Specialties
Level Up Studios offers hiphop, street dance, adult hip hop, Krump, Heels Choreography, Bollywood, Intermediate Contemporary Jazz, Kids Beginners Hip-Hop, Kids Popping & Animation, Intermediate Hip-Hop, Advanced Hip Hop, Locking, Jazz Funk and Apex Fitness & Boxing.
History
Established in 2016.
Level Up Studios is an expansion of 3 local artist's freelance careers as dancers, designers, web developers and musicians whose works have evolved in the East End community. Level Up's approach is to help students explore and enhance their creativity with guidance from experienced artists, peer to peer learning & collaboration.
Mario Quinn Lyles, Founder & Executive Director dreamed of a space where arts education, cultural innovation and mentoring could flourish. "I wanted to start a single space for artists to collaborate, and still focus on teaching, where I can mentor and continue to have the kind of impact I've had," Lyles says. Two long-time friends and fellow artists are collaborating on the Level Up Studios project with Lyles--Patrick Everett, a graphic designer and dancer, and Shaun Mbateng, a web developer and, of course, a dancer. Lyles says mentoring is important to all three, as is focusing on youth, and using a style of teaching that's growth-oriented.
Meet the Business Owner: Patrick, Shaun, Mario Q.
Patrick Everett (Creative Director) is a Designer & Dancer who graduated from Art Institute of Pittsburgh with a B.S in Graphic Design in 2010. Specializing in digital illustrations, print, and photo manipulation he has work with clients such as American Eagle Outfitters, Maybach Music Group, and Pabst Blue Ribbon's PB ART.
Shaun Mbateng (Financial Admin) is an artist with a passion for software and dancing. A graduate of both Butler University and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, he has a B.S in both computer science and engineering. As an engineer, Shaun has worked for companies like National Energy Technology Laboratory and AECOM.
Mario Quinn (Director) is a Dancer & Choreographer, Hip Hop Recording Artist, and media designer. He received a B.S. in Media Arts & Animation, from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh in 2009. Lyles is a Fellow of Kelly Strayhorn Theater's Penn Ave Creative and served as Hip Hop Educator & Mentor at Hip Hop On L.O.C.K