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Celebrating the Artistry & Technique of Dance

Since 1965

About Cleveland City Dance

Founded in 1965 by Alexis Martin of England, Cleveland City Dance has offered dynamic dance instruction and nurtured generations of dancers for over 50 years.

In 2004, Courtney Laves-Mearini took over CCD and moved our dance school to its current location on 13108 Shaker Square in Cleveland, OH. With a staff of 20 professionally trained dance instructors, we continue to carry on CCD’s legacy as an award-winning dance school offering classes and education for students of all ages.

Dance school in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

We look forward to dancing with you!

Call 216-295-2222 to Enroll

View Our Classes

Our Director Engages in The Sound of Ideas Interview on Shaker Square’s History and Future

Courtney Laves-Mearini, the director of Cleveland City Dance, recently participated in an enlightening interview on “The Sound of Ideas” show. During the interview, we had the opportunity to share our insights and vision for the future of Shaker Square, emphasizing its significance as a cultural hub. We are excited to be involved in the revitalization efforts led by the new owners and to contribute to a vibrant arts and entertainment scene at Shaker Square through Cleveland City Dance’s programs and performances.

Listen to the full interview!

Our Instructors

Our professional teachers combine a wealth of professional, decades-long experience to nurture the passion and talent of our students.

We understand the dedication, talent, and hard work of self-expression through modern and classic dance instruction. We have found that confidence and self-awareness are integral rewards of artistry and technique, and we look forward to sharing these with our current and future students!

Courtney Laves-Mearini, CPR, YPAD

Director

Claire

Roxanne Bain

Yoga Teacher

Samantha in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

Samantha Basford

Ballet

Bridget in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

Bridget Biliunas, YPAD, RAD

Ballet

Bridget in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

Gabriela Checo

Teacher

Bridget in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

Lori Christman

Ballet

Lauren in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

Lauren Dangelo

Contemporary & Jazz

Alison in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

Alison Dubsky

Ballet

Allison in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

Allison Eastburn, CPR

Preschool & Pre-Ballet

Spencer

Annette Ellis

Jazz Instructor

Meghann in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

Meghann Snow Hennen, CPR

Children’s Ballet

April in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

April Hirsh-Urban

Tap

Spencer

April in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

Michael Keating

Ballet

Sara in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

Johanna Kester

Musical Theater Teacher

Sara in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

Sara Lawrence-Sucato

Modern, Tap, Ballet

Ethan in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

Ethan Michael Lee

All Boys’ Ballet Instructor

April in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

Joanne Hughes Morscher

Ballet

Lori in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

Lori Simplican, CPR, YPAD

Front Office Staff, Adult Ballet, Jazz, Tap & Musical Theater

Meghann in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

Gwendolyn Seckers

Ballet

Karin in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

Tami Small

Musical Theater, Jazz, Tap, Zena Rommett Floor-Barre Technique®️

Jamie in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

Kristi Tichenor

Ballet

Karin in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

Karin Tooley

Accompanist

Spencer

Spencer Waldeck

Ballet & Contemporary

Heather in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

Heather Koniz Young

Office Manager, Ballet, Jazz, Modern & Yoga

Claire

Claire Zakrajsek

Ballet & Contemporary

Claire

Maeve Dick

Ballet

Claire

Teagan Reed

Instructor

Heather in Cleveland, OH ❘ Cleveland City Dance

Saundra (Sandi) Bohl

Flamenco Instructor

Mary Caitrin Lynch

TCRG (The Academy Irish Dance Co.)

Notible Alumni From Cleveland City Dance

Maia Atzemis Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Trainee

Adrienne Chan-Harvard University Class 2025 & Harvard Ballet Company

Barbara Craig-currently free-lance dancer and teacher

Abi Besse-Guest teaching

Brier Bracken- Ballet Met Trainee

Grace Bourdrez- The Ohio State University Class 2026

Holly Burke Point Park University Class 2023; Keystone Contemporary Ballet apprentice

Henry Harte- Butler University Class 2026

Lydia Havenar- guest artists in Ohio

Olivia Mian Ballet Met Trainee

Grace Pindel-Washington University St. Louis Class 2026

Luca Sakiewicz- The Ohio State University Class 2026

Sage Smith- The Ohio State University Class 2024

Katerina Steiber- Brynn Mawr College Class 2026

Diana Yohe Parr-Soloist with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre

Spencer Waldeck-Dancer with Ballet Tucson

Shane Williams -Apprentice with New York City Ballet

Claire Zakrajsek-Senior at University Cincinnati, College Conservatory of Music; working with Fifth/Third Bank 2024

News

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Meet Courtney Laves-Mearini of Cleveland

Begin your dancing journey today. Contact Cleveland City Dance at 216-295-2222 to get started.

