Boise Dance Alliance

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Boise Dance Lessons

OUR TEACHERS

BDA Teacher Jenn Smart

Jenn Smart

-Director-

Jenn began her dance training at the age of three at Kennedy School of Dance in Nampa, Idaho.  She trained in ballet, jazz, lyrical, hip hop and tap as well as performed and competed with the studio company and her high school dance team. Jenn graduated with a B.A. in Secondary Education from Boise State University and went on to teach for four years at Lake Hazel Middle School.

While pursuing her education at Boise State University, Jenn danced with BSU's Mane Line Dance Team.  Jenn has taught and coached dance for the last 15 years and her choreography has won awards at the state and national level.  Jenn and Ashley opened Boise Dance Alliance in May of 2010 and feel very grateful to be a part of the southeast Boise community. Jenn is also one of the coaches for the Timberline High School Dance Team. She loves being able to give dancers the opportunity to compete and perform for their school at a varsity level.

Jenn and her husband, Ian, live in southeast Boise and love the community. Ian is the head football coach at Timberline High School. He and Jenn love being able to partner together to encourage and teach the youth in this community. They have one daughter, Adley. Jenn enjoys being a mom and feels so blessed that Adley gets to grow up surrounded by such positive, hardworking dancers to serve as her role models.

Boise Dance Alliance Teacher Ashley Maggard

Ashley Maggard

-Director-

Ashley, from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, received early training from Dancers’ Workshop in ballet and modern.  She attended summer intensives at Ballet West, Boston Ballet, and The Julliard School of Dance.  In 2009, Ashley earned her Bachelors degree in Elementary Education from Boise State University.

While attending BSU she performed and competed with the Boise State Mane Line Dance Team.  She also performed with the Idaho Stampede Dance Team for two years.  Ashley has been teaching and choreographing dance for 14 years and loves working with kids.   She has genuinely enjoyed working with the wonderful dance families in southeast Boise. Ashley and Jenn opened Boise Dance Alliance in May of 2010 and have felt so welcomed by this community.

Ashley is a proud firefighter wife to her husband, Josh, and they live in southeast Boise with their daughter and son. Becoming a mom to Layla and Colton has become Ashley's greatest adventure. In their free time they enjoy mountain biking, hiking, camping, waterskiing and snow skiing. Ashley has incredible family support and feels so lucky that most of them live nearby.

Boise Dance Alliance Teacher Alyssa Zeigler

Alyssa Zeigler

-Office Manager-

*8th year with BDA

Alyssa Zeigler has lived in Boise her whole life. She started dancing when she was three years old and started competing at the age of eight. She has trained in ballet, jazz, hip hop and tap. Alyssa has traveled all over the northwest for conventions and competitions to continue her training. She went to high school at Timberline in Southeast Boise and was a four-year member of the Silver Legacy Dance Team and was captain her last two years.Alyssa just graduated from Boise State University in May 2021 with her BA degree and received a certificate in Business and Leadership. Alyssa was a four-year member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority at Boise State and will graduate with Alumni Status from the sorority.

Alyssa lives in Meridian Idaho with her parents and dog Teddy. She is currently the assistant coach of the Borah High School Dance Team and works in the main Office as well.

Alyssa has a passion for teaching dance and working with children. You will see Alyssa's smiling face behind the front desk at BDA as well as in the studio teaching.

BDA Teacher Brittany Zeigler

Brittany Zeigler

-Event Manager and Instructor-

*9th year with BDA

Brittany grew up in Boise and started dancing at the age of three. She started competing at the age of 7 and continued competing through graduation. Brittany danced on the Timberline Dance Team for four years in high school, and as captain her Senior year. She went on to dance for Boise State University’s Mane Line for four years in college. While in college she coached the Brave Sensation Dance Team at Boise High alongside Amber McKendrick for four seasons. She graduated with an Education degree from Boise State in 2019.

Brittany earned her MS in Curriculum and Instruction in 2022. Brittany currently teaches Geometry at Borah High School, runs the Student Council, and coaches the Borah Lionettes Dance Team. Brittany has been teaching and coaching at BDA for 9 seasons now and loves working with these kids and the Senior Company.  She loves sharing her passion for dance with the students at BDA. In her free time she loves watching her husband play lacrosse, getting outdoors, cheering on the Broncos, and spending time with her family.

