Affinity Illinois Dance Center

10/09/2026

The studio will be closed Friday, October 9th through Monday, October 12th. We are excited to see everyone back in the studio starting on Tuesday, October 13th! Enjoy a restful long weekend!

10/07/2026

🍬🍭🍫

❄️ Clara's Christmas Tea Party ❄️

Join us for a magical afternoon at Clara's Christmas Tea Party, where the Nutcracker's enchanting world comes alive with holiday cheer and whimsical charm. Interact with beloved Nutcracker characters like the Dew Drop Fairy and Clara herself, bringing the tale to life before your eyes! Gather around to hear the timeless story of Clara and her Nutcracker, filled with adventure, friendship, and Christmas wonder. Join Clara in a festive dance, learning Nutcracker-inspired moves and celebrating with joy and laughter. Get creative with a Nutcracker-themed craft, making your own Nutcracker ornament to add a personal touch to your holiday decorations. Indulge in treats inspired by the Land of the Sweets, from sugary confections to warm beverages that fill your heart with holiday joy. Mark your calendars for an unforgettable Christmas experience filled with laughter, creativity, and the spirit of the season!

Tickets go on sale Friday, October 9th!

10/02/2026

Meet our instructors!!!

🩷 Miss Eva 🩷

Eva is new to teaching, however holds background knowledge in Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary and Hip-Hop. She will be pursuing a Bachelor's in Kinesiology and Health Science on the Physical Therapy Track at Bradley University to one day treat dancers.

She has been dancing in total for 10 years competitively. Out of those 10 years she has taught a wide range of ages for 5. She has experience teaching Jazz, Ballet, and Contemporary and truly enjoys seeing the kids grow and become a better version of themselves not only physically, but emotionally. She is continuing her dancing career at Bradley on a student run team and is very excited to teach at Affinity.

We are so excited to welcome Eva to our teaching staff for the 2026-2027 season!

09/19/2026

Meet our instructors!!!

🩷 Miss Tamra 🩷

Tamra Challacombe has extensive training in tap, jazz, ballet, modern, lyrical, acrobatic dance, dance history, kinesiology and acting. She holds a BFA in Classical Ballet from Texas Christian University. There she studied ballet under Dr. Lisa Fusillo, Fernando Shaffenburg, Stephanie Woods Rand, Li- Chu Cheng, and Thomas Enkle; jazz with Richard Walker and Dianne Clough West and modern dance with Ellen Page Shelton, Jerry Bywaters Cochran, Bill Evans and Susan Douglas Roberts. She was also fortunate to attend master classes with Alvin Ailey Soloist James Truitt and perform in Petrouchka with Fort Worth Ballet (now called Texas Ballet Theater).

Ms. Tamra's early training was under her mentor, Janet Hayslip Streenz. There she found her love for the dance and under Miss Janet's guidance, also honed her teaching skills.

Ms. Tamra also served as Academy Director/Master teacher at the Peoria Ballet for many years and taught ballet at Classical Dance Academy in Pekin. Ms.Tamra was the owner/master teacher of Velocity Dance Center from 2017-2024. She was a company member of the Conklin Players Dinner Theater (and the Barn II and Barn III) for over 35
years, also serving as resident choreographer there. She also performed several seasons at Zellmer's Dinner Theatre and performed with Alphabet Soup Productions Children's Theatre in Chicago. She continues to perform in local community theatre and ballet performances. Her choreography has been seen on stages throughout Central Illinois.

We are so honored to have Tamra back for a second year at Affinity!!!

09/17/2026

NEW CLASS ALERT!!!

We are excited to offer Dance Jr. on Saturday mornings in addition to our Thursday afternoon class! Dance Jr. is designed for ages 5-6 and will explore dance fundamentals, ballet, jazz, and tap! This class is a great introduction to dance and no experience is needed.

This class will meet on Saturdays from 9:45-10:45am! Reach out if you are interested and need help registering.

We look forward to seeing you in class! 🌟

09/16/2026

Meet our instructors!!!

🩷 Miss Kelly 🩷

Kelly started dancing with South County Dance Company competing in jazz, lyrical, musical theater and ballet. She later joined Repertory Ballet San Clemente where she performed as a soloist within the company for 3 years. Kelly continued her training within the Purdue University Dance Division primarily as a part of the Purdue Contemporary Dance Company where she was a performer and choreographer. Within the company she studied modern, ballet, biomechanics, jazz and spiral techniques while choreographing for contemporary, lyrical and musical theater.

In addition to her dance background, Kelly’s engineering degree and profession make her style very detail oriented and specific to each individual. Her classes revolve around knowing where the clean lines are before learning how to break them. Kelly taught her first class in 2018 teaching ballet dance beginnings and she fell in love with sharing her passion for dance. This passion continued with her choreography experience within the contemporary company and she is always excited to have new muses for this art that she has grown up loving.

We're so thankful to have Miss Kelly on our teaching team and are so excited to welcome her back for her second year with Affinity!

09/07/2026

Just a reminder, the studio is closed today for Labor Day! Have a wonderful day with friends and family!

09/04/2026

We're gauging interest!!! Would you like to see a Dance Jr. class on the schedule on Saturday mornings from 9:45-10:45am? Our class on Thursdays is full but there may be a chance to join us on Saturdays! Reach out and let us know if you are interested.

Dance Jr. is a class designed for students ages 5-6 focusing on ballet, jazz, and tap techniques!

09/02/2026

Enrollment open now!!! 🥳

We are still enrolling for our Dance Beginnings classes on Tuesdays 10-10:45am and our NEW time on Saturdays 9-9:45am!

Dance Beginnings is a creative dance class where students ages 3-5 can discover the magic of movement, expression, and creativity. Students will be guided through creative movement, ballet foundations, and tap technique to provide a comprehensive foundation for artistic exploration.

Reach out to register now!!! 🩷

08/29/2026

Congratulations to our Nutcracker 2026 cast!!! The cast list has been sent out so parents check your email for one from info@affinitydancecollective. You may need to check your spam or other folders in case it got filtered out of your primary inbox.

Congratulations dancers!!! 🎊