- About Us -
We exist for the praise of His glory.
His Feet Dance is a Christian dance school, dedicated to teaching students to dance in a way that is worshipful, encouraging, and focusing the glory back to God. We offer day time classes (designed specifically for home schooled students) and evening classes (designed specifically for public or private schooled students), and both are open to everyone. All of our music and costumes are chosen to honor the Lord Jesus Christ and to draw our students and audiences closer to Him. While the focus of our curriculum is mostly on classical ballet, contemporary, and lyrical, we also teach Irish Step and English Country. Our dance year runs September through April, with a Christmas performance at the end of the calendar year and a spring recital at the end of the dance year. All the facilities we use for our classes include ample parking, restrooms, and waiting rooms for the convenience of siblings and families.
Born from testimony...
After attending a performance of The Story Ballet in 2015, eleven-year-old Carissa felt a very strong call to the arts. Specifically, she felt a call to being trained by Hannah Hackel, the artistic director of The Story Ballet, but for various reasons (including, but not limited to, Hannah's distance from where she lived) the desire was an impossible one.
Her prayerful mother, Andrea Parunak, encouraged her to pray about her desire and leave it in God's hands. Recognizing the wisdom (and expecting nothing to happen), Carissa took the advice.
Barely had a few months passed when God answered beyond her wildest dreams.
His Feet Dance was born in fall of 2015, just 30 minutes away from Carissa's hometown, with Hannah as the owner and head instructor. Much more guidance and answered prayer followed, and the nature of the studio's beginnings set the stage for its being run in constant prayer and total dependence on God. This was only heightened when after six years, God led Hannah to marry her best friend, John Manwiller, in 2021 and to pass the studio on... to Carissa, who was then only seventeen.
Her prayerful mother, Andrea Parunak, encouraged her to pray about her desire and leave it in God's hands. Recognizing the wisdom (and expecting nothing to happen), Carissa took the advice.
Barely had a few months passed when God answered beyond her wildest dreams.
His Feet Dance was born in fall of 2015, just 30 minutes away from Carissa's hometown, with Hannah as the owner and head instructor. Much more guidance and answered prayer followed, and the nature of the studio's beginnings set the stage for its being run in constant prayer and total dependence on God. This was only heightened when after six years, God led Hannah to marry her best friend, John Manwiller, in 2021 and to pass the studio on... to Carissa, who was then only seventeen.
Meet Your Teachers!
Carissa Parunak Owner and Artistic Director
Having begun when His Feet opened in 2015, Carissa has now been dancing for almost a decade. She has been teaching and assisting classes for seven years, and His Feet has been under her direction, both artistic and administrative, for three. Among other things, Carissa received the unique opportunity to train under the Cecchetti Council of America's (CCA) former president Bethany Lenhart, and she has had the privilege of attending several formative intensives, including the Ballet 5:8 Dance Educator's Summit and a winter workshop on Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT). She has also studied and taught many styles, including both classical and contemporary ballet, English Country, ballroom, swing, folk, and hip hop, for many other schools and organizations outside of His Feet Dance.
One of her favorite Bible verses is Isaiah 65:24, and it reminds her of the way God was planning His Feet Dance before she even asked for it: "Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear." Jesus has radically transformed her heart, and it is her life's goal to give everything back to Him without reserve. Her prayer is that His Feet Dance would be a place where love abounds, genuine disciples are made, and dancers become Spirit-filled missionaries of hope who imitate their Lord in service, surrender, and sanctity, showing the world His Heart until the day they see Him face to face. |
Caitlin Parunak Ballet and Lyrical Instructor
Seventeen year old Caitlin Parunak has been dancing since she was eight, when she attended the first ever His Feet Dance class and fell completely in love with it! She loves the way dance connects her to everyone else who shares her love of the arts, especially the amazing friends she has made at His Feet.
