Meet Our Dance Impressions Faculty!
“behind every dancer who believes in themself is a teacher who believed in them first”
KANDEE ALLEN
Kandee started the national award-winning dance studio, Dance Impressions, along with her Mother, Vivian Colobella, on a whim in 1990.
For over 30 years, she has been building her students a strong foundation of discipline, dedication and hard work, while instilling a love for the art of dance. She began her training at a very young age, and immediately began performing her talents in a tap dancing company. Kandee progressed into classical ballet, studying at the Murray Ballet Center, Royal School of Ballet and Ballet West Academy. Through a host of amazing teachers and choreographers, she began honing a critical eye for detail and exploring creativity through dance composition. She has had the honor to showcase her work in the 2002 Emmy Award-Winning Winter Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies; the opening numbers for the 2002 Paralympic Games and Spotlight Dance Cup Nationals; as well as for the Murray Arts Council; and the Ms. Wheelchair Utah and Miss America Pageants. Kandee has also served as lead choreographer for numerous award-winning high school drill teams, dance companies, cheer teams and musicals. She entertains a strong passion for musical theater and was inducted for excellence in the arts to Tayolorsville High School’s Theater Hall of Fame.
In 2002, Kandee Allen co-founded Art with Heart, a benefit concert for Shriner’s Hospital, to which over $500,000 in proceeds have been donated to date.
Kandee is mother to terrific kids (some are now adults!) and adores spending time with them. She thoroughly loves supporting each of them in the sporting events, musicals and performances that they individually love.
MALLORIE LOVE JOHNS
Mallorie began training at Dance Impressions at the age of twelve. She went on to college at Brigham Young University and danced as a BYU Cougarette while pursuing her love of dance through a degree. With a Bachelor’s of Arts in Dance and a minor degree in Business, she came back to Dance Impressions and is now a co-owner, grateful to be with her home studio, doing what she absolutely loves. In addition to her extensive training in dance, “Mal” is Acrobatic Arts certified, a specific designation ensuring safe and progressive education in the studio.
Mal is married to her supportive husband, Matt and mommy to the cutest little studio favorites, Henry, Goldie and Birdie!
Autumn Roberts is the Creative Director over all productions. She has a beautiful talent in choreography and has been doing what she loves and teaching for over 22 years. Autumn is certified in Paula Morgan Technique and has instituted the visionary program — enhancing strength, flexibility and movement — into many of the classes at Dance Impressions. Autumn is the mother to the cutest little boys Axton and Ezra!
McKenzie Kasteler has been dancing since she was 3 years old. She is trained in ballet, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, and lyrical. She grew up dancing at Dance Impressions and was also a member of the Bountiful High School Mandonelles for 3 years. Through both experiences, McKenzie has worked with many professional choreographers and dancers, as well as attended many conventions and competitions around the country. She is currently an assistant coach for the award-winning drill team at Bountiful High School and is also our current Training Troupe and Petite Comp Coordinator. McKenzie is thrilled to be sharing her love and passion of dance by teaching at Dance Impressions.
Amber Miller was an Artist with Ballet West for 8 years and retired in 2023. She first started her training in all styles of dance, until focusing solely on ballet. At age 11, Amber was chosen to perform in George Balanchine’s “Mozartiana,” with the American Ballet Theater on their Texas tour. Amber trained at the Texas Ballet Theater School under the direction of Fiona Fairrie, Anna Donovan, and Ben Stevenson.
