Meet Our Teachers
Laura Hayden
Laura Hayden is the owner and artistic director of Laura Hayden’s School of Dance. She grew up in Warsaw, IN, dancing at Deb Colliers’ School of Dance. Laura was a member of the Class Act performing group during her time at Deb Collier’s. She also took classes at the renowned Gus Giordano Dance School in Chicago and at Purdue University. She has taught dance classes for Deb Collier and Nancy Schulenburg, taking over Nancy's studio, turning it into Laura Hayden's School of Dance, in 2002. She currently teaches jazz, tap, and lyrical.
Diane Howe
Diane Howe is originally from Benton, Arkansas where she studied ballet, tap, jazz, baton, and tumbling at Riggs School of Dance and performed with the Junior and Senior High Dance Drill Teams. Diane was an avid competitive multi-distance runner and triathlete for 20 years, completing five Ironman distance races, including Ironman Canada and Ironman Hawaii along with ultra-distance running and biking events and master’s team swimming. Looking for cross-training and having danced for many years, she began dancing with Nancy’s Ballet in 1993 as an adult, and a few years later, began teaching adult ballet classes. Diane now teaches ballet and pointe for Laura Hayden’s School of Dance. She has passed the Chicago National Association of Dance Masters membership testing for both tap and ballet and continues training in all forms of dance through CNADM summer workshops and conventions. Diane has an M.S. in Nuclear Physics from Vanderbilt University and a B.S. in Physics from Arkansas State University. She has been a semiconductor engineer for the last 38 years and counting, loves relating physics to dance during classes, and feels it’s a blessing and honor to teach and be a part of her students’ lives.
Maggie Herrington
Maggie Herrington joined the staff at Laura Hayden’s in 2005, teaching tap, jazz and ballet. Since then, she has focused on the ballet program. Maggie is classically trained with a strong background in performance art and musical theatre. She was trained by professional artists Linda Gerdinich and Cheri Lunte at the Dancer’s Studio in Noblesville and attended numerous clinics and summer workshops at the Jordan Academy of Dance at Butler University. She has performed as a Purduette and in several productions at the Belfry Theatre, Epilogue stage at Footlight, and the Encore Awards at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre. Among her favorites are playing the role of Potiphar’s Wife in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Adelaide in Guys & Dolls. Her favorite choreography credits include The Producers with the Belfry Theatre and The Purduette Trio Big Band Review with the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra. She loves teaching with Laura in addition to her day job with Purdue Extension. She and her husband, Robert, and their children Caroline, Ainsley, Robert, and Darcy live in Noblesville.
Elizabeth Milbank
Elizabeth Mauk is a current dancer at Laura Hayden’s School of Dance and also Laura’s oldest daughter. She started taking classes at the age four at Deb Collier’s School of Dance. Elizabeth grew up dancing many styles including Ballet, Point, Modern, Tap, and Hip Hop with her favorite being Lyrical and Jazz. She has attended many conferences with the Chicago National Association of Dance Masters. Elizabeth currently teaches Movement, Combo, Tap, Jazz and Team. She is also continuing her study of dance through CLI Studios, a creative program built for dancers and dance teachers inspiring us to learn new styles. She plans to continue studying and looks forward to bonding and growing with each and every dancer. In addition to teaching dance, Elizabeth is a cheer coach for Hamilton Heights Middle School. Elizabeth lives in Cicero with her husband Tayler, daughter, Adilyn, who is also a dancer at Laura Hayden's School of Dance, and sons Ollie and Everett. In her free time Elizabeth enjoys attending White River Christian Church, spending time with her family on Morse Lake, going on bike rides and attending CrossFit.
Megan Dorsett
Megan Dorsett started dancing at the age of four with Nancy’s Ballet. She continued taking classes when the studio switched over to Laura Hayden’s School of Dance. Megan grew up dancing many styles including Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Jazz, Tap, Hip-Hop, and Modern. She now teaches Movement, Jazz, Tap, and Team. Megan graduated from Indiana University with a BS in Kinesiology. She has attended many conferences with the Chicago National Association of Dance Masters and is continuing her studies of dance through CLI Studios. Megan also has a BS in Elementary Education from Anderson University and teaches Second Grade in Indianapolis. She has a passion for teaching and a love of dance that she enjoys sharing with her students at Laura Hayden’s.
Jenna Winters-Freeborn
Originally from Naperville, Illinois, Jenna Winters-Freeborn resides in Noblesville, where she teaches Pure Barre and works for ColorStory Studio. Jenna received her Bachelors Degree in Dance Business from Anderson University where she trained in modern, jazz, ballet, musical theatre, tap, improvisation and composition. Upon graduation, Jenna was lucky to freelance perform with dance groups in the Indy area such as Flourish, Crossroads, BalletIN, Revelations, and IN(Dance). Outside of the studio, Jenna enjoys spending time with her husband Tommy and dog Rosie. Jenna is very excited to share her passion with the dancers of Laura Hayden’s School of Dance!