Dance Instructors

Jeni Meeks has instructed ballet at the CAC studio since 1999. She was a student of the CAC School of Ballet from the age of 5 to high school and danced the lead role in the school’s production of Coppélia and had major parts in Cinderella, Nutcracker and Graduation Ball performances with honorary roles in many other performances. Meeks is a certified instructor with the organization “Cecchetti USA” (CUSA), a national organization dedicated to responsibly training and accrediting teachers and preserving the Cecchetti Method. She holds a "TC-1A" and "Grade 4" with CUSA. She is an English, Math, and Science Middle School teacher at Southern Wells Jr/Sr High School and a graduate of IPFW with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Secondary Education. She and her husband David have three children Cole, Grace and Sophia. Meeks has taught dance classes for the Operation Wellnesses AHA Camp, Norwell High School Dance Team, CAC Ballet Camp, and The Miss Wells County Queen Pageant.

Davina Schnaars was classically trained at CAC's School of Ballet by Pam Talarico and Beth Lampton for 13 years. She is proud to rejoin the faculty where she began her teaching career in 2004. Davina is a certified instructor with the organization “Cecchetti USA” (CUSA), a national organization dedicated to responsibly training and accrediting teachers and preserving the Cecchetti Method. She holds a "TC-2" and "Grade 9" with CUSA and is studying for her Associate. Her training has prepared her to teach clean, classical ballet for performance and personal enrichment with an emphasis on safety in the studio. Davina annually offers CUSA examination opportunities to her dedicated students and enjoys coaching them to their full potential. Davina trained in ballet pedagogy for many years under Judith Hawkesworth, CUSA, Licentiate, Fellow and Examiner, in South Carolina. While teaching there, she took on the role of non-profit Artistic Director, directing, choreographing and rehearsing The Nutcracker, Cinderella, and Jeweled, constructing ballet costumes and receiving grant awards. As a dancer at CAC, her soloist roles included The Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, Tarantella, Graduation Ball, The Nutcracker, and Cinderella. She also participated in ballet scholarship competitions and was awarded monies and top awards to university. Davina began teaching Creative Movement at CAC and found a passion for teaching ballet. Davina holds a Bachelors of Arts in Writing from Indiana Wesleyan University and has been published in several magazines and literary journals. She resides in Huntington, Indiana, with her husband and two children.

Megan Litherland started dancing at Brandy’s Studio of Dance in Bluffton, IN, around the age of two, where she took dance classes for lyrical, tap, jazz, and hip hop. Once Brandy closed her studio in 2017, Megan moved to the CAC where she started taking Ballet and Modern, and eventually advanced into taking Pointe classes, and started up Tap once it was added on. When she graduated from Bluffton High School in 2022, she was offered a tap teaching position at the CAC. She is currently a student at Huntington University, Majoring in Ministry a with a Minor in Psychology. While at Huntington, Megan has the opportunity to be apart of the dance group/club called Undignified, which she is now a leader for. Undignified has a variety of different types of dances they do and perform at the end of each semester, it is a way for students to get involved in one of the many ways to worship the Lord.

Janiece Lipsey began her formal dance training at the Flint School of Performing Arts in Flint, MI. While at FSPA, Lipsey was a member of Flint Youth Ballet and performed in Flint Institute of Music’s The Nutcracker and participated in Regional Dance America/MidStates festivals. She continued her dance training at Belhaven University as a dance major and Fort Wayne Ballet’s Conservatory Program. She has studied many dance styles and genres including ballet, pointe, modern, tap, and jazz. Lipsey has performed principal and ensemble roles in both classical ballet and contemporary dance. She has had the opportunity to work and train with various artists such as A. Bruce Bradley, Liz Lerman, John Magnus, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Cynthia Newland, Kathy Thibodeaux, and Kevin Thomas. Lipsey has choreographed classical ballet, contemporary ballet, and musical theater productions for various schools and companies. Lipsey began teaching dance at Creative Arts in 2008. In addition to her teaching dance classes, Lipsey is the Executive Director at Creative Arts. Lipsey holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Educational Ministries from Huntington University and a Masters of Business Administration degree from Southeastern University.