About Us

Come Dance with Us!

Our dance studio was founded over 40 years ago and welcomes dancers of all ages. Our class offerings include ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, dance line, musical theatre, creative movement, and more!

Conveniently located at the Chaska Community Center, we offer affordable and professional dance education that fits your family's budget without the competitive atmosphere. Our emphasis is on building self-esteem, self-confidence, and personal development.

Our Team

BIO-Jenny-new

Miss Jenny

Jenny Pantano is the owner and director of Chaska Dance Center. She has been dancing her whole life and has been training dancers for over 25 years.

Miss Jenny

Jenny Pantano is the owner and director of Chaska Dance Center. She has been dancing her whole life and has been training dancers for over 25 years.

Jenny trained at various dance studios throughout her childhood including The Dance Shoppe, Victoria Dance Productions, Hopkins Dance Center, and Ballet Arts. After graduating high school, Jenny moved to Los Angeles where she trained with the nation’s top choreographers and instructors at the Performing Arts Center. She performed in the Jerry Lewis Telethon and with the Mark Goodman Tap Company as a dance captain. Her choreography has received top honors winning awards such as Outstanding Choreography at BravO! National Dance Competition and at Showbiz National Talent Competition in Daytona Beach, FL.

Jenny holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master’s Degree from UCLA. She has two daughters, Giselle and Mila, who both share her love of dance!

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Miss Janet

Janet Merckling has studied modern, ballet, jazz, and tap, and brings a lot of fun to our classes!  She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance from the University...

Miss Janet

Janet Merckling has studied modern, ballet, jazz, and tap, and brings a lot of fun to our classes!  She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance from the University of Minnesota.  After college Janet taught dance for several Twin Cities studios, specialized in teaching younger students in ballet and tap.  Janet lives in Chaska and has 1 son, Nathan, who attends St. Cloud State University and is serving in the Marine reserves.

BIO-mary

Miss Mary

Mary Pieper is an icon in the Chaska dance community. Mary founded the Chaska School of Dance in 1984 and has taught classes to thousands of students.

Miss Mary

Mary Pieper is an icon in the Chaska dance community. Mary founded the Chaska School of Dance in 1984 and has taught classes in ballet, tap and jazz to thousands of students in our community over the years. Her dedication, passion and the impact she has had on her students over the years is immeasurable. Mary currently teaches our Monday night preschool and kindergarten-1st grade classes. One of Mary's greatest joys is to welcome back former students and to now teach their daughters and sons.
BIO-AMANDA

Miss Amanda

Amanda Middleton teaches several of our teenage technique classes. She also teaches Ruby Company competition team, and our adult classes.

Miss Amanda

Amanda Middleton teaches several of our teenage technique classes. She also teaches Ruby Company competition team, and our adult classes.

Amanda grew up in the Twin Cities training at various dance studios including Starburst Dance Academy and Summit, and dancing competitively from a young age through college where she was part of the St. Cloud State University dance team.  Amanda continued to participate in the dance community post-college with Vikings and Timberwolves training camps, dance troupe Soul to Sole Dance Conversion, and backup dancing for an 80s cover band. 

Amanda received her Bachelor's degree in Marketing from St. Cloud State University, and her Master's in Human Resources Management from St. Mary's University, and has worked in Corporate HR positions for several years.  Amanda and her husband Anthony have two daughters, Josie and Mackenna, who already share mom's love of dance!

White and Brown Classic Fashion Sale Business Flyer - 1

Miss Regan

With a rich background spanning two decades in dance education and choreography, Regan is an award winning, versatile and dedicated professional!

Miss Regan

With a rich background spanning two decades in dance education and choreography, Regan is an award winning, versatile and dedicated professional in the arts. Most recently serving as a Dance Educator and Choreographer at The Dance Warehouse since July 2014, she has honed the craft of creating and implementing engaging dance lesson plans for a diverse range of students, from recreational to advanced competition levels. Her role involved continual self-evaluation and refinement of choreography to foster growth and excellence in both herself and her students. Her strength in these areas led to numerous award-winning performances.

Previously, Regan made significant contributions to The Phipps Dance Theater from August 2013 to December 2023. As a Dance Choreographer, Performer, and Social Media Manager, she choreographed and helped produce numerous shows, performed in various productions, and managed social media platforms, showcasing her multifaceted talents and adaptability.

In addition to her dance career, Regan has also served as the Owner and Instructor at Evolution Studio, a studio for adults based in Uptown, Minneapolis, from June 2018 to February 2021.

Regan is excited to start this new adventure with Chaska Dance Center!

BIO-Allison

Miss Allison

Allison Wheeler began her dance journey training in ballet and studio competition dance styles. She brings her passion for dance to her students.

Miss Allison

Allison Wheeler was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and began her dance journey training in ballet and studio competition dance styles. In high school, she attended Main Street School of Performing Arts and Arkansas Arts Academy where she fell in love with modern and contemporary dance. Allison recently graduated with a BFA in dance from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Throughout her time in university, she trained in a wide variety of dance genres and worked with artists such as HIJACK, Dr. Ananya Chatterjea, Souleymane Badalo, BRKFST Dance, Shapiro & Smith Dance, Erin Thompson, Carl Flink, Taja Will, and Limón Dance. Emerging into her professional career post-college, Allison has worked with artists such as Mathew Janczewski’s ARENA Dances, Novel Dance Company, Flyover Contemporary Dance, and Heidee Lynn Alsdorf. Allison has also been involved in the K-pop cover dance community teaching K-pop dance and performing in multiple cover dance groups and projects. In Spring 2023, Allison choreographed and co-produced A Fool’s Errand dance show at the Red Eye Theater in Minneapolis. Allison’s choreographic work has also been presented at The Momentary and The Medium in Northwest Arkansas. Allison values her wide range of experiences and inspirations in her choreographic and teaching work. Through drawing on her experiences training in dance and performing, she hopes to extend her passion for dance to her students.

BIO-ABBY

Miss Abby

Abby Moldenhauer started dancing at the age of seven and graduated from Chaska Dance Center. She performed with our competitive teams...

Miss Abby

Abby Moldenhauer started dancing at the age of seven and graduated from Chaska Dance Center. She performed with our competitive teams for many years, winning multiple awards throughout her career, and worked as an assistant teacher for our younger classes throughout high school.

Abby graduated from Chaska High School and currently works as an infant teacher at Kindercare Learning Center. She is currently taking her CDA course to become a teacher. Abby loves the outdoors and spends much of her free time enjoying it.

We are excited to have Abby on staff co-teaching our preschool and K-1st grade classes.