Nikki & Ken Merchut - Owners

Ken and Nikki Merchut, owners of Momentum Performing Arts, are a husband-and-wife team raising their three children right alongside the studio they love. Shortly after getting married in 2016, they took over MPA and began building a space centered on family, growth, and a true passion for dance.

Nikki grew up dancing and discovered early on that her heart was in teaching and inspiring children. She trained and taught at studios across the region—from Buffalo Grove to Crystal Lake—and even made the move from Ohio to pursue her dream of leading a dance program in the Crystal Lake community. Owning a studio had always been her goal, and today she brings that dream to life every day at MPA. In addition to the studio, Nikki is also the Director of the Maine South Orchesis Dance Company. Her experience spans teaching all ages and levels, coaching dance teams, judging competitions, and continuing her education to stay current and innovative in her craft.

Ken came from a service writing background and found his passion within the studio through customer service, leadership, and building strong relationships with families. He plays a key role in creating a welcoming, organized, and supportive environment for everyone who walks through the doors.

Together, Ken and Nikki truly live and breathe MPA—working, teaching, and raising their family within the same community they’ve built for so many others. Their goal is simple: to create a place where every dancer feels at home, grows in confidence, and is inspired to reach their full potential.

KATIE SECOR is a versatile and passionate dance educator, choreographer, and curriculum consultant, originally from Michigan and now based in Chicago.She holds a BA in Theater and Dance from Columbia College Chicago and brings a wealth of knowledge, energy, and compassion to every class she teaches. Katie is deeply committed to safe, inclusive, and empowering dance instruction, and prides herself on helping students of all backgrounds and abilities thrive through movement.

Katie teaches at a wide range of schools,studios and theater companies across the Midwest, primarily in Chicago, and has served as a teaching artist for leading organizations including the Chicago Human Rhythm Project, Forward Momentum, River North Dance Company, and the Chicago Ballet Center. Katie has performed with many Chicago based companies such as Reveries, Body movin dance and Chicago Honey Bears dancers. Where she performed a variety of styles of dance around the world, for military bases, resorts , cruise ships, air and water shows  and casinos. 

Her extensive certifications include:
Pilates Comprehensive Program-500 hours, Zumba, Revolutionary Principles of Movement, Discover Dance, Acrobatic Arts, Progressing Ballet Techniques, Progressing Contemporary Techniques, Ballex and Tap Roots.Over the past year, Katie has focused on certification to expand her ability to teach dancers and to better understand and support diverse types of learners. This reflects her broader mission to ensure that dance education is accessible, adaptable, and meaningful for everyone. She is also currently completed her Pilates certification to further enhance her understanding of functional movement and injury prevention.

Katie’s choreography has been featured in numerous showcases and competitions, earning recognition for its musicality, emotional depth, and originality. She fosters a learning environment where dancers are not only trained technically, but also supported artistically and personally.

Cynthia Kiehnau trained with SF Conservatory of dance; NYC (Perridance, Marjorie Mussman, formerly with Joffrey,); Pam Moore (National Ballet of Md). Ms. Kiehnau has performed professionally for 30 years and taught for 36 years. She has her Cecchetti teachers certificate to the advanced level. (The Cecchetti method is the Italian method and the oldest classical methodology of dance).

Performance experience (reduced), Windemere Ballet Theatre (NYC), Long Is Ballet Theatre (NYC); Asaph Ensemble (Va); National Ballet of Md (Md). Ms. Kiehnau started Crossroads Dance Project (contemporary & ballet co.) that toured Va and produced full-length dance productions for ten years.

After CDP, she formed Virginia Civic Ballet, a professional studio in Va,training classical dancers and producing full length ballets.

Ms. Kiehnau accepted the position as Dance Coordinator for PWC Parks & Rec in Va. The program was started from nothing and developed for ten years to one of the most successful programs at the DCRC Center ( and still running).

