United Dance Center

Kennedy began her dance journey at the age of 3. She received her training at Wasatch Dance Center in Heber City Utah. Kennedy danced competitively in Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz, Tap, Hiphop, and Lyrical. She has won and received many dance awards and scholarships. In high school she was the president for her Dance Company and loved every second of it! She has had the opportunities to open up for the Radio City Rockettes. Spent summers living in New York City with NYCDA for summer dance intensives. You can see her in the Disney Channel TV show High School Musical the Musical. She went and got an Education at Utah State University majoring in Interior Design and minored in Public Relations. She was on the Utah State University’s Spirit Squad as an Aggiette for 4 years. She loves to teach and is excited to share her passion of dance with others.

Brooklyn was raised in Riverton, Utah and has been dedicated to dance since the age of five. She began her journey at Rocky Mountain Dance, where she competed for several years and trained in various styles including jazz, hip hop, lyrical, contemporary, ballet, pointe, and pom. Alongside her dance training, Brooklyn also practiced tumbling at Jolley’s Gymnastics. During high school, Brooklyn was an active member of the Riverton Drill Team, serving as captain in her senior year. Her involvement in the drill team allowed her to compete in the Miss Drill Utah competition, where she was an All-State finalist and received numerous solo awards. Currently, Brooklyn is pursuing a Business degree in college while dancing with the Collective Dance Company. She is enthusiastic about beginning her teaching role at United, eager to share her passion for dance and make a positive impact on her students' lives.

Lainy grew up in Lehi, Utah and has been dancing since she was 3 years old. She's spent 20+ years training in many styles of dance including jazz, ballet, tap, hip hop, tumbling, pom, contemporary, etc. After dancing competitively with her studio for 11+ years, she joined her high school drill team. She spent 4 years on the team while serving as an officer for 3 years and as captain her senior year. After high school, she danced in the UVU modern dance program for a year before transferring to Utah Tech University as a member of their dance team where she was able to perform at many collegiate games and professional events. She is now back at UVU majoring in Exercise Science while also studying Public Relations in Sports. She is a second year member of Collective Dance Company and is in her third year coaching the Westlake Drill team as an assistant. She is so excited to share her love of dance with even more young dancers!

Liz was born and raised in Bountiful, Utah. As a lifelong dancer, she fell more in love with the art as a cheerleader and member of the Bountiful High School region and state championship drill team. She also danced with the Bountiful High School dance company before moving to Logan, Utah for college at Utah State University. While studying at USU, Liz taught ballet, jazz, technique, and hip hop classes at a local studio and was the tumbling coach for the Sky View High School drill team. Liz graduated from Utah State with a Bachelors degree in Health Education and Promotion then moved to Washington to support her husband through Veterinary school with her one-year-old son.

Reese Kirkham has been dancing for 16 years. She has trained in ballet, pointe, contemporary, jazz, hip hop, ballroom, and musical theater. Reese began her formal ballet training at the age of six with Jacqueline's School of Ballet. She was accepted into the professional division and became a member of Utah Metropolitan Ballet 2. Throughout her ballet career, Reese performed in many productions, including The Nutcracker, Peter Pan, Cinderella, Romeo & Juliet, Don Quixote, and more. She also competed at Youth America Grand Prix for four years, placing in the top three in all of the semi-finals for ensemble pieces. Reese has had the opportunity to work with numerous esteemed teachers and choreographers. Some of her favorites include Jacqueline Colledge, Heather Gray, Brittnee Squires, Ariel Wright, Stacey Calvert, Johnny Zhong, Brady Farrar, Malece Miller, Eric Ascione, and Summerisa Bell. Reese loves dancing, teaching, and choreographing, and she is excited to share her passion with our UNITED students!

Tenley grew up dancing at Ballet Idaho. She studied classical ballet, modern and jazz. At the age of 15 years old, she became the coach of 3 performing baton twirling dance teams. In high school, she competed on National Award winning dance teams with her high school dance team and studio performance company. Tenley attended BYU, graduating with a BS in Exercise and a minor in Dance.

Brianna Peterson (Schetzel) is a ballerina from Dallas, Oregon. She trained with American Ballet Academy before she graduated high school. Brianna is the 2nd person in Utah (and 42nd in the States) to fully complete the PBT (Progressing Ballet Technique) certification. She just finished her first year dancing professionally with UVCB's production of Sleeping Beauty in which she was cast as the principal lead: Princess Aurora. Brianna received her degree from BYU in 2023, with studies in ballet and athletic training. During her time at BYU, Brianna participated in dance research, choreographic opportunities, and was a technician for internationally touring dance companies taking her across Europe over the summer. Outside of dancing, Brianna has been teaching for 7 years and has loved every minute of it. Her teaching centers around proper technique, injury prevention, and the joy of dancing. She is so excited to be working with United Dance Center!

