Instructors | Ember Dance Academy

Tenisha Hamelin

Tenisha Schild Hamelin is the owner of Ember Dance Academy. She found her passion for dance at a very young age while trying to imitate dancers training at her mother’s dance studio. She competed with her first solo around the age of two, receiving the first of many “queen” awards. Around age 12, she began choreographing her own lyrical and jazz solos. Throughout her competitive years, Tenisha received many high point soloist awards, including the Joel Ferrell award at the AAU Junior Olympics. She has choreographed many solo, duet, trio, and team dances, and won “Best in Choreography” at multiple competitions over the years.

Tenisha has been teaching since 2008 (beginning as an assistant previous to that year), and has taught a variety of styles. Jazz, Lyrical/Contemporary, Tumbling, Acro, and Ballet are her areas of highest expertise. In college, she was a University of Idaho Cheerleader and later was a part of Dance Alliance touring performance company at BYU-Idaho.

Tenisha graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho with a Bachelor of the Arts in Dance Pedagogy, emphasizing in Ballet. Dance Pedagogy focuses on the techniques of teaching dance as well as the skills needed to run a dance studio, and this training provided her with greater knowledge of how to teach more effectively. While at BYU-Idaho, Tenisha received the opportunity to travel across the United States and Canada as she performed with Dance Alliance. She loved experiencing new styles while studying for her degree, but especially loved learning the information taught in Dance Kinesiology classes. This information combined with Tenisha's training and experience have given her a strong knowledge of why techniques were developed and what each dancer must do to perform each movement with efficiency, as well as injury prevention tactics.

Bree Rigby

Bree Rigby was first introduced to dance through beginning gymnastics when she was eight years old. Around the age of fourteen, she decided that she wanted to dedicate all of her efforts to dancing solely, while still utilizing her tumbling skills. She has been hooked ever since! Throughout Bree’s dance experiences, she has been trained in Ballet, Ballroom, Jazz, Contemporary, and Hip Hop. Bree has had the opportunity to take master classes from Shane Sparks, and most recently (despite her being the oldest participant), she was able to participate in the Titans Dance Convention in 2022 with Mark Villaver, Autumn Miller, Lane Napper, Mollee Gray, and Alexis Warr. Bree has such a passion for dance and choreography that she continues to grab onto opportunities that will provide her with more knowledge and skills in order to provide the best and most updated training and choreography. Although Bree’s undergrad is in Family Studies and her day job does not deal with dance, she is dedicated and motivated to increase the skills of those she teaches and provide a welcoming, organized, and encouraging learning environment.

Emmalee Morrow

Emmalee Morrow has been passionate about the art of dance since she was little. She began with a love for self-expression, which led to four years on the Juab High School Drill Team, where she eventually became Dance Captain. After graduation, Emmalee continued her pursuit of dance, expanding her experience by judging at drill competitions, choreographing award-winning routines, and continued teaching students of many ages and skill levels.
Emmalee's love for dance is matched by her passion for serving others. She has volunteered as a dance teacher for students with special abilities at Juab Junior High and Juab High School, helping them discover the joy of dance. Her favorite thing about dance is getting to share it with others, and she hopes to continue to do that as she teaches others to do the same.

Elle Bullock

Elle's passion for dance began at the age of 2, and she has been dedicated to the craft ever since. With a strong foundation in jazz, ballet, hip hop, tap, and contemporary, Elle has spent over a decade competing in these styles. She has also had the opportunity to travel to many competitions and conventions, where she has learned from the top professionals in the industry.
In high school, Elle served as president of her dance team, and won several choreography awards at UDEO, and also took part in her cheer squad’s Pom team, where they took state.
She is now pursuing a degree in Dance Education at BYU.
She has a love for performing, and is enthusiastic about sharing her knowledge and passion with her students, inspiring them to achieve their fullest potential.

Jenna Wudel

Jenna Wudel is currently dancing with Brigham Young University’s Theatre Ballet. She is majoring in the Dance BFA at BYU focusing her studies on ballet and contemporary dance. She had been dancing since the age of three and grew up dancing at Ballet Etudes Academy in Arizona. She danced pre-professionally with them where she performed in productions of the Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and Swan Lake. After graduating she began her studies at BYU and joined the Theatre Ballet Studio Company. She loves dancing and is excited for her final year as a member of Theatre Ballet. Jenna has a strong passion for dance and loves sharing her knowledge with her students. She works toward being a teacher who values hard work and dedication in the classroom while caring for each student individually.

Faith Garlitz

Faith Garlitz started her ballet training at the age of 3, and grew up dancing at Provo Civic Ballet, Ballet West Academy, and Barlow Arts Conservatory. When she was 13, she began training at Jacqueline's School of Ballet with Utah Metropolitan Ballet's second company studying under Jacqueline College, Heather Grey, Brittnee Squires, and Ariel Wright, as well as many prestigious master teachers. She now dances with BYU Theatre Ballet, where she is earning a minor in Ballet. There, she has had the opportunity to perform many ballets under the direction of Ashley Parov and Brooke Storheim, including those set by the Balanchine Trust and Arpino Foundation. Faith has taught ballet for 2 years to ages 3-18. She started teaching at Ember Dance Academy this year, and is so excited to share her love of ballet with the students there.