OUR STAFF
DEBORAH AGRUSA M, ED.
Owner/Artistic Director
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Deborah Agrusa is the owner and artistic director of Deborah's Stage Door Center for the Performing Arts which is now in its 38th year. Debbie received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in dance from Michigan State University and a Masters of Education Degree from Wayne State University. Debbie was chosen by the faculty of Michigan State University as "One of the Top Ten Graduating Seniors" upon the completion of her Bachelors Degree from Michigan State University. She has taught on the faculties of Wayne State University, Michigan State University and Oakland University. She was awarded the prestigious Copper Foot Award of Excellence in Choreography from Wayne State University. Deborah has served as the choreographer for America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit for many years. Debbie's competition dancers are known throughout the United States for their excellence in dance. They have performed at the Reel Awards (a pre-Academy Award Gala) in Hollywood, California; for Variety, A Children's Charity International Convention in Palm Springs, California; America's Thanksgiving Parade televised nationally on CBS; Detroit Piston Halftime Shows; The Ryder Cup, Walt Disney World and Disneyland. Her dancers have had the privilege of performing with the Jonas Brothers, the Cheetah Girls, Raven Simone, Corbin Bleu, Chubby Checkers, Bernadette Peters, The Contours, Little Richard, The Four Tops, Rich Little, Bob McGrath from Sesame Street, Sam Wright from "The Little Mermaid" and many more. These talented dancers have also performed at Comerica Park on the baseball field at Detroit Tigers games. These talented dancers have been crowned the National Dance Champions 21 times in the past 37 years. Her students have gone on to receive Tony awards, Emmy awards, Grammy awards, VMA awards and have been finalists on So You Think You Can Dance, Star Search, and America's Got Talent. They have also performed at the Academy Awards, the Emmys and the American Choreographer Awards. She is proud that they have been able to attend some of the most prestigious universities in the country as well as starring on Broadway, TV and Film. They have most recently been involved with television's Dance Moms, Nashville, Smash, The Young and the Restless as well as many other shows. Debbie is very proud of all of her students and of all those who have studied at DSD throughout the years. She is elated to have so many of the children of her former students now studying at DSD and so many of her former students now teaching for her. Debbie feels privileged to be a part of the lives of each of the children who attend DSD and their families. We are very thankful for the support the community has given us throughout our now 38 years. In addition, Miss Debbie feels it is important to give back and to instill in her students a sense of giving. Thus, the DSD dancers perform at community, charity and fundraiser events throughout the year. "Miss Debbie" is the driving force that makes her students excel and strives to offer the "best" in dance and performing arts education.
Erin Bishop
Co Director/ Instructor
Erin Bishop is a gifted teacher who has been a dance educator for many years. She has extensively studied jazz, tap, lyrical, ballet, tumbling and hip hop. Erin especially loves working with the preschoolers. Erin has studied extensively with Deborah Agrusa, Mia Michaels, Savion Glover, Gregg Russell, Dee Caspary and various other teachers in New York and California. She has performed at Disneyworld, Disneyland, the Children's Miracle Network Telethon, the CBS nationally televised America's Thanksgiving Parade, the CBS nationally televised Showstopper American Dance Championships, Detroit Piston halftime shows and Rochester Art and Apples. Erin was a proud member for several years of the DSD Repertory Company and part of the 1996 and 1998 National Championship Dance groups from DSD. Erin is married to an alum of DSD, Karl. Erin and Karl have two beautiful children, Keira and Justin who are both members of DSD’s national award winning competition groups. Erin feels so fortunate to be able to do something she loves so much . . . sharing her joy of dance with children.
