Our Teachers

Kaitlin is a native of Nashville and spent her early training at Histown, where she began dancing at five years old. Kaitlin has been trained in ballet, modern, jazz, and contemporary, and she currently teaches modern, ballet, and contemporary at Histown. In 2013, Kaitlin performed the roles of Snow Queen and Sugar Plum in Children’s Ballet Theatre’s Nutcracker. That following year, Kaitlin attended the International Ballet Academy’s summer intensive in Cary, NC and took workshops with Ballet Magnificat!. 

After high school, Kaitlin accepted a dance scholarship to Belhaven University in Jackson, MS, where she had the privilege of studying under faculty members Laura Morton of Houston Ballet and Ravenna Tucker of Birmingham Royal Ballet, as well as perform choreography by Vincent Hardy and other artists. During her time at Belhaven, Kaitlin attended the adjudicated 2016 ACDA festival and also performed for two semesters with Belhaven’s traveling dance ministry ensemble. 

In recent years, Kaitlin has performed with MercyMe at the KLove Awards and in Daniella Mason’s “Cruel Summer” music video. Although she loves the entertainment side of dance, Kaitlin is passionate about the critical role of movement in ministry. In the summer of 2017, Kaitlin traveled to Portugal with Operation Mobilization to perform on the streets, teach dance, and bring the love of Jesus to the Mediterranean. Kaitlin has performed for the inmates in the TN Women’s Maximum Security Prison, and in 2018, Kaitlin will have the opportunity with a local ESL organization to teach a movement class to Muslim refugees in the Nashville area. Using dance as a tool to share the love of Jesus with students from every walk of life brings Kaitlin so much joy.  

Mattie has loved performing for as long as she can remember, and when she started dancing at just four years old she never looked back. At the age of six, she started training at Histown and remained at HTD until graduation from high school. She was able to learn from many incredible teachers during her 12 years at the studio both in technique and in faith which is why she feels so fortunate to have grown up at Histown. During those years, Mattie attended summer intensives at Cincinatti Ballet and Company E in Washington DC, and the EXCEL in Motion convention featuring faculty from So You Think You Can Dance where in her second year attending she made the Honor Roll. During her time at Histown, Mattie had the honor of dancing at the KLOVE Fan Awards on the Grand Ole Opry stage twice, performing with artists Mercy Me and Mandisa. She also danced with 1 Girl Nation on a nationally televised performance of the GMA Dove Awards.

After graduating in 2018, Mattie started her collegiate career at Lipscomb University where she both pursued a dance minor and participated in the program’s company, Foundation Dance Theatre. During this time, she also had the honor to dance in music videos for Josie Dunn and Ele Ivory. She pivoted the next year when she made the Vanderbilt University Dance Team. She was able to continue her education in business management at Lipscomb while training at Vanderbilt in Hip Hop, Jazz, and Pom and performing regularly at football and basketball games in front of thousands of fans. Her last performance with the team was at the SEC tournament at Bridgestone Arena in 2020. In the summer of 2020 Mattie returned to her high school “alma mater” to create a dance program for the purpose of discipleship and teaching about dance that honors God. Above all, Mattie is passionate about using dance as worship and ministry.

After graduating from Lipscomb in May of 2022, Mattie was thrilled at the opportunity to return to Histown. Histown feels like home to her, and she loves getting to teach in an environment that is all about Jesus. Her desire is to be a vessel for God to show both His love and truth to students. She loves kids and finds so much joy getting to pour into them! She also believes dance is a powerful avenue to share God’s truth with the world. She is excited to see how He continues to lead her in the mission to point to Him through every style of dance.

A hometown boy hailing from down the road in Nashville, Jas is highly energetic, funny, sincere, and all about doing the works of God. Jas focuses on and has studied hip hop through experiencing the dance atmosphere of many different settings while consistently living out the adage of “practice, practice, practice.” This has given him the understanding of getting to know and listening to your body as well as understanding the importance of sharpness and high level energy in Dj settings, recording, and dance classes. He is active in the community and has built a resume of working with youth throughout Middle Tennessee in various settings including nonprofits, churches, after school programs, summer camps, community, conferences and Metro Nashville Public Schools.

