Shannon Rush Dance

Ms. Shannon Rush-Locke

Studio Owner & Director

Ms. Shannon, a dedicated dance educator, has been shaping young minds and bodies through dance for over three decades. As the owner and artistic director of Damascus, Olney, and Wheaton Studios of Dance, she brings her extensive experience and unwavering dedication to each class. A proud alumna of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, Shannon's journey began at the tender age of three and has since blossomed into a lifelong passion. From ballet and tap to jazz and Zumba, her diverse teaching repertoire caters to dancers of all levels. Beyond the studio, Shannon actively serves her community as a life member of the Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad and is a member of the Wheaton-Kensington Chamber of Commerce and the Olney Chamber of Commerce.

Ms. Tatiana Francisco

Ms. Tati grew up dancing at Wheaton Studio of Dance since the age of 6. She trained extensively in ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, contemporary, and lyrical, developing both strong technique and a deep love for the art of dance.

Since 2014, Ms. Tati has been sharing her passion as a teacher. She has taught classes at all three studio locations, and from 2016–2019, she also coached the mini competition teams at the Damascus and Olney studios.

She is thrilled to be back teaching at her home studio, where her own dance journey first began, and looks forward to inspiring the next generation of dancers.

Ms. Tenay Graham  

Ms. Tenay has been dancing for 18 years. She started her training at Wheaton Studio of Dance with Ms. Shannon, and continued to grow through Blake High School, and Shenandoah University as she studied dance. Throughout her dance journey, she has taken many masterclasses in New York, as well as in Washington D.C., learning from different choreographers and companies. Tenay has been fortunate enough to assist in choreography for musicals, such as Beauty In The Beast at a local private school. In addition, she has assisted the development of cheer choreography in Winchester, VA. She is very excited to be teaching for her home studio for the first time!

Ms. Tiffanie Horner

Ms. Tiffanie received her BFA in Dance from the State University of New York College at Brockport. She studied on full scholarship at The Draper Center for Dance Education, STEPS on Broadway, and Broadway Dance Center.  Ms Horner has also attended summer intensive training programs with the Joffrey Ballet, Rochester City Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre. She completed a Pilates Apprenticeship program with Mirea Pineda in Tucson, AZ and is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique developed by Marie Walton-Mahon.  Additionally, Ms Horner has taught classical ballet, pointe, variations, modern dance, creative movement, and stretch classes at dance schools throughout the US for more than fifteen years.  Her privately coached students have been accepted to noted college dance programs and dance teams.  Professional performance credits include Rochester City Ballet, Ballet for Young Audiences (New York City), Eglevsky Ballet, Upside Down Dance (Honolulu), Minou Lallemand's Onium Ballet Project (Honolulu), Honolulu Dance Theatre and Ballet Tucson. Ms Horner also works in Arts Integration as a Teaching Artist for the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts and Arts for Learning Maryland.

Olie Mass

Olie Mass is an emerging young artist who started dance at the age of 6 and grew up training within all styles. From Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Lyrical, Contemporary, and Musical Theater to Hip-Hip, Modern, Fusion and Commercial dance, Olie has competed and performed in many different spectrums. Along with attending Middle and High School dance programs, Olie furthered their training outside of local studios and predominantly gained training from places such as Artist Simply Human, Broadway Dance Center NYC, REVEL dance, The Washington School of Ballet, WILD Dance Intensive, The Ballet Theatre of Maryland, and Joffrey Ballet Schools Spectrum Jazz/Contemporary Dance Program. Olie has received various solo, title, and overall regional and national awards/scholarships like the Joffrey Jazz & Contemporary Trainee Program Merit Scholarship, the Fine Arts Classical Dance Scholarship from Bishop McNamara High School, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago Studio Art BFA Merit Scholarship, and several Artist Simply Human Apprentice Scholarships. Olie was also a member of the National Honor Society of Dance Arts during their education, but as of late, has been in pursuit of their self-found focus of integrating the infusion of styles, with the main focus of Lyrical/Contemporary and Hip-Hop Fusion. They hope to discover more influence and knowledge from teaching at the Wheaton and Olney Studios, helping students achieve their utmost desires within dance, movement styles, and overall confidence. 

Ms. Rachel Timmerman

Rachel has been dancing since she was 5. Rachel is a Maryland native and has been teaching since 2017. Her education is well-rounded in different styles of dance. She teaches Lyrical, Jazz, Latin Jazz, Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, hip-hop and has her PBT and Acrodance certification. Rachel received her BA in Dance with a minor in humanities, health, and medicine from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is also a certified personal trainer. She has a passion for teaching as well as helping others learn and grow their love for dance. Rachel has danced with many community groups.  To name a few, Rachel was a part of the Montgomery college dance company which is directed by Alice Howes. In addition, Rachel has danced in one-act works by emerging choreographers Faith Rokowski (2023) and Svetlana Nikoloff (2024) through the ICONS Choreographic Institute program. She currently dances with the Effervescence Dance Collective. In her free time Rachel loves to line dance and travel!