Mike Mckinney

Howdy!! My name is Mike and I’m a country and swing dance instructor, mentor, and judge with various accolades and extensive experience in educating others with various dancing styles. I take pride in teaching while making it fun and entertaining. I’m also an experienced choreographer.

Mike is the Country Dance Instructor at Round Up Saloon in Dallas. He is also a competitive dance judge at Round Up, Cowboys Red River, and many other events and venues.

Sydnie Shelton

Sydnie discovered country dancing in 2018 and fell in love with it. During 2019, she paired up with Jacob Reding to dance competitively. Together they competed in Dallas, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Florida, earning over 20 first place wins (12 belt buckles), a national championship title, and a world title. In 2021, Sydnie and Jacob had the honor of dancing in Josh Turner's music video Joy to the World. Sydnie went on to teach at YESSS national dance convention and The Edge dance event in California.

Sydnie is frequently a competitive dance judge at Cowboys Red River.

Blake Elder

Blake Elder is driven and defined by his Faith in God. A Higher Power is always at work within him to do better. His happiness comes from helping people, whether it is a student learning to dance, a young couple perfecting their wedding dance, or the success of a business partner.

Blake is the Country Dance Instructor at Cowboys Red River in Dallas. He is also a competitive dance judge there as well.

Steven Spellman

Steven Spellman is a Dallas dance legend with numerous buckles in traditional and freestyle country dancing. He also performs and competes in West Coast Swing. Steven founded the Dallas based dance group and brand Forever Country. In 2021, he also became a world champion in bar room country freestyle at UCWDC Worlds.

Steven is frequently a competitive dancer at Cowboys Red River and often a competitive judge at Round Up Saloon in Dallas.

Madison Jantzen

Madison began dancing at the age of 6. During her years as a dancer, Madison trained in many styles including: Hip Hop, Jazz, Tap, Musical Theatre, Acrobatics, Lyrical and Contemporary. Madison enjoyed her years of being on High school Drill team and then moving on to dancing in college. Madison was an Apache Belle at Tyler Junior college and then joined UT Tyler’s pom Squad. She was on The Texas Legends Spirit Squad from 2021-2022 which is the dance team for the G-League of The Dallas Mavericks. She is currently on the Allen Americans Ice Angels which is the dance team for the Americans ECHL Hockey team. After College Madison fell in love with partner dancing. Traditional two step, West Coast Swing, Salsa, and Bachata became huge loves for her.

Madison and Steven met in 2020 during Covid. They had mutual friends that invited them to go dance at the only country bars that were open at the time. They shared quite a few dances and realized they had an amazing dance connection. That night began a beautiful partnership and friendship for years to come. Steven and Madison have competed in many Country Dance Competitions together. They have placed in every competition that they have gone to. They even took home First Place at the UCWDC World's First Country Dance Showdown. As Dance Teachers, Madison and Steven feel that it is important for students to feel confident, motivated and inspired at all times, and that they are in an environment they feel comfortable in. Madison and Steven want to see students succeed, be proud of their accomplishments, and enjoy all of the hard work and dedication they put into dance.

Saul and Heather

Saul and Heather met at Studio 2155 in Dallas on a Wednesday night. They quickly connected and have been dancing non stop ever since. Each have a passion for dance and the community. You can find them socially dancing around DFW & competing in Two-Step, Progressive Double Two, Dance Hall Traditional, and West Coast Swing.

Ella Bell

She found her first love about 10 + years ago in Houston: Two Step. After social dancing and taking classes for a couple years, Ella decided to take it more seriously and compete in country bar comps with her old partner: Alex. They started competing in 2017. Ella and Alex trained not only in dance, but they also implemented a lot of partner Acro, tricks, and dips into their dancing. 2018 was a streak year for them. Together, they’ve earned 6 belt buckles, and 10+ wins. 2019 and 2020 were the years Alex and Ella decided they had different goals. Alex became a competitor in UCWDC who is now a World Champion. Ella took some time to explore herself. While she has been still social dancing West Coast Swing for years, she has committed herself into the competition world as of July 2022. She is currently working on a ProAm Routine for this year, and she’s very excited to inspire and perform through her dancing. “Dancing is the love of my life, and I just want to share this love with everyone! I can so see myself dancing until I’m 89 lol” -Ella

You can catch Ella dancing at 2155, country bars, or grocery stores.