His passion is to use Dj,music, and dance as a point of connection between God and community building. While not a classically trained dancer in the most specific sense of the word, he firmly believes dance is a gift from God that is to be used to bring a smile to faces and can minister to anyone. He lives by his favorite saying "kids deserve the best, nothing less” and models an attitude of “it's not about me, it's about you" as he encourages youth to understand the power of serving others. He continues to work with kids and adults as he allows God to lead his footsteps (and dance steps!). 

Gracie Steele, who is originally from Pennsylvania, has been dancing since the age of six when she first started to fall in love with movement. She began training in ballet and tap at age six,  followed by the addition of jazz, contemporary, lyrical, modern, hip-hop, and pointe as the years went on. Though Gracie had a love for all genres of dance, ballet, and pointe became a focus point as she started training at Allegheny Ballet Company at age fourteen.  In her time at Allegheny Ballet Company, Gracie studied under various teachers from Ballet West, New York City Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and Ballet Austin.  At age sixteen, Gracie began training with Huntingdon Dance Academy, under instructors Jamie and Kristen Roberts, former dancers of the School Of American Ballet, Austin Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet. During her time there, Gracie also participated in competitive dance, winning various awards for both solos and groups, along with choreography awards for pieces she had the opportunity to choreograph. 

In addition to her training with her home studios, Gracie attended various dance conventions, including Dance Makers, 24/7 Dance, and Shake the Ground Dance.  Gracie has also participated in summer intensives with both Nashville Ballet and Ballet West. 

Gracie fell in love with the Lord as a little girl, modeling after her parents who followed hard after Him. As she grew, her love for Him grew as well. Gracie attended The Belonging Co College, in Nashville TN, where she studied psychology, along with worship and foundations of pastoral ministries.  Gracie knew that she wanted to be the hands and feet of Jesus wherever she went, and felt a stirring within her to follow along with education to assist that. 

Gracie’s heart is that every dancer would leave each class having encountered God, been encouraged, and grown in their dancing abilities. 

Aimee Patrick began dancing at age seven. At age 9 she won the Dance Masters Grand Championshi in Upstate NY. At age 12 Aimee was awarded a position with the Tucson Metropolitan Ballet Compan and went on to become a contract soloist. She also made her first tv appearance in Little House on the Prairi. As a teen, Aimee won Scholarships to both the Houston Balle and the San Francisco Ballet summer intensive programs and spent several summers studying at these prestigious schools. Beginning at age 13, she performed with the Southern Arizona Light Oper company in such roles as Susan the Silent in Finian’s Rainbo, Eliza in The King and , as well as in other chorus roles. At age 18, Aimee relocated to Los Angeles where she studied jazz and hip hop and performed in various productions. She was one of 5 finalists in contention for a lead role in the TV series Fam. At age 22 Ms. Patrick went to work for Walt Disney World s a World Dance maintaining 27 roles in 9 shows throughout Disney property. She performed with many celebrities including: Tommy Tune, Donald O’Connor (Singing in the Rain), Carol Lawrence, BB King, Sesame Street’s Bob McGrat and Lee Greenwoood. imee appeared in Disney TV shows, commercials, photo shoots and live shows. Aimee also had the opportunity to choreograph for Walt Disney’s renowned World Dancers’ summer showcase at Epcot Center.

