MONTANA DANCE WORKS FACULTY
Ashley Nikolaisen
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Shauna Hollow
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ALEX CANAVAN
INSTRUCTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE Alex Canavan is a Butte native and lover of any and all art. Along with dance instruction Alex is a licensed Esthetician working out of Jade Hair Studio and Day Spa. She has a passion for helping others to feel great about themselves inside and out. Alex danced competitively with Dynamic Dance and Tumbling Academy starting in kindergarten and continuing through high school. Alex also studied dance at the University of Montana in Missoula. Alex has been involved with The Revolution Productions hair and fashion show going on five years now and loves anything to do with performing and stage life. When not working Alex enjoys time with her loving daughter and wonderful husband exploring Montana's rivers and forests. 
KOTIE DUNMIRE
INSTRUCTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE Kotie is very excited to be joining the Montana Dance Works family. Kotie has been involved with dance from a very young age with Michele Anderson’s school of dance. During college she was a member of the Daredevil Dance Team and the Montana Tech Cheerleaders. After college Kotie began teaching and choreographing for a local dance school before starting her career as a teacher. Over the last few years Kotie has watched her daughter Reese’s passion for dance grow at this studio! Kotie is excited to share her love of dance with the students! 
ERYNN METESH
MARKETING MANAGER/INSTRUCTOR/CUSTOMER SERVICE ROCK STAR Erynn is a Butte girl who started taking dance lessons at 3 years old. She joined Montana Dance Works as a student at 12 years old during their opening year and finished as a senior in high school in 2018. At Montana Dance Works, Erynn was given the opportunity to grow as a dancer, improve her skills, and create lifelong friendships. In 2019, Erynn taught and worked at the front desk at the studio while pursuing a business degree from Montana Tech. After graduating from Montana Tech in 2022, Erynn became the Marketing Manager of Montana Dance Works. Outside of the studio, Erynn enjoys traveling, learning about Butte history, and spending time at the lake with her family and friends. She is excited to be back at Montana Dance Works for another fun year! 
EMILY VINCENT
CUSTOMER SERVICE ROCK STAR Hi! My name is Emily Vincent I am 19 years old and going into my junior year at Montana Technological University. I am majoring in Cellular and Molecular Biology, in hopes of attending medical school once I graduate to become a pediatrician. One of my favorite classes I have taken at Montana Tech so far is Anatomy and Physiology. I have lived in Butte my whole life and danced from the age of 3 to 13, starting at Montana Dance Works their very first year, but pursuing sports after that. Some of my favorite activities include skiing, hiking, reading, and being around children. I cannot wait to meet all of you! 
HEIDI SCOTT
INSTRUCTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE Heidi studied and taught dance at a local studio in Western Massachusetts where she grew up. She went on to study dance at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, performing and choreographing for Alive with Dance and across the Five Colleges. Heidi completed summer dance intensives at Jacob’s Pillow, Ballet Hartford, Joffrey Ballet School, and NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Heidi is thrilled to teach dance at MDW and as part of our Butte community. By day, Heidi works on Business Process Analysis and holds a PhD in Education from the University of Idaho, MS in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Bachelor of Business Administration from UMass. Heidi believes in empowering students through the rigor and joy of dance and is honored to be an MDW instructor. 
WHITNEY JURENIC
INSTRUCTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE Whitney started dancing at the age of 4 and dance quickly became an early “true love” through childhood and into her competitive dance years at the Dynamic Dance and Tumbling Academy. Many of the lessons Whitney learned while dancing, such as confidence, determination, precision, and passion, built characteristics and an eventual foundation for her achievements in life. She joined the MDW team in 2020 and feels so fortunate to be able to share the love of dance. Whitney earned her B.S. in Environmental Engineering and is currently employed with NorthWestern Energy. She has a wonderfully spirited and daughter, Ava, who is often at the dance school and unconditionally supportive husband, Anthony. In her downtime, Whitney spends time rediscovering the outdoors, reading with a cup of tea, or spending precious time with family. To Shauna and Ashley, I thank you for this opportunity, to the kids, I can’t wait to meet you! 
