Lorenda Carr
Owner/Executive Director

Lorenda Carr is owner and director of Circle City Dance Productions, LLC, Circle City Tap Festival, Circle City Tap Company, Young Hoofers Club, and Co-founder of Midwest Open Rhythm Exchange (MORE). She began dancing at age 3, was a dance performance major at Ball State, and has been a dance teacher/choreographer for over 30 years with a particular love for tap. She is currently the Co-Owner of Dance Innovations, PAC in Westfield, Indiana. Lorenda is dedicated to bringing performing arts education and opportunities to Central Indiana as well as creating a community of artists that work together to ensure dance and the performing arts are kept alive and well for generations to come.

Ella Alexander

Ella has been dancing all styles of dance since she was 3 years old at Dance Magic Performing Arts Center. Tap has always been her favorite style and she feels incredibly lucky to be apart of this amazing tap company to continue growing. Ella is a student at Anderson High School and is also apart of their theatre program. When not dancing or acting, Ella can be found reading a book and snuggling her Goldendoodle, Bruno.

Mazie Askren

Bio coming Soon

Sydney Brown

Sydney is a student at Purdue University and has been dancing since age 5. She has been competing since age 10, eventually falling in love with tap. When she's not dancing she can be found hanging out with her friends, eating French fries, shopping, or drowning in homework. ​

Patty Buckhorn

Patty joined CCTC in 2016 and has enjoyed growing with the company. She grew up dancing ballet, tap, and jazz, but her passion has always been tap dancing. She teaches tap at Village Dance Studio in Zionsville, is an Executive Recruiter for a logistics company in Milwaukee, and is most proud to be a wife and lucky momma of four crazy and wonderful kiddos! 

Makenzie Cosaboom

Bio Coming Soon

Lora Dingledine
​Admin/Production Manager

Lora Dingledine began dancing with CCTC since 2019 and has been tap dancing since the age of 11. She has also studied jazz, hip hop, and contemporary dance, but tap has always been her passion. Originally a music teacher in central Indiana, Lora now works as a Doctor of Physical Therapy for Community Health Network in Indianapolis and Director of Clinical Education for the Krannert School of Physical Therapy at the University of Indianapolis. 

Elaina Fletcher

Elaina Fletcher attends Brownsburg High School and has been dancing since she was three years old. She is a proud member of the Style Dance Academy Competitive Team and is trained in all styles of dance. Tap is her passion and she attends tap workshops across the United States as often as she can. She plans to study dance/performing arts in college and hopes to pursue a career in the field. When not dancing, Elaina enjoys traveling, is a Disney fan and loves everything Harry Styles and One Direction (1D). She has a love for animals, especially her four cats. 

Emily Forrest

Emily started tap dancing when she was just 3 years old. She has studied ballet, jazz, and hip hop as well, but tap continues to be her absolute favorite. In high school, Emily was a member of Footprints Tap Ensemble in Libertyville, Illinois. After taking a few years off from tap dancing during college, she was excited to join CCTC and get back to doing what she loves. Emily can’t wait see what her future with CCTC will hold!
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Deanna Garner
​Social Medial Coordinator

​Dancing since the age of four, Deanna is an adult tap dance instructor at Indianapolis Movement Arts Collective and a company member of CCTC.  An experienced performer, choreographer, and judge, who studied tap, jazz, ballet, and modern dance, Deanna earned a degree in Dance Performance from Ball State University.  She danced and choreographed for IU Northwest Dance Company for 5 years while teaching at nearby studios before moving back to Indianapolis.  Dancing is a passion that Deanna is thankful to pursue in her spare time when she is not working as a Recycling Program Manager for the IN Department of Environmental Management.

Ella Howell
​Busking Coordinator

Ella has been a member of Circle City Tap Company since 2018 and has been dancing since she was 8 years old. She is a student at Ball State University studying journalism and digital media and looks forward to continuing to grow with Circle City Tap Company.

Sierra Krichiver

Sierra Krichiver is a student at North Central High School and has been tapping with CCTC since 2022. She has been dancing since the age of six, and while she has studied all styles of dance, tap is her love and passion. She enjoys both the artistic and rhythmic aspects of tap. Aside from dance, Sierra has a passion for all things space and math, and she hopes to one day work at NASA. She also loves theatre, playing guitar, and listening to Coldplay.

