About us

Photo by William Cameron 2018

Photo by William Cameron 2018

Photo by William Cameron 2018

Photo by William Cameron 2018

Photo by William Cameron 2018

Photo by William Cameron 2018

Our mission

The Dance Lab offers dance instruction to children and adults alike in ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, modern, creative and adult fitness.  While our emphasis is on correct technique and form, we also stress the importance of creativity, personal expression, dance history and arts appreciation in attempt to mould the student into a well-rounded artist regardless of their level of involvement. We understand that, though dance is a strictly disciplined art form, it is essential to enjoy our time learning it as well.  

Photo by William Cameron 2016

Photo by William Cameron 2016

Photo by William Cameron 2016

Photo by William Cameron 2016

Photo by William Cameron 2016

Photo by William Cameron 2016

About the owner

Joan Mix Lande (Joanie) is a dancer, choreographer and performer who's professional career spans from Rochester to the Twin Cities, and various places in between.  Joanie has been an avid dance enthusiast since age 5, growing up at the Janet Lang Dance Studio in Rochester, MN, fluently studying every form of dance offered at the time including ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, pointe, clogging, swing and danceline.  As a 7th-grade student at Dover-Eyota High School, Joanie organized DE's first ever Dance Team that still exists today.  In 2006, Joanie graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. During that time, she performed in five University Dance Theater Productions, including National ACDFA at the Kennedy Center, Washington D.C. Immediately after that, she performed as an apprentice with Carl Flink's Black Label Movement, Joanie Smith and Daniel Shapiro's Shapiro and Smith Dance, and Paula Mann and Steve Paul's Time Track Productions.  In 2009 Joanie founded Rainy Day Cabaret and since then has produced five evening-length productions with that company, all based in Minneapolis.  In 2010, Joanie directed, co-created and co-wrote RISE; an original production produced and performed by the Rochester Dance Company, held at the Mayo Civic Center, in Rochester.  Since then she has worked with the Rochester Dance Company as the Assistant Director, Ballet Mistress and Stage Manager.  Prior to founding The Dance Lab in 2016, Joanie taught dance at the Janet Lang Dance Studio for 18 years and Zumbrota Dance Studio for 10 years in all disciplines, including jazz, modern, lyrical, tap, ballet, pointe, competition and creative dance.  

Instructors

Avin Honecker Sherman

Avin Honecker Sherman is a graduate from Winona State University with a B.A. in Professional Studies: Dance and Movement Studies. She is currently a Dance & Exercise Instructor traveling across SE MN driving to Rochester, Winona & Zumbrota on a weekly basis.   She teaches at a variety of places including Dance Lab, Winona State University, St. Marys University/MN Conservatory for the Arts, 125 Live,  Zumbrota Dance Studio, and several community education programs.  She enjoys participating in all dance forms as well as teaching clogging, irish, square dancing, social dance & a variety of folk dances including the maypole dance as well as traditional dance in ballet, tap, jazz, modern.  Performing for many local events & festivals as well as supporting the Rochester Eagles Cancer telethon.

 She also enjoys taking & teaching all areas of fitness from  land to  water classes!!

Her dance and exercise expertise has evolved from attending at an early age  at Rochester & Kasson ballet school, Childrens dance theater, Toby Lagervall & Janet Lang dance studios. She finished High School at Perpich Center for Arts Education. Went to college at University of MN & Finished her degree at Winona State University.


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Daniel Klinkhammer

Born and raised in Rochester, MN, Daniel began his dance training at the age of 7 and has been dancing ever since. Daniel's movement training began with Gymnastics, Tae Kwon Do, and Diving before he started taking Jazz dance classes. Shortly after, he began taking Ballet, and eventually Ballroom, Hip-Hop, and Modern dance.

While attending the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, he studied under Maggie Bergeron, Ananya Chatterjea, Carl Flink, Toni Pierce-Sands, Uri Sands, Joanie Smith, and Erin Thompson, and performed works created by Gregory Dolbashian, Larry Keigwin, Scott Rink, and Uri Sands. In the spring of 2016, he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance.

Throughout his time spent at the University doing movement and personal research, Daniel fell in love with not only the incredible community of dancers, but also with all of the incredible artists in the Twin Cities Metro area. His deep appreciation of all forms of art has allowed him to work collaboratively with dancers and non-dancers alike.

 


Mikaela Sarran

Mikaela Sarran, born and raised in Rochester, MN has been involved in dance since the age of 3. She started her Dance career at Janet Lang Dance studio takings Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern, Contemporary, Pointe, and Hip Hop. She was apart of the JLDS competition performance team for 7 years. During her High School days she was involved with the Century High School fall dance team. 

After high school Mikaela went on to further her education at the University of Minnesota - Duluth where she graduated with a Bachelors of Applied Science - Public Health Education and Promotion along with an Applied Dance minor. During her time at UMD she was a 4 year member of the UMD Dance Team. She was a 3rd year Junior captain and ended her last year on the team as senior captain. Mikaela also was an active member of the theater department. Participating in the yearly dance show and getting the opportunity to have a short documentary about her life with dance and her internship.