ASHLEY AGRUSA
Instructor-Dance
Ashley Agrusa is proud to have studied dance, acting and voice at DSD. She was a part of the Repertory Company when she was growing up. Ashley has studied every form of dance, tumbling, acting and voice. Ashley is a proud graduate with high honors of CAP 21/Molloy College with a BFA in Musical Theatre. Recently, Ashley was part of the cast of “Anything Goes” in Pittsburgh and in the national tour of “My Fair Lady”. She was also the assistant captain. Some of Ashley’sother credits include “Catch Me If You Can” The REV, “A Christmas Story”, “Beauty & The Beast”, “Annie”, “Holiday Inn” and the national tour of “The Elf on the Shelf. “Ashley has opened for "The Cheetah Girls”, "Raven", "The Jonas Brothers" and "Corbin Bleu". She has performed on national television on the "Showstopper American Dance Championships" and "America's Thanksgiving Day Parade". Ashley teaches and choreographs across the country as well.. She loves children of all ages and truly enjoys sharing her love of the arts with them!
JACQUELINE AGRUSA
Instructor-Dance
Jacqueline is honored to be a part of the DSD Summer Dance Intensive. Jacqueline grew up at Deborah’s Stage Door and is a versatile performer and teacher. Jacqueline has studied ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, hip hop, contemporary, tumbling and lyrical extensively. Jacqueline was a member of the Repertory Company and a top national award-winning junior, teen and senior soloist. In addition, Jacqueline has trained in acting and voice performance. Jacqueline holds a BFA in Performing Arts with a minor in Vocal Performance from
SCAD - Savannah College of Arts and Design where she was the recipient of a talent and academic scholarship and graduated with high honors. Most recently, Jacqueline was part of the national tour of “Cirque Dreams Holidaze” and was an associate choreographer for the Off-Broadway musical “Only Human”. Jacqueline is a member of EQUITY and some of her credits include “Newsies”, “Mamma Mia”, “Shrek” and “Rocky Horror Picture Show”. As a professional singer/dancer, she performed at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway with numerous Broadway stars in the gala fundraiser for “Arts for Autism”. She has appeared on Star Search with Arsenio Hall, the CBS nationally televised Showstopper American Dance Championships and America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, numerous times. She has opened for the Cheetah Girls, Raven, the Jonas Brothers and Corbin Bleu. She has also performed with Bernadette Peters, Rich Little, Chubby Checkers, The Tops, The Temptations, Little Richard, Bob McGrath from Sesame Street. Jacqueline's choreography has received numerous awards from many different organizations. Jacqueline travels across the country teaching, choreographing and judging. She loves sharing her knowledge and passion for dance and the arts with her students! Jacqueline will teach musical theater, contemporary, jazz, hip hop and turn/leaps!
SARAH AGRUSA
Instructor-Dance
Sarah has been dancing, singing and acting for over 18 years. DSD is where Sarah has grown up and is so proud to have been part of the National Award Winning DSD Repertory Dance Company for over ten years. Sarah attended CAP 21/Molloy College on an academic and talent scholarship where she earned an BFA in Musical Theatre just this May 2023. Sarah was in the National Tour of The Wizard of Oz when she was 8 years old. She was a Munchkin, part of the Lollipop Guild and a Winkie. Sarah has also had leads in "Mamma Mia", "The Wizard of Oz", "The Wiz", "Beauty & The Beast" to name a few. Sarah has years of experience teaching and choreographed here at DSD and across the country. This experienced young lady loves to teach and inspire others.
KARL BISHOP
Instructor-Tumbling
Karl Bishop grew up at DSD and was a part of numerous national championship dance groups while here. Karl is famous for wowing Ben Vereen, host, on the CBS nationally televised Showstopper American Dance Championships with his huge, high side leaps in the Senior Championship dance number "Hot Stuff". Karl has studied jazz, tap, lyrical, ballet, tumbling and hip hop extensively. Karl studied and worked in Los Angeles and was a part of numerous television commercials, MTV videos and films. Karl has also performed at Disney World, Disneyland, the Children's Miracle Network Telethon, the CBS nationally televised America's Thanksgiving Parade, the CBS nationally televised Showstopper American Dance Championships, Detroit Piston halftime shows and Rochester Art and Apples. Karl is the proud father of Keira and Justin who are already following in his footsteps. Karl loves children and his passion for kids, dance and tumbling truly shows when he is in a room teaching!
