Stephanie Mberego is the founder and artistic director of Elia Dance. She was a first company dancer and member of Dance Art Theater in DC for ten years and a guest artist with Mophato Dance Theater in Botswana in 2015. During her time in DC, she had the opportunity to work with Karen Reedy, Jane Franklin Dance, Glade Dance, Ethos Dance, Company E, among others. She has been in several dance films including the 2025 ‘Midnight Frequencies’ produced by Kin Dance and ‘Recapture’ produced by DAT and Levi Mberego, and performed in ‘Luminal’ with Kin Dance in their 2026 season.
Her passion for dance started at the age of 4, and she had many opportunities to train and grow including at Kirov Academy of Ballet, City Dance Ensemble, Winnipeg National Ballet Theater and more. Stephanie is excited to bring dance education and performance to the communities of Northern Oklahoma and South East Kansas to build appreciation for performing dance arts and cultivate a professional dance industry locally.
Raaven Heady is the type of person who finds joy in literally everything. She loves making people laugh, trying new things, a little controlled chaos and bringing good energy wherever she goes. From Kansas City, Kansas, Raaven is married with 2 daughters, ages 6 and 2. She has taught hip hop for 5 years at Stage Art Dance Academy in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, with students ranging in ages from 4 to 60 years old.
She truly feels like dance is her purpose and her goal is to help people realize they can dance, even they’ve spent their whole life believing they couldn’t. She never wants to be the reason someone hates dancing.
“Dance isn’t reserved for a select few. It belongs to everyone.”