Allegiance Executive Director
Founder & Show Designer
Allegiance Cadet Guard Director
Movement Instructor
Equipment Tech
Eric is the founder, Executive Director and designer for Allegiance Color Guard. He has been involved as a performer and instructor for winter guards, drum corps and marching bands for 30+ years.
In high school, Eric began his marching career as a trumpet player for the Imperial Scots Marching Band of Dundee, Illinois. During college, he studied graphic design and started his color guard career performing with the Buccaneers Winter Guard of Sheboygan, Wisconsin and the Glassmen Drum & Bugle Corps of Toledo, Ohio.
After college, Eric moved to Chicago, Illinois and began working with many high school and independent color guard programs throughout the Midwest. From 2000 to 2007, he was the show designer for two-time WGI finalist Evolution Winter Guard of Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
In 2010, Eric decided to move back to his hometown of Dundee to begin the process of creating Allegiance. Since then, the Allegiance teams have earned many prestigious awards including gold, silver and bronze medals at several Midwest Color Guard (MWCGC) Championships and finalist status at Winter Guard International (WGI).
Eric is very thankful to work with so many talented and amazing people at Allegiance. He looks forward to continued growth and success of our organization for many years to come!
Katie Sullivan
Katie started her winter guard career in 2001 at Harrison High School in Kennesaw, Georgia. After high school, Katie had the opportunity to perform with Spirit of Atlanta Drum Corps, Capital Regiment Drum Corps, Aureus Winter Guard (Independent A), and finally with Eklipse Winter Guard (Independent World.)
In 2011, Katie moved to Knoxville, Tennessee where she began working as a band director at Farragut Middle School and Farragut High School. During her seven-year tenure, she grew the guard program from 10 beginner students to over 70 students across four teams with the top grouping becoming a nationally competitive WGI Regional Finalist. She also spent two years as a band director at Hardin Valley Middle School and Hardin Valley Academy where she helped build the band program while strengthening the WGI Regional Finalist color guard. During that time, Katie served for several years as a board member for the East Tennessee Performing Arts Association.
In Fall 2020, Katie and her husband Brendan moved to Chicago, Illinois and currently reside in Wicker Park with their dog, Abbey. Katie is thrilled to be a part of the Allegiance family and looking forward to the upcoming season.
Mandi was first introduced to color guard as a freshman in high school. She was on the inaugural winter guard team her freshman year. She earned her first leadership role as a sophomore in high school after spinning for just 1 year. Mandi was the captain for her high school’s fall and winter guards for 5 seasons. She then went on to spin at North Central College with the Cardinal Athletic band and North Central Winter guard. She spun all throughout college and was captain/choreographer for 4 seasons. During graduate school, Mandi went back to her high school and coached there for 3 seasons.
In 2018, Mandi landed her dream job as a social worker at Dundee Middle School where she founded the district’s first ever non-competitive middle school color guard. Mandi has been the coach of the Dundee Middle School Color Guard for 3 seasons and counting.
Mandi started working for Allegiance in the summer of 2019. She was on staff during summer programming, including summer clinics and parades. Mandi ran the Summer Spin Clinics for Beginners during summer 2021. She also assisted during the advanced Spin Clinics in 2019 and 2021. Mandi joined the full time staff of Allegiance in 2022 as the A guard director. Mandi is very excited to continue in her role as guard director for the upcoming season!
Michael Bailey
Michael “Star” Bailey is thrilled to be joining the staff at Allegiance, bringing his dance and theatre background to the youth of the competitive floor once more. A west coast native, Michael began his training in the Portland, OR metropolitan - beginning with NW Children’s Theatre, and continued acting through high school, where color guard was introduced in the form of an available role for the Westview High School Marching Band field show: the title character in The Phantom of the Opera (‘97).
That led to joining the Every-Body “A” class winter guard (‘98), Northern Lights Summer Youth Band (‘98), and the Oregon Crusaders winter guard (‘03). Finally, joining Northern Lights World in 2004 (Road to Perdition, Silver Medalist), and returning in 2006 (Meditation: In Memory of John Lennon, Bronze Medalist), the decision was made to relocate and study dance at Columbia College Chicago.
Graduating with a B.A. in Performing Arts Management, with a dance minor, allowed him to further hone his technical skills dancing every day ranging from ballet to contact improv and more! After which, Michael made his professional theatre debut in Miss Saigon (Paramount, Aurora, IL) with his rifle skills highlighted in the production. Last seen on stage spinning with superstar drag queen Latrice Royal, during the A Drag Queen Christmas Tour in Chicago, he is also currently the movement instructor for Naperville Central High School’s color guard program. Outside of rehearsal he spends time caring for his Great Danes with his husband in the SW Chicagoland area.
Ryan Klassa
Ryan Klassa is a writer, director, producer and cinematographer currently living in Oshkosh, WI.
His works have earned numerous awards, and have been featured in film festivals, art galleries and museums across the US and Europe. He has been involved in the marching arts for over 20 years, and has earned two gold medals – the first as a member of the Blue Devils Color Guard at DCl, and the second as a member of the 2009 SCV Winter Guard, who competed in Independent World Class at WGI.
Ryan is very passionate about educating and inspiring the next generation of performers and instructors through his work as a judge, clinician and choreographer.