Shellie Warr has trained in various genres of dance; Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Tap, Clogging and Musical Theatre. She was selected to choreograph and perform in the pre-show opening number for Hurricane’s Annual Peach Days with David Archuleta as a guest performer in the year 2021. She was on the Dixie State Dance Company for 3 years as well as the Dixie State Competition Dance team the year the team took first place at nationals. Shellie has choreographed for many community events, including solos, duets and group pieces. Shellie has most recently choreographed for Hurricane High School Dance Company and Ballroom Team. She won the Sterling Scholar and Sayce Scarth Dance Scholarship her senior year of High School. She was captain of her Dance Team and Cheerleading Squad and has found joy in teaching and inspiring young children and teenagers, helping dancers reach their full potential in technique and performance.

Emeline (Emee) Schick-Donaldson grew up dancing in Utah at the age of 3. She has trained and competed in all styles of dance including; Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop, and Ballet at Dance Impressions located in Farmington and Bountiful UT. She had the opportunity to be on the Utah Valley Dance Team for 2 years. She attended NDA nationals where her team placed 1st overall in Hip Hop & Game Day and 2nd overall in Jazz Category. In her second year they attended UDA nationals and placed top 3 for both Jazz and Hip Hop Category. In 2024 she was apart of Odyssey Dance Theatre, a professional dance company based in Salt Lake City, Utah and was able to perform and tour in the show “Thriller”. She has enjoyed working in the dance community and continues to teach and choreograph to share her passion!

Megan began dancing at the age of 3 in Southern California where she was born and raised. She started her dance journey by learning the fundamentals of jazz, ballet, and tap. She also fell in love with hip hop, contemporary, and lyrical while training under and assisting Tessandra Chavez, a professional choreographer that has been featured on So You Think You Can Dance and is a two-time Emmy Award winner. During high school, Megan had the opportunity to work at Sea World as a stomp performer in addition to being a leader in her competitive dance teams. Megan began teaching dance at 14, continued to teach through high school while competing, and in college where she also became the Competition Director. As a teacher and director, she loved the entire creative process from finding music, designing costumes, and choreographing dances that went on to earn overalls, top 10s, and judge’s choice awards. Dance has always been one of Megan’s passions, but after graduating from San Diego State University with her teaching credential she decided to move to Utah to focus on building her family.

Mallory began training in ballet, jazz, lyrical, and contemporary at eight years old and hasn't stopped dancing since. She was a member of the Lone Peak High School Drill Team from 2006 to 2009 and served as the Team President her senior year. Upon graduation she was brought on as a Head Coach from 2009-2010 where she helped the team place in the top three at the 2010 5A state competition. At Utah Valley University she received further ballet technique and pointe training from the Ballet Program Director. She continues to actively study ballet through regular classes, seminars, and reading. Mallory has experience teaching preschool through high-school-aged dancers. She loves helping her students improve their classical ballet technique, learn terminology, and prepare for pointe work. She has completed Level 1 of Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) and was accepted to participate in the Royal Ballet Inspire Workshop Series at BYU for 2022.

Kaylee has been dancing for 18 years and has loved every second of it. She has been trained in jazz, ballet, contemporary, lyrical, military, pom, hip hop, along with two years of ballroom dance. She grew up dancing at Tiffany Dance Company where she then became a four year member of Riverton High School's drill team. She served as an officer for three of those years including dance captain and Vice President her last two years. She was awarded All-Region from her sophomore-senior years of high school and an All-State finalist her last year. Kaylee was also awarded "Hardest Working Senior" from her coaches. After high school Kaylee competed in the Miss Eagle Mountain scholarship pageant where she was awarded the title and served her community as she prepared to compete at Miss Utah. At the state competition Kaylee was awarded the "Non Finalist Talent Award" for her lyrical piece. She then went on to compete and win another local title in the Miss America Organization as Miss Nebo. Kaylee absolutely loves working with students and helping them learn to love and respect the art of dance.

During the past 7 years in Oregon, Tenley has been privileged to teach ballet, creative dance, lyrical, boys production and dance classes to children with Special Needs. Recently, she has also done choreography for The Music Man and Honk Jr locally. Tenley wants dance to be inspiring and enjoyable for all who attend her classes.

Lexie has been dancing for over 21 years and feels incredibly grateful for the many opportunities dance has brought into her life. She is trained in a wide range of styles, including modern, contemporary, lyrical, jazz, ballet, tap, clogging, improvisation, and hip-hop. Lexie grew up dancing with Empower Dance Academy, where she developed a strong technical foundation and a love for performing. She participated in regional and national competitions and conventions, receiving various awards and scholarships along the way. During high school, she was a member of the Riverton High School Dance Company, where her appreciation for dance as an expressive art form truly began to deepen. Lexie continued her training at Utah Valley University, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Modern Contemporary Dance. At UVU, Lexie was a member of the Contemporary Dance Ensemble (CDE), performing on a full-ride performance scholarship. Her time with CDE was especially meaningful, allowing her to grow not only as a dancer but also as a creative contributor. She served as Rehearsal Assistant her senior year and helped create content for the company’s social media, exploring her love for creativity beyond the studio. During her time with CDE, Lexie had the privilege of performing works by choreographers such as Brian Gerke, Laja Martin, Laura Brick, Melissa Younker, Mike Esperanza, Monica Campbell, WHYTEBERG, and Yoshito Sakuraba, and was honored to perform To Have and to Hold by Shapiro & Smith in collaboration with Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company. Many of these experiences offered her the opportunity to perform as a featured soloist. Lexie has danced with Divinity Dance Company as an apprentice and is currently a proud company member of Altitude Dance Company. Since 2020, Lexie has been teaching at United Dance Center, and she stepped into a director role in 2022. Teaching and choreographing have become a true passion for her—she finds joy in helping students grow, express themselves, and find their own voice through dance. Above all, Lexie holds a deep love and respect for dance as an art form and is committed to continuing her journey as both a mover and a mentor.

