Employees

Ambition is owned and operated under the direction of Ms. Terry.

As the owner I would personally like to thank you for inquiring in our dance studio and extend a warm welcome to you.

I have been dancing since the age of 3. I became an instructor helper when I was 12 years old and have been instructing dance for 32 years in the areas of Tap, Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical and tumbling. My experience also includes performing and competing as well as being an assistant director of another dance studio for 10 years before opening Ambition. I still continue my dance education by going to workshops, conventions and taking classes in both California and New York yearly. I also teach competition solos, duets, trios and groups. While under my instruction my students have won first place both regionally and nationally as well as winning entertainment awards and overall high scores for the entire competition.

Ambition is a recreational dance studio but we also offer competition while I understand not everyone is interested in competition the biggest thing I personally would like anyone interested in dance is that when a dance studio competes this raises the level of dance that is taught at a studio rather than a studio that is just recreational. The reason for this is: To compete and be good at it, students must have a well rounded, strong technical background.

Our Teachers

Thara Watts Ms. Thara is the assistant director as well as one of Ambition’s recreational and competition dance instructor. She is also Ms. Terry’s daughter. She has been dancing since the age of 2, and competing since age 4. She has performed in several shows including Cinderella, at the Civic Opera House, and with Elvis impersonator Trent Carlini. In 2000 she won a scholarship to be represented by an agent in Los Angeles, CA. These Scholarships are very hard to win so this was a true accomplishment for her. Through competition, both regionally and nationally, she has won several high score awards for dancing in as well as choreographing numbers for her own teams. She has also won choreography and entertainment awards. She was a member of Midwest Movement for seven years. Once a year she goes to either California at the Edge or New York to take dance classes as well as workshops, and conventions. Thara also has her Bachelors degree from the University of Roosevelt in psychology which has helped her when interacting with students.

Corrine Corinne was one of the first instructors at Ambition Dance and Performing Arts. She has been dancing since the age of three, and was in the second graduating class of the Visual and Performing Arts Academy at Larkin High School in Elgin, IL. There, she studied all styles of dance with a strong emphasis on Ballet and Jazz. She co-wrote and co-produced “In This Life” a student dance production, attended various workshops with River North Dance Chicago, performed as a soloist in the annual Bring A Book to Life Production of ”Jumangi”, and taught many student workshops for incoming freshman of the VPAA. Since then, Corinne has continued her dance education at various studios around Chicago, including Lou Conte Dance Studio, Ruth Page Center, and Joel Hall Dance Center, with a stronger focus on Ballet, Jazz, and various styles of Modern. She also attended a master class taught by Bob Fosse’s very own Anne Reinking, choreographer for “Fosse” and the movie “Chicago”, and accompanied Miss Terry and Miss Thara to New York City for a Dance Teacher’s Conference. Corinne is currently a member of Midwest Dance Collective, under the instruction of Ellen Werksman. Her many performances with MDC include Dance Chicago, “The Secret Garden” (an original ballet choreographed by Ellen Werksman), “The Velveteen Rabbit” (an original ballet choreographed by Rosemary Doolas) in which Corinne has performed as the Velveteen Rabbit and the Flower Fairy. She also performs with MDC annually at the Metropolis Center for the Arts, as well many other collaborative concerts and performances with Dancewerks Dance Productions. Dancing and sharing her love for this art has always been Corinne’s number one passion in life, and she feels so blessed for each day that she’s living her life-long dream of teaching dance and performing!

Amy

Amy Amy is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she earned degrees in both communications and exercise physiology. She has had the privilege to train at the North Carolina School of the Arts and the University of the Arts, while working with such notable artists as Shapiro & Smith, Ronen Koresh, and Mia Michaels. Her professional credits include At Marah Dance Theatre, Thodos Dance Chicago, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, Ziemba Morrow Movement and Groundwork Dance Co., as well as various projects with independent choreographers. Amy also enjoys teaching and choreographing throughout the Chicago metropolitan area.

Christine

Christine of Alma, Michigan began her dance training at age six and continued through high-school and college where she earned a B.S. in Exercise Science with a double major in Dance Performance. At Western Michigan University she was fortunate to work with dance legends such as Donald McKayle, Randy Duncan, Frank Chaves and Mary Cochran, while performing classic works by George Balanchine, Paul Taylor and Frank Chaves (River North Chicago Dance Company). Upon graduating from WMU in 2002, Christine moved to Chicago and joined Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre where she is currently a company member. With CRDT, Christine enjoys working with noted choreographers such as Michelle Manzanales and Dionna PridGeon, and explores her own choreography on the side. Christine is always thankful for the opportunities to share her love of dance with her students.