Bates Dance Studios - Great Bend

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.

Jaclyn Dewey, Co-Director,Instructor,Choreographer

Jaclyn Dewey currently works for Bates Dance Studio as Assistant Director located in Great Bend, KS. She is originally from Great Bend and studied dance at Encore Dance Studio and Dorothy Donnelly's School of Dance Art's, then continued dance throughout her college years. Spanning nearly two decades, Jaclyn is experienced in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, vocal, and music theatre. She began teaching dance classes while in High School and continued to teach dance during college at her own studio "Encore Dance Studio." Competitive dance experience included full dance scholarship at Barton County Community College and the Elite Competitive Dance Squad that received 2nd Place at the NCA/NDA National Championship in Daytona Beach, Florida. While at Sterling College, Jaclyn choreographed and played the leading dance role in such popular, large cast musicals as "Garden of Eden" and "Me and My Girl." Additionally, she contracts as a choreographer for Great Bend High School under the direction of Susan Baxter Bean. Her students have placed 1st and 2nd in the Spring 2005 Talent on Parade Competition in jazz and tap dancing. Jaclyn loves to share her passion for dance with students of all ages and notes her greatest accomplishments are watching her students excel.

I have a great job in the universe of occupations. What do I do? I'm a "star polisher." It's a very important job. If you want to know how important, just go out at night and look at the stars twinkling and sparkling.
You see, I'm a teacher. The stars are the children in my class. My job is to take them--in whatever shape they come--and shine and buff them and then send them out to take their places as bright, twinkling beacons in the sky. They come into my room in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes they're bent, tarnished, dirty, crinkly, or broken. Some stars are cuddly and soft. Some are prickly and thorny. As I buff and polish, I train and teach my little stars; I tell them that the world cannot do without them. I tell them they can do anything they set their minds to do. I tell them they can be the brightest, shiniest stars in the sky and the world will be a better place because of them.
Each night as I look at the sky, I'm reminded of my very important job and awesome responsibility. Then I get my soft buffing cloth and my bottle of polish in preparation for tomorrow…for my class of little stars.
--Leah Beck

Leslie Francis, Instructor

Leslie has been taking tap and jazz classes for the last thirteen years. She attended classes from Encore Dance Studio, Designs in Dance, Bates Dance Studios, and also taken the opportunity to take classes at Steps on Broadway in New York City. Leslie enjoyed performing as a member of the Argonne Allstar Danceline for four years. In High School, Leslie was awarded the All-American Dance award from NDA(National Dance Alliance) and participated and helped choreograph dances for the GBHS(Great Bend HS) Variety Show. Recently, she has assisted in teaching dance classes with Gyll Bates, Jaclyn Dewey, and Erica Mason.

Jaime Harms, Office Manager

Chelsea Shinner, Instructor

Chelsea began dancing in 1991. She has studied at Wichita Children's Theater and Dance Center, Newton Dance Center, and Bethel College Academy of Performing Arts. She has 6 years of experience teaching ballet, jazz, and Irish dance. Chelsea has taught at both Newton Dance Center and Bethel College Academy of Performing Arts. Chelsea was the recipient of the Universal Dance Association All-Star Award in 2004 and was a member of the National Dance Alliance All-American Team in 2005. She was also the captain of the Newton Dance Team in 2005 and 2006. Chelsea is currently majoring in marketing with a minor in agricultural business at Barton County Community College. She plans to graduate in 2010.