Braidie has 27 years of dancing experience and 13 years of dance instructing experience. Over the course of her life she has been on many teams and studied a wide variety of dance styles. She has been trained in jazz, ballet, pointe, contemporary, modern, ballroom, tap, african, hip-hop, & tumbling. Braidie began her training at 2 years old at Salt City Stars and while at that studio was apart of an award winning National team and a featured dancer for the NBA, NFL, and nationally televised bowl game halftime performances. She was also a western regional title holder with the Stars programs from 2000 to 2010 and National title holder from 2004 to 2010. Braidie continued her training as a student at Empower Dance for 4 years after Salt City Stars closed its doors. At Empower Dance she competed in many team dances and also solo competitions/conventions. Braidie was asked to travel on scholarship to multiple states and assist for the following at a series of dance conventions and master classes: Joe Tremaine, Dennis Caspary, Sonya Tayeh, Mandy Moore, Twitch, Travis Wall, and Lauren Adams, and Peter Chu. Braidie attended Riverton High School where she was on the Dance Company. Upon graduation in 2013 she attended Salt Lake Community College on a full tuition dance scholarship. She was on Salt Lake Community Dance Team for 3 years where she was elected to serve as Dance Captain her first year and President for her second and third. Over the last 13 years she has taught at many studios across Utah, setting multiple award winning routines on elementary, high school, and college teams/soloists. She also coached 1 year for the Juan Diego Drill Team and 6 years for the Riverton Drill Team. After college Braidie decided to follow her childhood dreams and pursue a career in the beauty industry. She finished her Cosmetology/Barbering Program in August 2018 and is currently working in her own studio salon located in Draper Utah. Braidie also decided in 2022 to pursue Co-owning a Professional Dance Company for adults with her best friend Lexi called “Collective”. Braidie enjoys teaching others her passion for dance and believes there is nothing better than cultivating and nurturing their growth in her classroom!

Lexi is so excited to teach what she has learned. She has been a member on multiple teams and trained in many areas of dance including; jazz, hip hop, ballet, pointe, contemporary, pom, modern, tumbling, etc. Early training from Salt City Stars studio helped her to become a member of the Bingham High School Drill Team (Minerettes) where she took part in 3 Region titles, 3 National championships, and 2 State championship titles. During her time on the Minerettes, she was awarded the “Minerette of the Year” award, Astra's Brightest Star Scholarship, and became a member of the “All-State Drill Team”. Her senior year of high school she was appointed to be the President of the Drill Team, leading 22 other girls through an amazing year. After graduating high school, she became a 2 year member of the Utah Valley University Dance Team. During that time she was awarded many leadership and scholastic scholarships. Best of all, Lexi and her team were named “National Champions” in 2014 where they made history by winning over 33 teams in the open dance category. After many years of her own dance training, Lexi decided that she wanted to share her knowledge and experience by teaching others. She is now a teacher at United Dance Center, and Westlake High School where she serves as the Head Drill Team Coach. She is a Nation-wide choreographer and dance instructor for many award winning routines and teams. She was a member of the EPIC Drill team camp staff where she choreographs and teaches for dance teams all over the world. She decided to apply for and was accepted into the prestigious UVU Bachelor of Social Work Program and was selected as a member of the 2015 BSW cohort. During these years, she interned at the Utah State Hospital as a social work trainee. In spring of 2017, Lexi graduated with her Bachelors. in 2020, Lexi was selected to be a member of the "Moments of Grace" company where she was able to participate in a 16 dance show with amazing choreographers. this year, Lexi & Braidie decided to follow their dreams and create their own professional adult dance company named "Collective". She is so excited to start the 3rd collective season this year and watch the program grow!!

Mallory has trained in Jazz, Ballet, Hip-Hop, Contemporary and Lyrical. She started assisted teaching when she was 16 and loved learning how to best teach dancers how to develop their passion for dance. Mallory has taught hundreds of students at United Dance Center and is currently the Studio Director. Mallory loves interacting and helping UDC's awesome students and parents!

Mallory Welch has experience teaching preschool through high-school-aged dancers. She loves helping her students improve their classical ballet technique, learn terminology, and prepare for pointe work. She has completed Level 1 of Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) and was accepted to participate in the Royal Ballet Inspire Workshop Series at BYU for 2022.