About Our Staff
Caitie Bartelsmeyer -- Owner
Miss Caitie was born in Matthews, NC and moved with her family to Metropolis, IL at the age of 2. She began dancing a year later, but took a few years off to pursue softball, cheerleading and soccer. She started back at the age of 12, when TRF first began in the Musical Theater program. the following year, she began taking more technique-based dance classes and continued to take most of the classes offered at TRF. Caitie has a tremendous love for the performing arts. She was also a Rhythmic Youth team member for four years. She has performed for various local events like Stomp Towards a Cure, The Lion's Club Telethon of Stars and Dancing with Our Stars. She has performed in Market House Theater's production of Annie's Kids. She has also worked with the McCracken Co. Public Library's "Musical Story Time" program in The Cat and the Fiddler. She has also trained with highly regarded Teacher/Choreographer Marcus Alpert and Alex Wong, a So You Think You Can Dance finalist, World of Dance finalist Ian Eastwood and Broadway Dance Center's own Tom Richardson and Miles Keeney. She also had the pleasure of being invited to compete in the Mid-South Fair Youth Talent Contest in Memphis, TN in both singing and dancing. Caitie received the special award of "Emotional Commitment" at Creation Dance Champs Competition 2017 in Louisville, KY. She also placed 2nd overall in her age division for her solo "The Hill". Most recently, Caitie has been attending classes at Murray State University (MSU) as a Theatre Major, with focus on choreography and acting. She played Olive Ostrovsky, the female lead, in MSU’s fall 2018 production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, her first college role. In the spring of 2019, she choreographed MSU’s production of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, as well as Marshall County Arts Commission’s production of The Addams Family. She is currently choreographing MSU’s Operetta, The Pirates of Penzance, and is current choreographer for MSU’s “Campus Light“ for Spring 2020.
Christy Stewart
Miss Christy started dancing when she was just 4 years old at Gotta Dance Studio in Lexington, KY, training in all styles, including Pointe, which she began at the age of 12. She danced throughout her childhood, keeping her Ballet training at the forefront. With the constant support of her parents, she joined the competition team when she was in grade school and competed all the way through high school. She was also a member of the dance team at Tates Creek Middle and High Schools. Christy attended Murray State University and was a member of the Racer Girls Dance Team, where she was Co-Captain her Junior year and Captain her Senior year, acting as "coach" and choreographing all of the routines. Along with Racer Girls, she also joined Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority and won "Best Choreography" for their 2014 performance in Murray State's All Campus Sing Competition. Christy was Choreographer for 2015's Miss Murray State pageant. She graduated from MSU with a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and is working toward a Master's in Business Administration. She currently resides in Paducah, KY, working in the accounting department at Paducah & Louisville Railway. Christy is excited to be continuing her passion for dance by teaching the students
Micheal "Crank" Curry
Mr. Micheal is the owner of Fingerprint Urban Dance Studio in Cape Girardeau, MO. He and his students have attended Hip Hop battles across the country and have worked with many of the top dogs in the Hip Hop dance industry. For more info, visit Fingerprint Urban Dance Studio on Facebook!
Reagan Easter
Miss Reagan was born in Metropolis, IL and began to dance at the age of 6 when TRF first opened its doors. She took every class offered to her from that year on. She has been on the competitive company team since she was 7. Reagan was homeschooled all her life and started college a year early in 2022. She plans to get her Associate degree from Shawnee Community College and from there decide on her future. Miss Reagan has performed in many events in the communitey like Stomp Towards the Cure, Lowertown Arts Festival, Dancing With our Stars, Telethon of the Stars and many other events as well. She has also trained with highly regarded Teacher/Choreographer Marcus Alpert, Alex Wong and Kathryn McCormick; So You Think You Can Dance finalists, World of Dance finalist Ian Eastwood and Broadway Dance Center's own Tom Richardson and Miles Keeney. She also had the pleasure of being invited to compete in the Mid-South Fair Youth Talent Contest in Memphis, TN for dance. Miss Reagan just finished her last year as a TRF student for the 2022-2023 season. She has danced for 12 years and taught classes for the last 6 years.
Emily Duncan
Miss Emily danced for 12 years, then taught for 2 1/2 years until Covid hit. She is trained in all styles of dance other than ballroom. She has attended conventions with Mia Michael, Alex Wong and the late Stephen tWitch Boss. She has danced competitively for several years as well and was on the high school dance team where she was captain. She led the team to 6th place out of 78 teams at competition. Miss Emily's passion for dance has only grown as she has gotten older and she is happy to be back at the studio she grew up in.