Boise Dance Alliance Teacher Jordyn Starkovich

Jordyn Starkovich

-Instructor-

*2nd year with BDA

Jordyn Starkovich grew up in Lemoore, California and later moved to Auburn, Washington at the age of 13. She now attends Boise State University, seeking a degree in business administration and a minor in marketing. Following her college years, Jordyn hopes to utilize her degree and find a job in the business field, while still continuing to dance and train.

In each of these states, Jordyn danced competitively and trained in all styles of dance. At her home studio of Allegro Performing Arts Academy, she took ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, hip hop, and musical theater classes. She competed at the national level as a soloist and with a team.

Jordyn has trained under numerous world-renowned choreographers and performed with actor Taye Diggs and singer Hailee Steinfield. Jordyn now is a member of the Boise State Mane Line dance team, where she performs at sporting events and competes in jazz and hip hop at NDA Nationals in Florida.

BDA Teacher Katie Ponozzo

Katie Ponozzo

-Instructor-

*8th year with BDA

Katie was born and raised in northern Idaho, and studied dance at the University of Idaho with Festival Dance Academy. After moving to Boise to attend Boise State University Katie spent two years performing with Idaho Dance Theatre, one year with Stampede Spirit Dancers and two seasons with Drop Dance Collective.

She currently dances and choreographs for Off Center Dance and will took over as artistic director in fall 2016. Katie teaches ballet at Boise State University and is head of the dance department at College of Idaho, teaching jazz, ballet and rhythmic skills. She also directs the high school dance department at Idaho Fine Arts Academy, a public arts school in Eagle, ID.

Along with performing and teaching dance, Katie also performs aerial silks with Red Light Variety Show and teaches aerial yoga/fitness at Ophidia Studio. Katie was the 2012 recipient of the Independent Artist Grant from Idaho Commission of the arts for her dance piece "Ball Change." Katie graduated from Boise State University where she earned a BA in Theatre with dance emphasis, Cum Laude.

Boise Dance Alliance Teacher Elizabeth Mallam

Elizabeth Mallam

-Instructor-

*7th year with BDA

Elizabeth was born in Monterey, California and moved to Boise when she was two years old. She started competing at the age of seven in gymnastics then began dancing at BDA in 2013 and has loved it ever since. Elizabeth has trained in jazz, ballet, hip hop, and contemporary, as well as competed as a member of Boise Dance Alliance's company for five years. She has participated in multiple workshops such as Summer DanceFest at Boise State where she learned a variety of dance styles from well known choreographers.

Elizabeth recently graduated from Boise State University with her bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She is now working towards getting her master’s degree in Elementary Education from BSU and is the assistant dance coach at Timberline High School.

She truly enjoys working with children and is looking forward to sharing her passion for dance with them!

Boise Dance Alliance Teacher Kayla Cook

Kayla Cook

-Instructor-

*4th year with BDA

Kayla Cook was born and raised in Cheyenne Wyoming. She started dancing at the age of three. She trained at En Avant Dance Studio in ballet, jazz and lyrical. Kayla also assisted with dance classes in high school. She competed with her high school dance team Thunderstruck for three years.

Kayla came to Boise to attend school but instantly fell in love with the area. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Boise State University in 2016. She has taught both 1st and 2nd grade in the Boise area.  In her spare time Kayla enjoys reading, cooking and traveling. She is passionate about teaching and is excited to continue dancing.

Boise Dance Alliance Teacher Naomi Rux

Naomi Rux

-Instructor-

*4th year with BDA

Naomi grew up in Oregon City, Oregon and has been dancing since she was three years old. She trained in both classical and contemporary ballet, attended summer intensives at Ballet West and Boca Ballet Theater, and received top scores in both forms of dance at YAGP. After graduating high school, Naomi went on to be a trainee at Ballet West, and eventually moved to Boise in 2017 to be a professional dancer at Ballet Idaho.

Naomi has been teaching at BDA for two years now, and every year has been so impressed by students who take on the challenges of dance for all the right reasons. She is so proud of all their dedication, and loves working at BDA.

While she views teaching as her main job, Naomi still dances around Boise with many local artists in music videos and other project-based work, and has been an artist in multiple choreographic pieces for Treefort Music Festival. When not involved with dance, Naomi works at Barretto Dancewear as a seamstress, travels, and gardens at her grandmother’s house.

