Teaching Artists
Meet our talented teaching artists who make our year-round programming possible! Our teaching staff are professional musicians, actors, and performers in Milwaukee, private music and voice teachers, general music educators, dance teachers and choreographers, and more.
Abby Bloomquist is a Milwaukee based director, actor, teaching artist, choreographer, and college audition coach. Since graduating from Wisconsin Lutheran College in 2022 with a B.A. in Theatre and Communications, she has worked with First Stage, Sunset Playhouse, Brookfield Elementary Players, Lake Country Players, and various high school and college theatre programs. She is currently serving as the Community Enrichment Director and Teaching Artist at Kids From Wisconsin to bring music and dance programming into Milwaukee schools. Abby is thrilled to be returning to the stage this summer as Bebe in A Chorus Line at Sunset Playhouse. She is an active participant in WISDAA State One Act Competition and International Thespian Festival. When not working, she enjoys taking ballet classes at Danceworks, traveling to new countries, and reading new plays. Abby is thrilled to share her knowledge with the next generation of artists!
Abby Bloomquist
Wynter is a Columbia College Chicago graduate with a passion for voice. They release projects falling under the R&B umbrella and play both guitar and piano. Wynter enjoys self producing projects and coordinating songwriting sessions with musicians from around the globe. Outside of music, Wynter cares for their three pet rabbits and enjoys visiting new restaurants in the area.
Wynter Bates
I have always held a huge passion for the arts and think its a very important part of not only children's development, but their overall livelihood. I attended Milwaukee High School of the Arts, and am currently studying Theatre and Art at UW-Milwuakee. The teachers and experiences I’ve had have driven me to see the beauty in the world and how to interact with it. I am so excited to get to pass on my knowledge and experience and help cultivate the next generation of artists.
Elliot White
Yacob is a classically trained singer and pianist, and more than anything he is a music theory nerd from Milwaukee, WI. He first began performing in high school, with the Wauwatosa East Choirs, Wauwatosa East Players, and in musicals at Sunset Playhouse. Yacob is a passionate teacher who believes in making learning a fun experience for students. He enjoys incorporating his students’ interests into their education. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education and Psychology from Ripon College and has been studying multiple styles of voice and piano for a decade under a variety of teachers. When he’s not teaching voice lessons, you can find him singing in the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus. Yacob loves teaching and he can’t wait to share the joy of music with you!
Yacob Bennett
Baila Weiss was born in the Ukraine and grew up in Australia where she started dancing at 5, quickly understanding that this would be her passion for life. After graduating The Victorian College of the Arts, and dancing at The National, she moved to Los Angeles, performing, teaching, choreographing, and directing musicals for many years. Now in Milwaukee, Baila is excited to impart the beauty of performing arts to the next generation.
Baila Weiss
My education is in Early Childhood and Infant/Toddler education through MATC, and Dance through UWM. I have worked in childcare for over 20 years.
I work as a Teaching Artist, helping students express themselves through music and dance. This is also my passion. I have witnessed that children who learn to express themselves through music and theater arts have shown success with balancing their emotions.
Outside of my Teaching Artist profession, I enjoy spending time with my husband Nicholas, whom I’ve been married to for 17 years now. We have three boys who we are raising in Franklin, Wisconsin. Our weekends are filled with soccer, baseball, and all sorts of other extracurricular activities.
I am a Certified Massage Therapist since 1994, specializing in Neuromuscular Therapy for pain relief and Sports Massage for athletes. This trade is very complimentary to me as a dancer, as I am always aware of my own body aches, injuries, etc. Having three boys involved in sports, Massage Therapy has also helped them with their muscle strains, and growing pains.
I also work as the After School Program Coordinator at St. Alphonsus, Franklin. I manage and oversee the after-school program, creating various activities for students, handling student behavioral concerns within the program, and the hiring and management of the staff.
Working with children teaches me patience and compassion as a person. It also reminds me that not one child is like another. We all learn differently. We all grow differently. But, we are all special. We are all unique.
Stacey Pagac
I love an array of things. Some hobbies that are close to my heart are singing, of course, dancing (when no one is watching), cleaning, cooking, love to play tennis, and teaching music. I grew up in Rockford Illinois, That is where I fell in love with music. I grew up in church; growing up in church gave me access to music, that close access was beautiful to me. Although I had access, I wanted more from music; I wanted a deeper understanding. I had to find that on my own. Finding interesting musical influences on my own led me to some amazing artist that crafted my gift and directed my interest. I studied Donald Lawrence, Destiny's Child, James Brown, Ray Charles.
My love of music is very deep, I would even say embedded into my soul. As stated earlier, I love to cook! My favorite meal to make is seafood gumbo! I make a mean dish. Something that makes me laugh is goat scream videos, I don't know why they get me every time, but they do. I hope to meet you all and make wonderful music with you where you all have the ability to share music and joy with the world. Never limit yourself and never limit your gift, it can always grow.
John Stanford
Martilia is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is currently a junior at Marquette University studying Theatre and Psychology. Her favorite activities include singing (basically all the time), acting, drawing, cooking/baking, and spending time with her friends and family! Her favorite drink is chai tea and her favorite food is potatoes! She has had wonderful teachers throughout her life that have shown her the beauty of music, which is why she is excited to share her love of performing and singing with you!