Alexia Land
Miss Alexia is a 22 year old Dance instructor with a Bachelor of Arts from Southeast Missouri State University. She has trained in a variety of styles including Jazz, Lyrical, Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, Tap, Musical Theatre, Hip Hop, and Heels. Miss Alexia enjoys teaching and sharing her knowledge with her students. Her classes focus on building skill and confidence in her students as they develop a deeper understanding of movement.
Britney Tilford
Miss Britney started dancing at Anita Howle School of Dance at the age of 2 where she first learned her love of tap. She then transferred to TRF when it first opened in 2011, expanding her experience with a multitude of dance genres, including lyrical and contemporary. She competed in both local and regional competitions throughout her time at both companies, as well as attending conventions in Chicago and Atlanta. She graduated from MSU in 2020, where she was a part of the MSU dance company, choreographing 4 dances in her last two years. She was happy to come back and teach pre-k and K-1st classes at TRF in 2019-2020 before moving to Owensboro for her dietetic internship. While in Owensboro and during COVID, she taught her cousin and a friend dance over zoom, as they lived in California and Texas, respectively, during that time. She has now been working in Paducah as a Registered Dietitian for 3 years. She is so excited to be returning back to her home studio to teach Tap with your kiddos!
Rebecca Evans
Ms. Rebecca has been involved with dance 30 plus years now, as a studio dancer, competition dancer, and dance instructor for children and high school dance teams. Other than her experience with performing arts, she also trained in yoga, has been a cheerleader, and has a passion for competitive cheer with its focus on dance and choreography. She is also a cosmetologist, animal lover and a bit of a book nerd. Most importantly, her gift of dance, a form of expression, is from the Lord, and she is grateful for it always.
Emily Hyde
Miss Emily is currently a student at MCHS and has been a member of TRF for 12 years, dancing since the age of three. In that time, she has devoted many hours to experiencing and learning various forms of dance and the musical arts. In her spare time between school and dance, she is a member of the high school academic team and continues to expand her musicality by playing the oboe. Miss Emily joined the studio's dance team and began competing in 2022. She has participated in dance intensives including Dancemakers in Baton Rouge and locally at the Market House Theater, in addition to TRF's summer classes. She has danced in many local performances such as the Telethon of Stars, Stomp Towards a Cure, and the Lower Town Arts Festivals. She also had the honor of performing next to the professional dancers in the Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker for two shows. Miss Emily threw herself into being an assistant dance teacher when she was eight years old and fell in love with the idea of sharing her passion and knowledge of dance with others.
Anna Hottel
Miss Anna has been dancing for nine years, starting in 2014. She danced for two years with Center Stage, took two years of gymnastics with Lakewood, and then she joined TRF in 2018. She has also performed in The Lighting Thief with Market House Theater(March 2025). This summer, Miss Anna participated in Starpower's Power Pak 2025, where she trained under Marinda Davis, Sadie Reichenbach and Bella Boles. She has trained in Ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, and modern styles.
Maddie Glass
Miss Maddie had been dancing for 7 years. She has trained in many styles of dance such as ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and hip hop. She has danced at The Rhythm Factory for 2 years and been competing since then. She will continue to compete for her senior year! She has a love for performing and has performed at a fashion show as a halftime act as well as a backup dancer for a local artist. Miss Maddie loves dance and is excited to share her love of dance with her students!
Samantha Shumate
Bio coming soon!
Michele Easter -- Office Manager
Ms. Michele has been the office manager at TRF since 2012 and she absolutely loves her job. She was born and raised in Weddington, NC (a suburb of Charlotte). She graduated from Wingate University with a Bachelor's Degree in English and a minor in Business Administration. She worked in accounting and was an office manager for various homebuilders in the Charlotte area. She and her husband Cliff moved to Metropolis, IL in 2002. Cliff works as Minister of Youth and Families at First Baptist Church of Metropolis. Michele has three daughters Kenzie, Caitie and Reagan. Kenzie lives in Wake Forest, NC while working on her masters. Caitie and Reagan were very active students at TRF from the beginning in 2011, and both teach for the studio now. Caitie is now married and divides her time between here and Peoria, IL where her husband, Nicholas, is doing his residency. Reagan will be attending Murray State this fall and is on the MSU dance team.