Boise Dance Alliance Teacher Carissa Pinnix

Carissa Pinnix

-Instructor-

*3rd year with BDA

Carissa’s love for dance started in San Diego at the age of 3. She continued studying Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Lyrical and won numerous awards on the national level. Carissa then attended Sonoma State University on a dance scholarship. Carissa trained with Dance Masters such as Alvin Ailey, and Alonzo King Lines, and performed in the ACDA Collegiate Gala. She also had the opportunity to tap with professional Greg Russel at a Dancers against Cancer benefit show.

Carissa studied Theatre Arts with a concentration in Modern dance and participated in workshops, Master Classes and all performance opportunities at the University. Carissa also competed all 4 years on the Sonoma State Dance team and grew a tap program at a local studio in Northern California. After intense studies at Sonoma State University, Carissa returned home to continue her love of dance. She is the former director of Rêve Dance Conservatory in Orange County and finds her passion in teaching.

Carissa taught as a teacher/choreographer in San Diego teaching for the Element Dance Center, and Edge Dance Academy, but has since relocated to Boise and is excited to continue her dance journey here. She loves living in Boise so much that she became a Realtor for Amherst Madison Real Estate Advisors. She loves that she gets to be around people and serve her community with her love for dance and instilling that passion into all of her students.

Boise Dance Alliance Teacher Shelbi Soelter

Shelbi Soelter

-Social Media Manager-

*3rd year with BDA

Shelbi just recently moved form Billings, MT to start college here at BSU. She’s studying kinesiology with an emphasis in exercise science and hopes to one day help dancers with the importance of injury prevention, strengthening, and overall health. Shelbi started dancing when she was 3 years old and competitively when she was 9. She trained in jazz, ballet, contemporary, modern, and hip-hop at Movement Montana in Billings and had some amazing experiences there.

Shelbi has traveled to places like Denver and Houston for competitions such as Intrigue, Radix, JUMP, and many more. Some of her favorite choreographers she’s worked with include Teddy Forance, Chad McCall, Emily Shock, Giovanni Christian, Liz Imperio, and so many more. Shelbi is passionate about watching kids grow as dancers and people and helping them every step of the way. She is so excited to be a teacher here at BDA!!

Boise Dance Alliance Teacher Italia Contino

Italia Contino

-Instructor-

*2nd year with BDA

She started dancing at the age of 3 in Fresno, California and grew up dancing in Tap, Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, contemporary, and Pointe. She danced at The Dance Studio of Fresno for 15 years. Shortly after graduating she began teaching for Dolce Dance Studio during the summers when she was back home. She taught all ages and levels of hip hop, jazz, ballet, and contemporary.

At The Dance Studio of Fresno she worked with many well known choreographers, such as Talia Favia, Mia Micheals, and many more. She competed variations on pointe and ballet numbers with my studio going to YAGP for five years, where they were named most well rounded studio. She also competed at The Dance Awards in 2015 where her studio was named Studio of The Year.

She is now a 3rd year member of the Boise State Mane Line dance team, where she performs at sporting events and competes in jazz and hip hop at NDA Nationals in Florida.

Boise Dance Alliance Teacher Izzy Witt

Izzy Witt

-Instructor-

*2nd year with BDA

Izzy grew up in Northern California training extensively in Jazz, Hip Hop, Contemporary, and Ballet. She began dancing at the age of 2. Izzy trained at DNA Dance Collective where she won numerous National Championships as well as Joffery School of Ballet.

She was on her high school dance team and found her passion for teaching in her Peer Dance Classes. Izzy began choreographing professionally at 16 and continues her work at the studio, high school and collegiate level. Currently, Izzy is a fourth year captain of the Boise State Mane Line Dance Team. You can find her cheering at Boise State sporting events throughout the year.

She has also began traveling around the country choreographing and consulting with high school dance teams. Izzy has an abundance of love for teaching and sharing her craft with anyone and everyone.

Boise Dance Alliance Teacher Langley Harding

Langley Harding

-Instructor-

*2nd year with BDA

Langley Harding grew up in Boise, Idaho and started dancing when she was 3. Langley started dancing at Ballet Idaho, then moved studios to dance at Boise Dance Alliance when she was 6. She started dancing competitively when she was 10, on the very fist ever BDA mini company. She continued to dance throughout Junior high and High School, dancing on BDA’s junior and senior company. Langley also attended Timberline High School where she danced on Timberline's Silver Legacy Dance Team for 4 years. Her senior year she was co-captain of the team.

