Ann Marie Frank, AMA Creator & Director
Ann Marie Frank has been working non-stop for years building an environment where students not only learn the arts and life-long skills, but are always made to feel welcome as they step through the doors of AMA. Her lifelong love of the arts is richly based in music and dance.
Having studied music and primary education at Northeastern University, Ms. Frank learned all instrumentation applications and also studied trombone and piano privately for over 12 years. She studied dance at Lou Conte’s Dance Studio in Chicago, home of the Hubbard Street Dancers, and with numerous professionals such as Ruth Page and tap legends, Ben Ofer, Avi Miller, Gregg Russell, Jimmy Payne, Tommy Sutton, and Bruce Stegman.
Continued study is the mark of a true artist and Miss Ann Marie has participated in hundreds of dance workshops over the years. Most recently, she has traveled to Los Angeles, Scottsdale, New York, Orlando and Vancouver to learn from the best dance masters in the industry. “I want to be able to expose our AMA students to everything dance has to offer,” she says. “It is very important to me to be able to bring the latest styles of dance being taught all over the country to our AMA students!”
Ann Marie has taught dance for over 25 years in the Park Ridge and Des Plaines communities, and is well known for her energetic style, original choreography and contagious excitement. She attributes her current success in part to attitude, greeting every new AMA season with unshakable enthusiasm and optimism.
Passionate about the performing arts, AMA began offering private music lessons in 2008, and added dramatic, vocal and music group classes this fall. Miss Ann Marie’s dream is to create a performing arts school where children and adults can come together, grow and excel in a nurturing cultural environment.
Planting flowers in her front yard every summer and traveling to warm climates are some of the things Ann Marie loves to do outside of AMA. She also loves to play Scrabble with her kids and seeing every Broadway musical possible with them!
Christina Gale, Dance Instructor
Christina was born and raised in Elk Grove Village, IL where she began her dance training at the age of four. Having danced throughout her elementary and high school years, she continued her investment in dance at Columbia College Chicago where she earned a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Dance, with a concentration in teaching. While at Columbia, Miss Christina trained in many dance forms including Ballet, Modern, Jazz, African, Tai Chi, Pilates and Improvisation. She has been given amazing opportunities to work with and learn from top professionals nationally and worldwide. Her passion for the arts is directed towards education and integration of movement in all lives because she recognizes its need and benefits. Trained in providing creative movement and technique classes for all ages, Christina strives to create a comfortable and open place for students to learn, explore and develop themselves, not just physically, but intellectually and emotionally as well.
Miss Christina continues to fulfill her creative side by taking dance classes and performing whenever she can! She loves watching her AMA students grow with each passing year and is always excited to meet her new students! Christina is continuing her desire to reach and work with young children by pursuing her Master’s degree and certification in Early Childhood Education at Roosevelt University! When she can find the rare moments of “free time”, Christina loves to spend it with her amazing family, friends, and her two adorable cocker spaniels, Angel and Macey! She loves to travel and also has a proud weakness for chocolate and coffee!
Amy Probasco, Dance Instructor
Amy Probasco hails from Virginia Beach, VA, where she received her early training at the Governor’s School for the Arts and the Virginia Ballet Theater in Norfolk, VA. Amy is a graduate of the BFA dance program at Shenandoah University, where she was the recipient of the University’s Dance and Academic Scholarship Awards. She has trained in a variety of performance styles including ballet, pointe, jazz, hip-hop, modern, and musical theater, and has had the privilege of studying with Todd Rosenlieb Dance, the Joffery Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and the Paul Taylor Dance Company.
Amy has been blessed with opportunities to perform throughout the United States, including at the Kennedy Center and the Jazz Dance World Congress. She has danced principal roles in The Nutcracker, La Sylphide, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake and has also performed in a number of regional Broadway productions including Cats, Sweet Charity, Will Rogers’ Follies, West Side Story, and Kiss Me Kate.
Amy loves hugs, swimming in the ocean, vanilla ice cream, and the color pink – and she loves teaching all her AMAzing students at AMA!
Jessica Walker, Piano Instructor
Jessica Walker has been referred to as a “piano prodigy.” Her musical talent has been called upon numerous times to perform at the locally televised Wilmette Young Artist Concerts and she has played in the North Shore Music Teachers’ Association’s prestigious Sonatina/Sonata Festival, where she was awarded performance medals at each of her four consecutive appearances.
