About JNDS

June Neal Dance Studio Mission Statement

"Dancing is fun, and it stimulates and imprve the body as well. It is a form of art given to you by God, and improved upon by good instruction. If your child shows shuch a talent, why not enroll him or her in our school. Thank you."

June Neal-Key, Founder/Executive Director / Acrobatics and Baton Instructor

June Neal Key is a native Kansan, who attended Kansas City, Kansas Schools. She also attended Junior College and has an Associate Degree in Business Administration. At an early age, June knew what she wanted to do in life. Dancing was first nature to her, and this desire set a course for a life of dancing. Her parents flaunted her talents before family members and friends until her mother decided to put her in a dancing school. She enrolled in the Irene McLaurian School of Dancing. She was selected to be a junior teacher at the age of nine, and realized she could teach children how to dance. The experience of working with children was certainly a factor in her decision to own her own school one day. At age 16, she started the first baton class to be taught in a dancing school.

June had an illustrious dance career as a child performer. She started performing one year after she started dance lessons. It was not long before she learned that she was the only acrobatic and contortionist dancer in the metropolitan area. At age 9, she danced with her first professional stage performer, Lionel Hampton and his Band. She was a one-of-a-kind dancer and acrobatic performer during those times and was asked to dance on a regular basis, continuing throughout her school years. From elementary school through high school, she helped choreograph and perform in all kinds of school programs and events. At age 12, at the unveiling of the first B-49 bomber plane at the Fairfax Airport, she opened the show as “Little Miss Bomber”; she held annual spots as “Little Miss Jabberwock” for the Delta Phi Beta Sorority, and “Little Miss Blue Revue” an Alpha Phi Alpha Sorority event. Her career spanned all kinds of local variety shows, parades, exhibitions, grand openings, car shows and competitions. June won almost all of the competitions she performed in. She entered a national competition at age 16 and performed for 12 straight weeks in the local competition and won first place each week to place against all kinds of talents.

At age 16, June embarked upon a professional career when she was asked to join a black dance troupe called “The Ebony Dancers”. With this troupe she performed regularly at various cities in Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas. In those days dancers performed in the large nightclubs where they had big bands and big shows. June performed at such clubs as the Blue Room, Orchid Room, Zelmaroda Club, The Kansas Citians Club, and many others. The Ebony Dancers were the headliner dance troupe at the Texas State Fair in 1949 starring Eddie “Rochester” Anderson and the great Erskine Hawkins Band. Other professionals with whom she has performed with are, The Sweethearts of Rhythm Band, Louis Jordan and the Tymphony Five Band, Moms Mabley, and the famed tap dancer, Little Buck.

June married and started a family, but never lost sight of her goal to teach dancing. In 1951 she started a partnership with Willitta Hinton Cole and opened the Billye and June’s School of Dancing. This was a good venture that lasted for ten years, when her partner left to start a family. She then reopened her own school at the beckoning of the parents to keep the students she had in dance class. In those days, there were not many black children taking dance lessons and she k new there was a lot of talent out on the sidewalks that would never be discovered or appreciated unless someone could bring it out where others could see it. The school was renamed the June Neal Dance Studio. Since that time, many students have won talent contests, appeared in all kinds of local programs and events, have been first place winners in pageants, have produced dance instructors and teachers who have opened their own studios, produced professional performers who have appeared on television and stages across the country and abroad. June is also the Director of the Praise Dance Ministry at Trinity A.M.E. Church where she has five praise teams.

Because June was a business major, it was a tremendous benefit for her studios business venture. She also had a varied business career outside of the dance studio. She worked 15 years for the Urban Renewal Agency starting from a secretarial position to Library Research Analyst; she was a State Field Representative for Senator Robert Dole, working from Kansas City to Washington, D.C.; she taught Life and Health Insurance for CAN Insurance Company in the states of Kansas and Missouri; Office for both Joanne Collins for Congress and Inez Kaiser and Associates; Bookkeeper for Douglass State Bank; Admissions Representative for Park College; and Contract Compliance Officer for the Wyandotte County Court House.

She has received many business and dance service and appreciation awards, special service and community service awards, several Woman of the Year awards, several special service and Recognition awards from Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri School Board of Education, and listed of several Most Influential Persons Lists. She was the one of six black persons to be chosen to be among 35 persons selected to be in the first Leadership Class for the State of Kansas. She was invited to New York by Alvin Ailey to visit him and his school, and to be his special guest when he opened at the Metropolitan Opera.

June has worked on many boards such as Black Adoption and Services, KMADT, Chamber of Commerce, Women’s Chamber of Commerce, Foster Grandparents Advisory Board, King Urban Center, National Black Business and Professional Women’s Association, Advisory Board of the Civics Art Council, Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey, and Martin Luther King Celebration Committee of Lee’s Summit.

June is proud of what she had accomplished with the students that she had, and always talked to them about doing the best, and being the best at whatever they do. She has dedicated her life to teaching children to dance and show their inner expressions through beautiful movements. If you were to ask her how far she thinks she has come, she would probably say, “I’ve come a long way, but I still have a long way to go. Everyday offers you something new, and there are many things I still want to do before I can say I am done”.

Wilda Oliver, Artistic Director / Junior and Senior Instructor

Wilda Oliver has an internal passion for the art of dance that radiates through her students, choreographies and performance. As the Instructor for the studio's Junior (Intermediate) and Senior (Advanced) for more than 20 years. Her teaching spans all techniques and phases of dance including: ballet, Pointe, tap, jazz, modern, as well as acrobatics, baton, and drill team.