Langley is currently a sophomore at Boise State University and is majoring is Psychology with hopes to become a child psychologist.She lives in an apartment with her mini Aussie Doodle, Millie.

Langley has a true passion for dance and loves to use it to express and emote emotion. Her love for kids and dance grow on the daily, and she couldn’t imagine spending her time doing anything else. Working at Boise Dance Alliance, and sharing what she’s learned at the studio over the years, with others, is truly her dream job.

Boise Dance Alliance Teacher Makenna Pereira

Makenna Pereira

-Instructor-

*2nd year with BDA

Makennas dance training began when she was three years old in Sacramento California.

She has danced competitively since the age of 4. She began dancing at Dance Elite Allstars and later moved to dance at Studio 65 dance company where she was trained in all styles including tap, contemporary, hip hop, jazz, ballet and musical theatre. In High school she was her high schools dance team for 4 years. She later moved to Boise and continued her dance career on the Boise state Mane Line team where she performs at all sporting events, and competes at NDA nationals in Florida.

Makenna is currently a Junior at Boise state university where she is studying early childhood special education and elementary education. She one day hopes to become a kindergarten teacher.

Makenna has a true passion for dance and for teaching and is looking forward to bring that passion into the studio!

Boise Dance Alliance Teacher Sofia Minich

Sofia Minich

-Instructor-

*2nd year with BDA

Sofia was born in Denver, Colorado, and moved to Boise at the age of 14. She started her dance training at Summit School of Dance. She has trained in ballet, hip hop, musical theater, jazz, contemporary, and acro. When she moved to Boise she started training at Boise Dance Alliance as a senior company member. Sofia also danced for the Timberline Silver Legacy dance team where she was a 4 year member. She is excited to continue her dance journey as a BDA staff member and company coach as well as being an assistant coach for the Borah High School dance team.

Outside of dance, Sofia enjoys skiing, golfing, hiking, mountain biking, paddle boarding, and spending time with her cat, Macaroni.

She is currently attending Boise State University and majoring in Kinesiology with a minor in Dance. She hopes to work with future athletes and dancers to build strength and prevent injuries.

Boise Dance Alliance Teacher Taylor Smith

Taylor Smith

-Instructor-

*2nd year with BDA

Taylor Smith is from Roseville, California. This is her third year living in Boise as a student at Boise State University. She danced for 8 years as a child as well as taught at her high school's dance program for three years and is trained in Jazz, Acro, Lyrical, and Contemporary. Taylor was an elite gymnast for 11 years and competed at the highest level until high school where she joined her high school's cheer team and stunt team and was captain of her cheer team as well as the stunt team her senior year. Taylor is a third-year member of the Boise State University Cheerleading team and competes in Orlando Florida at UCA College Nationals.
Taylor has been teaching gymnastics and acro to kids since she was 15 using her extensive gymnastics background. Taylor is a Social Studies Secondary Education major at Boise State and hopes to use her degree to teach US History to high school students in the future as well as coach the cheer team at the school she works for.
She enjoys working with kids and watching them grow and progress as dancers and as people. Her favorite part of class is to watch students achieve new skills that they have worked hard to get. Taylor strives to bring joy and fun to each class for each student and give them the opportunity to be themselves and make new friends.
Boise Dance Alliance Teacher Riley Cardoza

Riley Cardoza

-Instructor-

Riley was born and raised in a small town called Manteca California, and moved to Idaho to attend Boise State University in 2015. She began dancing at the age of 2, and started competing at the age of 4. She has trained in Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Lyrical, and Tap, and traveled and competed across the nation. After moving to college, she couldn’t give up dance just yet, and was grateful enough to be on the Madeline Dance team. While cheering on the Broncos, she has also competed at a national collegiate level with her team.

In 2019, Riley graduated from Boise State with a Degree in Business and Marketing, and continued along her journey at BSU to graduate with her Master in Business Administration in 2021. Currently, Riley is in a Tech Sales position here in Boise, and is so grateful she is able to continue to teach dance, and is able to have best of both worlds!

In her free time, Riley loves to be outdoors, camp, spend time with her family and friends, and especially her black lab, Ruby! She is very excited to continue to share her passion and love for dance with the students at Boise Dance Alliance.

