The time has come for recital fun! Costume measurements will be taken by your instructors and assistant teachers throughout January at both our Aurora and Wheaton facilities. Photos and descriptions of your dancers’ costumes are available right here on soleunique.com. Here are direct links to Aurora and Wheaton costumes. These pages may be updated throughout terms 3 and 4 with more detail from your instructors regarding hair styles, tights, shoes and/or accessories.
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Co-Owner / Treasurer
Studio Director
Gera is very excited to be a co-founder/owner of Soleunique Dance Complex. Gera’s teaching style is energetic, positive, fun, and nurturing. She brings out the potential in each and every student. Gera sets the groundwork for her students to successfully achieve their own personal goals as they relate to dance.
Gera fell in love with dance at the age of four. She mastered many different styles of dance including jazz, ballet, modern, lyrical, tap, and tumbling. She also studied acting and voice, which assisted her in winning many awards for group and solo performances.
Gera completed her Bachelor of Arts degree at Columbia College, Chicago which adds to her creativity and originality in the classroom. She is very happy to have the privilege of working with children of all levels and ages. Gera is AFAA (American Fitness and Athletics Association) certified and is excited to add the new element of adult fitness to her repertoire.
Caitlin Mourek was raised in Geneva, Illinois where she started to dance at the age of 3. She has then danced at numerous dance studios around the Chicagoland area specializing in ballet and lyrical. Dancing at Dance Dynamics, she has worked with special needs children and adults teaching and assistant choreographing the basics of dance and yoga. Finding interest in high school as well, she had volunteered and worked with kids from Mid Valley with special needs.
Dancing independently for a few years attending competitions and conventions on her own, she also danced for Freespace Dance with training by the Fox Valley Ballet; taking classes and learning choreography from Ashlie Anderson, Kiefer Otto, and Annette Thomann. Specializing in contemporary, jazz, and ballet.
In 2016, she found her forever home as a member of the Soleunique Dance Company. Currently studying at the North Central College she is studying to receive and BFA in Interactive Media Design. She is now joining the Sole Squad Faculty for the 2021-2022 season.
Ana started dancing at the Attic Christian Arts Center when she was 10 years old. She began competing with her studio when she was 11 years old until she was 16. She continued her dance training, focusing primarily on ballet until she was 18. She is trained in Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, and Contemporary. She spent a few years being an assistant in many classes with younger dancers. She realized her love for sharing her passion with younger dancers during those classes. Ana spent a few semesters at A Step Above Dance Academy furthering her dance technique and in the fall of 2021, she started teaching a handful of her own classes at The Attic.
She became a substitute dance teacher here at SUDC early 2022 and has thoroughly enjoyed being on faculty since. Ana loves the expressive yet athletic side of dance, but most of all loves spending time with her dancers and teaching them. When not in the studio, She is a barista at a coffee shop in the area and finds joy in serving customers. You will still find her dancing for fun with her co-workers in between coffee orders.
Daniel has been dancing Hip Hop from the bright, young age of five and professionally since eighteen. He’s classically trained, yet Hip Hop rises to the top as his most passionate discipline.
Mentored by Marchello Lee, Daniel performed with acts including Drew Sidora, Jennifer Hudson, Ludacris and Wacka Flocka Flame. When not onstage, he keeps active teaching workshops, conventions, recreational classes as well as setting competition routines in the styles of popping, breaking, waving and animation.
Kyra Laster is a dancer, choreographer, teacher, and recent graduate of Western Michigan University where she received a BFA in Dance and a BBA in Marketing. During her time at WMU, Kyra has participated in numerous Department of Dance concerts where she has performed works choreographed by faculty, peers and by guest artists, BAIRA and Mike Esperanza.
In 2018, Kyra began teaching at American Dance Center during the summers and breaks from school. In 2019, she became the Artistic Director of Hip Hop ConnXion Michigan, a branch of the professional hip hop company based in Chicago. Kyra is currently the Program Assistant for ArtLab J and Detroit Dance City Festival where she assists in planning the festival and handles marketing.
Kyra was the 2021 Apprentice for Dance in The Parks Chicago where she performed works by Joe Musiel, Ashlie Deran and Emily Loar and was chosen to present her choreography at the 2021 Alluvion Dance Chicago’s choreography showcase. Additional training includes Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Summer Intensive, University of Illinois Summer Intensive and Ruth Page Choreography Intensive.
Rachel started dance at the age of 12 in Kansas City, Missouri where she trained for 8 years at a studio called, In The Light Performing Arts. She trained in Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Lyrical, and Contemporary. She often helped assist her dance teachers in teaching classes and started a dance team in her home church.
Rachel then moved to Texas after graduating high school and danced at, Steps Of Faith studio for two years. She then progressed and joined their dance company within the studio called, Anchors and Arrows where they performed in festivals, special events, and churches. She even performed in the 2018 Project Dance in Houston.
She loves teaching dance so much that she later became a dance teacher for TNT studios in Canton, Texas. Where she trained toddlers and teens in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Hip Hop. After a short break from teaching she moved to Chicago with her fiancé and could not stand being away from what she’s passionate about, so she then started substituting for Soleunique and joined the faculty in season 9. Rachel is more than happy to be back to what she loves, and can not wait to love on her dancers and encourage them to be the best they can be.
