Our Staff
Jan Gallo
STUDIO OWNER | INSTRUCTOR | CHOREOGRAPHER
Before opening the Gallo Dance Studio in 2007, Jan taught dance and baton twirling in Ogden, and in several other studios in the Danville, and Attica, IN areas. She has taught for over 30 years.
Jan began dancing and twirling at the age of 2, was a competitive gymnast, dancer, and twirler, and holds many state, national, and international titles.
Jan is so grateful to have the opportunity to follow her passion and turn it into her profession, and to work side-by-side with her daughter Sophia, her daughter-in-law Ashley, and her amazing GDS staff!
She loves teaching and watching all of her student's twirl and dance, and has immense joy having her granddaughter, Ava, at her studio.
She feels so blessed to own Gallo Dance Studio in beautiful St. Joseph, and to be able to share her love of dance with all of our amazing students!
Sophia Gallo
STUDIO OWNER | ARTISTIC DIRECTOR | CHOREOGRAPHER
Sophia has been teaching at the studio since 2009. She mostly teaches jazz, hip hop, and contemporary. Growing up, she competed in gymnastics and dance and was on the SJO dance team all four years of high school.
Other than dancing, Sophia enjoys a lot of creative hobbies. She does a majority of the studio's marketing, and designs the fliers, and programs, and even presses all of our apparel in her basement craft room! She also has a passion for floral design and loves creating wedding bouquets.
She loves her job and how it is the perfect creative outlet for her! She enjoys just about any artistic project!
Jennifer Haile
COMPETITIVE INSTRUCTOR | CHOREOGRAPHER
Jen has been instructing at the studio since 2014. She leads our technique classes for our competitive teams and choreographs a majority of their routines, alongside Miss Sophia!
She has been dancing for over 25 years and is trained in jazz, ballet, pointe, contemporary, lyrical, tap, and hip hop.
Jen graduated from ISU in 2014, where she was on the ISU Competitive Dance Team. She is a 2nd-grade teacher at Barkstall Elementary in Champaign. You can hear her on the radio on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings with her dad “Mike in the Morning” on 97.5!
Kennedy Hall
INSTRUCTOR | CHOREOGRAPHER
Kennedy is an ISU graduate and is teaching first grade at Barkstall Elementary in Champaign. Kennedy started teaching at our studio in 2019, but she has been instructing since 2013. She teaches jazz, hip hop, and ballet.
She danced all 4 years on the ISU Competitive Dance Team where she was a captain for 3 of the years. Kennedy now coaches for the team. Kennedy has been dancing for over 20 years and competed in dance growing up. She is trained in ballet, pointe, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, modern, hip hop, and musical theater. She has been a great addition to our staff and she makes learning dance fun!