The Studio
Dance ‘n’ Fitness is located in the heart of downtown Northfield, Minnesota. We are located at 311 South Division Street (directions).
The Director
My name is Colleen Day, and I am the owner and artistic director of Northfield’s Dance-n-Fitness. I hold a B.S. degree in Dance Education from the University of Minnesota and have owned and directed Dance-n-Fitness for 17 years.
I have instructed dance/fitness classes to all ages for 30 years. I have performed with the Mayo High School Spartan Spirits for three years and was their choreographer for one year. I was with the University of Minnesota danceline for two years, the University of Minnesota dance repertoire concerts and recently received a varsity letter award in October 2009. I also spent a year as a Vikings cheerleader. I’ve performed in the Superbowl, I’ve been in the Zenon dance company, I’ve taken tap classes from Savion Glover and Gregory Hines. I’ve met Baryshnikov, my instructors at the U of M were either students of Julliard or pioneers of modern dance, I’ve danced as an alumni Viking cheerleader at the Vikings games (as recent as 2008), and I’ve taken many ballroom and swing classes. I most recently became certified as a yoga instructor through corepowers yoga teacher training program. I also take funk fitness classes and have instructed and performed at various studios, schools, health clubs, and events in the metro and surrounding areas
I love other activities and sports too and I believe dance complements all sports! Don’t stop moving… it keeps you young. Keep on dancing. Anyone can do it!
The Instructors
Emily Ban
Emily Ban is a sophomore at Carleton College and a member of Carleton’s Semaphore Repertory Dance Company. A native of New York City, Emily studied ballet with former New York City Ballet and Bolshoi Ballet principal dancers for twelve years. For the last six years, Emily has enjoyed experimenting with jazz and lyrical and has developed a strong passion for modern dance and choreography. She is thrilled to share her love of dance and her adventurous spirit with the students of Dance-n-Fitness this fall!
Linda Doran
Linda graduated from Saint Mary’s College of Winona with a degree in Band and Classroom Music. She started the Irish Dance program at Dance-n-Fitness in the fall of 1998, and is excited to be returning for its 12th season! Linda performs with the Mooncoin Ceili Dancers and studies with Scoil na d’Tri Irish Dance Academy. She also calls the monthly Third Saturday Ceili Dance in Saint Paul.
Holly French
Holly began ballet lessons at the age of 8 at Ballet Pacifica in Orange County, California, and since, she has had opportunities to perform with Ballet Pacifica, the Paris Opera Ballet, BackhausDance, and American Ballet Theater. Her repertoire includes La Bayadere, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, the title role in Ballet Pacifica’s The Littlest Ballerina, and the title role in BackhausDance’s Alice in Wonderland. She has enjoyed teaching classical ballet at BackhausDance’s school for the past three years, but is thrilled to now be dancing at Carleton College and teaching at Dance-n-Fitness!
Becky Logemann
Becky Logemann is a junior at St. Olaf College pursuing a degree in Spanish Education. Becky began taking dance classes at Heidi’s Dance Studio in Wausau, WI and continued for 15 years. The styles include Jazz, Tap, Lyrical and Hip Hop. She began teaching at the age of 17 at Heidi’s Dance Studio. She has continued to teach at Dance-n-Fitness and taking dance classes at St. Olaf College. Dancing has a special place in her heart and is ecstatic that she is able to share her joy and love with the Dance-n-Fitness community.
Beth Pitchford
Beth began Irish dancing by accident: upon returning from a six month stay in Scotland in 2001, a friend referred her to a group to do Scottish Country Dancing. But, as it turned out, they did Irish ceili dancing! But she gave it a try anyway and fell head over heels for the dance style! She started step dancing the following year with the Drake School of Irish Dance (Atlanta, Georgia) and hasn’t looked back yet (except to check to make sure she’s kicking her bum).
She helped run the Athens Ceili Club (Athens, Georgia) and step danced for one of Atlanta’s best contemporary Celtic bands, The Border Collies and the well-loved Athens band Banish Misfortune until she moved to Minnesota in 2006.
Beth has been competing in Irish dance since 2004, and has been to the following feiseanna: Peach State Feis 2004, 2005, 2006 (Atlanta); Rince na h’eireeann Feis 2005 (Charlotte, North Carolina), Feis na Tara 2004, 2005, 2006 (Atlanta), the Minnesota Feis 2006, 2007, 2008 (St. Paul) and the Twin Cities Feile 2008 (St. Paul).
She has placed first in treble jig, reel, light jig, single jig and traditional set making her “Prizewinner level” in those dances (the highest an adult competitor can achieve). Her four-hand and eight-hand ceili teams have always received first-place recognition.
Ting Ting Yang
Ting Ting Yang (pronounced “Young”) just graduated from St. Olaf College in the spring of 2009 with a B.A. in Environmental Studies. She will join Dance-n-Fitness with fifteen years of dance experience and will teach Advanced-Beginning Jazz/Tap, Advanced Jazz/Tap, Showstoppers/Superstars Tap, and all levels of hip-hop this year. Ting Ting first began her passion in dance right here at Dance-n-Fitness when Colleen Day opened up the studio. Ting Ting also has a wide-range of experience in various dance forms, from classical ballet to tap, lindyhop to freestyle hip-hop, and Chinese traditional dancing to Hawai’ian hula. In 2003, Ting Ting helped create a breakdance (hip-hop) crew to promote the culture and style of hip-hop as a positive form of body language and art, and is aimed towards the youth to openly express their attitude and style through this form of dancing. The crew, called Lost Boyz Crew (LBC), is still active today and performs publicly in various locations around Northfield. Ting Ting Yang is very excited to return to Dance-n-Fitness and is looking forward to this great year!