Our Owners & staff
John Abrams, Co-Owner and Artistic Director
Deneen Carmichael, Co-Owner and General Manager
Samantha Ewert, Instructor
Joshua Gilchrist, Instructor
Ronni Levine, Front Desk/Student Service
Derek Pasqualetto, Instructor
Joe Yang, Instructor
John Abrams, Co-Owner and Artistic Director
John is a nationally-recognized professional, licensed and certified Ballroom and Latin dance instructor, coach and adjudicator. He has been competing professionally, choreographing and teaching dance for more than 20 years and has trained hundreds of competitive pro-am students of all ages. His students hold over 50 United States titles and several former students have themselves gone on to pursue successful professional dance careers as competitors and instructors.
John was trained as a jazz dancer and theater performer and began his ballroom and latin dance training in 1988 with the Arthur Murray franchise. He relocated to Milwaukee in 1990 and continued his training at East Towne Ballrooms, becoming co-owner of the studio in 1992. Throughout his professional career, John and his dance partners have taken first place at nearly every major U.S. DanceSport competition. In 2001, at the Ohio Star Ball, the largest DanceSport competition in the world, he and his professional partner won the World American Rhythm Championship. For 15 years, John and his professional partners were consistently ranked in the top six in the world in the American Rhythm category. John also holds more than a dozen Professional Showdance titles. His amateur students have taken numerous U.S. and world titles and consistently place in the finals at major competitions throughout the region and the country.
John’s dance philosophy and teaching style have evolved from 20 years of steadfast dedication to the art and science of dancing. His artistic talents and keen understanding of body movement are incorporated in all aspects of his instruction - from beginner group classes to coaching professional competitors.
A passionate proponent of youth dance instruction, John founded the WYDE Foundation (Wisconsin Youth Dancesport Education Foundation) in Milwaukee in 1999 to introduce children to the sport and art of ballroom dancing. The program grew quickly and exponentially, involving nearly 70 students, and was a model for studios around the country developing youth programming in ballroom and latin dancing.
As Tempo’s Artistic Director, John oversees all aspects of dance instruction, including the ongoing training and coaching of the studio's instructors.
John specializes in American Rhythm, American Smooth, International Latin and Theater Arts styles.
Deneen Carmichael, Co-Owner and General Manager
Deneen is a former non-profit fundraising and management executive, public relations consultant and writer who began dancing as an amateur after relocating from Southeastern Virginia to the upper Midwest in 2004. She began dancing for fun and fitness (read: weight loss!), but almost instantly became a focused and active student and amateur competitor. Three months after her first dance lesson, she entered her first pro-am competition and, by that time, knew that ballroom and latin dancing would play a significant role in her future.
Deneen and her love of dancing and its multifaceted benefits were featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show in February 2008 on an episode celebrating the sweeping success of the ABC hit show, Dancing with the Stars. Deneen danced a mambo on Oprah’s stage with one of DWTS’s most popular professionals, Derek Hough.
After moving to Madison in the summer of 2008, rather than return to consulting, Deneen decided to find the right dance professional and open a world-class independent studio in the area. As fate or luck or change would have it, Deneen began dance training with John in November 2008 and by the end of January 2009, their business partnership was solidified. They immediately set about crafting their vision for Tempo and searching for the perfect location on Madison’s west side.
As Tempo’s General Manager, Deneen uses her experience in communication, marketing, public relations and finance so that the studio not only offers an exceptional quality dancing, but operates as a sound and efficient small business with unparalleled student service. In addition to managing day-to-day studio operations, Deneen continues to pursue her own dance training and performing.
Samantha Ewert, Instructor
Samantha began dancing when she was four years old, studying ballet, tap, jazz, modern and hip hop throughout her youth and college. She began teaching dance in her teens, mentoring younger students and developing her skills as an instructor. Samantha graduated with a BA in dance from University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point in 2007 and soon after decided to pursue study in ballroom, latin and other social dancing.