Aimee relocated to Nashville, TN with her husband Steve, a studio session musician, where she has performed and choreographed locally in convention and live shows, music videos, national tours and tv specials. Aimee also worked as assistant to the VP of A&R for Diadem records: Bob Carlisle’s Butterfly Kisse album and music video, and Grammy winner Yolanda Adams and many more. Aimee has acted as a consultant, guest artist and choreographer for many churches including The People’s Church, Fayetteville Baptist Church, Christ Presbyterian Church, Two Rivers Baptist Church, Born again Church, First Church of the Nazarene nd Gateway Community Churc in addition to choreographing Two Rivers Church’s annual Passion Pla Easter production. The greatest highlights of Aimee’s career were performing for former President George Bus, placing 4th in the World Dance Championship in London England, Performing on tour with Christian Artist Carma and the fun, thrill and excitement of performing as a Tennessee Titans Cheerleader aka Oiler Girls. Aimee currently is the head coach for the Grassland Middle School Dance team and continues to dance, act, teach, and choreograph for local stage, film, videos and commercials.

Lauren grew up in St. Louis, MO and started dancing at 3 years old. She quickly began dancing competitively, both at the studio level (local and national competitions) and on her high school dance team (UDA finals). She was trained in jazz, contemporary, musical theatre, ballet, lyrical, tap, and hip hop. Lauren also taught classes at her studio throughout high school as an assistant. She went on to attend the University of Mississippi and was a part of the Ole Miss Student dance company, an entirely student run group that put together a fall and spring show each year. Through this company, she continued weekly dance rehearsals during all four years of college, both as a dancer and as a choreographer. She loved teaching community classes and choreographing/running rehearsals for her own pieces.

Lauren was actually drawn to Histown specifically because it is a Christian, faith-based studio. She has been a believer most of her life and considers her relationship with Jesus the most important thing to her. To be able to combine the love of dance, which helped grow her confidence and provide transformation relationships, along with the love of Christ, is a unique opportunity and she feels extremely blessed to be able to encourage younger dancers to grow in both areas.

Allison was born and raised in Nashville, TN and began her dance training at 3 years old with the Metro Parks Dance Division. While she has trained most extensively in ballet, pointe, and contemporary, she has also received training in styles including modern, jazz, tap, hip hop, and african dance. Through highschool Allison trained and performed with the Centennial Youth Ballet (CYB) under the leadership of Jennifer McNamara and Matthew Christensen. During her time there, she performed various soloist and principal roles, including Lead Marzipan, Spanish Soloist, Snow Queen, and The Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Shades Soloist in La Bayadere, and She in The Heart is an Organ of Fire. In addition to the classical works she performed, she had the opportunity to be cast in various original neoclassical and contemporary works. In addition to the wonderful training she received through CYB, she was privileged to train under many additional guest instructors through intensives and master classes, including training closely with members of the contemporary collective New Dialect. Alongside her formal training, Allison was surrounded by mentors that helped to foster the idea of movement as worship.

After graduating from High school, Allison continued pursuing her dancing career in both performing and teaching. One of her favorite seasons was when she toured various regions of South Africa and the U.S. with Khanyisa - a multi-cultural dance and worship ministry team based in South Africa. Through her work there she was given the opportunity to combine her passions for dancing, working with kids, and sharing the love and hope found in Jesus. 

Allison has always had a deep love and passion for dance as a whole, but more importantly the impact dance and movement has on a spiritual level when surrendered to Jesus. Additionally, she has seen firsthand how dance is a universal language that the Lord can and does use to serve as a bridge between cultural and language barriers. Allison loves getting to teach and mentor students, hoping to inspire them to grow not only in their technique and artistry as a dancer, but also in their relationship with Jesus. It causes her great joy to see the beauty of when those elements intertwine. 

Heather Wise is a seasoned dancer, actor and singer in the professional Musical Theatre and Film industry. She has studied and performed her craft for more than 35 years, and is also a teacher and choreographer in the arts. She has studied Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Modern, Contemporary, Tap and Hip Hop, and sings with a Soprano voice. She has trained many years under the influence of master teachers such as Gus Giordano, Gregory Hines, Deb DeRado, Melissa Swartz, Jon Rodriguez, Suzanne Walker, Mic Thompson, and Pamela Bolling…as well as concert training with various dance companies in Ohio.