She competed in the Youth America Grand Prix and received first place in both the classical and contemporary categories. At 15, she moved to New York City to train full time at Ellison Ballet - Professional Training Program, under the direction of Edward Ellison. After graduating, Amber moved to St. Petersburg, Russia, to join Eifman Ballet as a corps de ballet dancer. She was the second American ever to join the company, and she toured extensively around the world performing many of Boris Eifman’s ballets including; “Onegin,” “I, Don Quixote,” “Anna Karenina,” “Tchaikovsky,” “Red Giselle,” and the world premiere of “Rodin” in St. Petersburg, as well as in the movie production of the ballet. Amber was also on the cover of “Ряо Танеч”, a popular dance magazine in Russia. Once she joined Ballet West, she performed in numerous productions by John Cranko, Sir Fredrick Ashton, George Balanchine, William Christensen, Jerome Robbins, Bronislava Nijinska, Ben Stevenson, Edwaard Liang, Katlyn Addison, and Adam Sklute. A few of her favorites have been “Onegin,” by John Cranko, one of the Big Swans in Adam Sklute's "Swan Lake," as well as one of the Diamond Demi Soloists in George Balanchine’s “Jewels.”
Fred Lee has danced and performed throughout the state of Utah as well as around the Mountain West. He got his start in ballroom dance at UVU (then UVSC) as a member of their touring team in 2002. He taught ballroom at numerous Junior High, High School, and dance studios across the Wasatch Front. He’s performed with multiple companies in Utah including Creative Arts Academy, Hale Center Theater, Children's Theater of Salt Lake, Rogers Memorial Theater, Scera Theater, Centerpoint Legacy Theater, The Capitol Theater, and Off Broadway Theater. He’s also been a featured performer for Ballet West, Modern Display, and Scenemakers.
Mr. Lee is trained in Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Modern, Tap, and most of all in Ballroom dance. He is very excited to pass along his experiences and love for dance onto students!
Aislynn Grant grew up in Kaysville, Utah and trained at Dance Impressions under the direction of Kandee Allen and Mallorie Johns. She was president of the ensemble team and participated on her high school dance company. She recently graduated from Farmington High School with honors and is now attending the University of Utah to further her education.
Aislynn is currently dancing with Continuum Dance Company. She has the opportunity to assist with the Neuroworx adaptive dance program and works as a choreography assistant. She is so excited to start teaching at DI this year!
Dallas Gardner has been associated with Dance Impressions since 1996, both as a student and member of our faculty. She is the Artistic Coordinator and Team/ recreational teacher. She attended Weber State University in the Criminal Justice program and danced on Weber State’s Spirit Squad for three years. She also nannied for over seven years and thoroughly loves children. Dallas is married to Josh Gardner and together they have three beautiful children: Aubrey, Beckham and Burkley.
Ashlee Christensen has been dancing and teaching at Dance Impressions for 13 years. Prior to finding her home at Dance Impressions, she trained with Janet Gray where she first fell in love with Tap. She has also studied Jazz, Ballet, Hip Hop and Tumbling. During High school Ashlee was a member of the Chatelles and the Woods Cross High Dance Company. Ashlee participated in many national conventions and competitions around the country, receiving multiple scholarships in tap. Her greatest joys are her Husband Paul, Daughter Emma, and her two four legged pups.
Hayley Peay began dancing at Dance Impressions when she was five years old. She was trained in multiple styles and quickly gained a love for dance and performing. That loved for dance lead her to the University of Utah where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Modern Dance, with a minor in Health Education.
Some of her accomplishments include dancing and cheering on school teams, performing in Ballet West’s production of The Nutcracker as “Clara,” a featured dancer in Disney’s High School Musical 3, and has taught and choreographed for many different high school dance and cheer teams across Utah. She has been teaching at the studio for 15 years and loves sharing her passion for dance with her students.
Although, her greatest accomplishments include her 3 darling daughters who are all currently dancers at Dance Impressions, and her husband Matt.
Alyssa King is a professional dancer, instructor, and choreographer located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Alyssa has been dancing for over 17 years, and has over 6 years of professional performance and teaching experience. She graduated from the University of Utah in 2023, where she received her BFA in Modern Dance, and a minor in Public Health. There, she performed for and worked with inspirational dance artists including Laja Field and Martin Durov from LAJAMARTIN Physical Dance Theatre, Natalie Desch, Eric Handman, Molly Heller, Elliot Keller and many others. She also has performed professionally for BYU ballet, and Houston Contemporary Dance Company, alongside incredible dance creators including Rachel Barker and Avree Walker.