Cleveland City Dance

Monday-Thursday:
9:00 AM ‒ 1:00 PM
4:15 PM ‒ 9:00 PM

Friday:
10:00 AM ‒ 1:00 PM
4:30 PM ‒ 7:30 PM

Saturday:
9:00 AM ‒ 2:30 PM

Sunday:
Closed

13108 Shaker Square
Cleveland, OH 44120

Get Directions!

Cleveland City Dance is not affiliated with Cleveland Ballet.

Contact

Phone: 216-295-2222
Email: info@clevelandcitydance.com

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Mary Caitrin Lynch, TCRG, began her Irish dance journey at the age of 9 after several years of ballet training at the Beck Center for the Arts under Melany Zucchs. That early foundation in ballet instilled the posture, turnout, toe height, and balance that would serve her well throughout her competitive career. Mary Caitrin joined The Academy in 2011 at age 13, just as Edward Searle and Byron Tuttle brought their world-class training and vision to the U.S. She danced competitively for over a decade—her final seven years proudly with The Academy—earning numerous accolades at the regional, national, and world level.

In 2013, following her first World Championship team title with The Academy in Boston, Mary Caitrin and her teammates appeared on Season 8 of NBC’s America’s Got Talent, performing for judges Howard Stern, Heidi Klum, Mel B, and Howie Mandel. The experience was a whirlwind introduction to performing Irish dance on a national stage, and it remains a highlight of her dance career.

Though she retired from her solo career in late 2015 due to a recurring foot injury, she remained deeply involved with the team program and competed at the 2015 World Irish Dance Championships in Montreal. After stepping away to attend Ohio University, Mary Caitrin was invited back from retirement in 2017 to compete at the Mid-America Oireachtas and later the 2018 World Championships in Glasgow, where she earned her final two world titles.

In 2020, after graduating college during the height of the pandemic, Mary Caitrin decided it was time to pursue a lifelong dream: becoming a certified Irish dance teacher. She had always known she wanted to teach under Ed and Byron and eventually work toward becoming an adjudicator (ADCRG). That unusual moment in time gave her the courage to go all-in, and she hasn’t looked back since.

Today, she is both a TCRG and a full-time IT recruiter for a small technical firm in Mayfield Heights. Her professional role allows the flexibility to remain present in the Irish dance world and support the continued growth of The Academy throughout Northeast Ohio. While The Academy’s main studio is based in Columbus, the school was originally founded in downtown Cleveland at the Masonic Temple with just six students. It has since grown into a premier program with 50+ dancers across the region.

Mary Caitrin has had the privilege of teaching numerous dancers over the years, including Elise Miklos, who she has worked with for the past five years. Elise’s recent competitive success includes placing 5th in the world at the 2025 World Irish Dance Championships in Dublin, earning a North American National Championship, and remaining undefeated as a six-time Mid-America Oireachtas Champion. Witnessing the dedication and growth of students like Elise has been one of the most rewarding parts of her teaching journey.

Michael, a New Jersey native, trained under the direction of John White and Margarita de Saa at the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet. While studying under John White and Margarita de Saa, he also had the privilege of working with choreographers Bryan Koulman and Lina Early performing a variety of classical, modern, and contemporary works. During Michael's time at the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet, he was involved in a small ensemble called Pages to Pirouettes. The ensemble’s purpose is to take storybook ballets, such as Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and Cinderella, to grade schools in the entire Philadelphia area and teach school children about ballet and dance in general. Michael also spent several months studying at the Boston Ballet School prior to joining a professional company. Michael joined The Sarasota Ballet of Florida as an apprentice in 1999 and retired as a principle in 2008.

Including Sarasota Ballet's full repertoire, he performed many leading male roles including Lysander and Theseus in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Siegfried, as well as Rothbart, in Swan Lake, Othello in Othello, and the Cavalier in the holiday favorite The Nutcracker. Michael also had the distinguished honor of portraying Don Jose in Alberto Alonso's Carmen, not only on stage but also in the documentary project Dancing in Freedom's Shoes portraying Alberto Alonso's illustrious life and career in ballet. Michael's contemporary repertoire includes many pieces by James Buckley including Business Casual, Centaur, The Rite of Spring, and Anne Frank. He also reset Mr. Buckley's Anne Frank on The Sarasota Ballet in January of 2006. In 2002, Michael had the honor of working with choreographer Christopher Fleming to celebrate the artist Jean Claude Gaugy’s's inspirational masterpiece 'The Awakening'. The work was revealed in Santa Fe, New Mexico to a ballet that reflected the artist's struggle to overcome impossible odds. Michael has received pedagogy training based upon the Vaganova Syllabus, which is the same syllabus he trained under at The Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet.

