Sierra Crowe brings an impressive 22 years of experience to A Step Above, with 13 years dedicated to teaching. Her dance journey began at the tender age of 4 in Fredericksburg, VA, and in 2003, her family’s relocation to Ohio led her to join the A Step Above family at just 6 years old. Remarkably, she was invited to compete with the competition team in her inaugural season, setting the stage for a successful journey.

As a vital member of the ASA Competition Team, Sierra contributed to numerous regional and national accolades. She also took part in various community performances, further honing her skills and love for dance.

In 2012, Sierra embarked on her teaching career as a Student Assistant, swiftly progressing to lead her own classes by 2013. Her teaching repertoire spans a wide spectrum, encompassing creative movement, ballet, technique, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, cheer dance, acro, hip-hop, and tumbling. She derives immense joy from instructing both recreational and competitive classes. Sierra has had the privilege of learning from esteemed industry professionals, including Courtney Kelly, Jill Zmijewski, Barry Youngblood, and the renowned New Vision Dance Company, among others. She actively engages with fellow dance professionals worldwide, staying at the forefront of the industry.

A distinguished alumna of Shawnee High School and The Ohio State University, Sierra holds a license in Early Childhood Education. Her teaching experience spans diverse age groups and backgrounds. She is committed to ongoing development, consistently refining her teaching style and exploring innovative approaches to benefit her students. Sierra’s mission is to instill in each child not only a love for dance but also a belief in their inner artist.

In January 2020, Sierra assumed the role of owner and director of A Step Above, embarking on an exciting new chapter. Her vision for the studio is rooted in inclusivity, ensuring every child feels valued and cherished, enabling them to fully immerse themselves in their classes. Sierra’s aim is to inspire dancers to take creative risks and challenge themselves each week, providing them with not just the steps, but the essence of dance. The studio is committed to delivering top-tier instruction within a joyful and secure environment, creating a space that students and families take pride in.

In September 2022, Sierra joined a teacher training program led by Julie Kay Stallcup. Through this program she participates in daily training that helps improve her teaching. In May 2023, Sierra also joined the studio owner mentorship program, led by Julie Kay. Through this program she participates in twice a week training and learns best practices for successfully running a dance studio. She also receives the opportunity to network with other dance teachers and studio owners.

Outside of her dance world, Sierra cherishes quality time with her husband Daniel, 8-year-old daughter Lyla, 2-year-old son Oliver and loyal pup Helios. When she’s not dancing, you’ll find her exploring new music and enhancing her home décor.

Miss Megan started dancing at the age of 5 right here at ASA! She joined the competition
team at age 8 where she competed and trained in numerous styles of dance such as Jazz,
Lyrical, Contemporary, Tap, Hip Hop, Musical Theatre, and Ballet. She has also taken classes
from industry professionals such as Gage Wayne, Chris Embroz, Chryssie Whitehead, and
several other instructors. At her time with ASA, she contributed to bringing home multiple
studio awards, overall scores, and judges awards. Her favorite styles of dance include jazz,
musical theatre, and hip hop. Miss Megan danced for a total of 13 years and fell in love with
dancing!

When she was a junior in high school, she was selected as a student assistant. Her senior year,
Megan became the first ever Student Teacher Intern of ASA. This program allowed her to
train how to become an instructor under the guidance of Ms. Sierra and Ms. Ashley. These
experiences allowed her to find her passion for teaching dance. She is a 2021 graduate of Bath
High School and is currently attending University of Findlay for Primary Education in
hopes of becoming an elementary teacher!

Miss Megan was awarded the 2020 A Step Above Senior Dancer of the Year voted on by her
fellow teammates for her great attitude, leadership, memorization of her routines, and helping
others! This has been one of her greatest accomplishments. She has also been awarded
numerous judges awards for her outstanding performance! Miss Megan’s favorite thing about
dancing would have to be performing!

Fun things to know about Megan:

• She adores the color yellow and all things yellow.

• She loves spending time with her two cats, Eddie and Stella.

• Her favorite T.V. shows to binge watch are The Vampire Diaries and Outerbanks!

• In her free time, she enjoys working out at the gym!

