Meet our Team

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Ashley is from Summerville, South Carolina. She grew up competing and training at Planet Dance in all styles of dance, including Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Acro, Modern, Contemporary, and Hip-Hop. With Planet Dance, she competed and won at the state, regional, and national levels. Her favorite styles of dance are Jazz and Acro. Outside of competitions, she has performed on a Carnival Cruise ship, in, Christmas at Northwoods, and in the Charleston Ballet's, The Nutcracker. She is currently a member of the Buc Angels Dance Team at Charleston Southern University. Her favorite part about being on a dance team at both Planet Dance, and in College, is the friendships, growth, and education she has received. She is so excited to come full circle and give back to Planet Dance. She plans on graduating in May of 2025 with a Bachelor of Science in Pre-Professional Biology, with a Minor in Spanish. Outside of the dance community she coaches gymnastics at the Goose Creek Recreation Center, and holds a local Miss South Carolina title, where she advocates for mental health awareness for athletes of all ages and levels.

Katie was born and raised in West Haven, Connecticut, and relocated to South Carolina in 2016 with her husband and their two children.

Her dance journey began at the age of three at Top Hat Dance Academy, where she trained, competed, and later taught for over 25 years before moving to South Carolina. Throughout her training, she studied a wide variety of dance styles, with tap always being her greatest passion, followed closely by Broadway-style jazz.

During her middle and high school years, she was honored to be selected for I Love Dance’s Sweetheart and Heartthrob two-week dance intensives and showcases in New York City, New York and Las Vegas, Nevada. She was also chosen to participate in National Dance Showcase’s Star Champion Program in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where she had the opportunity to further develop her technique and perform alongside talented dancers from across the country.

After concluding her competitive dance career, she discovered that her true passion was teaching. She dedicated myself to inspiring young dancers by teaching primary, recreational, and competitive classes at the studio where she trained. In addition to dance instruction, she became a certified Barre fitness instructor, allowing her to combine her love of dance and Pilates into an engaging, high-energy fitness program that promotes strength, flexibility, and confidence. 

Katie is so excited to share her passion with her students. 

Megan Deshotel, MFA, is a dance educator, choreographer, and movement specialist with over a decade of experience spanning higher education, K-12, and studio settings. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from SUNY Brockport and a BFA in Dance from Florida State University.

She is deeply invested in the intersection of dance technique and physical longevity, her work focuses on conditioning, technique and dance science—a focus backed by her research on cross-training for dancers and her pursuing NSCA CSCS certification. She serves as a dance educator across the Charleston area.Throughout her career as a performer, and choreographer, she has set multiple choreographic works in the collegiate, K-12 and studio setting including ballet, modern and contemporary works. A highlight of performance career includes performing Don Quixote Kitri variation in Act 2 with Valencia Dance Theatre where her love for ballet grew even more. Now she remains dedicated to helping dancers build sustainable strength, refined technique, and artistic expression in ballet.

 Sierra was born and raised in Utah. Sierra’s formal training took her to Odyssey Dance Theatre 2 under the direction of Derryl Yeager. She then continued her dance training at Center Stage Performing Arts Studio in Orem under the direction of Kim Delgrosso. She trained in ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, and contemporary. In 2012, she was accepted into the Joffrey Contemporary Ballet Summer intensive studying under Josie Walsh, Anna Holmes, Denise Biggi, Julie Bour, Mia Michaels, and Mandy Moore. In 2014 Sierra received the Dance and Merit Scholarship at AMDA (The American Musical and Dramatic Academy) Performing Arts College in Los Angeles where she studied Dance Theatre. Sierra has danced professionally with Company Rhome and SoulEscape The Company in Los Angeles as well as SALT

Contemporary Dance and Divinity Dance Company in Salt Lake City. Sierra has been teaching dance for 8 years and is a freelance choreographer for dance studios and high school dance companies.

 Madison Grillo brings over 15 years of dance experience to Planet Dance, including five years as a student within our own studio. She is trained in a wide range of styles, including ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, acrobatics, and pom.

Madison continued her dance journey at Charleston Southern University, where she was a member of the university’s dance team. During her time there, she served as both captain and lead choreographer, and created the team’s debut routine for the National Dance Alliance Collegiate Competition.

In addition to her performance experience, Madison has spent the past four years teaching jazz, ballet, contemporary, and acrobatics. She is passionate about inspiring young dancers while building strong technique, confidence, and a love for the art of dance.

Daequan Hardeman is a Charleston native and a graduate of  Goose Creek High School. Hardeman dedicates his life to dance and dance training, and even

though known for his hip-hop or urban styles he is also well diverse in his knowledge for multiple forms of dance. Throughout the years training opportunities opened up

and he found himself choreographing and dancing in multiple commercials. With hip hop being a passion of his, it grew to be his specialty. He has gone on to choreograph award-winning routines and has been awarded achievements at both local and national competitions. Daequan is excited to be investing in the next generation of dancers at Planet Dance.

