Meet The Instructors:

Lynn Palermo began dancing after having been a competitive gymnast for seven years. She has trained with Dayton Ballet II Senior Company in Dayton, Ohio, directed by Karen and Dermot Burke, where she performed in ballets such as Romeo and Juliet, A Christmas Carol, and An American Cinderella. Lynn also danced with the Gary Geis Dance Company in Springfield, Ohio, for four years. She moved to Salt Lake City, in 2005 to dance with Odyssey II under the direction of Bonnie Story where she performed in Thriller, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Shut up and Dance. Lynn is an experienced choreographer and has choreographed for the University of Dayton Dance Ensemble, Whittenberg University Dance Team, Bryant Middle School, and Gary Geis Dance Company, among others. Lynn is well rounded in every style of dance including: jazz, hip hop, ballet, breakdance contemporary, and tap.

Stefany Seitz: She is currently dancing with Murray High School’s Dance Company. She has taken periodic ballroom classes, and has trained at the Ballet Center for the past 11 years, where she has learned the Vaganova (Russian) method of ballet. They performed Ebenazer Scrooge this year. She has done many different dance camps, her favorite was The BYU Advanced Summer Intensive Production with the Utah Light Opera. “I love dancing and wish to continue for as long as possible.”  Stefany is now attending the University of Utah, and will be dancing for one of the local Ballet companies.

Heather Cashmore: Trained in dance for 12 years. Training in Jazz, lyrical/modern, hip-hop, pointe, tap, tumbling, and stomp. Trained with many professional choreographers such as: Shane Sparks, Mario Valez, Cati Dallas, Derryl Yeager, Bill Bohl, Tre Barber, Nick Lazzarini, Lissette Butamante, Zach Woodlee, Robert Schutlz, Shannon Hendiy, Ray Leeper, Dee Caspary, Nick Bass, Mandy Moore, Bonnie Story, Angie Sellers. Assisted Mario Velez, and Sara Jo Fazio. Has performed for FOX TV, Odyssey Dance Theatre, Various professional halftimes nationwide, and Kelly Clarkston. Heather is a member of Utah’s Pinnacle Dance team for Utah’s new Flash NBA development basketball team, and she is currently the choreographer for the Utah Saints Dance Company.

Marcy Muren: Has taught: ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, and competitive teams since 1991. She was the Head of Dance Staff for DANCEWORKS USA for 3 years. She has also taught Adult Jazz and fitness classes. She performed in BYU’s productions of Children of Eden, Carousel, Hay Fever, Impromptu and Prometheus Bound. She has a Bachelors of Arts degree in Theater and Film, with an emphasis in Dance and Music. She also was a volunteer for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City.

Laurel McRae has been dancing for the last 12 years and loves it. She has experience in jazz, tap, lyrical, hip hop, and ballet. She has many first place and high point awards for her efforts. She has performed in the Dickens Festival and at Disneyland. She was a dancer in the 2002 Winter Olympics where she performed jazz, lyrical and tap routines. She is an experienced choreographer for the Copper Hills Dance Team, where they performed at sporting events and assemblies. She also helped choreographed numbers that were used in a National Modeling Competition in Los Angeles, CA. She has choreographed many competition pieces that have placed in the top 95%, earning High Point, First place, and Best of Show awards.

Jolynn Unsworth: Trained at Collette’s Dance Studio for 12 years. Was a member of the Kearns Jr High and Evergreen High school Dance teams. Took first place out of 82 teams in Seattle Washington in the state competitions. Has attended many summer training camps as well as participated in various competitions and performances with the Evergreen Sweet-E’s. Has worked in early childhood development for the past 6 years as well as continuing her dance education through private study and community classes. Is very happy to be able to combine the two joys in her life to help create wonderful little dancers.

Melissa Simar has loved the art of dance since the age of 2 when she participated in her first combo class, at Collette’s Dancing School where she trained for 15 years. She has trained in Jazz, Tap Ballet, Lyrical and Character dance. She has continued her training in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and North Hollywood, with such teachers as Wade Robson, Doug Caldwell, Michael Rooney and Joe Tremaine. She had her own studio in her home, called Dancing Toes Dance Studio, for pre-school age children. She has been a competition judge, so knows how to choreograph for successful performances. Melissa has been teaching for the last 10 years, teaching combo classes, assisting in top competition teams and choreographing many solos. Next to being a mother to her own little ballerina, dancing and teaching is Melissa’s passion.

Kalli Halliday-Parkin has been dancing for over twenty years with a strong background in tap, modern and jazz. Kalli has also studied and performed many other styles of dance, such as ballet, hip hop, African, salsa, and caporiea (Brazilian Martial Arts) Kalli danced and competed at the Winner School and then later at Becky's School of Dance and she trained in gymnastics at Hunt's Gymnastic Academy. Kalli attended Copper Hills High School where she was a cheerleader for two years and then an officer for the dance company. Kalli attended SLCC and was on the SLCC Dance company for four years where she was the president. Kalli plans to finish her dance degree at the U of U but has set those plans on hold while she is a stay at home mom. Kalli loves kids and has a natural talent for teaching especially when it comes to dance. Kalli currently dances with Salt Lake Tap and enjoys staying up to date with new styles of dance.

Natalie Escobar-Pentico has been dancing since she could walk. She began her dance training at Carrousel Dance. Started choreographing at a young age for several talent shows, church and community events. She was on the Copper Hills High School Dance Company for three years. She was also a part of the Ballroom Club her senior year. She was on the Salt Lake Community College Dance Company, and was accepted to the Walt Disney Internship in Orlando FL as a character performer. She returned to SLCC Dance Company and choreographed many works there as well. She is currently working to receive her Bachelors Degree in Modern Dance at the University of Utah. Natalie has had many opportunities to dance with professional choreographers and attended professional dance workshops to learn dance techniques. She is trained in ballet, jazz, hip hop, African, ballroom, stomp lyrical and of course modern.

Axis Dance Center
3658 West 9800 South
South Jordan, Utah 84095
801-282-0010