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MELANIE WALKER - STUDIO DIRECTOR /INSTRUCTOR
Melanie Walker, originally from Centerville, Utah grew up dancing at Centerville Academy under the direction of Marjorie Mitchell, who was a principle dancer with Ballet West. She has trained extensively in ballet, jazz, lyrical and contemporary. She was a member of the Viewmont Vykelles for 2 consecutive years where she served as president. She was also a member of the All - State Drill Team her Senior year. Melanie attended Brigham Young University on a dance scholarship and was a member of the Brigham Young University Cougarettes for 3 years where she served as President. Melanie then became a BYU Songleader for her Senior year. In 1991, Melanie was featured as a back up dancer in a music video with the Osmond Brothers. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance, Melanie found her true passion in teaching. She began teaching at Center Stage Studio in Orem and Centerville Academy. She also taught Beginning Jazz 131 at Brigham Young University. In 2002, Melanie opened her own studio called "The Turning Place". In addition to teaching at the studio, Melanie was the Head Drill Coach at Viewmont High School for 10 years. She was awarded 5A Coach of the Year 2021 by the Utah High School Athletic Association . With over 30 years of teaching experience and a sincere love for the art form, Melanie is thrilled to open Project Move and give back to the community that has been her home for years. Special thanks to her husband Mark, for his constant love and support.
KAYLA BAGSHAW - COMPETITION DIRECTOR/DANCE INSTRUCTOR
Kayla Bagshaw, originally from Centerville, Utah began her training at The Turning Place and Dance Impressions. She has trained extensively in ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary and hip-hop. She has danced with some of the industry’s best including Travis Wall, Mandy Moore, Dee Caspary, Stacey Tookey, Mia Michaels, Jaci Royal, Jen Pendleton, Chantel Aguirre, and Suzi Taylor to name a few. She also trained at Broadway Dance Center in New York City and the Edge Performing Art studio in L.A for several years. She has received numerous performing awards including West Coast Dance Explosion Elite Dancer, Triple Threat Award from New York City Dance Alliance, Celebrity and Spotlight Dance Down Winner and numerous 1st place solo awards. She was crowned Miss Drill International 2011 and Miss Drill Utah 2012. She was a finalist in the state Dance Sterling Scholar program, a member of NDA’s All American Dance Team for 4 consecutive years and a finalist for KSL television’s R U Talented. Her choreography for both soloists and teams has received several awards from various competitions including “Best Choreography” from The Countdown, Utah Dance Fest, Idaho Invitational, Hollywood Vibe and Nuvo. Her choreography has also received many first place trophies and Judges Choice Awards at a number of competitions throughout the U.S. She was a member of the 16-time Nationally Ranked BYU Cougarettes for four consecutive years where she served as Head Dance Captain. Kayla graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance Performance from Brigham Young University. She taught for 5 years as an instructor for Precision Dance Camps (PDC) . Kayla was a member of “Divinity”, a professional dance company based in Salt Lake City. Most recently Kayla was the head coach of the Vykelles at Viewmont High School where the team recently brought home Region and State Titles. Kayla was awarded 5A Coach of the Year 2022 by the Utah High School Athletic Association.
BRITTANY ANDERSON - COMPETITION DIRECTOR/DANCE INSTRUCTOR
Brittany has been dancing since the age of 3, receiving scholarships at conventions such as NYCDA, LA Dance Magic, Inspire, and Dance Attack. Brittany then went to BYU and studied Music Dance Theatre, a triple major in singing, dancing, and acting. She earned a talent agent in New York City and decided to move there and further her teaching and choreography. Upon returning home, she taught at BYU for 6 years as Adjunct Faculty and now has joined the University of Utah's adjunct faculty in the Ballet Department. Brittany has received numerous choreography awards from both local and national competitions including the prestigious "Critics Choice" award from NYCDA. Brittany continues to perform when she can and loves to teach. Brittany is also the assistant drill coach at Viewmont High School.
