Meet our Staff

Kris Vanderbeek, was born in Kansas City, MO. She began dancing at the age of 2. Her training included ballet, tap, jazz, acrobatics and baton. When her family relocated to Atlanta, she started gymnastics and ice skating. Her love for ice skating grew as she  continued her training when they moved to Maryland.  Kris worked privately with a coach to move through the various levels of figure skating.  When her family relocated to New Jersey and was unable to find a rink nearby she returned to her first love - DANCE. She started classes at Robin Horneff Performing Arts Center, as well as acting in high school, where she had the opportunity to work with Danny Aiello, whom you may have seen in Jacob's Ladder, Harlem Nights, Broadway Danny Rose & The Godfather Part II to name a few. While attending college, she worked closely with children as a nanny. She is married to her best friend and they have 3 daughters. Her love for the arts and children lead her to become a licensed Kindermusik teacher after experiencing a class with her first daughter. 

Through the years, Kris has worn many hats. 13 years ago, she walked into a new studio so that her oldest daughter could dance closer to home. That studio was Step on Stage. She has had the honor to be a parent, costume designer, visual artistic designer for all props, teacher, and as of June 2018 owner of this special gem. With her family by her side, the  journey is just beginning. 

Kris is a positive role model and brings a versatile expertise to this studio. She relishes the look on a students face when they have that "aha" moment.  She ends every class with her students saying, "I'm the BEST me ever!"

  Taliah Jade Vanderbeek, raised in Willow Spring, North Carolina, began her early training with Cheri Crabtree at Steps on Stage Academy of Performing Arts. She is a recent graduate of East Carolina University where she received her BFA in Dance Performance.  While at ECU, she danced in works by Richard Smith, Danielle Lydia Sheather, Ji-Eun Lee and Emily Schoen, and trained under Galina Panova, Tommi Galaska, Teal Darkenwald and John Dixon.  She also had the opportunity to work with guest artists such as Koresh company members, BodyTraffic, Parsons Dance and Tiffany Rae Fisher to name a few. In 2014, she attended the Joffrey Ballet School New York City Jazz and Contemporary Intensive on scholarship and performed at Symphony Space in works choreographed by Jeremy McQueen and Andre Tyson.  Taliah choreographed many of her own works during her time at ECU and recently presented her senior thesis project "You plucked the darkness out of my soul. You saved me."  

 A native of Lexington, KY, Katie Padgett Brown spent her early days training at Diana Evans School of Dance. As a part of the competitive team, she performed in local and national dance festivals, concerts, pageants, and competitions. With over 20 years of teaching experience at studios in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, DC, Kentucky and North Carolina, Katie prides herself on bringing a rhythm tap education to her students, and believes that all students can succeed when given the right tools. 

Katie performed in the annual Kennedy Kennedy Center Gala performance hosted by Julie Andrews and featuring the NSO Pops, conducted by Marvin Hamlisch. She was invited back to dance in the Gala a second time, this time hosted by Angela Lansbury, where she performed with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. In 2008, she performed at Lincoln Center in New York City with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, once again conducted by Marvin Hamlisch, in a performance with Kristen Chenoweth and Raul Esparza. 

More recently, Katie, her students, and her choreography have been seen at the Ellington Theater as part of the annual DC Tap Festival, The Kennedy Center, Chicago's Contemporary Art Museum as part of the Chicago Human Rhythm Project, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, and the Ernst Cultural Center. 

In 2022, she completed the Level 1 Copasetic Canon Curriculum and holds a Tap Teacher Training Certificate from the American Tap Dance Foundation. Katie’s students have gone on to dance with M.A.D.D. Rhythms (Chicago), Music from the Sole (NYC), Dorrance Dance, The Juilliard School (NYC), The Mark Morris Dance Group, Houston Ballet 2, The Richmond Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, The Boston Ballet, Ballet West, The School of American Ballet, numerous Broadways shows, national tours, regional theatre productions, and various college and university dance programs across the United States. 

Katie is a proud honors graduate of Elon University and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music. 

When she is not nerding out about tap dance (or dance in general), she spends her time at home in North Carolina, reading, kayaking, listening to podcasts, and hanging out with her husband and their cat.

Emalee Chapman is 23 years old and has been dancing since she was 3. In 2008, her family moved from Maryland to North Carolina. She continued her love for dance once she moved here and has since then been trained by multiple dance instructors. Over the years, she has been trained in jazz, contemporary, hip-hop, tap, clogging, acrobatics, lyrical, musical theater, and ballet. Emalee has been with Steps on Stage since its opening and has loved it ever since. She has received multiple top honors and scholarships at regional and national dance competitions since her start of competition dance at the age of 6, as well as attending numerous dance conventions and intensives to grow in dance until she graduated from high school. Emalee attended West Johnston and was apart of the dance team there for four years while also competing. She held the role of dance team captain and was a part of the National Honors Society for Dance Arts (NHSDA).

Emalee graduated from North Carolina State University, Summa Cum Laude, with a degree in Communication. Most recently, Emalee completed her Master's degree in Integrated Marketing & Communication from The University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Emalee has been a part of the staff for 5 years now. Over the years, her dances have received different judge's awards, as well as choreography acknowledgements at dance competitions. Most recently, her contemporary group won Elite Grand Champion at Southeast Showdown Nationals. Emalee is also currently the official chapter sponsor for NHSDA at the studio. Even though she no longer lives in NC, she still works with Steps as the Marketing/PR Coordinator and was able to choreograph multiple pieces for the upcoming competition season.

“I love being able to teach and choreograph, but most of all I love being able to see my students improve and to see their love for dance grow!"