Laura Muylaert (Thorp)

Studio Director

Laura’s passion for dance spans over 35 years.  Since the age of 3, her hearts desire has been the achievement of excellence in dance performance. Her training includes Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Cecchetti, Pointe, Lyrical, Hip Hop and Pom. She is a former member of the Plymouth Canton Ballet Company and was a four year member, and Captain, of the Salem Rockette Dance Team. Throughout her years as a Salem Rockette, she was chosen as a member of the Mid American All Star Team, as well as the UDA All Star Team.  After graduating, she successfully coached the Salem Rockette Varsity Team to numerous local and national awards.

Laura has been teaching dance for over 20 years. Her experience includes teaching dance at local studios, as well as dancing and teaching professionally with Universal Dance Association.  She has hosted camps, workshops and has judged competitions for aspiring dancers and teams. Her numerous awards include choreography and technique awards, in group and solo choreography, from both local and national competitions.

Laura strongly believes that dance can only be properly taught when there is a strong emphasis on ballet and technique.

Many of her students have continued to pursue their passion for dance, after high school graduation, at various universities, such as, Point Park University, Wayne State University, Davenport University, Western Michigan University and Pure Existence Pre-Professional Dance Company.  Laura’s students participate in lead roles in the Plymouth Canton Ballet Company yearly production of The Nutcracker Ballet.  Her training and pursuit of dance excellence has awarded former students coveted positions with the Detroit Pistons Automotion Dance Performance Team, the Cincinnati Bengals Dance Team, the Davenport University Dance Team and various other college dance teams. Laura is extremely proud of her student graduates who have been awarded scholarships to elite college and performing arts programs!

She is both fortunate and humbled to be a positive influence in the lives of all of her dancers, and to continue to play in integral role in the dance training of her outstanding teaching staff.  Laura’s proudly supports the hard work and dedication of her teachers and is incredibly proud of their creativity, knowledge and dedication to dance excellence.

Laura is the Owner and Director at Elite Dance Force and is also a Licensed Paramedic. She is the proud Mom of her daughter, Berkley, and her son, Tait. She resides with her husband, Ben, and their children, in Canton. 

Certifications: Licensed Paramedic

Kendall Gessler

Assistant Director

Kendall began her love and passion for dance at Elite Dance force as a member of the competition and All-star Pom team. Kendall was trained in Jazz, Contemporary, Hip-Hop, Modern, Pom, Ballet, Pointe and Checchetti. She continued dancing at Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Michigan as a member of the dance team. Kendall was a three-year captain, and a two time collegiate NDA National Champion. Kendall is also a three-time NDA All-American, and the current Top Gun Titleholder across all collegiate divisions in Louisville, Kentucky. Kendall has over 5 years choreographing experience for High Schools, Colleges and Universities across Michigan. She received her Bachelors's degree in Business Administration. She is excited to back at her home studio, prepared to spread her love and passion for dance to the students at Elite Dance Force.

Certifications: NAIA Official, Ceccheti Levels I-III, CPR / AED / First-Aid Certified by the National CPR Foundation

Grace Martin

Grace was raised in Michigan and has been studying the art and sport of dance since 2000. She attended the University of Michigan where she studied dance and business and graduated with a Bachelor's of Business Administration. Her training includes ballet, pointe, modern, contemporary, lyrical, composition, and improvisation. Grace has been teaching dance since 2012, and before that was a teacher’s assistant at her studio. Her background is rooted in classical ballet, studying with the American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet, and the Rock School for Dance Education.

As the founder of the 501(c)3 non-profit The Army of Survivors, Grace is a globally recognized advocate, consultant, and speaker for athlete rights and trauma-informed coaching. She serves as an Advisory Board member for International Safe Sport, International Safeguards for Children in Sport, and has served on expert advisory committees for the International Olympic Committee, FIFA, and Apple. Grace is one of the recipients of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2018 ESPYs, a 2018 Glamour Women of the Year awardee, and a 2021 and 2022 Liberty Bell Awardee from the Michigan Bar Association for her work in athlete rights.

Grace is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.

Certifications: ABT® Certified Teacher Pre-Primary through Level 3, Alixa Stretch Certified (Module 1-2), Acrobatic Arts (Preschool + Module 1), NAIA Official, Dance Education Equity Association Courageous Individual, Darkness to Light Stewards of Children, Mental Health First Aid

Melissa Gross

Melissa graduated from Western Michigan University with a Bachelors of Arts in Dance and has an Associates Degree in Childhood Development. Melissa was a Varsity Salem Rockette for four years and a Mid-American and Universal Dance Association All-Star.  During her college years, she studied dance and was a member of Hip Hop ConnXion. Melissa was also a member of the Western Michigan University Dance Team. Many performances included the WMU Winter Gala Dance Concert, Orchesis Dance Concert, Texas Bowl, and Regional and National Dance Competitions. After college, she thrived to share her love and passion for the arts and became an instructor. She enjoys working with dancers of all ages, levels, and different genres in hopes to develop the same passion she's always had for dance.

Ben Muylaert

Ben has been coaching tumbling at Elite Dance Force since 2009. He has a background in gymnastics from an early age, and competed on the Eastern Michigan Club gymnastics team for two years.  While at Eastern Michigan he also received his degree in Technology and Design Education with a minor in psychology. Ben has been coaching/teaching gymnastics since 2000; in the past coaching under John Cunningham at Canton High School and at Michigan Academy of Gymnastics where he ran the boys’ recreational program and was one of the competition team coaches.  Ben is thankful to be able to pass his knowledge and love of gymnastics on to the students at Elite Dance Force!

Hilari Vanbynen

Hilari has been dancing since the age of two with extensive training in ballet, pointe, jazz, lyrical and hip hop. She has performed in many lead roles with the Plymouth-Canton Ballet Company/Plymouth Symphony, such as Clara, Dew Drop Fairy, and Snow Princess, along with others. She is now one of the Artistic Directors of the Plymouth Canton Ballet Company, and is proud to be passing on the Nutracker experience to a new generation. Hilari attended multiple summer ballet intensive programs with the Cecchetti Council of America at Hope college. She also performed at the Detroit Opera House in the Metropolitan Ballet Company's 'Mid Summer's Night Dream' as the lead child role, the Indian Boy. After growing up in the studio, as her whole family taught or still teaches dance, Hilari believes she has found her true calling as a teacher and choreographer! She has been teaching dance since 1998, with students winning awards in both technique and choreography, along with both regional and national overall high scores. She has had many students go on to college dance programs, dance companies, theater companies/performances, and Disney. Hilari has passed her teachers Cecchetti Grade I through Intermediate, Grade VI, exams with high honors. She is also a member in good standing of the Cecchetti Council of America. Hilari also sits on the board as a Director with Great Lakes Regional Dance Masters, and is a member in good standing with Dance Masters of America. She lives with her husband Nate and 2 sons, Landon & Brayden along with their NewFoundland Bruce Wayne. Hilari is so proud to be the owner of Grosse Ile Academy of dance.

Certifications: Ceccheti Levels I-XI