Her college education included two years as a Dance Major/Musical Theatre Minor at Wright State University, before landing her first professional gig. She then chose to kickstart her career as a performance artist professionally, and moved from her small town in Ohio at the age of 20. Her Dance and Musical Theatre career have consisted of many years as a performer under the Actor’s Equity Association and S.A.G., with companies such as Walt Disney World, Mattel, and also Disney Cruise Line-where she served as Dance Captain for their first ship, The “Disney Magic”. She has also been contracted to perform and travel with Hardrive Productions (Orlando, FL), Jean Ann Ryan Productions (FL), PGT Productions (FL), Universal Studios, Sea World, Paramount and others. She feels blessed to have traveled the world as a dancer/singer and model.

Heather’s heart was stolen by fellow performer and musician, David Wise, and they married and began a family at age 26. Her greatest claim to fame is the pride she holds in her beautiful family of four amazing children: Hannah (21), Taylor Grace (19), Dawson (17), and Autumn Hope (11), all who are also well-versed and passionate about music and theatre. Heather enjoys sharing her gifts with children and teens, and has a passion for using her talents for the Glory of God. She has led many dance ministries over the years, and serves in her local church. She can most recently be found as a supporting actress in the feature film, “Don’t Say My Name”, as Ballet Mistress “Professor Isabella” (IMDb), and as a Tap instructor at HisTown Dance Studio in Nashville, TN.

Heather feels honored to be a part of the Histown Family, and is so grateful and humbled to be a teacher here! ALL FOR HIS GLORY! “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing…”  ~Ps.‬ ‭30‬:‭11‬

Anna started dancing at 8 years old when she took her first Jazz class and fell in love with movement. That launched her into a passion to express herself through dance and then later share that joy with every student who desires to learn and grow through creative arts. Anna studied many different types of dance up through her high school years at studios, schools and companies, including Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Modern, Lyrical and Hip-Hop. She was then able to study dance in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina at Appalachian State University where she refined her technique, learned how to teach and dug into the history of dance (just to name a few areas).

Once graduating from university with a Bachelors degree in Dance Studies and marrying her husband, Adam; Anna had the privilege of teaching at a wonderful studio for 3.5 years located just outside of Raleigh, North Carolina. She taught all ages and styles and loved the opportunity to get to encourage, refine and inspire dancers in every stage they were in! In 2015, Anna and Adam packed up their family and their home and moved to Nashville to attend a ministry school at Grace Center. Over the next few years, she was given the incredible opportunity to grow deeper in relationship with the Lord while also taking dance classes and dancing during worship at Grace Center on the Creative Arts team.

Since moving to Nashville, Anna and Adam have expanded their family, and they now have 3 beautiful children, Addie, Judah and Lucy! Over the past 5 years of attending, serving and leading at Grace Center, Anna has learned the beauty of expressively worshipping through dance, pastoring and loving people, meeting people where they are at emotionally and spiritually, and encouraging them to continue to press into relationship with the Lord. Anna believes that dancing creates a unique opportunity to grow in who you are as a person while also experiencing incredible amounts of freedom and joy that is only comparable to worshipping Jesus!

Caitlin Burrell is from Spring Hill, TN and has been training in dance for 17 years. Her passion for hip hop and choreography began at the young age of 8 and she has been pursuing it ever since. She trained in hip hop, ballet, contemporary, and jazz. Hip hop has always had a special place in her heart. In her teen years, Caitlin was a part of her high school dance team, in show choir, and was also a student choreographer for her musical theater production of Pippin. After graduating from high school in 2016, she began interning and teaching at a local dance studio to kickstart her career. While also teaching hip hop classes, she worked with a competitive hip hop company at that studio. During that internship, she also choreographed a musical production of Rogers and Hammersteins Cinderella at her local high school. 

After pursuing that path for 3 years, God led Caitlin on a different path and she began studying psychology. She will graduate in May 2023 with her undergraduate degree in psychology with the hopes of pursuing a masters in Counseling. However, she is not planning on leaving her dancing days behind her once she has her degrees! She is excited to be teaching hip hop at Histown and blessed to be able to worship God through dance alongside all of her fellow teachers and students.