An accomplished accompanist, Miss Jessica has played with jazz bands and orchestras, and for religious services and youth groups. She has also accompanied the students of Chippewa Middle School, Maine West High School and the local home-schooled student population at numerous solo and ensemble contests.
In addition to studying piano for over 10 years, Jessica studied music theory and technique through Achievement in Music (AIM) courses and is currently pursuing a college degree in fine arts. She has been teaching piano for the last six years and finds it to be her passion working with children as young as five years old to advanced levels.
“There is nothing more fulfilling than to take what I have learned and be able to share it with others,” says Miss Jessica. She excels in making lessons a fun learning experience for her students and adores teaching at AMA. Her newest passion is Eli’s cheesecake!
Denise Mlynski, Tumbling Instructor
Denise Mylnski first developed her interest in coaching while on the Maine West gymnastics team when she had the opportunity to work with local children between the ages of 3 to 10 in tumbling and gymnastics.
During her college career at Illinois State University, Miss Denise also became a member of the Gamma Phi Circus, adding tightwire, acrosport, adagio and teeterboard to her skill base. She performed with the Circus for 6 years and also volunteered her time and talents in teaching circus arts to 6-14 year old children for the Junior Gamma Phi Circus.
Denise received her Bachelor’s and Master’s in Speech Pathology from ISU, and currently works as a speech language pathologist for Pediatric Therapy in Arlington Heights. She continues to perform throughout the Chicago area with Forms in Motion, a circus arts company and is thrilled to be part of the AMA team for the 5th year in a row!
Miss Denise’s teaching objectives are to provide a fun and safe environment for her students to learn, practice, and become passionate about the skills of tumbling. She strives to promote dedication, commitment, and confidence in her students as life skills to be utilized inside and outside of AMA’s walls.
In her free time, she continues to study her craft with fellow performers from the Gamma Phi Circus. Denise also enjoys playing on a recreational volleyball league, being an aunt to her nephew, Noah, and going out to eat!
Greg Luberda, Piano Instructor – bio coming soon!
Dan Ruiz, Guitar Instructor – bio coming soon!
Amy Capps, Office Assistant
Amy Capps grew up dancing with Miss Ann Marie beginning back in 1987. Many of you might know her as Amy Schroeder (she was married this past July and has a new name!) Amy still takes 2 tap classes with Miss Ann Marie along with jazz and hip-hop. She now happily joins the AMA staff working at the front desk! You might even see Amy subbing a tap class or two!
A lifelong Des Plaines resident, Amy attended Augustana College and graduated with a B.A. in biology. She went back to school to get her teaching certificate and Master of Arts in Teaching degree at National-Louis University last year. She finished her student teaching this past school year and is now a certified Middle School and High School science teacher! She now has one more class to go to finish her Masters!
Besides her first love of dancing, Amy’s favorite thing to do is watch sports, especially her Chicago Blackhawks, Cubs, Bulls and Bears! She also enjoys playing board games, solving Wheel of Fortune puzzles before all of the contestants and just laughing with friends. Speaking of friends, Amy thinks the best television show ever created is Friends (ask her to quote it- she can!). Cheese is Amy’s favorite food- she puts it on everything!
Amy has a wonderful and unusual gift! She has a photographic memory! Seriously! Once she sees or reads something, she doesn’t forget it! This gift has come in handy over the years to help Miss Ann Marie review dances from years past. You can give her the name of any dance (not just the ones she was in) from any of the shows she has been involved in since 1987 and she can give you the year it was performed, the name of the show and where it was in the show! How cool is that? AMA is thrilled to have Amy on staff! Welcome Amy!
Sandy Schillinger, Office Staff
Miss Sandy earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Concordia College in 1986. She has taught both primary grades and early childhood for 9 years. Miss Sandy’s extensive background in teaching children, along with her 8 years of directorial experience has made her a valuable addition to the AMA support staff!
Sandy was born and raised in Chicago and has lived in Des Plaines since 1991 with her husband and two children. She has been a cheer coach for 15 years! Even though she spends only one day in the AMA office, Miss Sandy spends many days at the studio as both her and her daughter take several classes. In her spare time Sandy likes to read, garden, and spend time with family and friends.