Alyssa fell in love with teaching shortly after High School, choreographing for competitive teams and solos. While creating for competition dancers and then throughout college, her choreography has won various awards including a Choreographic award for her piece “Empty Places,”in 2019, and has been selected for films,“Presence,”in 2023, and “Triptych,”in 2021. She continued her love for teaching throughout college where she taught and guest taught in various ballet programs including Jean Taylor’s Studio 1, Utah Dance Institute, Prodigy Dance Academy, Just Dance Studio, Starz Unlimited Dance Studio, and Kinetic Movement Center. Her ballet classes center around maintaining strong technique while fostering a positive environment and relationship with her students. Alyssa is so excited to be with Dance Impressions, and looks forward to seeing her students progress and smiling faces every week.
Grace Barkdull grew up training at Dance Impressions for 10 years. She was the dance captain of her ensemble team at Dance Impressions. Grace is currently a student at UVU for her second year. After graduating high school she went and danced on the UVU dance team from 2022-2023. Grace is currently dancing pre-professionally with Continuum Dance Company. She is very excited to teach at the same studio she danced at this year!
Nikole Black is a native of Bountiful, Utah where she grew up training at Dance Impressions under the direction of Kandee Allen and Vivian Colobella. As a member and captain of the Bountiful High School Drill Team and Dance Company, Nikole won a number of team and individual state and national titles. After graduating in 2013 Nikole accepted the position of assistant coach for the Bountiful High School Mandonelles where they went on to win 2 more state titles.
Nikole has had the opportunity to teach and choreograph throughout Utah, the United States, and Kenya. Here at Dance Impressions where she teaches children of all ages and skill levels proper technique and self expression. She has also co-founded an adaptive dance program to children with neurological disabilities. Nikole has worked with the Utah Jazz Dancers and University of Minnesota Dance Team. She was a member of the performing stilt group, Elevate, under the direction of Jan Whittaker. Nikole has performed in multiple dance films by Loren Picciarelli, Jessie James, and Kenzie Nimmo, a local recording artist. Nikole was the assistant Directer and dancer on Divinity Dance Company, directed and founded by Krissie Edwards.
Nikole attends the University of Utah where she continues to pursue two Bachelor's degrees. She will be graduating with degrees in Psychology and Family, Community, and Human Development in December of 2023. She will then continue on to obtain her Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
Nikole loves to golf, her partner Brandon, her family and her puppy Pip. Most importantly, Nikole strives to encourage those around her to realize and understand how dope they truly are!
Lisa Fifield was born and raised in Roberts, Idaho. She was a small town girl who dreamed of becoming a ballerina and traveling the world.
At the age of 16, Lisa was accepted into the University of Utah's Ballet Department where she performed with the Utah Ballet Company, Ballet West Conservatory, Ballet West Company and the Joffrey Ballet in New York City. Upon graduation with a BFA in Ballet Performance, Lisa became China's first-ever American ballerina and toured and performed throughout China with the Guangzhou Ballet Company. She has taught ballet to students ages 3 to 18 for almost 20 years.
Lisa's students often attribute their strength, endurance and success in ballet to Lisa's unremitting attention to detail and dedication to helping each student achieve their fullest potential. Lisa is fluent in Mandarin-Chinese and enjoys a full and happy life with her amazing husband Nathan and their two beautiful daughters, Kate and Jane.
Jamison Allen grew up dancing at Dance Impressions where he trained in all styles of dance. He had many performing opportunities including dancing for six years in leading youth roles with Ballet West in the Nutcracker and three years with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as a featured dancer and tumbler in their world famous Christmas Concerts, and one year with Odyssey Dance in “Thriller”.
