& Instructors

Ashley Ness

Owner / Studio Director

Ashley Ness is the owner and artistic director of Silhouette Dance Company, founded in 2009. She is a committed dance teacher, choreographer and performer that has a passion for sharing her love of dance to people of all ages.

Beginning her dance training at the age of 2, Ashley has been surrounded by dance her whole life. She trained under Michelle Davis for 12 years in tap, ballet, jazz and drill team. During her high school years, she was a member of the state and national champion Pure Gold Dance Team at Boswell High School. While there, she held the title of Junior Lieutenant and Captain of the team. As an officer she received irreplaceable experience as a choreographer for all team and officer routines and developed her skills as a leader. After high school, she went on to study at The University of North Texas in Denton. There, she was a student of the dance department studying ballet, jazz and modern dance. During her time in college she also worked at her home studio, Encore School of Dance, as an instructor to children ages 3-18. During this time as an instructor Ashley developed her love of teaching dance. In 2006, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences with a secondary education certification. After graduation, Ashley was awarded the position of drill team director for the Denton High School Fillies as well as a teaching position in the history department. She taught for two years and then decided she wanted to venture out on her own. In 2009, Silhouette Dance Company was formed to provide dance instruction as well as personal and custom attention to drill teams in the North Texas area. Ashley is also a certified teacher in the state of Texas in Social Studies 8-12 and Generalist EC-12. She enjoys working with children of all ages and has an extensive background in the public school system. Ashley loves spending time with her husband, Andy, who helps her with SDC, her two girls, Abigail and Ava, and son, Cooper. She is excited to be expanding her business in Denton and Wise County and looks forward to many years of working with students and families of SDC!

Zoe Sherman

Office Manager / dance instructor

Zoe Sherman was raised in Decatur, Texas. Zoe began dancing when she was three years old. She began taking classes at Silhouette Dance Company her Junior year of High School when they opened their Decatur location. Her Senior year she was a member of the Silhouette Shadow Dancer Competition Team. After graduation, she attended Texas A&M University where she was involved with Liberal Arts Student Council, Aggie Transition Camps, and Undergraduate Student Research. In May 2020 she graduated with a B.A. in English. She is thrilled to be returning to Silhouette Dance Company as a staff member!

Sheena Roberts

Instructor / Early Childhood Dance Director / Company Leader

Sheena was born and raised in Denison, Texas where she was lucky enough to find her love for dance at the age of 5.  She started as an exclusive clogger then expanded her studies in ballet, lyrical, jazz, and tap as she got older.  In Sheena’s middle school and high school years, she competed in the Dallas/Fort Worth area with her Step In Time dance team.  In high school, she had the opportunity to be part of the Denison High School Stingerette’s drill team where she served as Junior Lieutenant her junior year and Captain her senior year.  At 15, she began assisting classes at the studio where she found her niche for teaching dance to the “littles”!  

Upon graduation, Sheena opened a small dance studio in her hometown as she studied elementary education and cosmetology with Grayson County College. She owned and operated her studio from 2002-2008, then taught with Dancendy Dance Center from 2009 until 2011.  She continued teaching an after-school program with St. Luke’s Private School until 2017 where she taught ballet, tap, tumbling, and children’s worship.

Sheena is the founder and Director of Embrace AuSome which is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to the mission of raising autism awareness within our community.  She also volunteers for Autism Speaks as the Fort Worth Walk Chair. 

Sheena and her husband, Jason, have 3 children; Ryan, Annabelle, and Justin and they live in Decatur, Texas.  This is Sheena’s third year with Silhouette Dance Company and second year as Early Childhood Dance Director and Company Leader.  Sheena is currently working on completing her instructor certification with Rhythm Works Integrative Dance, a dance program for kids with learning differences and special needs, and she is very excited to help grow our Silhouette Stars program with SDC!

“My goal is to cultivate our little dancers into well-rounded individuals who not only have an appreciation for dance as an art form, but who also reach for high achievement in everything they do.” 

Jody Isenhour

Instructor

Jody is from Oklahoma where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Ballet Pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma. While there she had the privilege of studying with Yvonne Chateau, Mary Margaret Holt, and Miguel Terekhov. She started dancing at the age of 6 at Furman-Gray School of Dance. At the age of 13 she was asked to become an assistant and eventually a full time instructor. Jody is trained in the Cecchetti method of ballet and holds her Teacher’s Cecchetti Advanced Certificate. Jody is the founder of Dancers Against Cancer, a non-profit organization raising money for cancer awareness and support. She has had several students go on to dance professionally including performing at the Moulin Rouge in France, teaching for Soul de Soul dance conventions, as well as performing in Las Vegas. Jody not only is trained in Ballet, but also is knowledgeable in Lyrical, Jazz, Pointe, and Tap.

Mackenzie Cobb

Instructor / Shadow Company Leader

Mackenzie Cobb grew up in Mansfield, Texas where she started dancing at the age of 7. She joined her studios competition team at the age of 10 and was trained in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Hip-Hop, and Pointe. During her time at her studio, Mackenzie earned several awards and scholarships including a Tremaine Scholarship. In high school, Mackenzie joined her drill team called the Gold Dusters. While on drill team she held the positions: social officer, junior lieutenant, and captain. During her time in high school, Mackenzie was invited to be apart of an all-star dance team with ADTS that competed in Japan during 2018. Since high school, Mackenzie became a staff member of American Dance/ Drill Team and attended Tarleton State University in 2020. While at Tarleton State, Mackenzie became a member of the award winning Texan Stars Dance Team. Currently, Mackenzie is a dance major at the University of North Texas. Mackenzie is currently a junior and is expected to graduate in 2024. Her future plans are owning her own dance studio and continuing to teach and share her love for dance. This is Mackenzie’s first season with Silhouette Dance Company and she is very excited to share her passion with all of the students!

