DanceWorks
School of dance
A little about us...
DanceWorks School of Dance has been up and dancing since 2002! DanceWorks is a locally owned studio. It is our goal for your child to be able to fit dance into their life for whatever reasons they choose. We feel that our curriculum offers a variety to fit an array of interests.
Our studio is built on the idea that dance offers each individual the opportunity to express themselves through individuality, self-discipline, and diversity in a collaborative environment with peers who appreciate the art of dance.
The main Instructors and directors of DanceWorks are DeEtta Conklin, Patricia Weseman, and Kathleen Albers. All three of these women have been involved with dance since they were very young. DeEtta and Tricia have a combined teaching experience of 42 years. They have owned and operated their own studio in Aurora for five years and Hastings for thirteen years, as well as have instructed for the YWCA dance program.
All of the DanceWorks instructors attend several workshops throughout the year to stay up-to-date on dance information and styles. Workshops they enjoy attending include "The Pulse" in Denver Colorado and the "City Slickers" clogging workshop in Missouri. At these workshops DanceWorks instructors collaborate with choreographers and instructors such as; Mia Michaels, Dave Scott, Wade Robson, Brian Freidman, Shane Sparks, clogging instructor Joel Harris, and many more. In their earlier years as students they have competed and won various regional and national competitions.
Tricia Weseman lives in Hastings Nebraska with her two children; Tyler Weseman age 13, and Lizabeth Weseman age 10. Tricia is a full-time speech pathologist and dance instructor. Recently Tricia went back to school to receive her Doctorate in Speech Pathology. Her specialties in the dance studio are tap, ballet, jazz, lyrical, pointe, flamenco, belly dance, salsa, and clogging.
Tricia loves experimenting with dances from other cultures. You will find Tricia Teaching classes to students from ages 12 and up. She is also responsible for creating the DanceWorks Newsletter, Handbook, and various other notes and memos that keep parents up-to-date on all the happenings at DanceWorks.
DeEtta Conklin lives in Hastings Nebraska with her husband, Lance Conklin, and two children, Andrew Conklin age 15 and Kierstin Conklin age 11. DeEtta is a full-time cosmetologist and dance instructor. DeEtta recently went back to school in order to obtain a degree in Social Work.
DeEtta's specialties in the dance studio include, tap, ballet, lyrical, jazz, basic tumbling, and clogging. You will find DeEtta teaching students from ages 3 and up.
DeEtta enjoys creating a fun environment for her young dancers as they learn how to follow instruction and develop a love for dance.
DeEtta is also responsible for creating dance-wear for DanceWorks; such as the fun recital T-shirts we offer annually. She also creates DanceWorks decals for students and parents as well and takes care of all dance foot-wear needs.
Kathleen Albers currently teaches the hip hop, jazz and clogging. She has been dancing since the age of four and has competed in numerous dance competitions during which she obtained several national titles. She has competed on the DanceWorks Competition teams since 2004 and currently coaches DanceWorks' competetive groups. Her competetive groups have recieved top awards in their catagories as well as invitation to national competitions.
During her high school career Kathleen participated in the HHS Color Guard and HHS drill team (Tigerettes).
Kathleen graduated from the University of Nebraska at Kearney with a Bachelors in Education with an emphasis in English as a Second Langugage and Spanish education, as well as a minor in Dance. Kathleen is also a member Phi Eta Sigma (Honors Society). She participated in the UNK Marching Band- Color Guard.
Kathleen choreographed and produced the Miss Koolaid Days Pageant in 2012 and had the opportunity to choreograph for the UNK dance concert in 2012 and 2013.
In 2012 she attended a Summer workshop with Salt Lake City Utah’s Repertory Dance Theater (RDT) then performed with the modern dance company at the Merriman Performing Arts Center in Kearney Nebraska. Recently Kathleen received her first Spanish teaching job at Red Cloud, NE for their High School and Elementary School.
Kathleen is also responsible for creating and maintaining an up-to-date web page and facebook page for DanceWorks. Recently Kathleen organized a Hip Hop workshop at DanceWorks with "So You Think You Can Dance" choreographer Zach Benson. Students who participated in this workshop learned how to breakdance, hip-hop combinations, and what it is really like to try out for a competition as intense as "So You Think You Can Dance".