Meet Our Instructors
Julie Garswood
Julie Garswood is the Owner and Director of Ascend Dance Complex. With more than 25 years of dance, teaching, choreography, and competition experience, she is passionate about providing exceptional dance education in a positive, encouraging environment where every dancer has the opportunity to grow.
Julie is trained in jazz, tap, hip hop, and contemporary, and has earned numerous awards throughout her competitive dance career, including a Special Stage Presence Award. She also has experience in cheerleading and theater, bringing a well-rounded approach to performance and artistic development. Throughout her teaching career, she has coached award-winning competition hip hop teams, won choreography awards, and trained numerous tap soloists and dancers who have received top honors at regional competitions.
Julie graduated Cum Laude from The Ohio State University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and minors in Dance, Spanish, and Economics. She later earned her Juris Doctor, graduating Cum Laude from Cleveland State University College of Law in 2014. She now works as an attorney with the Department of Justice. She resides in Fairview Park, Ohio with her husband, two children, and fur baby.
For more than 17 years, Julie has dedicated herself to inspiring dancers of all ages through quality instruction, meaningful mentorship, and a genuine love for the art of dance. Opening Ascend Dance Complex is the realization of a lifelong dream—to create a studio where dancers feel challenged, supported, and empowered to become confident performers and compassionate individuals. She is honored to share her passion with every student and family who walks through the doors of Ascend Dance Complex.
Director, ADC Company coordinator
Hannie Mills
Hannie Mills began her dance training at the age of three at the Cassandra School of Ballet in
Toledo, Ohio, where she trained in ballet, pointe and jazz. She performed various pieces with
the Cassandra School of Ballet, including Kitri’s Grand Pas variation from Don Quixote and the
Dew Drop Fairy from the Nutcracker Suite. She also performed works choreographed by Cassandra Macino, Stephanie Wingard, and Frank Ohman.
After graduating, Hannie attended Eastern University and pursued a degree in dance with a minor in accounting. While in college,in addition to continuing her ballet and jazz training, Hannie also studied Graham-based modern dance, contemporary, and Umfundalai African Dance. Hannie was a member of Opus 1
Contemporary Dance Company for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 seasons and an apprentice dancer with 180 Dance Company for the 2012-2013 season. During her senior year, Hannie taught ballet for ages ranging from four to eighteen at Kristina Pulcini Ballet Academy. While with Kristina Pulcini Ballet Academy, she had the opportunity to be a guest dancer in the Nutcracker Suite, performing roles in Snow Corps, Marzipan, Chinese, and Flowers Corps.
After graduating Magna Cum Laude with her Bachelor of Arts in Dance in 2013, Hannie moved
to Lynchburg, VA to attend graduate school and completed her Master of Arts in Management
and Leadership in 2014 from Liberty University. During this time, she pursued her love of dance
by attending classes and teaching classes for ages four to ten at Central Virginia Ballet.
Hannie and her husband moved to the Cleveland area in January of 2016. Hannie began taking classes with JAM Dance Academy in the fall of 2016 and was honored to perform in their first
Nutcracker Suite in 2016, in addition to their subsequent performances in 2017 and 2018,
dancing in the roles of the Gypsy Doll, Snow Corps, Palace Princess, Spanish Lead, Russian, and
Flowers Corps. While a teacher at JAM Dance Academy, Hannie taught ballet classes for ages
ranging from three to eighteen. Hannie currently resides in North Ridgeville with her husband
and her two children. Hannie is looking forward to this new chapter with Ascend Dance
Complex and excited to share her love of ballet with the next generation.
instructor, ballet program coordinator
Audrey Lang
Audrey Lang, born in Cleveland, Ohio, has 18 years of dance experience under her belt ranging from studio and competitive dance to collegiate spirit dance. Audrey began dancing at the age of 6 years old growing to train in ballet, pointe, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, musical theater, hip hop, and acrobatics.
Audrey danced from 2021-2025 at basketball games and campus events with the Cleveland State University Dance Team performing jazz, pom, and hip hop. While on the dance team she choreographed performances and took the total of the team's "Captain" for a year. Her team attended and danced at the Horizon League Championship in Indianapolis 2 years in a row.
Here at Ascend Dance Complex, Audrey teaches acrobatics and hip Hop to all ages, training flexibility, strength, technique, and musicality.
instructor
Sam stakolich
instructor
With over 20 years of dance experience, Sam brings passion, energy, and a deep love for the art of dance to Ascend Dance Complex. While she enjoys exploring all styles of dance, her true specialty is tap, where her enthusiasm and expertise shine both in the classroom and on stage. Sam’s favorite part of teaching is helping young dancers discover their confidence and develop a lifelong love of dance. She believes every child has the potential to grow, learn, and shine in a supportive environment. When she’s not at the studio, Sam enjoys spending time with her fiancé, Vince, and their dog, Piper. Sam is very excited to join the team at ADC!
raquel cairns
instructor
katlyn may
Katlyn began her dance training at the age of three, with a primary focus in tap and jazz. She had the pleasure of being a tap student of Julie’s for a few years!.Katlyn has taught at two local dance studios and loves helping students grow in both confidence and technique while fostering a fun, encouraging environment. Outside of dance, she is pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Biblical Counseling at Liberty University with plans to graduate in the spring of 2027. Outside of dance, Katlyn married with two young daughters, and loves spending time as a family exploring new spots around Cleveland. Katlyn is thrilled to be joining the Ascend team and looks forward to sharing her love of dance with her students!
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