Alma Dance School
Alma Dance School, 999 N Main Street Suite 108, Suite 108, Glen Ellyn, IL 60137
About
Alma Dance School offers dance classes that include ballet, Cuban-method ballet, pre-professional dance training, and recreational dance instruction. The program holds performance auditions and invites students to take a trial class. Alma Dance School also stages an annual Nutcracker production and Simply Classic Series productions, where students participate in performances.
• Ages: 1.5–18 years old
Alma Dance School is led by former professional dancers Vilma Machin and Guillermo Leyva. The faculty includes award-winning professional dancers and world-renowned, award-winning, professional instructors. The school offers three divisions of dance training: a Children’s Division for ages 1.5–7, a Pre-professional Division for ages 6 and above, and a Dance Division for ages 7 and above. Alma Dance School is described as Chicagoland’s only Cuban-method ballet studio and provides Cuban-method ballet training, which is described as organic, extraverted, and highly expressive. The school is described as a performing school with two annual productions, The Nutcracker and Simply Classic Series, and every student is invited to perform in both productions, dancing with professionals during the annual shows. The program includes options for both recreational and pre-professional training, with a focus on the whole person, developing talents and strengths unique to each student, and emphasizes personalized training and attention to detail.
The mission of Alma Dance School is stated as: “Our mission is to provide professional and recreational dance instruction through high-quality training, performance opportunities and infusion of our core values, in a safe high-quality studio environment”. Alma Dance School is described as deeply committed to its support and partnership with a special-needs community and has been celebrated for its commitment to expression through dance. Parents of dancers ages 3–6 are provided with a Zoom link to observe their dancer during in-person class, and the school has a drop-off and pick-up policy due to a very small lobby area. Hand sanitizer is available in each dance room, the layout of the lobby has been changed to encourage social distancing and help traffic control, and often-touched areas are sanitized frequently while dancers are present in the building. Dancers, staff, and instructors are required to wear a mask at all times while inside the premises.
Faculty credentials include Vilma Machin, who graduated in 2001 at the top of her class as a dancer and received a diploma in ballet pedagogy in the Cuban method of ballet, and Guillermo Leyva, who trained at the Professional School of Arts in Camaguey, Cuba, and danced professionally at the Ballet de Camaguey as a principal dancer. Katrina Lochridge has over 15 years of teaching experience and has taught and choreographed for numerous ballet schools, studios, companies, and park districts throughout the Chicagoland area. Jenna Guzy began her ballet training at three years old and gained experience teaching ballet and pre-pointe during her years of pre-professional training. Julia Rzonca received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Western Michigan University in May 2021.
All Alma dancers need to adhere to their program or class dress code, and newly enrolled dancers are expected to have dress code appropriate attire within a week of registration. Dancers attending a trial class can wear any color leotard, tights, and ballet slippers they already own, or, if they do not have these items, they can wear clothing that feels comfortable and allows them to move with freedom, such as a T-shirt, leggings, and socks.
One parent, Meredith Holt, states that her child’s teachers had always talked about her potential as a dancer and that with the training she is receiving with Vilma and Guillermo, they are seeing that potential start to be realized, describing Alma Dance School as a second home and noting a high standard of excellence at the school. Another parent, Mary Lewis, who identifies herself as a former professional dancer for 15 years, describes Vilma and Guillermo with the word “Joy” and notes what she describes as a combination of excellent training, encouragement, discipline, and a true love for their students, and expresses gratitude for what she describes as an excellent studio in Glen Ellyn.
Last updated May 24, 2026.
• Ages: 1.5–18 years old
Alma Dance School is led by former professional dancers Vilma Machin and Guillermo Leyva. The faculty includes award-winning professional dancers and world-renowned, award-winning, professional instructors. The school offers three divisions of dance training: a Children’s Division for ages 1.5–7, a Pre-professional Division for ages 6 and above, and a Dance Division for ages 7 and above. Alma Dance School is described as Chicagoland’s only Cuban-method ballet studio and provides Cuban-method ballet training, which is described as organic, extraverted, and highly expressive. The school is described as a performing school with two annual productions, The Nutcracker and Simply Classic Series, and every student is invited to perform in both productions, dancing with professionals during the annual shows. The program includes options for both recreational and pre-professional training, with a focus on the whole person, developing talents and strengths unique to each student, and emphasizes personalized training and attention to detail.
The mission of Alma Dance School is stated as: “Our mission is to provide professional and recreational dance instruction through high-quality training, performance opportunities and infusion of our core values, in a safe high-quality studio environment”. Alma Dance School is described as deeply committed to its support and partnership with a special-needs community and has been celebrated for its commitment to expression through dance. Parents of dancers ages 3–6 are provided with a Zoom link to observe their dancer during in-person class, and the school has a drop-off and pick-up policy due to a very small lobby area. Hand sanitizer is available in each dance room, the layout of the lobby has been changed to encourage social distancing and help traffic control, and often-touched areas are sanitized frequently while dancers are present in the building. Dancers, staff, and instructors are required to wear a mask at all times while inside the premises.
Faculty credentials include Vilma Machin, who graduated in 2001 at the top of her class as a dancer and received a diploma in ballet pedagogy in the Cuban method of ballet, and Guillermo Leyva, who trained at the Professional School of Arts in Camaguey, Cuba, and danced professionally at the Ballet de Camaguey as a principal dancer. Katrina Lochridge has over 15 years of teaching experience and has taught and choreographed for numerous ballet schools, studios, companies, and park districts throughout the Chicagoland area. Jenna Guzy began her ballet training at three years old and gained experience teaching ballet and pre-pointe during her years of pre-professional training. Julia Rzonca received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Western Michigan University in May 2021.
All Alma dancers need to adhere to their program or class dress code, and newly enrolled dancers are expected to have dress code appropriate attire within a week of registration. Dancers attending a trial class can wear any color leotard, tights, and ballet slippers they already own, or, if they do not have these items, they can wear clothing that feels comfortable and allows them to move with freedom, such as a T-shirt, leggings, and socks.
One parent, Meredith Holt, states that her child’s teachers had always talked about her potential as a dancer and that with the training she is receiving with Vilma and Guillermo, they are seeing that potential start to be realized, describing Alma Dance School as a second home and noting a high standard of excellence at the school. Another parent, Mary Lewis, who identifies herself as a former professional dancer for 15 years, describes Vilma and Guillermo with the word “Joy” and notes what she describes as a combination of excellent training, encouragement, discipline, and a true love for their students, and expresses gratitude for what she describes as an excellent studio in Glen Ellyn.
Last updated May 24, 2026.
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