Caitlin is a senior in high school currently attending--and teaching English Country and historic quadrille line dancing at--Christ the King co-op in Ann Arbor, and praying about where God is leading her after that. The Lord has given her a love for teaching and for dance, and He has really used her wonderful teachers at His Feet Dance to give her that love. Caitlin hopes to pass this love to all her own students and wants to see them grow in strength, determination, and discipline. She's excited to see what the Lord has for this year of dance, and she's so grateful to be a part of it all! |
Karen Ingersoll Advanced Ballet Instructor
Karen has been blessed to have dancing be a part of her life since the age of 5. She began her training at Randazzo Dance Studio with Marjorie Randazzo and Sara Randazzo, and later trained and performed under Wendi DuBois. When choosing a college, she chose one with a strong dance department. While she didn’t believe she had the talent to go into a career of dance, she felt God calling her to trust Him and choose dance as her major. She earned her B.A. in Dance from Mercyhurst University, where she studied with Jay Kirk (now Professor of Dance at Point Park University) and Mary Price Boday (who later became the founder and Artistic Director of the Illinois Ballet). Upon graduation, she and Mary Price Boday both were hired by the Peoria Ballet School.
Karen taught and performed professionally full time until her first child was born. After moving back to her childhood home in Ypsilanti, Karen taught classes at Randazzo Dance and Dance Gallery in Ann Arbor. In addition to teaching for His Feet Dance, Karen currently teaches adult ballet from her home, is a full time mom, caregiver, homeschool teacher, and follower of Christ. Dance has been such a gift from the Lord all her life, and she loves to share that gift to bless others. It is always her desire for the beauty and love of Christ to be shown through dance, for our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19), and “in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). |
Katie Traver Tap Instructor
Katie has loved to dance for as long as she can remember. One of Katie’s first memories on stage was when she danced in her ballet recital at 3 years old, holding a giant penny and doing a surprise pirouette that was not in the choreography. But she loved it.
Katie continued dancing however she could for her entire life. Katie took classes in lyrical, jazz, gymnastics, musical theater, ballet, contemporary, team dance, and of course, tap. Tap was always Katie’s favorite kind of dance, as it came most naturally to her and she advanced quickly at it. Katie loves to remember 2 Corinthians 12:9 when she dances: "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." |
Faith Parunak Ballet and Lyrical Instructor
Bio Coming Soon!
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Clare Muise Irish Step Instructor
After watching Riverdance as young kids, Clare’s older sisters decided to get involved in Irish Dancing and quickly found a love for competition. Clare is the 9th Muise sister in a row, so she was introduced to the art at the very beginning of her life. She started to compete in Irish Dancing when she was just 4 years old and went on to spend much of her life focusing on dance. She really loved and appreciated both the way it brought out her femininity in a beautiful and unique way and how it gave her something to do that was active, athletic, and competitive, but also beautiful, graceful, and moving. Dance provided Clare with many amazing opportunities and ways to travel, and she will forever be grateful for the impact it had on her life. Some of her fondest memories are ones that involve dance, and her studio recitals, dancing with her sisters, performing in shows, and competing at state competitions are all memories she holds near and dear to her heart.
Beyond countless state competitions, Clare went on to compete in 7 regional championships and 3 national championships, and she qualified to compete at 2 world championships. She has also had wonderful opportunities to perform outside of competition, including onstage with the Irish band, Gaelic Storm, at one of their concerts held in Detroit. Several injuries and a long struggle with a broken foot led Clare to close the door to competing at the age of 16, but she fully believes the Lord was very present during this time in her life and that the decision to stop was truly the best one for her and her relationship with the Lord at the time. After she recovered, Clare was given more opportunities to pursue teaching, which she has been doing at Christ the King for three years and just recently also at Homeschool Connections. Clare has a huge heart for kids and for the beauty of dance, and teaching has been not only the inspiration behind her pursuit of a degree in education but also one of the greatest joys of her life, Clare enjoyed dance so much more when there wasn’t as much pressure. She was able to just let go and do what she loved, and she wishes she had taken it a little easier at first and allowed herself to fall more deeply in love with the art, remembering why she started in the first place. This is a big part of what Clare desires to instill in her own students: a real and deep love and passion for dance and for using it to glorify our Lord and Savior. She believes it can be such a direct way to glorify God, just like in 2 Samuel 6:14, when David danced before the Lord with all his might, glorifying Him and providing us with a wonderful example of total surrender. |