Meet Our Instructors

instructor

Carolyn Nelson-Kavajecz is the CEO and founder of Sterling Silver Studio. She has a PhD in Management with a focus on leadership and organizational change. She serves on several city and statewide boards including Create Wisconsin’s Board of Directors, is the Chair of Regional Leaders Network, Chair of the Culture Events and Public Arts Commission, Ambassador for the Superior Douglas County Chamber of Commerce, President of Superior Activities, co-founder of Superior Spooktacular, Director of Superior’s Fourth of July Parade, President for the Superior Council of the Arts, and a member of the Superior Optimist Club. In addition, she is the coach for the Superior High School Spartan Twirlers and is a USTA certified coach. One of her favorite hobbies is serving as an advocate for the arts and the creative economy.

instructor

Carrie Lahr has been with Sterling Silver Studio since 1991. She has a B.S. in Performance Theatre with a minor in dance. In addition to studying at Sterling Silver, she has studied with Broadway Dance Center in New York City and Zenon in the Twin Cities, as well as studying internationally and has worked with legends such as Al Gilbert, Mia Michaels, Brian Friedman, and Wade Robson. She has coached several State and National baton twirling and dance teams and has served as a choreographer for numerous high school and college musical theatre productions. Carrie’s favorite style of dance to teach is Lyrical, however, Hip Hop is her favorite style to perform. She is a certified Acrobatic Arts instructor and serves as a guest instructor at several studios throughout the Midwest.

instructor

Connie Thomson has been with Sterling Silver Studio since 2004 when she signed her daughter up for classes. In 2008 Connie became a certified Zumba instructor and started teaching at Sterling Silver Studio. Since then, Connie’s role has evolved into costume and finance manager. Connie’s favorite hobby is backpacking, and she hikes Isle Royale annually.

instructor

Emily Kidd has been with Sterling Silver Studio since she was five years old. While growing up with Sterling Silver Studio, Emily had the opportunity to twirl at hundreds of events throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota and twirled at America’s Youth on Parade for several years. She was a Spartan Twirler in their inaugural season, she has been featured in the Halftime Show at the Capital One Bowl and has performed throughout the Midwest when she was the feature twirler for the UMD Bulldog Marching Band. Emily is a USTA certified coach, is certified in Acrobatic Arts, holds a Master of Education and is passionate about sharing her love of the arts with her students.

instructor

Taylor Kittelson has been a member of the Sterling Silver Family since 2001 Taylor grew up dancing and twirling with Sterling Silver, completed the student apprenticeship program while in high school, and became a member of the coaching staff when she was in high school. Throughout her career as a performer, Taylor earned several Wisconsin State Champion twirling titles, was a member of the Spartan Twirlers, a Fire Twirler, a member of the National Champion Hip Hop Team, a member of the National Champion Dance Twirl Team, and served as Captain for the College of Saint Scholastica's Dance Team. Taylor holds a Master of Social Work and recently has moved to Madison Wisconsin and is continuing to work as a mental health therapist. She is passionate about combining her love of performing arts with mental health initiatives to create a more positive learning environment for all students at Sterling Silver Studio.

instructor

Emma Fornengo has been a member of the Sterling Silver Studio Family since 2008. Throughout her performing career with Sterling Silver, Emma was a member of the Senior Corps and Company 91, which provided her with the opportunity to travel and perform throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Texas, & California. Emma was a member of the 2017 High School Baton Twirling National Champion Team, a member of the 2021 National Champion Hip Hop Team, and she holds numerous Wisconsin State Championship twirling titles. Emma is a Senior at UW-Superior where she majors in Exercise Science. In addition to twirling and dancing, Emma is a collegiate athlete, and is an outside midfielder for the UWS Women’s Soccer Team.

instructor

Casey Herubin grew up dancing and twirling at Sterling Silver Studio and has been with the organization since 1997. She has been teaching at Sterling Silver for 7 years. Casey was a member of the National Hip Hop Champion team and has traveled throughout the United States competing with both NBTA and USTA organizations. Her favorite styles are twirling, jazz, and contemporary. One of her favorite dance memories was achieving the title of National Adult Lyrical Soloist with Showstopper in 2021. In addition to teaching, she is currently a member of the adult CO91 teams.

instructor

Jamie Nord started dancing at the age of 3. She has an Associate Degree in Accounting and Business Management and has applied that knowledge to managing a small business. Growing up, Jamie studied tap, jazz, ballet and lyrical. Shortly after bringing her daughter to her first Mommy and Me class in 2013, Jamie joined the faculty at Sterling Silver and began to teach preschool dance. Since then, Jamie has joined the CO91 staff and has been instrumental in building the summer camp program and the pointe curriculum. Her favorite thing about teaching dance is working with her students over several years and helping to shape them into accomplished performing artists.

instructor

Traxx Kavajecz is a life-long member of Sterling Silver Studio. He has won the Men’s National Baton Twirling Championship several times with both USTA and NBTA organizations. Traxx coaches baton twirling and hip hop teams and offers private and group lessons in music. Traxx plays several instruments including drums, guitar, and bass and is one of the founding members of the local band “Born Too Late”. In addition to teaching at Sterling Silver, Traxx is an instructor for the Music Resource Center located in Sacred Heart in Duluth, MN and serves as a home healthcare worker. He also owns the production company, “MoSoPro”.

