Meet the Staff

April Wevodau April was brought into the dance world in a baby carrier set in the corner of a dance class and has been dancing since 1976. Officially starting at age 3, she danced at the Joanne School of Dance, which later became the Wevodau Dance Center. Around age 8, she also began training at the Harrisburg Dance Conservatory under Forry Gehret. During that time she began dancing professionally with the Harrisburg Ballet under Richard Hoskinson from the New York City Ballet, and Nana Badrena from the Western Ballet Theatre in Puerto Rico. She performed such ballets as The Nutcracker, Firebird, and Dracula. Also, she has done various competitions where she won a scholarship to the Broadway Dance Center in New York City. Later on in life, she has helped choreograph musicals for Bishop McDevit and Central Dauphin High schools.

Candace Zoghby Candace started dancing at age 3 at Rosalene Kenneth Professional Dance Studio in Pittsburgh, PA. She danced at the studio for 15 years and took class in ballet, pointe, lyrical, tap, hip hop, and jazz. Candace competed in large production numbers with the studio for 4 years. During high school, she was a featured tapper in the musicals and assisted in teaching the ensemble how to tap. In college, Candace danced and choreographed with the Penn State Vole Ballet Club for 4 years, performing a new show every semester. She also took classes in African and Ballroom dance at Penn State. In 2012, she graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Food and Biological Process Engineering. After a 2-year dancing hiatus in Iowa, she moved to the area and found a dancing home at Wevodau! Candace has been teaching level 1 for the past year. She currently works as a Staff Engineer at Nestle Purina PetCare and lives in Dillsburg with her husband Jeff.

Erin Anderson Erin started ballet dancing with Wevodau’s at age nine and quickly realized a passion for all types of dance styles, quickly moving up to the highest level. As soon as she was eligible she became a dance instructor at the studio until she graduated college. After several years away from teaching dance, Erin returned to Wevodau’s in 2009 to teach Level 2. Since then, she has taught Levels 1, 2, & 3, Beginner Adult, Beginner Modern, Toddler, and Preschool Levels 1 & 2. Currently, Erin focuses her instruction on Level 1 and Preschool Level 1. Erin lives in the area with her husband and her three young children.

Jessica Fought Jessica started dancing at the age of 3 studying ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, and contemporary/modern in Central Pennsylvania. At the age of 14 Jessica joined a competitive all-star dance team where she competed within the NDA National Championship division winning National titles in Jazz and Pom categories. She then attended Towson University where she was a member and choreographer of the Towson University Pom Squad; performing at football, basketball, and lacrosse games. At the age of 21, she transitioned into professional dancing in the sports entertainment industry with the NBA. In 2008-2010, she served as a member of The Washington Wizards Girls for The Washington Wizards in Washington D.C. In this time, she earned the titles of Rookie of the Year and Jr. Captain. In 2011 she furthered her NBA career moving to Boston, MA to become a member of the Celtics Dancers for the Boston Celtics. She served as a member for 6 seasons (2011-2017), with 1 year as team captain, dancing on national televised games including The Eastern Conference Finals on ABC. Through her 8 years in the NBA she has traveled to China, Turkey, Spain, Italy, and Mexico to dance at various NBA Global events. She also served as 1 of 5 representatives that would travel to Las Vegas, NV to attend ProAction Dance Convention to learn choreography for upcoming seasons. Some master choreographers include Sabrina Bryant (Cheetah Girls), Oscar Hernadez (American’s Got Talent), and the one and only NappyTabs!

Johanna Lucas Johanna started her dance training at the age of 3. It was at the suggestion of her cousin that she start at Wevodau's. She participated in school musicals and plays even co-­choreographing the 8th grade musical. In high school, she was an assistant teacher at Wevodau's, trained with a local dance team, participated in a local theater youth program, and performed in Will Rogers Follies before being accepted into the Slippery Rock dance program. She has since been in management at a few retail stores and went on to work at a daycare center where she could incorporate her knowledge of dance with every day activities. Johanna is currently staying home to take care of her two young boys when she isn't at the studio.

Kate Bender Kate has been dancing at the Wevodau Dance Center since 1993. She was a member of the Encore Dance Company and attended competitions for 4 years. She went to Cumberland Valley High School where she sang in the choir, played violin in the Orchestra, took art classes, and performed as a cast member in her freshman year musical. She was a color guard member of the CVHS Marching Band where she was trained in flag, saber, and rifle. The marching band competed weekly in TOB during the fall of the year and the indoor color guard competed in KIDA in the spring. In 2005, Kate won the KIDA solo competition for indoor color guard and performed exhibition at the Championship competition. She attended Kutztown University where she graduated with honors in 2009 with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and Advertising. While at Kutztown, she worked for the office of admissions as a campus tour guide, was in the co-ed community service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega where she held the position of Service Vice President, and also took Ballet and Pointe classes. She is currently a teacher at the Wevodau Dance Center and is one of the business managers and secretary of the executive board. When she is not at the studio, she works for Peapod Digital Labs as a Coordinator of Digital Offer Delivery, is one of the leaders of her Middle & High School youth group at her church, and is working on her MBA in Digital Marketing online through Messiah University. Kate will also be leading the newly formed WDC marketing team.

