Faculty

Madalyn Close was born and raised in Edwardsville. She began dancing at the age of 3 at Rena’s Dance Unlimited. Over the next 14 years, she studied ballet, tap, jazz, modern, hip hop, pointe, and contemporary. During that time, she also trained and completed her Grade I through Elementary (Grade V) Cecchetti exams. She danced with Mouvement Dance Theatre for three seasons. She had the chance to dance with the Chicago Joffrey Ballet in their Nutcracker production at the Fox Theater at age 11. While training at Rena’s, she attended a Cecchetti Intensive Dance camp in Michigan three summers in a row. 

During high school, Madalyn trained as a competitive dancer and teacher at Prima Dance and Tumbling. She also competed with the Edwardsville High School Varsity Dance team. Throughout these years she obtained state titles in lyrical, a 1st place title from Spotlight Dance Competitions in the senior elite lyrical category, and two All American titles. She also had the opportunity to dance in the opening national ceremony of Universal Dance Association Nationals on ESPN in 2018. 

After high school, Madalyn received a full scholarship to dance on Lindenwood-Belleville University’s dance team. She studied there for one year before transferring to her current university, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. There she is studying to obtain a degree in Business Administration. She also loves her dogs and continues to further her dancing by attending master classes in the St. Louis area.