Meet the Hearts Behind the Mission
Rachel Fuchs-Payne | Founder & Teacher
Salt and Light Dance Studio was established in 2016 by Rachel Fuchs-Payne who wanted to create a faith-based dance school in Duluth. She has taught many different dance styles, worked with students with physical and cognitive disabilities, is passionate about teaching dance to people living with Parkinson's disease, and believes that dance is for everyone.
​Rachel has 17 years of classical ballet training with three years of professional dance experience. She has been teaching for a combined total of nine years for students in the area, previously at The Minnesota Ballet and currently at Salt and Light Dance Studio. She will be on maternity this Fall 2023 and is excited to return to teaching at the studio for Spring of 2024.
Brianna Hall
Teacher
Brianna began dancing at the age of four and hasn’t stopped. She holds a BA in Dance from St. Olaf College where she studied dance technique, performance, theory, and choreography. During her six years of teaching dance, she has instructed and created work for dancers ages three to 65.
She generated jazz, tap, and modern dance curriculums for Reif Dance and taught ballet with Broche Ballet in Denver, Colorado.
Brianna has choreographed for productions like Alice in Wonderland and The Jungle Book for Reif Dance, Cabaret and The Toxic Avenger for the Underground Theater, and The Wizard of Oz for the Duluth Children’s and Family Theater.
She enjoys performing and creating with the Duluth dance community through the Duluth Playhouse and "Dances on the Lakewalk." Brianna’s dance journey brings her joy and humility, which she hopes to share with students.
Jenny Chladek
Teacher
Jenny grew up near Eau Claire, Wisconsin and has been dancing all her life.
She studied ballet, modern, jazz, tap, and hip hop at En Avant School of Dance for 12 years. She did competition dance for four years on her high school dance team, as well as led and choreographed for the team as the captain her senior year.
She continued dance with Attitudes Dance at the University of Minnesota Duluth and began taking classes with the Minnesota Ballet.
Jenny has performed and choreographed with "Dances on the Lakewalk" for three summers.
She is excited to have the opportunity to teach and explore dance at Salt and Light Dance Studio!
Kallia Dwuznik
Teacher
Like many other young girls, dance was one of the first activities Kallia ever tried! She started dancing at three and later moved onto gymnastics at seven.
Kallia has been teaching/coaching kids for the past five years and loves the connections she gets to make with kids as she sees them grow and flourish!
Kallia was a dancer in Evergreen Dance Company in Omaha, NE for 2 years as well! She is currently attending the University of Minnesota Duluth to minor in dance and major in entrepreneurship! She can’t imagine life moving forward without dance in it!
Julie Penzenik
Teacher
Julie began dancing at the age of 10. During her years as a dancer, she trained in ballet, lyrical, tap, and jazz. Studying at Thomas Dance Studio in Lake Worth, Florida, she transitioned to instructor after joining Florida Dance Masters of America and earning a perfect score on the ballet exam.
She also taught at Jon Mullen Performing Arts Center, Ashley’s Performing Arts Center, and outreach programs in the community.
In addition, she choreographed competition and pageant solos. Julie has performed in numerous festivals, recitals, concerts, and television productions.
With more than 25 years of teaching experience, Julie is excited to share her love of dance with the next generation of dancers.
Grace Milroy
Teacher
Grace has been a student at Salt and Light Dance Studio for over seven years, assistant teaching for three of those years, and now has been promoted to teaching on her own for the last year.
Grace has experience working with kids from when she was a swimming instructor at the YMCA, and many years of babysitting. She loves working with kids and teaching them new and exciting things.
When it comes to dancing, Grace loves the small stories that can be conveyed through movements and expressions.
When Grace isn’t working, she loves spending quality time with her friends and family and exploring the outdoors.