Instructor-Voice
MISS BELLA
Miss Bella is our new voice teacher on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays! She is currently getting her B.A. in Music Education from Oakland University and is a proud graduate of Athens High School. She won the Superior Award at the Michigan Thespian Festival in 2019 when she performed I Will Never Leave You from the musical Side Show! Bella was the proud president of her Thespian group and was in charge of all the acts that went to the festival! Her main passion is singing and teaching young minds the art of music! We are super excited to welcome Miss Bella!!
Instructor-Dance
LEANNE GAUTHIER
Deborah's Stage Door is excited to welcome our new Ballet Mistress, Leanne Gauthier! Leanne Studied at the Ballet Met Columbus Pre-Professional Program. Her studies there consisted of not only ballet but numerous forms of dance. She also trained extensively at the Link School for the Arts. Leanne has years of teaching experience and working with children. She has a true passion for dance and truly loves sharing her knowledge and experience with children.She is so excited to be joining our staff this year and inspiring the students of DSD! Welcome Miss Leanne!
Instructor-Dance & Tumbling
SALINA GUSMANO
Salina began dancing and tumbling when she was little girl. She has studied jazz, tap, ballet, hip and tumbling most of her life. Teaching for over ten years, Salina loves to share her enthusiasm for the arts with the next generations.
She is proud to be an educator at Deborah's Stage Door.
Instructor-
Cat Manturuk
Cat Manturuk is the founder and artistic director of DANCE CAT-ALYST, a soul-driven contemporary dance company that created a unique style of movement called “MOD-HOP-JAZZ.” A dynamic approach to movement that incorporates elements of modern, hip-hop, and jazz, with a strong ballet base. A native of Detroit, MI, she holds a BFA in Dance and BS in Exercise Science from Western Michigan University. After graduating, Cat was a scholarship student at Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Center in Chicago, later moving to LA, where she performed with LA Modern and Ballet Company, Blue13 Dance, Regina Klenjosky Dance Company, and Collage Dance Theatre. Upon her arrival in New York, she joined Dance 2XS and became rehearsal director to Decadancetheatre. Her music video credits lie with BET and MTVIndia, and she has been featured in Dance Spirit, Shape, and Elle magazine.
DANCE CAT-ALYST outreach programs and performances include: Nanjing, China; the NY Jazz Choreography Project; Battery Downtown Dance Festival; Brooklyn Dance Festival; Detroit Dance City Festival; Albion College; University of Wisconsin-Eau-Claire; Wellspring Cori Terry & Dancers; NYC’S Chelsea Piers Sports Center and Sky Rink; and Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival. Cat is a recipient of the ACDF Excellence in Performance and Choreography Award, a Harkness Scholarship, a National Dance Association Outstanding Scholarship, and Presidential Award. Her choreography has been noted as “creating heat…” by the LA Times and teaching role as “crisply alive…” by the NY Times. Cat began her dance training at DSD and is happy to come full circle to teach where her training and inspiration for dance began!
Instructor-Acting
Brandon Johnson
Please welcome our new acting teacher, Mr. Brandon Johnson. Brandon comes to us with a Bachelors in Musical Theater from Rochester University. He has over 15 years experience as a performer in various roles throughout Detroit and Chicago. He was a performer and branch operator at Fairytail Entertainment and an intern with Uncovered Theatre Co. He also taught art courses at Young Rembrandts and Barnes and Noble, teaching children to read and discover more about literature. Brandon enjoys encouraging young minds to express themselves through various forms of art.
Instructor-
Megan Winegardner
Megan Winegardner began dancing at the age of 3 at Dancin’ Feet in Canton, MI where she studied ballet, tap, jazz, pointe, and Cecchetti ballet technique. She later danced at the Dean/Black School of Performing Arts in Midland, MI where she was a member of the Dance Theatre Unlimited competition troupe and a teaching assistant for children’s dance classes. Megan continued her dance journey as an adult tap dancer at Juliana’s Academy of Dance and Deborah’s Stage Door. She now has two children who are members of the DSD competition dance line. Megan enjoys working with dance students of all ages to instill a life-long love of dance!