youth instructors

Photo by Lucas Bybee

Marina Wagner: VDE-Y Artistic Director

Marina took on the role of VDE-Youth Director in 2022 and directed The Quiltmaker’s Gift.  She has been involved with VDE for the past 10 years and has loved being part of this company and teaching creative dance to children and youth of all ages. Prior to joining VDE she studied primarily ballet, jazz, and modern dance through private studios, dance teams and workshops. She graduated from BYU with a degree in Exercise Science.

Katie Anderson: 5th-6th Grade, Modern Technique

Katie directed Valley Dance Ensemble from 2020-2022 and VDE-Youth from 2021-2022. She has been dancing, teaching, and choreographing with our company since 2014. Katie directed Priscilla and the Pink Planet (2016), STEAM (2021), The Magic Hat Shop (2022), and I am Woman (2022). She also directs VDE-Y’s yearly Halloween production of Under The Bed, and directed/filmed/edited VDE’s Dance for Film series. Before moving to Logan, Katie danced with BYU-I’s Collegiate Contemporary Dance Company and graduated with a Major in English Education and a Minor in Dance Education. She grew up in Star Valley, Wyoming, where her love for dance all began.

Tessa Evans: Limitless, Preschool,1st-2nd Grade, 3rd-4th Grade, 6th-8th Grade

Tessa has had the opportunity to learn from and work with many talented dancers, choreographers and other artists in her time with VDE as a teacher and dancer and through her time serving as the VDE Youth Director and the Artistic Director for the adult company.  Before coming to Cache Valley, Tessa danced on ballet and dance team scholarship at CEU, ran her own ballet and modern dance school and choreographed for groups, teams and soloists around the state.  Now most of her time is spent homeschooling and adventuring with her family, teaching creative movement and developing an online creative movement program to teach more about our world through dance.

Tiffany Childress: Pre/K, 4th-5th Grade

Tiffany Elise Childress grew up in Sandy, Utah. She started dancing at the age of 11. In college she danced with BYU’s Dancensemble and The Dancer’s Company where she had the opportunity to perform and teach workshops across the US, Philippines, Korea, and India. As a finalist in the American College Dance Festival, she also had the opportunity to perform in the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. She worked as a teacher at Chows Gymnastics in Iowa, as well as Luling Dance arts and Uvalde Classical Dance in Texas. Currently she is teaching with VDE-youth, and is Director of Canyon Creative Dance. She is honored to be a part of Valley Dance Ensemble and be a part of Logan’s arts community.

Julia Moreland: Kindergarten-1st Grade, 6th-7th Grade

Julia has danced with groups in Oregon, California, Massachusetts, and now Utah! She danced competitively for over 15 years before taking a brief hiatus from dance (and deep dive into yoga). Julia is thrilled to return to the stage with VDE and re-embrace her love of dance. She would like to thank her partner, Meghan, for trekking with her across the country this past year, and VDE for welcoming her with open arms! When she’s not dancing, you can find Julia working in tech, playing with her new pup, or adventuring in the mountains.

Alyssa Luthi: 2nd-3rd Grade

Alyssa fell in love with dance at a young age, and as a mom of three little boys she is so excited to be on the stage and dancing again. She grew up in Ohio were she studied ballet, tap, jazz and toe tap under some beloved instructors as well as studying at Otterbein University, dancing with Dance Alive, and Jazz on Tap on Tour. Alyssa and her family moved to Utah almost three years ago and are so happy to have found a community that shares their love for the arts. This is Alyssa's first year teaching with Valley Dance Ensemble and she looks forward to many more.

Emma Newby: 9th-12th Grade

Emma loves the way she is able to express herself through dance. The best dances are the ones that come from the heart. She also loves to play soccer, ski, meet new people, and eat doughnuts. She is currently a student at USU studying applied economics, German, and global peacebuilding.