Our Fine Arts Teaching Team
Abigail
Miss Henninger grew up in a home that was constantly filled with the arts. Her mother a master pianist, her father a play write and director, sister an opera singer, brother a song writer and musician and her youngest sister with down syndrome loved it all! Abigail's love of the arts runs deep into her roots and is excited to see Magnum Opus School of the Arts take shape this September.
Miss Henninger founded Magnum Opus, the professional company, in 2017. She was been dancing and teaching professionally for the last 16 years and has been certified in adaptive dance from Boston Ballet, as well received certification from American Council on Exercise. Regardless of the class she is teaching, Abigail focuses on anatomically placed positions to prevent injury, any future pain, and to lengthen and strengthen the mind, body, and spirit.
She has taught around the country striving to bring joy into the studio and onto the stage. Abigail pushes students to have a strong work ethic and discipline, all while learning to enjoy the arts. Miss Henninger is thrilled to bring a faith based professional studio to the Madison area and is excited to engage with students and their families!
Lauren
When it comes to teaching, what Lauren loves the most is its ability to impact others. As an instructor, she hopes to share her love of dance and inspire students to develop their own passion for the art form. She works to establish a positive environment that encourages creativity, confidence, and self-expression. Understanding that each dancer is a unique individual, she prioritizes personalized attention while using a variety of approaches, including imagery, physical demonstration, and verbalization, to appeal to multiple learning styles. Lauren believes in emphasizing a strong technical foundation for the dancers to build upon as they grow as artists.
In 2019, Lauren joined Magnum Opus as an apprentice and was promoted to Company Artist in 2020. Lauren has graduated from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst with a focus in Arts Management.
Julia
Julia Schrameck began her dance training at the Cassandra School of Ballet in Toledo, Ohio in 2007. Beginning in 2010, she transitioned to Modern Messages Dance Company in White Lake, Michigan where she trained in styles such as ballet, pointe, jazz, contemporary, and classical variations. In 2019, Julia was accepted as a Company Apprentice with Magnum Opus, and was promoted to Company Artist in 2020.
Julia began teaching dance in 2018, and has continued to teach since moving to Madison, instructing students in ballet, pointe, jazz, and pre-ballet. She is very passionate about teaching her students about not only dance, but about how to use the gift that they have been given as a form of worship. Julia performed in Haiti and taught ballet in Thailand, both in ministry environments, and still treasures these memories as moments where her passion for dance and love for Jesus were utilized in a bigger way than she had expected. This summer, Julia will be interning in the Middle East before returning to teach at Magnum Opus' School of the Arts and to continue into her 4th season dancing with Magnum Opus. She is so thankful and humbled to be on staff with Magnum Opus' School of the Arts and looks forward in anticipation to how the Lord will continue to use Magnum Opus in Madison and beyond.
Brianna
Brianna Augustine grew up in Northeast Tennessee surrounded by music, in her family and close friend circle. She received her first cello at age eight, started learning clarinet with a local band at nine, and started piano lessons with Ivy Blair at age ten. Beginning cello lessons at nine years old with Cherylonda Fitzgerald, who was a professor at Milligan University, she grew to love the instrument. Since then, she has studied under the private instruction of Dr. Wesley Baldwin at University of Tennessee Knoxville and in a chamber group coached by Dr. David Kovac at East Tennessee State University. Her first experience with cello was in a small string ensemble, which she was a part of for three years before joining a local youth orchestra at age eleven. Brianna has performed in various bands, orchestras, and chamber groups through the years. Including, the string orchestra at Milligan University (2013-2016), played in Colpi D’Arco chamber group (2015), and studied at the East Tennessee State University Pre-college program (2015-17).
Brianna was then led to study piano and music theory under Dr Benjamin Caton at East Tennessee State University. In her music studies, Brianna has performed at various solo festivals in piano and cello, taken Royal Conservatory of Music exams in theory, music history, piano and cello, where she received honors and a gold medal on cello. From 2015-2018 she competed in Tennessee All State Orchestra Clinic, achieving All State status each year. In 2015, she studied at and received a scholarship for Eastern Music Festival. Brianna also attended Tennessee State Governor's School for the Arts in 2016 under full merit scholarship.
Throughout her life, one of Brianna’s favorite aspects of music was teaching others. She loves sharing the joy of music and the arts with the world more than anything. As of May 2022, Brianna will graduate college with a degree in Foreign Language, majoring in Spanish. She hopes to use this to connect with and reach other cultures of the world through the arts.
Brianna joined Magnum Opus as a trainee in 2019 and has been promoted to a company artist for the fall of 2022. She is looking forward to combining her love of dance and music as a teacher in the School of the Arts.
Robert
Robert Rockman graduated from UW Madison with a degree in Percussion Performance and a certificate in Dance Performance. He studied all forms of dance for 11 years prior to enrolling at UW. Since the age of 6, Robert has been involved with Sun Prairie Civic Theater in Sun Prairie and First Wing Family Theater in Deerfield. Starting as an actor in these shows, he quickly took on roles in most all the departments including scenic arts, backstage crew, set design and construction, lights/sound, choreographer, and assistant director. This work continues to inform how he thinks about and teaches stage presence and teamwork.
Robert is currently employed at Isthmus Instruments in Madison, also teaching tap, and varying levels of contemporary technique at studio 3D in Lake Mills and is the timpanist at Bethel Lutheran Church in Madison.
In his free time, Robert enjoys hiking, camping, kayaking and pretty much anything else outdoors. When not outside he can be found playing board games or hanging out with his family