Ms Kiehnau and her husband (semi)retired to move closer to children/

Thank you,

Cynthia Kiehnau

Norah Flaherty began her dancing in Oswego, IL at Dance With Flair, LLC. She trained in ballet, pointe, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, musical theatre, and tap, and has over  5 years of experience teaching these styles to every age and every ability.  While at the studio, she aided classes and choreographed for showcases, and recitals, and danced through over 20 theatre productions in the Chicago Suburbs. She believes in the importance of sharing the arts with the community, and also taught classes for elderly individuals at Open Door, and helped with the program "Dancing with Special Stars" to help special needs students enjoy the arts. She then took her dancing to North Central College in Naperville, IL, where she graduated with a degree in Theatre and a Minor in dance, studying under a variety of instructors including Cindy Hartigan, and Dyanna Daniels, while performing a variety of shows and taking classes on-and-off at Lou Conte in Chicago. During her first year at North Central she had the opportunity to study under Dmitri Peskov and be a part of a contemporary dance ensemble that produced the show: Fragments: a Theatrical Dance Experience. Norah was a 3 time contemporary dance choreographer for the Cardinal Dance Company, and danced in a variety of musical theatre, tap, jazz, modern, and contemporary performances for the company.  Her last year 2 years at North Central she shifted her dance focus more towards choreographing, as she was a preceptor for college dance classes, co-choregraphed a one-night production in the style of Bob Fosse, and began teaching tap and creative movement classes at the School of Performing Arts. When Miss Norah isn’t teaching dance or theatre, she can be found coaching college and high school speech teams, auditioning and performing in theatre productions in Chicago, stretching with her cat, and taking aerial arts classes for fun! 

Skye has been a part of the MPA community since she was 9 years old. She grew up in the studio training in a variety of styles such as acrobatics, jazz, ballet, hip hop, contemporary, and musical theater. She graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education where she also trained in different college course dance classes. In addition to working and being at MPA, she also works in an elementary school with students from kindergarten age to second grade. While at UIUC, she continued her passion for dance by being a part of the Velocity Dance Team which continued her training in the styles of jazz, hip hop, and contemporary. Being a member of Velocity Dance Team allowed Skye to perform at UIUC games, work with other colleagues, and dance in the annual showcase each year. Throughout her years at MPA, Skye has dedicated several years to substitute teaching and assisting in classes, gain administrative skills at the front desk, and refining her own teaching techniques. Between her experiences at MPA and in Early Childhood, she is excited to build positive relationships, create a strong community, and build strong, confident dancers. 

Tanya Lewis is a San Diego native where she danced professionally, choreographed and directed. While in San Diego she worked primarily with Mounarath Powell Dance (formerly Visionary Dance Theatre) dancing with the company for 10 years, eventually becoming the Assistant Artistic Director and now board member; as well as setting work and directing. Tanya has also ran and directed Movement Makers, a choreography contest for local San Diego artists, with the goal of creating more inclusivity within the San Diego dance community.

She has also performed work for local, national and international choreographers such as Erika Moore, Eric Geiger, Patricia Rincon, Monica Bill Barnes, Trixi Agiao, Jeanne Travers, Emily Navarra, Spencer Powell and most recently, Fresh Congress directed by Rachel Catalano. As a choreographer she has produced and directed her work independently both on stage and on film. Projects that she has produced on stage include You’re Late, You’re Late II, Ebb &, and Prism. Tanya’s film projects include Between Two Ends which was featured in the international film festival 40North, and Becoming. Her choreography for the short film Song of Birds and Bees, won her the Silver Award for Best Choreography from the International Film Awards. Tanya is a University of California San Diego graduate with a BA in dance and a theatre minor, she received the Stewart Prize for Choreography upon graduating.

Christine has been dedicated to the MPA community since age 10, growing from student to instructor. She recently graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor's degree in Community Health, where she continued her dance training through various classes and performance opportunities. While at UIUC, she served as president of the Velocity Dance Team, gaining leadership experience, choreographing in various styles, and producing an annual showcase and various game-day performances. Christine has also spent several years assisting and subbing classes at the studio, learning from fellow instructors and developing her teaching style. She is passionate about creating a positive and supportive environment where dancers can build confidence, strengthen their skills, and enjoy the process. 

Bio coming soon!