Gwendolyn Holden Seckers is a seasoned dance educator who has taught students of all ages in a variety of settings. Trained in both commercial and conservatory settings, she holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Georgia and was an inaugural member of the UGA Ballet Ensemble. Originally trained as a gymnast and competitive Irish dancer, Gwendolyn began ballet studies in Rochester, NY with her mother, who later relocated to Cleveland, Ohio. She studied at the School of Nashville Ballet with Elaine Thomas (Royal Ballet), Paul Vasterling, and Janek Schergen. While a musical theater student at Northwestern University, she studied jazz dance with Nan Giordano at the Gus Giordano Dance Center. As a young teen, Gwendolyn was chosen to perform with the New York City Ballet during its summer residency at Saratoga Springs. Gwendolyn was an adjunct faculty member at Middle Tennessee State University, a teaching artist for the Cumberland County Playhouse, and ballet instructor for the Rutherford County Youth Ballet.

At Cleveland City Dance, Gwendolyn teaches Beginning Ballet and Ballet I and also serves as a Children’s Rehearsal Assistant for City Ballet of Cleveland. She is also a teaching artist for the Beck Center for the Arts and created a curriculum for Head Start outreach programming. As a teaching artist, She developed a rigorous semester-long dance appreciation course, combining practical applications of dance technique and cultural history, used by area high schools. Gwendolyn has taught outreach education for DANCECleveland’s Read to Learn . . . Dance to Move program and has also worked as a certified fitness instructor.

She is a certified Silver Swans instructor (Royal Academy of Dance) and attended continuing professional development seminars with the Royal Ballet (England) and the Royal Academy of Dance. Gwendolyn completed Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet’s teacher’s workshop, learning Marcia Dale Weary’s curriculum with Rose Taylor. Gwendolyn is a YPAD-certified instructor and also holds CPR certification. She is a member of the Royal Academy of Dance. Most recently, she completed an intense study of the Vaganova curriculum through Level IV with tutors from the Bolshoi Academy of Ballet.

Outside of dance, Gwendolyn has volunteered as a tutor with The Refugee Response, served on the board of the Winterhurst Figure Skating Club, and was appointed to the City of Lakewood’s Community Relations Advisory Commission. She was also a volunteer for the Loyola Society at St. Ignatius High School. She is a longtime reader for the Maltz Museum Stop the Hate® contest. Gwendolyn maintains a K-12 substitute teacher license for the state of Ohio.

Sara Lawrence-Sucato hails from Columbus, Ohio, graduated with a degree in Dance Teaching and Choreography (B.A. ’06) and Organizational Leadership (M.S. ’24) from Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania, and lives/works in the northeast Ohio (Cleveland) area. She has studied with noted dance teachers Madame Natalie Krassovska, Laura Alonso, Cynthia Harvey, Vivi Flindt, Finis Jhung, Christopher Huggins, and Milton Myers.

Sara's performance credits include roles in Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Coppélia, La Sylphide, Pas de Quatre, Paquita Variations, and Bolero. She has performed in Columbus with The Dance Cure and Columbus Dance Theatre, as well as with the Mercyhurst Dancers, Lake Erie Ballet, SoMar Dance Works, and Shen and Bones Performance Group in Erie. In her 16 seasons as a dancer with Cleveland’s The Dancing Wheels Company, Sara performed works by noted choreographers Marc Brew, Nai-Ni Chen, David Dorfman, Christopher Fleming, Catherine Meredith, Stuart Pimsler, David Roussève, Ginger Thatcher, Mark Tomasic, Michael Uthoff and Robert Wesner as well as by internationally renowned choreographers Donald McKayle and Dianne McIntyre.

In her capacity as Director of Education at The Dancing Wheels Company & School, Sara works with a team of Master Teaching Artists to deliver the Dancing Wheels Teacher Certification program, trains new company dancers, oversees and teaches outreach and in-studio classes and programming, and instructs physically integrated dance technique. Sara is on the Ohio Teaching Artist Roster. She teaches residencies for Dancing Wheels in schools, community centers serving people with disabilities, and memory cafés for individuals living with dementia in Northeast Ohio.

Sara’s choreographic credits include Concerto Impressionniste (2016) and Ocean Stories (2017) for City Ballet of Cleveland, as well as One (2015/2017) and other dances for Cleveland City Dance’s Annual Spring Concert. Sara has worked as a faculty member with Cleveland City Dance since 2014.