 Madisyn Hubbard has been dancing competitively for 13 years and has earned numerous regional and national titles throughout her dance career. She is trained in a wide variety of styles, including jazz, ballet, contemporary, lyrical, musical theatre, hip hop, and acro.

Madisyn is continuing her dance career at the Division I collegiate level as a member of the Charleston Southern University Dance Team, where she and her team placed 11th in the nation. Along with her passion for dance, she is pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education at Charleston Southern University and is expected to graduate in 2029.

Madisyn loves sharing her knowledge and passion for dance with young dancers and is excited to inspire students both inside and outside of the studio.

Janine Kaiser grew up in Sumter where she began dancing at the Freed School of Performing Arts at the age of 2 & 1/2. She became part of the Freed Spirit Dance Company for 3 years before graduating High School.  At Freed’s, she studied Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Jazz, Modern, and Tap under Andrea Freed Levenson. 

Janine then attended Coker College, where she obtained a Degree in Fine Arts, with a concentration in Ceramics, and a Minor in Dance. She was also a part of the Coker College Dance Team, took a Study Abroad session in Europe for Dance, and has had the opportunity to dance in pieces set by the Amy Marshall Dance Company, and The Wanda Project. 

During her years at Coker, she taught Tap, Ballet, and Jazz, to all ages, at the Brenda Cranford’s School of Dance. At Brenda’s, Janine got introduced to Hip-Hop. Ever since, it has been included with Modern and Jazz as her favorite dance styles. 

 Kodi Oliver is a professional dancer and educator with extensive experience performing and teaching across the United States. His performance credits include work as a cruise ship dancer and appearances in music videos, showcasing his versatility and stage presence. Kodi is classically trained in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, and Hip-Hop, and although he began his dance journey at age 13, his dedication and discipline quickly allowed him to excel alongside his peers.

Kodi is passionate about entering this new chapter as a mentor and instructor, where he is committed to cultivating young dancers both technically and personally. He strives to instill a strong work ethic, confidence, and artistry in every student, helping them grow into well-rounded and empowered performers.

Stephanie grew up in New Hampshire where she trained pre-professionally in classical ballet at Southern New Hampshire Dance Theater under Patricia Lavoie. During her time with this youth company, she performed in works such as The Nutcracker, Giselle, excerpts from Swan Lake, Don Quixote, La Bayadere, The Sleeping Beauty and various modern and jazz pieces. Her featured roles included Clara and Dew Drop Fairy in The Nutcracker, Pas de Trois and Big Swan in Swan Lake, and Cat in The Ugly Duckling. She also attended annual regional and national festivals as a member of Regional Dance America Northeast, allowing her to take classes with dancers and teachers across the nation and perform in multiple pieces by National Choreographic Recognition Award winner Ashley Walton. In high school, Stephanie began assistant teaching at SNHDT, earning over 1,000 hours of dance teaching experience. She attended Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, where she received a BA in Elementary Education with minors in Dance, Physics, and STEAM Education in 2023. Stephanie spent two years teaching 5th Grade ESL in Providence, Rhode Island, as well as teaching dance at American Ballet Academy. She has recently moved to Charleston and is continuing her career as a certified public school teacher as a 6th Grade ELA teacher in Berkeley County. Stephanie is excited to continue her teaching career in South Carolina! 

 Miranda Stepchuk was born and raised in South Lyon, MI where she danced at the Dance Centre Inc. and was a captain on her high school dance team. She currently dances professionally with impermanent Gallery in Charleston, SC. Recently she danced with Whirlwind Dance company in Columbus, OH for 2 years under the leadership of Joshua Manculich. She graduated from Hope College with a BA in Dance Performance and Choreography during which she was a member of H2 Dance Co and Striketime Dance Co and trained in modern, jazz, tap, contemporary, and ballet. She has trained and worked with Matthew Farmer, Sharon Wong, and Kara Brems. She has performed internationally in Paris, FR in a work choreographed by William Crowley and premiered a piece she choreographed titled “Satisfied?” In addition, Miranda has had the pleasure of working with artist Heather Cornell in a piece called “Okwami” that centered around body percussion and polyrhythms, and Kara Brems in a modern work titled “Femina.”  

Her work "Climb the Ladder," was showcased at the Whirlwind Residency Showcase and Whirlwind Soliloquy. She has had the joy of teaching and choreographing at Dublin Dance Centre and Gymnastics, and the Dance Centre Inc and is excited to continue to spread her knowledge and love of dance.