A bit more about Emily:

Emily is originally from Visalia, California, but moved to Waconia at the age of 14. She has been dancing since she was 3 years old, focusing primarily on ballet up until high school where she discovered tap, jazz, and modern. In high school, she actually took classes from Melissa!

In 2022, she graduated from the University of Northwestern - St. Paul where she studied both mechanical engineering and dance, under the mentorship of Jolene Konkel. Throughout college, she enjoyed being a part of various theater productions (her favorite roles being a newsie in Newsies! and Tinkerbell in Peter Pan), and also led their student dance company. After graduating, she danced with BarreDanza in Ensenada, Mexico and was recently a part of DanceCo’s production of Dance Around Minnesota. She has taught dance at Waconia Center for Dance Arts, NorthEast Dance Center, and Parkside Church, and has subbed at a variety of other studios around the Twin Cities.

Emily now works full-time in downtown Minneapolis as a mechanical engineer and is a part of the team that designs the MSP airport. She is thrilled to be teaching in Waconia again and very excited to be a member of 8:20 Dance Company - Cultivate's company in residence.