Our mission is to inspire others to learn and love dance as much as we do! We have experience training all levels of dancers in a variety of styles, including ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip-hop, and many others.
Jacque (Karns) Butzke is the owner and director of Inspiring Dance. She has been dancing for over twenty-four years and been a dance instructor for over eighteen years. She has trained in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, modern, pointe and other styles. In the summer of 2003, she traveled the East Coast as a Dance Olympus VIP and attended the Dance Teacher Conference in NYC. She was named Miss Dance USA of Iowa in 2005. She graduated from Urbandale High School in 2005, and then went on to Iowa State University where she was a member of the Iowa State Dance Team. As a member of the ISU Hip Hop Club, Jacque choreographed halftime performances for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Jacque graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science for Iowa State University where she majored in Management and minored in Entrepreneurial Studies.
In addition to her work at iD, Jacque coached the Varsity Dance Team coach at Johnston High School for 7 years from 2008-2015. Jacque loves that she was able to use her skill set to inspire and mentor high school students in her position with Johnston.
She continues her training through conventions and workshops across the country. Jacque wants to encourage all dancers to reach their potential by providing a positive environment and constructive feedback. Her goal in opening Inspiring Dance was to inspire dancers and to spread her love of dance with the community. She is excited to continue this adventure with a great faculty and wonderful students and families.
Haley Lauterbach began dancing at a very young age, gaining much of her training from the Robert Thomas Dancenter in Ames. She took accelerated ballet classes and performed many roles in the Nutcracker Ballet and was a member of the Iowa Youth Ballet. Haley was on the studio competition team as well, and won many awards and scholarships at conventions and competitions around the country, including two national titles.
Haley went on to dance at the University of Iowa as a member of the Iowa Dance Team. During her time with the team, she was selected captain for two seasons and was also voted Most Valuable Dancer. As a team, they earned two state titles and consistently ranked in the top ten nationally. Haley is the Assistant Competition Director and strives to inspire the same passion she has for dance to iD dancers in all of her recreational, technique, and ballet classes.
Alex Cordes began dancing in middle school at a local studio in the Des Moines area. In addition to studio dance she joined the Johnston High School Varsity Dance Team. She began dancing at Inspiring Dance in 2010 when it opened and competed on Team iD her senior year in 2012.
Alex continued her education at the University of Iowa. While there, Alex continued her education in dance by taking many classes from the university’s dance program. She gained experience in choreography and instruction as a jazz and lyrical captain for the University of Iowa’s Dance Club. She worked with college-aged dancers for 3 years, as well as being a coordinator for the Club’s performance team for 2 years. She also taught young dancers at a local studio in Riverside, Iowa for 3 years. After graduating from the University of Iowa in the spring of 2016, Alex moved back to the Des Moines area and quickly rejoined her iD family. Alex is sharing her love for dance teaching recreational and competition classes in many different styles.
Justyn Sharp started dancing at the age of three and continued her training through various studios in Des Moines. She was a member of the Norwalk High School Dance Team all four years of high school which focused on Jazz, Hip Hop, and Pom. Their team placed first in one or more categories each year at state competition.
Following high school, Justyn went on to St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota, where she danced on the university’s nationally ranked dance team. The team placed 4th in Hip Hop and 11th in Jazz at UDA College Dance Nationals. Justyn spent two years as a dance instructor and choreographer for students of all ages and abilities at North Crest Dance and Gymnastics in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. She graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mass Communications-Public Relations with a minor in English. Justyn has been teaching recreational and competition level classes at iD for 11 years.