Springfield Youth Performance Group
About SYPG
Photo credit: 1221 Photography
Enriching Lives Through the Performing Arts.
Springfield Youth Performance Group (SYPG) Foundation is a non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to enriching the lives of children through the performing arts.
Since 2005, SYPG has been encouraging and cultivating the artistic talents of youth in our community by giving them the opportunity to perform on stage with other children. Every child has a unique gift, and SYPG offers youth of all ages in Central Illinois the chance to explore and enhance their own talents.
We are a positive, nurturing, open organization that plants the seed for a life-long love of the arts, for both our performers and our audiences. The goal of excellence in stage performances, arts education, and youth-centered programming — all under the guidance of professional artists.
SYPG Directors
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Founding Executive Director
Taryn Grant began her love for the arts as a young ballet student, violin student and as a former member of the Springfield Ballet Company. She continued that love as a dance instructor for many years. She is a graduate of the SIUE School of Business. After founding Springfield Youth Performance Group in 2005, she has served as the Executive Director of the nonprofit organization. In 2012, she founded the SYPG Foundation to support her mission of community arts outreach programming. Taryn has also choreographed and directed community theatre productions.
As part of the SYPG Foundation, Mighty Movers is a gross motor skills program that was created by Mrs. Grant for children in the community with developmental delays and at-risk youth. Over the last few years, Taryn has received specialized training from Boston Ballet, Dance for PD through the Mark Morris Dance Group, and American Ballet Theatre Teacher National Curriculum Training Program. She was also recently certified in Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT).
In 2021, Mrs. Grant started a local chapter of the National Honor Society for Dance Arts to recognize academic and humanitarian achievements of dance students. Other philanthropic activities include board member of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, board member of the HOPE Foundation and member of the International Association of Dance & Medical Science which focuses on the well-being and holistic development of dancers. Recent awards include 2023 Illinois Women of Leadership nominee and 2023 Good as Gold Volunteer recipient. Taryn is happily married and the mother of two children.
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Artistic Director
Elizabeth Cheney has been dancing since the age of three. She grew up in Petersburg and Springfield, Il and spent many years dancing with the Springfield Ballet Company. As a teenager she won scholarships for summer intensives for David Howard and the Nashville Ballet. She briefly danced as a modern dance major at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. She was a trainee with the Nashville Ballet when an injury ended her ballet career. She went on to dance with a professional modern company ‘Epiphany’ in Nashville, TN.
She also became certified as a profession ballroom dance instructor and competitor. She started teaching dance in 1998 and hasn’t stopped yet. She has her undergraduate degree in nursing from Milikin University, and her Masters Degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner from Maryville University. She currently works at Springfield Clinic with an orthopedic surgeon, teaches dance at the Conservatory, and runs her own after hours holistic wellness business called Comprehensive Wellness Consulting. Elizabeth likes to use her medical knowledge to teach dancers how to avoid injuries and give them a better understanding of how to strengthen and optimize their bodies natural strengths in class and performance. She also works with several other local non-for-profit organizations on various projects around town including SYPG, the Vachel Lindsey Association, the Pharmacy Gallery, the Muni, and Springfield Theater Center.
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Director of Development
Abby Walsh joined the Springfield Youth Performance Group in 2021. She enjoys the opportunity to have involvement in the day-to-day operations and enrichment of SYPG's dancers.
In addition to this role, Abby is the Director of Fundraising for The Newberg Group, which facilitates effective relationships that lead clients to peak results, enabling them to be leaders and create a positive impact on their community, state and country. Prior to working for the Newberg Group, Abby worked for both the Illinois State Senate and the Illinois Executive Branch. Abby is active in the Springfield community, including serving as an Ambassador of Hope, chair of fundraising for Style of Hope, and is an alumnae of Leadership Illinois. Abby holds a B.S. in Agribusiness from Illinois State University.
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Youth Program Director
Kristine Sonnek Wilson has attended Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet’s teacher training and has received certification in American Ballet Theatre’s pre-primary through level 3 national teacher training curriculum. She is currently attending the University of Illinois Springfield majoring in computer science and is also working as a business analyst intern at Levi Ray and Shoup. She has danced as a member of the Springfield Ballet Company from 2017 to 2021 and has also enjoyed being a part of UIS’s Cheerleading team during their 2020-2021 season. As a SYPG dance instructor, she enjoys sharing her passion for dance by teaching the young dancers for their 2022-2023 season.
Our Programming
SYPG is more than a dance school; we are a positive force in our community, sowing the seeds of a lifelong affection for creativity and culture. In addition to dance classes and performances, our dancers have the opportunity to participate in our community outreach programs such as: a gross motor skills program for children with developmental delays called Mighty Movers; a special program that consists of beloved fairy tale princesses and child friendly characters that will visit children in a need of a smile due to a medical condition, The Smile Co; and cultivating the written and spoken word for children through Books on Stage.
Join SYPG Academy
SYPG offers a variety of dance classes for children age 2 to 18, as well as opportunities for youth ages 7 and older to participate in upcoming stage performances. View our class selection and enroll today!
