Halee Young Burge

In addition to over two decades of teaching experience across the country, Halee performed on the Utah Valley University Song ‘n Dance Company where she was privileged to perform on dance and theater scholarships and earn her degree. She has toured nationally and internationally with Encore Academy of Entertainment and with the company she founded at The Center for the Performing Arts. Halee was a featured soloist on the Utah Artists’ Ballet Company. She has been privileged to perform on cruise ships, at theme parks, and in professional venues such as Disney, Hale Center Theater, HBO, Ballet West, the 2002 Olympics, and more. Halee was a choreographer for the Jordan River Temple Rededication Celebration “Ready” and for 90&9’s original cirque musical “Fighter”. She has taught, choreographed, and judged in many venues such as America On Stage National Dance Competition, Trumbauer Theatre Competition, and the Arizona Adrenaline professional arena football dance team.

Meridith Ethington

Meridith received her ballet training at Lancaster School of Ballet and has danced in several Mountain West Ballet productions including The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, A Midsummer's Night Dream, and Alice in Wonderland. Her favorite roll was that of the Wicked Stepmother in Cinderella. She loves teaching and seeing her students grow and develop as dancers. She is excited to be back again for her 11th year at Kaleidoscope because she loves sharing her love of ballet with her students. Meridith also serves on the Executive Board of Mountain West Ballet and works as a Graphic Designer at the Natural History Museum of Utah.

Samantha Norr

Samantha is a dancer, choreographer, and educator with a strong foundation in modern dance. She holds a BA in Dance with an emphasis in choreography and performance from Brigham Young University–Idaho. She is currently attending the University of Utah as a graduate student in modern dance and education. Her professional experience includes work as a company dancer and choreographer with Wasatch Contemporary Dance Company, a dancer in small projects for Velocity Dance Center, and most recently a choreographer and board member of Mid-Columbia Contemporary Dance.

Samantha has over 8 years of teaching experience across studios, universities, and community programs. Her work emphasizes accessible, curriculum driven training and expressive  movement. She is committed to creating inclusive dance spaces and continuing her growth as an artist and educator.

Kristina Goldhardt

Kristina began dancing at the age of 4. When she was 8, she trained in classical ballet from Gretchen Rowe. Kristina continued her dance education at UVU on scholarship. Under the direction of Dr. Li Lei, she continued her studies dancing a variety of genres at Dixie State University on scholarship from 2010-2013. There she developed a love for contemporary dance. While at Dixie, she was awarded: Student of the Semester for Dance, Outstanding Choreographer, and Outstanding Dancer. Kristina has spent over twenty years training, performing leading roles, and choreographing for various companies and productions throughout Utah and has enjoyed teaching for the past ten years. In 2016 Kristina earned her B.S. from the University of Utah. She now resides in Salt Lake City with her husband and 4 children. Kristina loves teaching here at Kaleidoscope Dance and would like to thank her husband and parents for the endless support throughout the years.

Brendan Baker

When Brendan was twelve years old, he joined a Ballroom class with his friend because they needed boys. Little did he understand how quickly he would find himself completely addicted to dance. After two years, he auditioned for a more competitive company and stayed with that company until he graduated high school. He was able to help his team achieve three second-place national titles while he danced with this company, earning the company’s reputation as one of the best ballroom studios in the country. 

After graduating High School he discontinued his serious study of ballroom to study more styles. At Brigham Young University-Idaho, he was able to learn and fall in love with many different styles including Folk, Tap, Clog, Irish, and Modern. His love and experience in many different styles has made Brendan a very versatile dancer and choreographer. His goal is to share the versatility and variety of dance through dancers from many different backgrounds. Brendan has performed with Hale Center Theatre in Mary Poppins, Seussical the Musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, and A Light in the Piazza. Brendan is a member of Percussive Footworks Ensemble and has taught for Kaleidoscope for 5 years.

Jessica Larsson

Jessica has been dancing pretty much her whole life.  She started at age 3, training at the Academy of Ballet Arts where she studied ballet and pointe. She was also a member of Hillcrest High School's Dance Company where she was introduced to, and fell in love with contemporary dance! She went on to receive more training in ballet, modern and tap from Southern Utah University and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in dance performance in 2010. While at SUU she was on Orchesis Dance Company and performed in student and faculty dance concerts each year. She has enjoyed teaching dance since 2014 and is excited to continue her teaching journey here at Kaleidoscope!