instructor

Rokkyn Kavajecz grew up dancing and twirling at Sterling Silver Studio and danced in her first recital before her first birthday. In addition to being a member of CO91, she is a Sterling Silver fire twirler, a member of the Spartan Twirlers, and is the lead singer of the local band “Born Too Late”. Rokkyn is also part of the 2025 Harbor Monsters cheerleading squad.Rokkyn aspires to work in the mental health field and incorporates mental health awareness into the classes she teaches. She loves working with the younger students at Sterling Silver and helping to shape the next generation of performing artists.

instructor

Bella Olson has been a member of Sterling Silver Studio since preschool. She has studied baton twirling, as well as several styles of dance throughout her journey. She has traveled throughout the United States as a member of CO91 and has performed with the Sterling Silver Parade Corps in prestigious events such as the Chicago Thanksgiving Day Parade and the St. Paul Winter Carnival as well as hundreds of local community and fanfare events. Bella is an accomplished violinist; she is in the Chamber Orchestra and studies music at UMD where she aspires to be a music teacher. Bella is a featured twirler with the UMD Bulldog Marching Band.

instructor

Jaime Nygaard started twirling with Sterling Silver in the early 1990's, before the actual "Studio" existed. As a child, Jaime was a member of the Company 91 team, and competed throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota. As an adult, Jaime returned to Sterling Silver to share her love of twirling with her own children, and joined the Sterling Silver team herself as a member of the adult twirling program the "Golden Girls". She also also serves as a customer service professional at Sterling Silver. When not at the studio, Jaime works in the healthcare field as a Respiratory Therapist.

instructor

Amanda Carlson was a twirler with Sterling Silver from 1992 to 1996. She was a member of CO91 and was a member of the Wisconsin State Champion tiny tot dance twirl team. Amanda returned to Sterling Silver when she enrolled her daughter Sadie in Sterling Silver Academy. She now shares her love of baton twirling with the students of Sterling Silver Studio and has been a leader in developing the Twinkle Star Dance Program. In addition to working with kids at Sterling Silver Studio, she is a professional in early childhood education.

instructor

Elisa Blank grew up dancing as a Sterling Silver Studio Company 91 member. In high school, Elisa served as captain for her dance team, and upon graduating from high school, was invited to coach high school dance. Elisa is the proud mom of a little boy, Mateo, and when she returned to Sterling Silver as an adult, she brought her son with her to join the Mommy & Me program! Elisa is a member of Sterling Silver’s adult competitive hip hop, jazz, & lyrical teams, as well as a dance coach for our Academy Program. In addition to working with students at Sterling Silver, Elisa works with adults at the Challenge Center in Superior. She is also part of the 2025 Harbor Monsters cheerleading squad.

instructor

Kendra Schmidt has been dancing since 2011. Her favorite styles are rhythmic tap, jazz, and dance fitness/Zumba. Kendra has a B.S. in Legal Studies and is an IT Technician for Superior High School. In addition to being a member of the adult CO91 teams, Kendra is also an award-winning flute player. When she is not working or in the studio, she is at the gym lifting weights.

instructor

Amanda Rockwood is the instructor and creator of the Sterling Silver Strong Dancer Program. She also teaches adult fitness classes at the studio. Amanda has been in the fitness and health industry since 2009 when she received her first certification as a Russian Kettlebell Instructor. In 2010 she began instructing group classes and personal clients for two different gyms in the Twin Ports. In 2012 Amanda began instructing clients at a brand-new fitness center in Superior, Wisconsin, taking on multiple classes per day, creating a successful boot camp for adults and training young athletes. Amanda also partnered with WITC to make a continuing education class she taught that incorporated kettlebell training and overall wellness. In 2013 Amanda and her husband opened and ran their own fitness center in South Superior for five years. Amanda continued to run multiple boot camps, classes, and personal training. Since closing her gym Amanda has continued to promote health and wellness through her online fitness programs, personal training and various pop-up transformation challenges and boot camps. Amanda is passionate about working with young dance athletes to meet and exceed their strength and fitness goals. Her motto is "strong, healthy, happy, and injury free!"

instructor

Coral Anderson has been with Sterling Silver Studio since 2015 where she studied jazz, hip hop, twirl, contemporary and poms. Throughout her time performing, Coral was a member of the 2021 National Champion Hip Hop team, a member of the 2024 National Twirl Champion Team, and the feature twirler at Minnesota State University. While being a part of our staff teaching jazz, poms, twirl, lyrical tap and acro, Coral is a member of the Harbor Monsters Cheerleading team for the 2025 season and a Sterling Silver Fire twirler. She is currently studying cosmetology and has a passion for design, marketing, makeup and teaching!

instructor

Ariana Navarro first started out with Sterling Silver in a mommy and me class at the age of 3 and began competitive dance in 3rd grade. Throughout her performing career, Ariana was a 4 year member of the Eastview Lightning Dance team in high school where she was a part of 6 state championships in jazz and kick, medaled 7 times and received an All Conference Award. After high school, Ariana was a part of the UMD Dance Team her freshman year of college, placed 2nd in open jazz and 3rd in open pom at UDA Nationals. Currently, she is studying Psychology with a minor in Biology at UMD. Ariana is passionate about creating a welcoming environment for students to grow as dancers and people while fostering a sense of discipline and encouragement.