Faculty : Bates Dance Studios

Heidi Hilton, Director, Manhattan Studio, Pride Dancers

Heidi Hilton is the director of the Bates Dance Studios (Manhattan studio) and the co-founder of the Bates Pride Dancers. Heidi has taken dance lessons for twenty-six years in many areas including ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip-hop, musical theatre, and baton. The studios where Heidi has studied dance include the Broadway Dance Center, Steps on Broadway, The Edge Performing Arts Center in L.A., Lou Conte Dance Studio in Chicago, and Broadway Theatre Project in Tampa.

For the last thirteen years, Heidi has been an instructor in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip-hop, musical theatre, and baton.

Heidi currently teaches at Bates Dance Studios, and has also taught at three studios in Virginia including Ann Catherine-Cross School of Dance. Heidi was also an advanced tap and jazz instructor at Kansas State University and taught at Bethany College in Kansas.

Heidi has performed professionally for Busch Gardens Williamsburg (April 1999 to Oct. 2000), Holland America Cruiselines (April 2001 to July 2001), and the National Tour of "The Music Man" (Aug. 2002 to Jan. 2003). She has also substitute taught for Dance Olympus and was also a VIP and Art Stone Girl.

Mindy Dryden, Instructor/Choreographer, Pride Dancers

Mindy Dryden has been taking ballet, lyrical, pointe, jazz, and tap for the last twenty-two years. She has taken from Bates Dance Studio, Kansas State University, Broadway Dance Center,Lou Conte Dance Studio of Chicago, Millennium Dance Complex and The Edge Performing Arts Center both in L.A. She has been teaching tap, jazz, tumbling, and ballet for the last six years at Bates Dance Studios and for one summer in Riley, Kansas.

Mindy has toured for Dance Olympus as a VIP dancer and worked for Dance Olympus as an Art Stone Girl.

Mindy danced professionally at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay from August 2005 to January 2006. She was featured in "American Beat", "Christmas Celebration", and a Special Performance for the Boys & Girls Club.

Mindy is a 2005 graduate of Kansas State University with a B.A. in Management and a minor in Spanish.

Gyll Bates, Owner/Director

As the owner and director of Bates Dance Studios, Gyll has taught every type of dance offered at our studios. She has been dancing and teaching for over forty years. Gyll's love of dance began at an early age. She studied dance near her home in Ohio and during the summers in New York with renowned teachers such as Luigi, Jack Stanley, Ernest Carlos, Ron Daniels, and Marilyn Taylor (sister of June Taylor who choreographed for the Jackie Gleason Show). She has taken tap, ballet, pointe, jazz, twirling, and tumbling.

Gyll first began teaching dance in her home in Ohio at the age of twelve. By 18, she was running her own studio. She then taught in Mexico for two years before moving to Kansas, where she taught at the Manhattan High School and at Kansas State University. She started the Manhattan studio in her basement 30 years ago. It has now grown into the current professional studio at 731 McCall Road and has expanded into Great Bend, Abliene, McPherson, and Junction City, Kansas. Gyll currently teaches at four of our studios. She danced professionally at Summer Stock with the Kennley Players in Warren, Ohio.

Gyll's other great accomplishments include the choreography for show choirs and thirteen musicals, both at Manhattan High School and Arts in the Park. In addition, Gyll founded the Pridettes dance team at Kansas State University (now known as the Classy Cats) and directed them for eleven years.

Gyll received a B.S. in Education with an emphasis in Physical Education from Youngstown University.

Sladana Hudson, Instructor/Choreographer

Sladana has been dancing for over twenty years. She was trained in Vaganova ballet technique at Sarajevo's School of Performing Arts in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Sladana also took ballet at Kansas State University and performed in K-State's Winter and Spring Dances. She has also performed at Sarajevo's National Theater, Wichita State University, The Folly Theater in Kansas City, and the Columbian Theater in Wamego.

Sladana has been teaching at Bates Dance Studios for over 10 years in ballet, pointe, and lyrical. She also teaches the ballet technique class for the Bates Pride Dancers.

Sladana received a B.S. in Business Administration/Marketing & Management from KSU in December of 2000 and an M.S. in Apparel and Textiles Marketing from KSU in May of 2003.

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