In collage, during her time off from classes and dance team duties, Mikaela taught at a local dance studio called Shooting Stars. She taught Ballet, jazz and contemporary/modern and also choreographed group dances, solos, duos and trios for their competition performance team. During her last year at UMD, she was given the opportunity to intern for a local artist where we collaborated on her art and my dance skills. After collage, Mikaela got hired at Mayo Clinic as a Clinical Research Coordinator for the Department of Medicine - Public Health, Infectious Disease, and Occupational Medicine where she has worked for a little over 3 years.

In Mikaela’s free time she likes to hang with friends, go to concerts, travel, listening/mix music and of course dancing. 


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Courtney Stellpflug

Courtney began dancing at the age of 3, and developed a love for ballet, pointe, lyrical, and jazz.  Growing up in Rochester, she danced at Janet Lang Dance Studio, and with the Children’s Dance Theater. Once in high school, Courtney was captain and choreographer for the inaugural Century High School Competition Dance Team, and was awarded MN State High School League All-Conference.  In college, Courtney danced in numerous productions at Winona State University and the Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts, her favorite, Swan Lake.  Courtney enjoys consulting for local high school dance teams, and has 14 years of dance instructor experience with all age groups and skill levels.  When not dancing, you’ll find Courtney at St. Mary’s Hospital where she is the Medial Thoracic Clinical Nurse Specialist.  She is the mother of 2 energetic kiddos, ages 5 & 2.


Sandra Thomson

Sandra Thomson is a Rochester native who found her love for dance at Janet Lang Dance Studio at age three, and beganteaching at age sixteen.  She grew up training in all genres and styles of dance at the dance studio and through Children’s Dance Theater.  After graduating from Mayo High School, Sandra attended Winona State University, where she began her Dance Minor and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science/Athletic Training.  From there, she went on to the University of Minnesota Duluth for a Master of Education and to continue her Dance Minor.  Sandra has been on staff at The Dance Lab since 2017, where she loves teaching all styles of dance, and enjoys coaching competition dancers.  In addition to teaching dance, she has worked at Mayo Clinic since 2002 as an Athletic Trainer in Sports Medicine and as a Registered Nurse, with most of that time being spent as an RN in the Cardiac Surgery and Transplant ICU. She transferred to an RN position at the Mayo Blood Donor Center in 2022 and is finally able to enjoy working day shift hours.  Sandra has two daughters, Cameron, and Emerson, who share her passion for dance, and two dogs, Viesha and Isla.  She enjoys spending her free time with family and friends, choreographing dances, editing music, and watching dance videos and tap tutorials online.


Elizabeth Harris Timm

Elizabeth began her life-long love for dance at the age of two. A Rochester native, she grew up dancing at multiple studios in the area. She has studied a variety of styles and earned a dance certificate during her college training. Some of her favorite memories growing up were from her time performing with Children’s Dance Theatre and in multiple versions of the Nutcracker, including the Moscow Ballet, as well as serving as captain of her high school cheer and dance teams. Outside of dance, Elizabeth works full time at the Alzheimer’s Association and enjoys working as a wedding coordinator on the side. She also loves spending time with her friends and family, including her husband Paul and their two dogs, Millie and Poppy. Elizabeth has been teaching dance for over nine years. She enjoys teaching dancers of all ages, but she especially enjoys working with beginners to help them build a solid foundation for their dance training while also having fun and learning valuable life skills.


Daniela Wiepert

Daniela has been dancing since the age of 3, when she began in creative dance classes at Janet Lang Dance Studio in Rochester, MN. After a few years, she moved across town to the Allegro School of Dance and began training tap and ballet, before moving back to Janet Lang and studying all the dance styles offered, including tap, ballet, pointe, jazz, lyrical, modern, contemporary, and hip hop. During this time, she was part of the Rochester Dance Company as well as the Century High School fall dance team. She followed Joanie to The Dance Lab when it was founded in 2016, being the first senior to graduate from the studio.

While attending Brown University in Providence, RI, Daniela was part of 2 student-run, student-choreographed dance groups that where she choreographed each year for the annual showcases. During this time he specialized in a fusion of hip hop and jazz/contemporary.

After graduating, she returned to Rochester and The Dance Lab, where she has been teaching and assisting tap, jazz, contemporary, and ballet classes.


Hanwen Wong

Hanwen Wong grew up in Shoreview, Minnesota. At two, she started dancing with CAAM Chinese Dance Theater in St. Paul were she learned traditional Chinese folk dance, ballet and acrobatics. In high school, Hanwen was a member of Mounds View Viewettes Varsity Dance Team and became captain her senior year. Hanwen's passion for dance grew as she juggled her competitive high school dance team and her Chinese dance studio. 

In 2018, Hanwen graduated from Villanova University, in Philadelphia, with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. While in college, she was the Co-President of the Villanova Dance Company. She performed and trained in jazz, ballet, hip-hop, lyrical, contemporary and modern dance styles. She performed at basketball games, school events and the bi-annual showcase ran by the company. Hanwen became known for her emotional storytelling and unique choreography. Outside of campus, Hanwen also substitute taught jazz, contemporary, lyrical and hip-hop classes for Daine Dance Academy in Pennsylvania.

Hanwen is currently studying in the Physical Therapy Doctoral Program at Mayo Clinic and hopes to become a physical therapist specializing in dance rehab.