Samantha’s diverse dance background gives her students a distinct advantage on the dance floor - from developing creative choreography to understanding body mechanics, balance and advanced technique, she is able to convey challenging material in a way that allows her students to develop their skills rapidly and thoroughly. Samantha’s own dancing is infused with both emotional energy and graceful fluidity that she is able to share with her students - from wedding couples to ambitious competitors.
Samantha currently competes and performs in Professional American Rhythm with fellow Tempo instructor, Joshua Gilchrist.
Joshua Gilchrist, Instructor
Joshua Gilchrist was born in Chicago and grew up in Milwaukee, graduating with honors from the Dance Department at Milwaukee High School of the Arts. Joshua is truly a student of dance, with experience and training in ballet, modern, jazz, tap, African, lyrical, contemporary, contemporary ballet, theater/Broadway and creative movement. He began teaching ballroom and latin dance in 2008 and particularly enjoys dancing and teaching the Latin and Rhythm dances. Students enjoy Joshua’s constant smile, inability to be still if music is playing (or even when it’s not), his sincere love of dancing and the energy he devotes to learning and refining his own skills as a teacher, dancer and performer.
In addition to teaching, competes in Professional American Rhythm with fellow Tempo instructor, Samantha Ewert.
Joshua specializes in beginner and intermediate instruction in American Rhythm, American Smooth and Theater Arts.
Ronni Levine, Front Desk/Student Service
Derek Pasqualetto, Instructor.jpg)
Derek was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. He began dancing in 1998 at age 18 and began his professional dance career almost immediately, teaching and competing with his students. Before joining the staff at Tempo, he was an instructor in Omaha, Nebraska where he taught for seven years. “It’s a happy profession,” he says, “Our daily task involves bringing enjoyment to people.”
Derek is an experienced and accomplished dancer who teaches private lessons as well as many of the studio’s technique classes. He also serves as a mentor to the instructional staff, leading weekly training sessions and coaching the other teachers and their students.
Derek enjoys working with beginner through advanced students, both couples and individuals. For students interested in competition, Derek competes Pro/Am in American Rhythm and Smooth and International Latin. In 2008, he led one of his Pro/Am students to achieve the title of Senior World Rhythm Champion.
Aside from his teaching, Derek has recently partnered with Lena Sidelniknova and they will begin competing in Professional American Rhythm in early 2011.
Joe Yang, Instructor
Joe Yang, who hails from New York, NY, specializes in Argentine Tango and Introductory American Rhythm and Smooth.
In 2000, while living in New York City, Joe took up Argentine Tango thinking it would be something to do just for fun. Before long, it became far more than just a hobby as he started taking serious lessons and meeting aficionados from around the globe.
Joe has been teaching Argentine Tango since 2006 and is drawn to the dance because of its colorful history and fascinating contradictions. It is a structured dance with specific rules, yet its improvisational nature and lack of standardization (in terms of instructional methods) makes it appealing to both analytical and artistic minds. It's an activity rooted in both tradition and rebellion, condoning enough good behavior to maintain order while keeping things enjoyably unpredictable with just the right amount of anarchy.
Joe graduated cum laude from Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY, in 1999 with a B.S. Degree in Cinema/Photography and a Minor in Spanish. In 2002, he earned his M.S. Degree in Digital Imaging and Design from New York University (New York, NY).
Joe moved to Madison in the March of 2006 after accepting an offer to join the video staff of the Wisconsin Badgers Football Team. After two successful seasons with the Badgers, one of which included a Capital One Bowl victory in 2007, Joe decided to focus on his writing career and teaching Argentine Tango.
In 2008, Joe created the website foreign-films-for-you.com, where he posts reviews of foreign (non-US) films written for the average film lover (as opposed to film snobs). In January of 2009, Joe published his first book, Those Things, which is a collection of horror stories. He is currently at work on a novel.
In addition to Argentine Tango, Joe loves languages, and speaks Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. He is also a filmmaker specializing in stop-motion animation, and regularly posts humorous movie reviews on his website.
