Faculty
Meet the team
Gyll Bates
Owner/Instructor/Choreographer
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...
Heidi Hilton (Bates)
Director (Manhattan)/Instructor/Choreographer
Heidi Hilton is the director of Bates Dance Studios (Manhattan location), as well as the director of Bates Pride Dancers and Bates Gems Dancers. She is an accomplished choreographer, performer, and judge.
Mindy Dryden (Bates)
Director of Gems & Sparklers/Instructor/Choreographer/Office Manager
Mindy started dancing at the age of 3. She is trained in ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, gymnastics, and pointe. Her training has come from Bates Dance Studios, Kansas State University, The Edge Performing Arts Center (Los Angeles), Millennium Dance Complex (L.A.), Lou Conte Dance Studio of Chicago,...
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.
Elizabeth Hayes
Choreographer
Elizabeth Hayes was born and raised in Pittsburg, KS. She grew up dancing at the Y Academy of Dance and joined their competitive team in sixth grade. Alongside dance, in middle school she also performed with a local singing, dancing and acting group that did multiple community performances and a...
Anna
Instructor/Choreographer
Hannah
Instructor/Choreographer
Megan
Instructor/Choreographer
Morgan
Instructor/Choreographer
Aidan
Instructor/Choreographer