Paige Haglund

 Paige is an experienced and passionate dance instructor with over 16 years of training and performance experience across a variety of styles, including ballet, pointe, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, modern, clogging, toddler ballet, and toddler tumbling. She began her dance journey at the age of 4 at Elite Dance Studio and competed from ages 8–18, earning numerous awards. In addition, Paige participated in her school’s dance company and had the opportunity to perform at BYU’s Stadium of Fire. Her love for teaching extends beyond the dance floor as she pursues a degree in Elementary Education at the University of Utah. Paige is thrilled to be on the Kaleidoscope staff and loves working with all of the amazing students!

Miranda Brock

Miranda was born and raised in Cedar Hills, Utah. At a young age, she started tap dancing at the local recreation center. She always jokes that the only thing she did during tap performances was run onto the stage, stomp her feet, and then run off. But, the gold and red tutu with her permed hair were really cute. 

At the age of 5, Miranda began dancing for Utah Regional Ballet, now Utah Metropolitan Ballet. She trained under Jaqueline College and her daughters, Heather and Brittany. Along with ballet she became versed in Jazz, Modern, and Contemporary. During this time, Miranda performed in Utah County’s largest production of the Nutcracker in a variety of different roles. 

After 15 years of ballet training, Miranda became eager for more training in a different style. She began dancing for Ballroom Universe under champion Ray Backlund. Within the first year, Miranda was asked to join the highest-ranking team at the studio. The following year she competed in Open Smooth and placed 6th at the National Amateur Dancesport Championships. Out of 30+ couples, Miranda credits this moment to her years of ballet training. 

Miranda graduated from the University of Utah with B.S in Human Development and Family Studies. Throughout College, she continued to train in Ballroom, Modern, Contemporary, and Ballet. She has taught and substituted at several studios across Utah Valley. 

Miranda currently lives in Sandy with her husband, Thomas, and her son 3 sons. She also loves the Utah mountains, paddle boarding, playing cards, rock climbing, and a good movie night.

Abbie Mathews

Abbie has been dancing since the age of 4 and was on the performing team at her studio. She started dancing competitively at the age of 10 and has earned many awards and titles.  Abbie has trained in ballet, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, tap, and lyrical.  She loves all dance genres, but her favorite is hip hop!  She was on her high school dance team for three years and choreographed many dances for them.  She continues to choreograph for the high school dance team.  Abbie was part of a mentorship program at “The House” and was privileged to work with working choreographers in the dance industry.  Abbie has been in dance music videos and commercials and has performed at several award ceremonies, Knotts Berry Farm, Disneyland, and Ventura County Fair.  Abbie was part of the UVU Dance Team and currently performs with the University of Utah Dance Team. She wants to pass her joy and passion for dance to her students and is grateful for the opportunity to teach.

Kennedi Hansen

 KennediI grew up in Sandy, met her husband at Indian hills, and graduated from Alta High School in 2017. She went to BYU and graduated with a degree in Early Childhood Education with a minor in Dual Language Immersion. Kennedi served a LDS mission in Querétaro, Mexico and learned Spanish. 

She began dancing at age 3 with ballet being the favorite style.. Kennedi performed in a number of ballets during her years at Wasatch Arts Center. She performed as the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, and Alice in Alice in Wonderland! She took ballet at Kaleidoscope my senior year of high school and loved the community and values found here.  

The past couple years, Kennedi lived in Saratoga Springs with her husband and 2 year old daughter. During this time, she taught a variety of dance classes at Uplift Performing Arts! She is so excited to continue teaching here at Kaleidoscope. 

Macy Sackewitz

 Macy has been dancing since the age of three and has trained in ballet, jazz, contemporary, and tap. She has performed/choreographed with the Indian Hills Dance Company and the Alta High School Cheer Squad, and is a regular performer in Mountain West Ballet's annual production of The Nutcracker, appearing in a variety of roles.

Macy has developed a love for teaching through six summers as a dance camp assistant and two years assisting ballet classes. She enjoys working with young dancers and helping them build confidence while developing a love of dance. She has also choreographed numerous school projects, allowing her creativity and leadership to shine.

A dedicated student with a 4.0 GPA, Macy enjoys tumbling, drawing, reading, hiking, watching movies, and spending time with friends. She recently had the opportunity to travel throughout China as a student ambassador, an experience that broadened her perspective and appreciation for different cultures. Macy is excited to share her enthusiasm for tap dance with her students and create a fun, encouraging classroom where every dancer can grow.