He then found a new passion, basketball. After 6 years of traveling the US to play basketball, running track, playing Varsity basketball and football for his high school, he finally returned to his true talent, dance. Being one of the first male performers for the Utah Jazz Dancers was a great experience. It was the perfect way to blend his two favorite pastimes, basketball and dance.
Other dance opportunities for Jamo include television, theater and film, including Dear Dumb Diary (dancer), High School Musical, the musical, the series (dancer), Dwight In Shining Armor (featured dancer), Hairspray (Seaweed), backup dancer for numerous artists, performances, videos and shows throughout Utah, and being a part of the National production “Graduate Together” with LeBron James. Jamo has performed and competed on stages from LA to NYC and everywhere in between. Though he has trained in tap, ballet, jazz, acro and contemporary, he is most at home with Hip Hop. He loves the diversity, style, music, movement and variety that hip hop offers.
Tarryn Aubuchon thoroughly enjoyed her ballet, jazz and lyrical training in Las Vegas. Her favorite memory was dancing with the Moscow Ballet for two seasons of the Nutcracker. She earned her undergraduate from BYU and taught in BYU’s Jazz Department for three years while also teaching and choreographing for studios in Utah County. She furthered her studies in London studying International Business and taught ballet classes to young primary children. Currently she works full time in product development for a casual luxury home brand, teaches dance in the evenings, and mostly loves being Bristol’s mom and is continuously supported by her husband Jeremiah.
Kelsie Lyberrt has been a student and teacher at Dance Impressions for over 19 years —
since she was 3-years old!
In addition to her time spent at Dance Impressions, Kelsie was active for two years as a Mandonelle on the Bountiful High School award-winning state championship drill team and was also selected as an All-State Drill Team recipient.
After high school, Kelsie attended Snow College, playing volleyball on an athletic scholarship and also taught dance at Roy High School.
Kelsie is our one of our beloved Competitive Troupe Coordinators. And the beloved momma to Lacie & Riggs, wife to Austin!
Lydia Smith started dancing at the age of 7 with Kim Luke at Artistic Endeavours Dance, continued her training at Salt Lake Dance Center and the Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts, and is currently working towards her BFA in Modern Dance at the University of Utah.
During her time at the University of Utah, she has trained under professionals such as Sara Pickett, Daniel Clifton, Natalie Desch, and other esteemed faculty and graduate students. She has performed in works by Rena Butler, Ephrat Asherie, and Natosha Washington, and collaborated with other students in creative works. She has also had the opportunity to attend workshops and intensives with artists and companies such as Ririe Woodbury and Repertory Dance Company. She is highly interested in story-driven and environment-based work, and is currently researching those concepts at the University.
Nikki Garner was one of the first dancers to be trained at Dance Impressions and it quickly became her second home. Now, 30 plus years later, she can’t imagine her life without the studio and people she considers her dance family.
Nikki trained in all styles of dance and had the opportunity to travel the country where she competed and took class from some of the best in the industry. In high school she was on the drill team and dance company where she held leadership roles as co-captain and choreographer while continuing on a competitive team at Dance Impressions. She also auditioned and performed with Ballet West in the Nutcracker.
Nikki has traveled throughout the state as a judge for dance competitions, drill team auditions, and cheerleading tryouts. She traveled the U.S. as a judge and master class teacher with Spotlight Dance Cup for multiple years. She coached two Davis County school cheerleading teams, winning multiple state titles and receiving top leadership and execution awards. Nikki has also been a dance teacher to private school students as well as home schooled students in Davis County as part of their curriculum. In 2006, she held the title of Mrs. Davis County and she has assisted with production and choreography for the Junior Miss and Mrs. Utah pageant programs.
Nikki is honored to be a lifelong Dance Impressions alumni and is excited to be teaching again after taking some time off to raise (and drive to endless rehearsals) her four girls. Nikki enjoys spending her free time with her husband Justin and their daughters.