Mia Hinojosa

Instructor / Shadow Company Leader

Mia is originally from Corpus Christi, Texas where she started dancing at the age of 3 at The Dance Studio. She quickly fell in love with the art and sport of dance and continued dancing at that studio for 11 years. She participated in competitions and yearly recitals. Following her freshman year of high school she joined The Starline Dance Team where she served as Major her Junior Year and Colonel her Senior Year. While on her high school dance team she learned many leadership skills involving teaching, choreographing, and dance production. Mia is now attending The University of North Texas as a first year student and is studying Health Behavior and Fitness with a minor in Recreation Events and Sports Management. She hopes to become a personal trainer for dancers and one day open a dance studio of her own. Mia wants to share her passion for dance and fitness with her students and is extremely excited to be a part of the Silhouette Dance Company family!

Barbara Epting

Instructor / Mini Spotlight Company Leader

Barbara was born and raised in Salisbury Maryland. She began dancing at the age of 3 at Salisbury Studio of Dance under the training of Betty Webster, Tatiana Akinfieva-Smith, and Elena Manakhova. Barbara trained in Ballet, Tap, and Jazz, but her love was Classical Ballet.  At 14, Barbara began teaching ballet and tap to younger children at her studio. Barbara was a member of the Eastern Shore Ballet Theater for 9 years where she preformed in many ballet productions to include The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Coppelia, and others. Barbara attended Washington College where she was a member of the Washington College Dance Company. She served as president of the dance company her senior year and was a founding member of the Sho’Troupe Dance Team.  After college, Barbara returned to her hometown and worked as a dance instructor for 7 years at Dancenter Salisbury teaching Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Lyrical to children of all ages. In 2015 Barbara relocated to Texas. Barbara currently lives in Sanger with her husband, Bo, and their daughters Ruby and Lillian. After being out of the dance world for a few years, Barbara is thrilled to have the opportunity to return to her first love of dance and share that with the students at SDC!

Maci Terry

Instructor / Decatur Spotlight Company Leader

Maci

Roxanne Muncy

Instructor

Roxanne Muncy received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Secondary Dance Education with a Theatre Minor from Texas Woman’s University. She has been teaching Dance and Theatre for 33 years across the great state of Texas in private dance studios, public schools as well as numerous community programs. She has also directed/choreographed for the Denton Community Theatre, Musical Theatre of Denton, Texas Woman’s University Community Dance Classes, and the Dallas Summer Musicals Academy. Mrs. Muncy recently retired from Billy Ryan High where she taught Dance for 16 years. While at Ryan High School, Mrs. Muncy developed Partner Dance, a dance class created for students with special needs. She was also actively involved in the Denton ISD SPED initiative, “Ability Awareness”. She has received many awards and honors throughout her career including the TAHPERD K-12 Dance Educator of the Year. Mrs. Muncy has been an active member in many professional organizations including AAHPERD, TAHPERD, NDA, TDEA, DTDA, DDTDA and TETA. Mrs. Muncy feels very blessed to do what she loves and dedicates her passion to making a difference in the lives of her students as they build an appreciation for the world of dance!

Lilly Stanton

Decatur Customer Service Specialist

Lilly

Kara Cherms

Instructor/Denton Customer Service Specialist

Kara

Jessica Jeske

Guest Instructor

Jessica Jeske grew up in Rockwall, Texas where she began dancing at the age of 3 for Dance Force Studio. She continued with the studio joining their competitive company team in middle school. She served as 1st Lieutenant on her middle school drill team and then served as Lieutenant on the Rockwall Heath High Steppers Drill Team. She began teaching dance classes at the age of 14 for her studio. She has continued her love of dance after graduation working for Showtime International judging at dance competitions & teaching summer drill team camps throughout Texas. She graduated from Texas A&M University in College Station with a degree in education. While at A&M she continued taking dance classes at the university as well as teaching classes at Suzannes School of Dance. Upon graduation Jessica moved back to the DFW area to teach. She began an after school dance program for girls at the elementary school she taught at where she was able choreograph, teach technique & work collaboratively with the Texas Ballet Theatre to provide ballet intensive classes for her girls. This past year Jessica & her husband Brent moved to the Decatur area where she taught for Decatur ISD. Jessica’s philosophy for dance is that everyone is a dancer at heart whether it’s in the studio, in the car or in their bedroom at home with the door closed. Her passion is to help young dancers find joy & confidence through dance.

Maiya Wenzel

Guest Instructor

Maiya Wenzel is a native of Austin, Texas. She began teaching dance at the age of 16 and continues to teach in the DFW area to share her passion of dance with others. Maiya received her BFA dance degree at University of North Texas in 2017. While at UNT, she was the dance director and choreographer for a competition team winning multiple awards across the state. During her studies, she was an active member of the Neighborhood (an adult hip-hop crew) and The Process both based in Dallas that carried the 1st place title 2 years in a row at World of Dance Dallas 2016 and 2017. Maiya’s choreography has also competed and won several awards at different competitions in Texas. Since graduating, Maiya has continued teaching in the DFW area and hopes to one day open a studio that can combine her passion for different dance styles and movement therapy to help others the way it did for her. Maiya is excited and humbled to start a new season with Silhouette Dance Company!