- About Us -

We exist for the praise of His glory.

Not just faith-based... faithful.

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, tap, contemporary, and lyrical, we also teach 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.

Meet Your Teachers!

Carissa Parunak Owner and Artistic Director

Since beginning her training under Hannah Hackel 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 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 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.

Karen Ingersoll 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).

Gabriella Kruger Ballet and Lyrical Instructor

First and foremost, Gabriella gives all glory to the Lord for her life and the ability to share in His ministry through the beautiful art form of dance. From the ages of 3-7, she danced ballet and a year of tap at Tecumseh Dance Workshop, under Annamia Rumley.  At age 7, she shifted her focus, and began a 7 year journey as a USAG competitive gymnast, training 51 weeks out of the year.  In 2021, she hung up her competitive leo.  Summer 2021, Gabriella began privately studying the Cecchetti syllabus of ballet and prepointe, training under the direction of her early childhood instructor, Annamia Rumley.  She trained with Annamia for six months, advancing from primary beginner to Cecchetti grade 5/6.  She then danced two roles in the Tecumseh Center for the Arts 2021 production of the Nutcracker under the direction of Annamia Rumley and Dance With Heart Studios owner and director Anya Noveskey.

In 2022, with prayer and God's guidance, Gabriella began her journey with His Feet Dance.  It was here that she experienced the extraordinary joy of worshiping God through dance.  She has been so blessed to study and perform ballet, lyrical, contemporary, pointe and Irish Step under the direction of Karen Ingersoll, Katie Hart, Carissa Parunak, and Clare Muise.  She had the opportunity in 2023 to train at a summer workshop with the professional Christian company, Ballet 5:8.  In 2024, Gabriella was humbled and honored to dance the principal role of Cala in His Feet's performance of ALIVE.  

In summer 2024, she began teaching ballet and lyrical classes at His Feet to ages 2-16.  It was then she realized through teaching that she could combine her God-given love for dance and for children.

Gabriella loves the Lord with her whole heart and seeks to serve Him in any way possible.  She hopes that others will see Him through her dancing, as well as in every aspect of her life.  His guidance she continues to seek daily.  God has blessed her life in so many ways, and she looks forward to seeing what He has in store for her future. "For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose" (Philippians 2:13).  "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful" (Hebrews 10:23).  "In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:6).
Faith Parunak Ballet and Lyrical Instructor
Faith is the fourth oldest of the nine Parunak children. A sophomore in high school, she has been dancing for almost a decade, and also enjoys reading, baking, and hiking. Having been with His Feet Dance since day one, she has grown to love this school and everyone in it. Every year, God does SO much, and she is so excited to see how He works again this year!

One of her favorite Bible verses is Isaiah 43:1: "But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine."

Mary Hope Randolph Ballet, Lyrical, and Tap Instructor

Mary Hope is honored to teach at His Feet Dance, a school that not only recognizes the power of beauty, but is also centered on the One who is Beauty--Jesus Christ. 

Having started dance twenty years ago at the age of four, Mary Hope has since studied and performed many different styles, including ballet, pointe, lyrical, tap, and musical theater, including dancing in Shakespeare in Performance at Ave Maria University.

Mary Hope has encountered Jesus many times through dance, and that is her desire for all who interact with the studio. As an instructor, she seeks not only to teach excellent technique, but also to lead students to a place of joy and wonder through realizing that they themselves are a gift which they can offer back to the Lord.

Her favorite verse is Psalm 27:4: "One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple."

Shannon Campbell Media Lead

Shannon is not really a dancer. She took ballet classes in her early childhood and throughout her elementary years, but it never really suited her (when asked to pose in a graceful way, she chose to jump into a cannonball position, stomping as loudly as she could).

But, Shannon does enjoy photography, editing, and being artistic in other ways, so that is why she is the "Media Lead"! Shannon loves finding ways to make simple things beautiful even if they don't technically need to be.

She believes that our God created this world to be full of radical beauty, even in the day to day things. She hopes that by letting the Lord use her in this small, simple way, He can shine through every action and draw others closer to Him.

One of Shannon's favorite verses is Galatians 6:2: "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

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."