Jann Wynn, Raytown South High School, Class of 1970

Graduating from Raytown South High in 1970, Jann Wynn is truly a story of local success.  This small town girl has made a national name for herself in the field of dance.  Her humble attitude has connected her to generations of dancers and their families.

Jann began dancing at age three at Miller Marley Dance Studio and considers owner, Shirley Marley, her mentor to this day.  At age eight she and her twin sister, Jean, danced away their summers at Starlight.  The twins were dancing as members of the Kansas City Chief’s Chiefettes at age fourteen.

At age 21 Jann moved to San Francisco where she taught disco dance classes at the now famous Abby Road.  Homesick for the Midwest. she returned to Kansas City where she taught disco at night, choreographed for the Chiefettes and also taught at Miller Marley. 

In 1978 she recognized the dream of opening a Christian based dance studio on Raytown Road with her sister Jean.  The enrollment grew quickly during a time there were few studios on the Missouri side of the state line.  By 1985 the twins had opened four studios, two in Raytown, one in Blue Springs, and one in Harrisonville.  Three years later Jann had settled into one studio at her current location in Raytown.  Her sister Jean’s health problems made Jann the sole owner.

In 1983 Jann’s teams started competing at the state and national level.  In 1989, her team won the National Championship through Dance America, repeating in 1994 and 1996.  As Jann approaches 34 years in her studio and thirty years of competition at the national level, she is most proud of individual dancers’ accomplishments.  Her dancers range from individual Dance America Champions to starring in Las Vegas, to national commercials, to lead ballerinas, and to performances at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.  As recently as 2011, Jann trained National Champion Sheldon Ledbetter and dancer Elijah Thomas, a finalist in a national talent competition.