Wilda starting at the age of 7 with June Neal-Key at the former Billye & June Dance Studio (Kansas City, KS). Upon the studio's closing and business re-organization, Wilda continue her dance studies under the instruction of June Neal-Key at the newly reorganized June Neal Dance Studio. Wilda was an exceptional student, dancer, and representative and became one of the studio's first junior teacher at the age of 14.

Wilda graduated from Sumner Academy and attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), where she majored in Dance and toured with the UMKC Dance Conservatory. In addition to her dance studies at June Neal Dance Studio and UMKC, Wilda began studying at the Roeland Park Dance Academy. During her studies, Wilda participated and place 1st runner-up in the first Miss Black Missouri Pageant and took 1st place in the Talent portion with an outstanding dance routine.

As the studio's Artistic Director and Creator of the June Neal Dance Studio logo, Wilda is well-known and recognized for her "out-of-the-box" creativity displayed through her dance choreographies, costume designs, and performance productions. Throughout the years, Wilda has choreographed, produced, and directed shows and productions for local and nations concerts, public and not-for-profit organizations, schools and colleges, talent shows, plays, and special performances and events including the Summer Nation Convention.

A creative and expressive dancer, choreographer, costume designer, producer and director, Wilda first love has always remain to be teaching dance and sharing her skills as a dance instructor to her students. It is with pride and with no surprise, many of Wilda's students are constantly selected to participate in the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey Summer Camp and After-School Program, perform at the Starlight Theater, and compete in the Dance Olympus Dance Conventetion held annually in Kansas City. Those student have earning many monetary awards, trophies, ribbons, and honors for their participation and performances.

Ellen Moorer, Asst. Artistic Director / Primary, Secondary, and Jazz Instructor

Ellen Moorer has been apart of the June Neal Dance Studio family for over 20 years. At the age of 9, Ellen began taking Primary dance lessons at the studio under the instruction of studio Founder/Owner/Executive Director, June Neal-Keys. At the age of 10 and while continuing her dance studies at June Neal Dance Studio, Ellen auditioned and was accepted to attend the Kansas City Middle School of the Arts (KCMSA) as a dance major.

As a student of both well-recognize dance institutes, in the 7th grade, Ellen was selected and participated in the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey-Alvin Ailey Camp.

Upon completing her dance education and training in ballet, tap, jazz, and modern at the Kansas City Middle School of the Arts, Ellen was accepted to attend Paseo Academy of the Fine and Performing Arts but decided to concentrate her studies under the dance instruction and guidance of Artistic Director instructor Wilda Oliver at June Neal Dance Studio. Upon entering her freshman year in high school, she was promoted to the Advance Division and began assisting and junior teaching classes in the Intermediate Division. Within 3 years of advance dance studies and gaining sound, hands-on junior teaching experience, Ellen was approached by June Neal-Keys to co-instruct the Primary Division.

Although Ellen attended college on scholarships in and out-of-state, she longed to return to her first love, dance and returned to Kansas City to become apart of the instructional staff of June Neal Dance Studio. She resumed her role as the Primary Division dance instructor, as well as the dance instructor for the Secondary and Basic Jazz Divisions. In addition to her instructional duties, at age 28, Ellen became appointed the studio’s Assistant Artistic Director.

Ellen is well recognized for her dance leadership, individual and group choreographies, and personal, class and group performances. At age 19, Ellen became the Director of Bethel AME Church Sacred (formerly Praise) Dance Ministry; at age 27 Ellen opened and successfully operated DanceXpressions Dance Academy (Kansas City, MO) while remaining a dedicated instructional staff member at June Neal Dance Studio and college student at Park University.

Ellen is a graduate of Park University (Parkville, MO) with an Associates of Science in Management and a Bachelors of Science in Management/Human Resource. The joy she receives from working with children and teens has led Ellen to currently pursue her Masters of Arts in Instruction and Curriculum at the University of Missouri -Kansas City.

Terry D. Williams, Guest Instructor/Hip-Hop

A true renaissance man with a phenomenal gift of dance and infinite vision, Terry's supernatural gift came in 2001 at F.L. Schlagle High School in Kansas City, KS as a student leader of the school's nationally known marching band. The youngest student to ever receive this prestigious position, after serving 3 years as Drum Major, Terry graduated and attended Florida A&M University (FAMU) in Tallahassee, FL where he majored in Business and was a member of the school's incomparable "Marching 100."

Terry returned to Kansas City after spending one year at FAMU and shortly afterwards relocated to Los Angeles, CA to gain more experience. Within one month of his arrival, Terry landed several jobs and networking opportunities, including being featured in COR Dramatic Arts Ministry with Bishop Noel Jones, a Wachovia commercial, a MTV interview, and participating in BET's discussion on the first Black President.

Terry's unique style is unparalleled in comparison to today's leading choreographers. Terry expresses, "I have been blessed with the gift of visual expression. Some call it dance but its more than that. When I hear words with a melody I envision what the author looks like when conveying the message...What separates my choreography and performances from anyone else in the world is my soul. It is embedded in all of my work. this is not only my gift buy also an avenue to communicate with the spirits of the world. Dancing through the soul not the mind." You can learn more about Terry by visiting www.myspace.com/terrydwill.

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JNDS Mission Statement ~ JNDS Motto ~ June Neal-Key ~ Wilda Oliver

Ellen Moorer ~ Terry D. Williams ~ Junior Assistants ~ Office Managers

June Neal Dance Studio Motto

"We can improve your child's God-given talent with good instruction".

1916 Central Avenue (2nd Floor), Kansas City, KS 66102 ~ Office/Message - (913) 281-5193

Web Address - jnealdance.com ~ Email Address - keydancer@jnealdance.com

June Neal Dance Studio

"The Spirit of DANCE"

Pictures Coming Soon

Junior Teachers and Assistants

Office Assistants