- 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.

Meet Your Teachers!

Carissa Parunak Owner and Artistic Director

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 the desire was an impossible one. When she expressed this to her mom, she was encouraged to pray about it 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 in 2021 and to pass the studio on... to Carissa, who was then only seventeen.

2024 will mark Carissa's 9th year of dance training, her 7th year of teaching and assisting, and her 3rd year of artistic direction. Among other things, she received the unique opportunity to train under the Cecchetti Council of America's (CCA) former president Bethany Lenhart. Carissa has also attended several intensives, including a winter workshop on Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT), and she has studied and taught other styles--including contemporary ballet, English Country, ballroom, folk, and hip hop--for many other organizations outside of His Feet. One of her favorite Bible verses is Isaiah 65:24, and it reminds her of the way God was planning His Feet before she even asked for it: "Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear."

Katie Hart Artistic Co-Director and Instructor

Katie (age 24) has been dancing on and off throughout her life in various settings, but it was in 2017, when she began taking classes at His Feet, where her passion for the art of dance really began. In 2021, she was asked to start teaching ballet and lyrical classes at HFD. She quickly realized how much she loved teaching, interacting with students, and telling stories through her choreography. In 2023 she was named Artistic Co-Director of His Feet Dance, where she gets the incredible opportunity to help bring the story of each recital to life.

When Katie is not dancing she enjoys reading, spending time with her family, traveling, being involved in various ministries, and adventuring in the outdoors.

One of her favorite Bible verses is Psalm 37:5: "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act" (ESV).

Karen Ingersoll 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).

Caitlin Parunak Instructor

Caitlin Parunak is now sixteen and has been dancing since she was eight, when she attended the first ever His Feet Dance class and completely fell in love with it! Dance is important to her because of the way it connects her to everyone else who shares her love of the arts, and because she has made some amazing friends through dance-- including the other teachers here at His Feet.

Caitlin is a junior in high school currently attending 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 dance and for teaching 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!

Ginger Burt Instructor

Ginger Burt has loved dancing since she was 4 years old. After wonderful experiences in homeschool dance classes she joined Northville Ballet Theatre (NBT) at age 10. Under the direction of Kathy Cooke she has progressed to Level 6 in Cecchetti ballet over the past six years. In addition to Cecchetti, Ginger studies Christian contemporary dance (CCD), pointe variations, and other styles of ballet. Ginger has had roles in a host of NBT performances including the Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Paquita, Les Sylphides, and Coppelia.

Dance has taught her many life skills such as perseverance, patience, teamwork, self-control, and most importantly to do everything for the glory of God. The ability to dance is a gift from the Lord and she enjoys sharing her love of God and dance with others. In 2022. Ginger had the opportunity to travel to Zambia, Africa, to serve at Living Hope orphanage teaching dance under the guidance of Mrs. Cooke. Also in 2022, she studied at Grand Rapids Ballet for a two-week intensive.

Ginger finds Philippians 4:19-20 to be a great encouragement in all circumstances: "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen."

Mercy Hoppe Instructor

Mercy Hoppe (17) is going into her senior year of high school as a homeschool student and has been dancing for 10 years. She loves studying ballet and lyrical and enjoys being a dance instructor at His Feet Dance. Mercy desires to honor and glorify God and to share His love with others.

One of her favorite Bible verses is Psalm 73:23-24, which says,
“Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me into glory.”
Faith Parunak Instructor
Bio Coming Soon!

Clare Muise 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.