Celebrating 20 years of
More than dance.
Springfield Youth Performance Group
About SYPG
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.
Video credit: Storyteller Studios
Photo credit: 1221 Photography
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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Assistant Artistic Director
Michellina (Micky) McNaughton grew up in Pennsylvania and attended Lionville School of Dance where she danced in many Nutcrackers and dance competitions. During high school, she began assisting tap and musical theatre classes, finding her love for teaching. Micky attended Millikin University and graduated with a BFA in Musical Theatre and a Minor in Dance (‘22). She now works at her alma mater as an Adjunct Instructor of Dance. Micky works at the Decatur Park District in Senior Services. With Decatur Park District Cultural Arts, she directs Heart and Soul Choir, teaches dance, and has directed or choreographed for many productions and performances. In Springfield, she has worked on shows with Hoogland Education, SYPG, and the Muni.
Her lifelong passion for music and the arts led her to Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee where she graduated in 2018 with a B.S. in Audio Engineering Technology with Music Business as her minor. After graduating, she worked for an audio visual company specializing in nonprofits and fundraising in Seattle, Washington. There, she focused her energy in client management, project management, and marketing.
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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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Marketing Director
Violet Naegele formally joined the Springfield Youth Performance Group in 2024 after volunteering for the organization since moving to Springfield in 2023. She is thrilled to be involved with all things “behind the scenes” and enjoys making deep, meaningful connections with SYPG dancers, families, and their communities. As a former history buff, Violet is looking forward to documenting and sharing SYPG’s story.
Her lifelong passion for music and the arts led her to Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee where she graduated in 2018 with a B.S. in Audio Engineering Technology with Music Business as her minor. After graduating, she worked for an audio visual company specializing in nonprofits and fundraising in Seattle, Washington. There, she focused her energy in client management, project management, and marketing.
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!
