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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. 

Faith Hortin

Faith Hortin has been dancing since she was three years old. She trained at Rocky Mountain Dance where she found a love and passion for ballet, but also trained in jazz, hip-hop, and contemporary. She loves to perform and has had the opportunity to perform in Utah Valley University productions, several competitions across the state, and as a soloist in The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Snow White, and The Sleeping Beauty. One of her favorite things about dance is the ability to challenge herself daily and continually learn. Faith has also found a passion for teaching and loves to teach ballet, jazz, and contemporary to all levels and ages. She was a member of Utah Valley University’s Repertory Ballet Ensemble recently graduated from the Dance Department.

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.

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. 

Emmalee Morrow