Miss Clara grew up in Milwaukee, WI and began taking dance classes when she was just five years old. She began taking ballet classes and continued her training through high school. Throughout this time, Miss Clara began adding other dance styles to her training, trying tap, ballroom, jazz, and hip hop. Although she received 2nd place in a ballroom competition when she was just in 6th grade, her focus shifted to jazz and hip hop the following year and continued on throughout her high school years.

Since high school, Miss Clara has continued to dance through UW-Madison’s Optima, a student run dance organization. She has both danced and choreographed for Optima for the past several years, focusing mostly on hip hop. She’s earned several awards, including “Most Enthusiasm”, “Most Sass”, and “Most Likely to Make Your Day Better”. 

Miss Clara has taught dance for the last several years and finds it to be very rewarding. She teaches because she loves watching dancers improve. She loves the moments in which a dancer is finally able to accomplish a step or when they realize they are able to move in ways they never thought possible.

In addition to teaching dance, Miss Clara is currently in veterinary medical school at UW-Madison. She plans on earning her PhD in immunology and performing research in immunotherapy post-veterinary school.

Fun facts: Miss Clara loves watching TV, swimming, playing video games, and is in a bowling league!