I began dancing at Dance Dimension (Paul and Michelle Wilding) and I DID NOT like it! I quit TWICE before finally being dragged by some friends to watch the BYU Ballroom Tour Team in concert--where I watched in amazement as the Phantom of the Opera Medley magically changed costumes before my very eyes! I caught the ballroom bug right then and there...Rick and Melissa made my heart skip a beat and I have loved samba ever since! I knew after watching this concert at age 14 that THIS was what I wanted to do in college. Yes, I was still stepping on count 1 in cha cha...I had a long way to go.

I soon joined Paul Winkelman's team Alta and had a blast dancing in high school. Little did I know what a legend Paul would become! For me, he was such an encouraging and an inspirational coach--truly someone that gave me a glimpse into how impactful a good coach could really be. (Speaking of legends...can we take a moment to recognize my first latin partner...THE Gary Brotherson...who has recently taken TikTok by storm?! lol.)

I began my professional coaching career at BYU etching upper level classes and competitive couples...alongside coaching in the BYU Youth Program. I launched my career with an "Allstar" Junior team: Krista Treu, Shane Jensen, Amy Hoffheins, Marie Dayton, Allie Edgington, Stacie Spinder, Italo Elgueta, Chelsie Hightower, Sterling Stolle, and Annie Seeley, to name a few. I got to know these dancers as 14 and 15 years olds and had no idea we would become peers in coaching 15-20 years down the road!

I coached MANY students (including my own brother, Brandon Perry) for MANY years at BYU-- before the days of Instagram so I have no proof of how awesome my job was and how talented my students were...but it was a dream job! I love going to dance competitions because I just KNOW I will run into so many of my old coaches, teammates and students. I have such fond memories of teaching and associating with such top notch humans! It's SO fun to see them now--running their own studios, dancing professionally or even just cheering on their own kids at the comps!

I LOVE BALLROOM in Utah because it feels like family. I feel like we all have a heritage and a "line of posterity" that we came through as we each became acquainted with dance in a unique way, learning from different coaches and finding our place in this little corner of the world.

I have just recently become a part of Danzinskule (2024) and love that such a grassroots program has been implemented to share our love of dance with SO MANY kids. I love sharing this skill with newbies--and again, it has been a treat to rub shoulders with some of my old coaches, teammates, and students in this organization.

Cheers to the thousands of hours that we have all enjoyed tending to this little hobby we call dance! The joy of learning and growing in this sport/art has brought a fullness to my life that I will cherish forever. I love seeing the passion for dance being passed down to the next generations--thank you to ALL who have influenced my dance experience!