Boise Dance Alliance Teacher Gia Contino

Gia Contino

-Instructor-

Gia started dancing at the age of 2 in Fresno, California. She trained in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Contemporary, and Pointe. She danced at The Dance Studio of Fresno and worked with many well known choreographers such as Mia Michaels, Talia Favia, Ricky Malouf, and many more.

She is currently a 2nd year member of Boise State's Maneline dance team, where she performs at sporting events and competes at NDA nationals in Florida.

She started teaching at the age of 15. She has done many solos and a variety of group dances. In the summers, She teaches at Dolce Dance Studio as well.

Boise Dance Alliance Teacher Addi Davis

Addi Davis

-Instructor-

 Addi, a Boise, Idaho native, began her dancing career at the age of 3. She then tried numerous other sports before deciding that dance, specifically hip hop, was her true passion at the age of 9. Her first year of dancing competitively was 2 years later after exploring more styles of dance and growing an appreciation and love for them. She trained at Echo School of Dance and Artistic Dance Company before joining the Timberline Silver Legacy Dance Team her sophomore year of high school. The years on that team provided the biggest love for the sport she had ever felt and a great sense of being part of a team.

Addi is now a student at Boise State University studying Mechanical Engineering. She has hopes to one day have a career in the Aerospace Engineering field while continuing her passion by teaching a variety of dance classes. Her love for astronomy developed at a very young age, and the addition of math and engineering interests were added through her years of schooling.

The opportunity to teach at BDA was something she never expected to happen, but she is immensely grateful that it did. Training others has brought a whole new sense of purpose into the sport for her, and she has found that her fondness of it has vastly grown. Her love for her students and coworkers is ever growing, and she is excited for what the future holds for BDA.

Boise Dance Alliance Teacher Oliviah Fisher

Oliviah Fisher

-Instructor-

Oliviah, born and raised in Idaho began her passion for dance at the age of 3. She danced at Studio C, Kennedy School of Dance, and found a home at Xpressions Dance Academy. At Xpressions, Oliviah joined company and traveled to out of state conventions until she moved to Boise. She trained in various dance styles in search for another home studio. Oliviah later joined Timberline’s Sliver Legacy Dance Team her sophomore year and found some of her closest friends.
Her objective as a teacher is to help others fall in love with expressing themselves through dance. She recognized through the years, many negative stereotypical faults in the dance community and hopes to model breaking barriers and staying confident and true to oneself.
Oliviah is currently embracing the unknown. She is happily learning more about herself and finding the simple joys in life while making plans to travel.
Boise Dance Alliance Teacher Bella Flath

Bella Flath

-Instructor-

Bella grew up in Orlando, FL and later moved to Southern California at the age of 13. She currently attends Boise State University, majoring in Kinesiology with a minor in Dance. After graduation, Bella hopes to continue dancing and teaching the next generation. With her degree, she wants to share the importance of injury prevention and maintaining health for dancers.
Bella trained and danced competitively at The Rage Dance Complex in Los Angeles, California. She trained in all styles of dance including ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, hip hop, and contemporary. In high school, she was a member of the Hart Dance Team and was captain her senior year. While competing with her studio and high school dance team, Bella was a member of the Tremaine Performance Company. This consisted of traveling nationally and working alongside a renowned faculty. Before attending Boise State, Bella was a member of the AZ Aces All-Star worlds team in Phoenix, AZ. She had the opportunity to be co-captain and compete against teams from around the world.
Bella is now a member of the Boise State Mane Line Dance Team, where she performs at sporting events and competes at NDA Nationals in both jazz and hip hop.
Boise Dance Alliance Teacher Skyler Wemple

Skyler Wemple

-Instructor-

Skyler Wemple grew up in San Luis Obispo, California, and she is now attending her first year at Boise State University studying psychology. She plans to go on to earn her doctorate of psychology emphasizing in child psychology. This is also Skyler’s first year with BDA.
Skyler was a principal dancer with the Civic Ballet where she took on many leading roles in ballets and contemporary shows. She has had a wide range of training in ballet, contemporary, lyrical, jazz, and hip hop. She spent two summers with Ballet West in Salt Lake City.
Skyler has also choreographed for numerous musicals in her home town as well as choreographed for her own company, and taught at intensives at her original studio.