did hip hop, jazz, tap, lyrical, ballet and a few production and musical theater numbers. While in high school she was also on the dance team where she earned UDA and NDA All American honors. Jocelyn danced on the dance team for 3 years at Morningside and was a 3x All Conference dancer and 1 time All American honoree.
Gracie Strong - Dance Instructor