ABBY HARMISON - BALLET DIRECTOR
,Abby originally from Bountiful, Utah grew up dancing at Clytie Adams School of Ballet. She fell in love with ballet immediately and performed various roles in The Nutcracker for ten years. She served in the presidency of the Woods Cross High Dance Company and participated in summer intensives with Ballet West, the University of Utah and Brigham Young University while she was in high school.
Abby graduated from Southern Utah University with a degree in Dance Performance as well as a Bachelor’s in Exercise Science. During her time in school she trained in ballet, modern, jazz, contemporary and tap. She served in the presidency of the Orchesis Dance Company, and showcased choreography and performed in the Student and Faculty Dance Concerts. She was selected by guest artists from Ririe Woodbury and Repertory Dance Theatre, as well as worked with proficient choreographers such as Charlotte Boye-Christensen, Megan Brunsvold, and Kay Andersen. She performed in the American Collegiate Dance Associationconference four times traveling to Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. She also was selected all five years of school to perform repertory from the American Folk Balletfounded by Burch Mann. She performed leading roles with the Cedar City Junior Ballet in Coppelia, The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderellaand A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Abby has been teaching dance since her graduation from SUU in 2016 and has been with Project Move since 2017. She feels immensely blessed to be able to share her love of this art form with so many, and work with the amazing teachers and students of Project Move.
ANELISE LEISHMAN - BALLET INSTRUCTOR
Originally from the Boston area, Anelise (Lise) fell in love with ballet at the Carver Dance Center in Massachusetts and completed her early training at the Boston Ballet School. As a young student, she performed in professional productions with Boston Ballet, including George Balanchine's A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and in a credited role in Disney's 2007 film The Game Plan. Lise also trained at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, The Brookline Ballet School, and Eglevsky Ballet before attending Brigham Young University.
At BYU, Lise was a member of the university's top ballet performing company, BYU Theatre Ballet. Notable roles include lead corps in George Balanchine's Walpurgisnacht Ballet, soloist in Gerald Arpino's Reflections, Bournonville's Flower Festival in Genzano pas de deux, Princess Florine in the Bluebird pas de deux in Sleeping Beauty, and other classical, neoclassical, and contemporary ballet works. Lise performed with Theatre Ballet on campus, on tour throughout the United States, and at festivals such as Regional Dance America (RDA), American College Dance Association (ACDA), and The Ballet Alliance. She also trained in ballet pedagogy and reformer Pilates while at BYU.
After graduating in 2020 with a BA in English and a minor in Ballet, Lise performed administrative work for BYU's Department of Dance and currently works as a writer and editor. She is thrilled to embark on her teaching career at Project Move and pass on her love for ballet to the next generation of young dancers.
HEATHER ALLEN - INSTRUCTOR
Growing up, Heather trained at and graduated from The Bountiful School of Ballet. Heather was a cheerleader all through junior high and high school and cheered at the collegiate level. She was a member of her high school dance company and served as co-president. For her work, she was awarded one of two scholarships given statewide to the Repertory Dance Theatre and has attended classes from choreographers such as Chara Huckins-Malaret, the late Janet Grey, Joe Tremaine, Jeff Amsden, Lauralyn Kofford, and the Bountiful School of Ballet faculty. She also continues her dance education through studying notes given at the NUVO teacher seminars.
Heather began her coaching career at the age of seventeen as a cheer coach; four years at South Davis Junior High and five years at Woods Cross High. She continues her work teaching master classes and providing choreography for local school cheer, drill, dance company, and color guard teams.
She began her teaching career as a dance instructor at The Bountiful School of Ballet and then moved onto her current teaching position as the ballet director at Studio 1 (Jean Taylor) where she has been teaching since 2003, and she is excited to begin a new teaching journey at Project Move
ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTORS AND BIOS COMING SOON -
WE CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO SEE WHO HAS JOINED OUR MOVE FAMILY