Miss Lillie is entering her 21st year with ASA. She started dancing at the age of 5 and by age 7
she joined the competition team, where she helped bring home numerous titles and awards.

She has been a part of the teaching team for 10 years, she loves seeing the kids fall in love with
dance, grow each and every week, and dive deep into dance to understand it. She is also
learning more about dance herself along with the kids, she loves exploring new things to bring
into the studio and share with everyone. She has experienced all types of dance from Jazz,
Lyrical, Ballet, Contemporary, and Tap. Her favorite is Lyrical but she is finding a new kind of
love for Tap! Lillie recently went to Energize Studio Conference where she took classes from Karly Pierce Lystad, Kim Black, Dr. Carrie Skony, Pam Simpson, Becca Moore, Dani Rosenberg, Taylor Hiller and Julie Kay Stallcup! She is apart of the DiscoverDance Program and Team JULIE KAY, where she takes trainings to bring to the classroom and studio! She is also taking training from Untied Taps to further her education in tap!

In 2017, she was named A Step Above Senior Dancer of the Year. In May 2017, she graduated
from Lima Senior High School, and is now graduated from Apollo Career Center, where she got her
CDA certificate. She hopes one day she can go back to school to further her education with an
associate in Early Childhood Education.

While Miss Lillie is teaching with us here, she is also a Preschool Teacher at a daycare. She is
always working or finding new ideas for both the studio and daycare. Miss Lillie is also our social media assistant, she has so many ideas for the upcoming year, keep your eyes out on our Facebook, Instagram and TikTok! In Miss. Lillie’s spare time
she spends as much as she can with family, especially with her niece and nephews, reading
books, playing with her dog Grizzly, and just taking time for herself!

Three things to know about Lillie:

She LOVES and we mean LOVES New Kids on the Block!!

She will always have either a Dr. Pepper or Iced Coffee with her!

She loves planning and organizing

Miss Ashley enters this dance season with 20 years of performance experience and 8 years as
a dance instructor!

Starting dance at age 6, she came to A Step Above at 9 years old and she
hasn’t looked back since. While on the competition team, Ashley helped to bring home
numerous regional and national awards and titles, but she considers being named the A Step
Above Dancer of the Year in 2013 one of the biggest honors she has ever received. Now on the
other side of the dance dynamic, Miss Ashley has created and helped with many groups and
individual students who have earned awards and recognitions at both the regional and nation level.

She is a Bath High School graduate from the Class of 2014 and an alumni of the Ohio State
University. During her time at Bath High School, she was heavily involved in the arts, including
but not limited to: concert choir, chamber chorale, marching band, symphonic/concert band, pep
band, flag corps, show choir, solo and ensemble. Her senior year of high school, she served as
Marching Band Field Commander, band secretary, choir secretary, and show choir president.
Ashley even received 2 separate school scholarships for music upon graduation from Bath High
School. She was also involved in 2 school musicals, as well as musical productions after
graduation at the local Amil Teller’s Encore theater.

Ashley has experience teaching children ranging from 18 months to 18 years and has had many
adult students as well, having spent time teaching not only at the dance studio, but out within
the community as well via community outreach programs. She has taught creative movement,
tap, jazz, hip hop, acro, tumbling, lyrical, ballet and several other disciplines, and has been
trained in all these categories plus others, such as modern/contemporary, baton and pointe. In
2021, Miss Ashley not only received her Acrobatic Arts Certification, but was given the
opportunity to be the Lead Instructor for A Step Above’s Acro and Tumbling program. She has
had the chance to learn from many dance industry professionals, master class teachers and
dance companies and tries to take advantage of any and all opportunities she’s presented with
to continue to gain knowledge and experience.

Teaching dance is something Miss Ashley just simply loves to do, and she does all she can to
not only teach the kids how to dance, but to help them to LOVE to dance and most importantly,
to love themselves too. While she may not know what the future holds for her professionally,
she knows that dancing and being a dance teacher will always be a part of her life. When she’s
not teaching dance, Miss Ashley loves reading books, being creative, cuddling with her dogs
Kashi and Kaya, traveling and watching movies with her husband, Sean, and spending time
with her family.

