I fell in love with ballet at four years old after watching a video of “The Nutcracker.” I was captivated by the tutus and tiaras, and my love for them has never changed. I grew up taking ballet and pointe lessons at Ravel Dance Studio, where I was invited to join its pre-professional dance company at the age of 13. With the Company, I branched out into jazz, modern, and lyrical dance, and performed featured roles in many of our spring full-length ballet productions, most notably as the title character in “The Sleeping Beauty.” (Fun fact: I’ve returned three times as a guest artist post-graduation to perform the role of Maleficent in that same ballet and it’s always such a blast!)

I attended Mercyhurst University on scholarship, where I majored in dance. While there, I took classes in ballet, pointe, pas de deux (ballet partnering), modern, jazz, tap, and conditioning, and attended a summer intensive in New York City with the American Ballet Theater.

Before graduation, I was invited to join Störling Dance Theater in Kansas City, and I couldn’t quite get over the fact that I was actually getting to live my dream of becoming a professional dancer. I danced with the company for four seasons, starting out as an apprentice and quickly being promoted to Soloist and Senior Company Member. I performed multiple featured roles with the company, including the lead role in an original story ballet. I then performed with Dramatic Truth Ballet Theater
for one season as a Principal Ballerina and performed the lead role in its production of “The Mystery of Christmas.”

In 2015, I launched my own professional dance company, VidaDance, with a mission to make dance accessible to everyone through engaging, entertaining, and relatable productions. We won Best of Festival twice and Best of Venue three times at the Kansas City Fringe Festival, and performed at events and in venues across KC and St. Louis. Not one to sit still for long, I opened VidaDance Studio the next year with a mission to inspire confidence and joy through dance classes. We offered classes and performance opportunities for ages 2-72 for five years!

I was a ballet expert for Nike’s Livestrong.com and filmed the how-to video series “Dance & Conditioning,” and I have over 10K students enrolled in my online dance courses, which are especially designed for those who’ve never taken a class before, including my signature “20 Moves in 20 Days” ballet, jazz, and tap courses. I was an adjunct professor at Johnson County Community College for six years, where I ideated, and developed the curriculum, for the dance program for its
adult continuing education offerings.

I am thrilled to be passing along my love of dance to my students in Brookings. My passion is helping all of my students, young and old, experienced and first-timers, discover a love of dance in a way that is encouraging, supportive, and delightful. Every time I walk into a studio and take or teach a class, I am reminded what a gift, honor, and joy it is to dance. I hope all my students leave feeling the exact same way.

When I’m not dancing, teaching, or choreographing, you can often find me reading a good book, enjoying a cup of tea or a latte, perusing antique shops, or traveling and exploring with my husband.I love coffee shops, fine art, creative pursuits, animals, all things marketing and business strategy, and deep conversations with good friends.