Kim Ford Kim started her dance training at age 7 at Barbara Joan's School of Dance in NJ. She took classes there until she graduated high school, having taken classes in Ballet, Jazz, Tap & Hawaiian dance. In college, she took class and was a member of the Dance Theatre group at Westminster College.She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in French Education. She became a member of the Faith in Motion liturgical dance group at Mechanicsburg Presbyterian Church in 1989. In 1991, she started at Wevodau Dance Center in the Intermediate Adult classes. In 1995 she began teaching level 1 and preschool classes at Wevodau Dance Center. She has also served as School Manager since 2000.

Kim Panasuck Kim started her dance training at the age of 6. Day after day her parents watched her walk around the living room on her toes. They finally said, "we better get her into dance classes." She started her dance training at Miss Cindy's School of Dance in Quakertown, where she began her love of ballet. From there she danced for several years at Renaissance School of Dance in Sellersville, with additional ballet classes at The Shubert School of Dance. As a teenager she went on to dance at Dance Elite in Horsham, Pa. She has a strong interest in classical ballet having taken master classes in both Vaganova and Cechetti methods. She performed various roles in the Nutcracker as well as variations from other ballets including Coppelia. She has a Bachelors of Science degree in Business Management from East Stroudsburg University. While in college she was part of the East Stroudsburg University Contemporary Dancers and held the role as secretary of this organization. While there she was able to perform in many modern and lyrical pieces as well as musical productions including Jesus Christ Superstar. She started attending college with the intention of earning a degree in elementary education but after three years in college she found a passion for business and decided to switch majors. Since starting to teach dance at Wevodau Dance Center 10 years ago, it gave her the opportunity to work in the business field during the day but teach dance during the evenings combining the best of both worlds. She currently teaches our toddler class, level 1 and intermediate adult ballet class. She also enjoys continuing her education by taking additional ballet classes herself.;

Megan McGee Yinger Megan started her dance training at age 7, and at age 9, she started at Wevodau's. She was (and still is) a member of the Encore Dance Company and competed with the school for 7 years. At age 10, she also became active in local musical theatre. She attended La Salle University, where she earned a B.A. in American Studies. While there, she continued to act, dance, and sing with the Masque of La Salle University, performing in shows such as Cabaret, The Philadelphia Story, and Urinetown. After she received her M.A. in American Studies at Penn State, she returned to performing and teaching in and around Philadelphia. She choreographed for the junior competition team at Fusion Performing Arts Center (Cherry Hill, NJ). Through this work, she won a Creative Choreography award at the NYCDA competition for the piece "Cruella De Vil." Megan returned to Wevodau's in 2014 as both a teacher and a student, and she teaches multiple classes such as Level 2, Level 3, and Intermediate Contemporary. Outside the studio, she has finished her Ph.D. in American Studies, she is the choreographer for the Cedar Cliff High School musical, and she loves spending time with her husband and son, Elliott, who is also a Wevodau's dancer!

Natalya Gaffney Natalya discovered the joy of dance as an adult when she began formal dance instruction at the prestigious Boston Ballet School’s adult dance program. She has danced in the Intermediate Adult class at Wevodau Dance Center since 2010. Natalya was a competitive gymnast at the West Shore YMCA and at Red Land High School where she won the Intermediate Gymnastics Team State Championship title in 1991. She continued to participate in recreational gymnastics and worked as a gymnastics coach throughout her college and young adult years while obtaining her medical degree. She currently works at Penn State Children’s Hospital as a Pediatric Rheumatologist. Natalya lives in Carlisle with her husband and their 2 dogs. She is grateful for the opportunity to help young dancers develop their tumbling and acrobatic skills.

Sherry Winters In 1989, Sherry Enrolled her daughter in the Toddler Class at Wevodau's. Holly danced at Wevodau's from the age of 3 to 20, making her way through all the Levels and right into teaching. Through those years Wevodau Dance Center became a family to her family. Throughout those years, Sherry has volunteered to help on ticket sales days, was a parent chaperone during the recital, and for 20 years catered the meal for the staff and company between the evening shows. Today, you can see her sitting behind the glass windows in the office several nights a week helping with clerical duties. By day she has worked at Pinnacle Health Systems as an Administrative Assistant in the Cardiopulmonary Services Department for over 38 years. She is a wife, Mom of 2 grown children, and Granny to 5 grandchildren. She has seen over the years what dancing has done for her daughter Holly and her friends in regards to poise, confidence, strength, persistence, and attitude and truly believes it can make a difference in a child's life.

SueAnne Keim SueAnne has been enjoying the privilege of teaching children at Wevodau's since 1998 as a dance instructor. She has been one of our Level I and Toddler teachers. Her son also danced at this studio while in high school and before his naval career began. SueAnne is a RN with the Pinnacle Health System and is a nurse in the recovery room at Harrisburg Hospital. She has two grown children and five grandchildren, all of whom live outside the state. Her daughter presently resides in Hawaii at Pearl Harbor; her husband's current command station.