MORGAN DICKINSON
INSTRUCTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE Morgan Dickinson was born and raised in Butte, Montana and is so excited to be back teaching at the studio she grew up dancing in. Morgan took dance classes starting at the age of 3. She began dancing at Montana Dance Works during their first season and continued until she graduated high school in 2020. Morgan trained in tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, hip hop, and tumbling at MDW. She also attended numerous dance conventions and workshops, learning and taking class from amazing instructors & choreographers for many years. During her time at MDW, she found her love for teaching through assisting a variety of classes and eventually teaching her own in high school. After graduating high school, Morgan attended the University of Montana to earn her degree in Elementary Education. While at UM, she taught a variety of classes at Studio M with ages ranging from 2-18 and was the Assistant Competition Company Director for 2 years. Morgan will be back in Butte student teaching in the 1st grade this fall and graduating in December. She is beyond excited to be back at Montana Dance Works and can’t wait to teach the amazing, talented students. |
NICOLLE STAGNOLI
INSTRUCTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE Nicolle studied competitive dance at the Dynamic Dance and Tumbling Academy from pre-school through high school. Since then she has spent time on the University of Montana Dance team and as a cheerleading coach here in Butte. Nicolle has been involved with Montana Dance Works since its inception; first teaching Booty Barre and then joining the teaching faculty in 2015. In addition to teaching at Montana Dance Works, Nicolle is a clinical pharmacist. She works at Anaconda Community Hospital and specializes in oncology. Nicolle lives in Butte with her husband Jake, daughters Lennox and Sutton, and son Thayer. Nicolle enjoys spending her free time in Seeley Lake or on a plane to anywhere! Nicolle is forever grateful for the life lessons and friendships that dance gave her. She is so appreciative of Shauna and Ashley for allowing her to continue to be a part of the dance community. She can’t wait to get to teach old and new faces this fall! 
ALAINA LITTLE
INSTRUCTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE Alaina started her dancing career as an Irish dancer, at the age of 12, at Tiernan. She continued with Irish dance until she was 14. She then went on to dance with Montana Dance Works. At the age of 15 she started taking Hip-Hop, which quickly became one of her favorites. She then added Tap, Jazz and Tumbling. She danced at Montana Dance Works until she graduated and then started teaching there. Some highlight of her dance career have been going to conventions such as Nuvo and 24/Seven, where she has met and gotten to take classes from some incredible instructors such as tWitch, Randi and Hefa, and so many more. Another highlight of hers has been all the relationships she’s built along the way, from her instructors to her dance family. She really appreciates the opportunity to continue her passion in dance and creating art. She is a certified personal trainer and BootyBarre instructor, and is very passionate about instructing strong dancers. 
MCKENZIE FAULKNER
INSTRUCTOR/CUSTOMER SERVICE ROCK STAR I am 22 years old. I have been involved in dance since I was three years old with DeeAnna Worley. This will be my second year working with Montana Dance Works. I am currently going to school at the University of Montana Western to double-major in Mathematics and Broad field General Science, Secondary Education as well as minoring in Special Education. My hobbies include hiking, paddle boarding, and reading. In my free time, I enjoy spending it with friends and family. I cannot wait to meet you all! 
RACHEL DEAN
INSTRUCTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE Rachel Dean is one of the current Combo Cuties Tap/Tumbling and tumbling teachers. She was born and raised in Butte, MT. She found an early passion for tumbling she started dancing at about 4 years old. Of all the areas of dance, tumbling quickly became her favorite, and she continued dancing until she graduated from Butte High School. After high school, she attended Carroll College to pursue her civil engineering degree. One of Rachel’s jobs in Helena included coaching tumbling at one of the local gymnastic gyms. Although no longer a student, she still enjoyed the sense of comradery that coaching gave her. After a couple of years in Helena, Rachel transferred to Montana State University. While in Bozeman, she, again, missed being part of a dance community and began cheerleading for the Bobcats until her last year in college. Upon graduating, Rachel moved to Seattle to begin her career as an engineer. Rachel worked for Turner Construction in Seattle for over three years working on various commercial construction projects. After a few years of being away from family and needing a slower pace, Rachel returned to Montana and now works full time at Northwestern Energy. She still loves the sense of community and fulfillment that dance has always brought her. 
MISTY WARNER
INSTRUCTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE Misty was born and raised in Butte and have settled my family here as well. She is a full time mom of 3 beautiful girls, a kindergarten teacher and a lover of dance! Misty's daughters have participated at MDW for 6 years and now she gets to join them as part of the instruction team. Misty has 16 years of dance experience and can't wait to continue it! Misty is looking forward to becoming part of the amazing team at Montana Dance Works! 
TOREE BENSON
INSTRUCTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE Toree received her BFA in Dance at The Dance Center of Colombia College Chicago. While living in Chicago, she taught at local studios, community centers, and high schools. Benson has presented work on The Dance Center Stage, Meraki Dance Company Showcase, and through the Marshall County Arts and Culture Alliance. She has performed at Camping Festival in Salt Lake City, and at Epcot in Disney World in Florida. Benson has worked alongside competitive dance teams in the Midwest and western states, She has been awarded regional and national awards for her choreography. As well as helped coach national champions. Bensons pedagogue style stems from floor work, release technique, and many others! She enjoys meeting new artists and students and being a small part in their ongoing artistic journey |