Three things to know about Ashley:

She recently got married to her high school sweetheart, Sean, in May 2024! They are also excepting a baby in April 2025!

She loves to travel! Her goal is all 50 states by the time she turns 45, but her dream destination would be either Greece or Ireland!

She survives on a diet of almost entirely iced coffee and carbs.

Miss Rileigh started dancing at ASA when she was just 3 years old! She joined the competition team at the age of 5, where she trained and competed in various styles of dance such as Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, HipHop, Musical Theatre, Pointe, and Ballet! She has taken classes from professionals such as Chris Embroz, Gage Wayne, and several other instructors. During her time with ASA she contributed to helping bring home multiple overalls, judges awards, and studio awards. Miss Rileigh’s favorite styles of dance include Lyrical and Jazz! She has danced for a total of 16 years and fell completely in love with dance! This is her 19th  year at A Step Above Dance Studio! Miss Rileigh’s favorite thing about dance was performing and just being able to let all of her emotions out while dancing! Along with dancing she has also tumbled for several years! She has learned all the way up to a round-off back handspring layout!

Miss Rileigh is a 2021 graduate from Bath High School! She is currently taking classes from
Ohio State University of Lima for Early Childhood Education in hopes of becoming an
Elementary teacher! Rileigh is going to school full time and helps out at ASA! In the little spare time Rileigh has she loves to spend time with her family and friends!

Fun things to know about Rileigh:

• Her favorite animal is a Panda!
• She loves to play card games.
• Her favorite show to watch is Switched at Birth.

Miss Mack is starting her third year teaching at ASA! She started dancing at the age of 7 doing recreational classes at ASA. She then joined the competition team the very next year at age 8. She has trained in multiple areas and styles of dance over the past 11 years, including Ballet, Lyrical, Jazz, Contemporary, Musical Theater, and Hip Hop. She has brought home many overalls, titles, and different awards with her teammates. She loves dancing, and watching other children grow and learn, and to pass on what she has learned while dancing.  She has worked with professionals from the nation taking classes from, New Vision Dance Company, Gage Wayne, Chrissy Whitehead, Chris Embroz, Kent Boyd, and several others. 

Miss Mack is a Perry High School graduate from the class of 2022. She is currently taking classes at Rhodes State College to become a Rad Tech/ X-ray Tech. She also has her GXMO license and is working as a technologist at Lima Memorial! While she was in high school, she participated in varsity/competition cheer and softball. She was also a part of many school groups such as, national honor society, SADD, and varsity p. She plans to graduate from Rhodes in 2025. 

Miss Mack’s favorite thing about dancing is being able to let out any emotions, and to be able to express yourself whether that is on stage or in the classroom. She also thinks the tricks are really fun to do and to learn to master them. Her biggest dance accomplishment was winning Junior Dancer Of The Year at age 12. She will never forget how her love and dedication for dance was noticed and was recognized. Being a dancer is a huge part of her life, so she is excited to be able to continue dancing while teaching.

Fun things to know about Mackenize:

• Her real name is Mackenzie, but everyone at the studio calls her Mack
• She is obsessed with cheese & chicken
• She loves making people laugh

Melissa Baker is an Alumni of Wapakoneta Senior High School and The Ohio State University.  She has spent over 30 years in Business Management and  Operation.  She was a business owner for 7 years.  She has a 30 years of experience in operations, personnel, sales and marketing, customer service and community outreach.  Miss Baker was a Case Manager/ Career Developer for 18 years.  She assisted individuals with profound disabilities in successfully securing viable employment and maintaining that employment through personal and social adjustment.  Miss Baker was also blessed enough to be a contractor for a variety of other agencies at which time she was able to assist so many other clients gain self- independence.  Melissa has been a resident of Lima, Ohio since 1994.  In her spare time she enjoys spending quality time with her children, family friends and her beloved dog, Kiaya Raine.  She is an avid oil painter…loves art….and enjoys being outdoors, preferably by an ocean!

Four things to know about Miss:

She’s passionate about life, her family, friends and her dog.

She loves to paint in her free time.

She enjoys all music except heavy metal.

Miss took private dance classes when she was a teenager and performed with Olympic ribbons.