{"id":8135,"date":"2025-11-19T20:20:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T01:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/north-mount-pleasant\/?post_type=team_member&#038;p=8135"},"modified":"2025-11-19T20:20:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T01:20:14","slug":"mariia-masha-shumakher-studio-owner-professional-instructor","status":"publish","type":"team_member","link":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/north-mount-pleasant\/member\/mariia-masha-shumakher-studio-owner-professional-instructor\/","title":{"rendered":"Mariia (Masha) Shumakher &#8211; Studio Owner\/Professional Instructor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Mariia (Masha) Shumakher<\/b> began her dance career at the age of six in Chelyabinsk, Russia, where she quickly distinguished herself as a winner and finalist of major competitions both Nationally and Internationally. With 31 years of dance experience and 21 years of professional teaching, she has built a reputation as a world-class instructor, coach, choreographer, and adjudicator.<\/p>\n<p>In 2018, Mariia moved to the United States to join the Fred Astaire Dance Studios in Princeton, New Jersey as a Professional Instructor. During her time within the Fred Astaire organization, she became one of its most decorated and respected teachers. Her achievements include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Top Female Instructor of the New Jersey Region<\/b> (2019\u20132021, 2023\u20132024)<\/li>\n<li><b>Top Instructor of the NJ Regional Team Match<\/b> (2019\u20132021, 2022\u20132025)<\/li>\n<li><b>2nd Place Top Female Instructor \u2013 Fred Astaire World Championship<\/b> (2024)<\/li>\n<li><b>Top Female Instructor \u2013 Fred Astaire National Dance Championship<\/b> (2024)<\/li>\n<li><b>Top Female Instructor \u2013 Fred Astaire Cross Country Dance Championship<\/b> (2025)<\/li>\n<li><b>Top Female Event Professional and Overall Professional of Fred Astaire Company<\/b> (2024)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As a professional competitor, Mariia has earned titles that highlight her excellence on the dance floor. She is the <b>Fred Astaire National and World Vice Champion in Professional Showdance<\/b>, the <b>Fred Astaire National Rising Star American Smooth Champion<\/b>, and a <b>winner of major U.S. Rising Star Smooth competitions<\/b>, including the Emerald Ball and Millennium Dance Championships.<\/p>\n<p>Today, Mariia is the co-owner of <b>Fred Astaire Dance Studio \u2013 North Mount Pleasant<\/b>, which she proudly leads alongside her professional partner, <b>Oleksandr Isaiev<\/b>. Together, they form a competitive professional couple and a dynamic business partnership, combining their expertise, artistry, and shared vision to elevate the studio and enrich the community.<\/p>\n<p>At the core of Mariia\u2019s work is a powerful mission: <b>to make dance accessible to as many people as possible and share its transformative ability to enhance life physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially<\/b>. She is dedicated to helping each student discover confidence, growth, and joy through dance.<\/p>\n<p>Renowned for her technical precision, artistic creativity, adjudicating background, and unwavering commitment to student success, Mariia continues to inspire dancers of all ages and levels every day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":8136,"template":"","class_list":["post-8135","team_member","type-team_member","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/north-mount-pleasant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/team_member\/8135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/north-mount-pleasant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/team_member"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/north-mount-pleasant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/team_member"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/north-mount-pleasant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/north-mount-pleasant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}