Ashley Lain
​Video Productions Director

Ashley is an Indianapolis native, well-rounded dancer, and trained musician. She is currently a professional dancer and video productions director with Circle City Tap Company and has been active in the dance community as an educator and choreographer for over ten years. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Kent State University and a Masters in Education from Western Governors University. Her technical development in tap can be attributed primarily to Linda Rees and Sarah Savelli, but many Chicago-based artists have also influenced her understanding and appreciation of the art form. Her dancing has taken her to the Lincoln Center, the London Olympics, and performance venues across the midwest. She was a 2013 tap scholar with Chicago’s Rhythm World Tap Festival and a 2014 participant in Nicholas Young’s Institute for the Rhythmic Arts. More recently, Lain has appeared on stage at the 2019 Motor City Tap Festival and in productions with Circle City Tap Company for the past four years.

Grace Linville

Bio Coming Soon!

Ashlee McBride
Social Media Coordinator

Ashlee began dancing at the age of 6 in her hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana. She trained for 13 years through the Fort Wayne Ballet in ballet, tap, jazz, and modern dance. After graduating high school, Ashlee began her undergraduate at Anderson University where she discovered an even deeper love for tap. Ashlee was a double major in Dance business and Youth Leadership Development at Anderson University and earned her bachelor's with the Class of 2021. Ashlee joined CCTC in February of 2019 and now teaches dance at Wishes Dance Studio in Fishers, where she is also the Director of Tap. 

Elizabeth Moreno

Bio Coming Soon!

Maelin Pitcher

Maelin is a student at New Palestine High School and has been dancing with Circle City Tap Company since 2019.  Maelin also studies Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Musical Theater and Hip hop at Dance Innovations in Westfield.  When Maelin is not dancing she spends her time writing poetry and fiction along with drawing and painting.

Tanya Radisich
Schedule Manager

Tanya found her passion for tap dance at the age of 9 at Academy of Dance in Warner Robins, GA. She trained in ballet, tap, and jazz, but tap is her favorite because of the heavy emphasis on rhythm and musicality. Tanya was a tap dance teacher at Peacock’s Performing Arts Center in Bonaire, GA from 2016-2020. She has attended Totally Tap! in GA twice, the North Carolina Rhythm Tap Festival, and the Tampa Bay Tap Festival. Tanya also completed Karida Griffith’s Tap Teacher Training Program in 2019. She now lives in Bloomington with her husband and daughter. Tanya is excited to join CCTC this year!

Sam Robbins

Sam Robbins is a graphic designer, artist, and dance teacher who resides in Indianapolis. She graduated from Ball State in 2020, obtaining a BFA in Visual Communication. Sam has been a part of the Miss Indiana Organization since 2012, holding different titles including Miss Ball State, Miss Northeast, and Miss Capital City. She has received several awards in the program for her tapping talent performances, interview skills, and work in substance abuse prevention through her self-founded organization, Party Smarty.
Sam danced at Village Dance Studio for 15 years and later became the intermediate/advanced tap instructor there in 2021. She has been dancing with Circle City Tap Company since 2022.
In their free time, Sam enjoys being the parent of two rescue pigeons, Lovie and Dovie, experiencing visual and performing arts, doing yoga, and trying local coffee shops. Sam also shares vegan recipe videos on TikTok. 

Sapna Shreenivasan

bio coming soon

Laura Elizabeth

Laura Elizabeth, 16, is a sophomore at Franklin Community High School.  She has been dancing since she was five and started competing with Style Dance Academy in Franklin, IN at age seven.  She also teaches and assists with classes at Style.  Laura currently tap dances with Circle City Tap Company and Detroit Tap Repertory as well as participating in shows with Tap 24.7 out of Phoenix, AZ.  Laura is in her fourth year with Circle City Tap and her second year with Detroit Tap.  Laura has trained in tap, contemporary, acro, ballet, jazz, lyrical and musical theater but is most proficient in tap.  She has trained extensively with 5-time world tap champion Mike Glenney out of Canada.  She has attended many workshops and tapfests across the country as well as performing with the Motor City Tapfest Performance Crew.  Laura plans to attend college at Franklin College to get a degree in Education while she teaches dance at a local studio and continues her own education as a tap dancer.  When Laura is not dancing, she enjoys reading thriller novels.

Mel Smeltzer

Melanie started dancing at age 3, but didn't put on tap shoes until age 4. She trained competitively in all styles for 11 years, and decided at age 15 to focus solely on tap dance. Her company experience includes: Circle City Tap Company (2015-present), American Tap Company (2017-2018), and the Loose Screws Tap Company (2018-present). She is currently attending Purdue University and is spreading her roots of tap by teaching classes at Studio b and organizing Purdue's tap club, Footnotes:PTC.

Paige Strickland
Dance Captain

Paige joined the Circle City Tap Company in 2018, but has been tap dancing since the age of 5. In addition to CCTC, she teaches dance at Dance Innovations, and dances competitively at Richens/Timm Academy of Irish Dance, but her biggest passion has always been tap. Currently Paige attends Butler University with a major in Business/Accounting. 

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