Faculty

  • 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 Pride & Gems/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

    Assistant Director of Sparklers/Instructor/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...

  • Rylee Thompson

    Instructor/Choreographer

    Rylee Thompson was born and raised in Manhattan, KS. She took her first dance class at Bates Dance Studio when she was 8 years old and continued dancing through her high school career. At age 10 she began dancing competitively on the Gems team at Bates Dance Studio, and joined the Pride competition...

  • Taylor Gros

    Instructor/Choreographer

    Taylor has danced since she was 3 years old. She moved to Manhattan with her family when she was 4, which is when she enrolled in Bates Dance Studios. She has taken dance with Bates ever since. Taylor has trained in tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, and contemporary at Bates Dance Studios, with her...

  • Kristie Kellerman

    Instructor/Choreographer

    Kristie is from Overland Park, Kansas, and has been dancing and tumbling since she was 3 years old. She tumbled competitively at a young age, but decided to take up competitive dance when she was 10. She danced at Above the Barre Dance Academy in Olathe, KS and is trained in ballet, modern, jazz,...

  • Cooper Allison

    Instructor