candice andrus

rachel price

bonnie story

jessica starr

amy
de vera

madie piñon

chelsie hightower

jessica holker

heather lewis

talia little

taylor stanger

malece miller

hannah jarvis

brinley harris

bayli thompson

micadyn sanders

katie woodward

brittany nordhoff

ella memmott

kassidy andersen

local

guest

our faculty & Staff of
collaborative artists

megUMI nishimori

katelynn white

lilia mcarthur

Candice andrus - owner/director/instructor

Experience and Study:
With 35 years of dance field experience, Candice brings a well-rounded background to coaching, teaching, and dance team consulting. Candice started her dance career in Utah at the age of three, studying several genres including ballet, tap, clogging, and jazz. Candice then moved to a ballet conservatory, forming from a young age a solid base in the art of Ballet. She soon found that a solid training in ballet leads to an expert ability to transfer the balletic technique to all styles of dance and movement. Candice performed with Mountain West Ballet Academy in their production of the Nutcracker as a teen and was given a coveted spot on the state award-winning Bingham High School drill team. She soon progressed to become the team’s drill captain, choreographer and president. Her senior year at Bingham High, Candice was a top finalist for her school’s Sterling Scholar award in dance. While competing dance for her high school, Candice began accepting invitations as guest dance teacher, critic, and consultant for dance teams, drill teams, sports team cross trainers in ballet, and individuals.

Through her study of music and the arts, Candice learned the unique techniques for perfecting difficult elements and sections in any performance, making Candice uniquely specialized in perfecting dance execution for the stage. She continued her studies for dance and also music with professors in classical piano, ballet, and jazz, in the most advanced classes at Brigham Young University, studying dance with the acclaimed Lisa Stoddard among others. Candice also had the opportunity to perform works for Darryl Yeager at Kingsbury Hall, and as a member of the Bingham High Dance Team performed at Lavell Edwards Stadium. With 22 years of teaching experience, including teacher training in various fields: dance, piano, religious seminary, as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and as a teacher at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah (2003-2006), Candice brings a unique mastery for teaching, musicality, dynamics, precision, cleaning, dance team unison, and perfecting dance execution and technique as she blends her various background into her present work.

Competitive Judging:
Candice began her career as a dance studio and high school drill team adjudicator throughout the state of Utah in 2008, including studio team competitions, solo/duo/trio competitions, UHSSA regional drill team competitions, high school dance team tryouts, All State Dance Team selection, and a State Drill Team Championship. Receiving the highest judge ranking (**see below) from the Utah High School Athletic Association, Candice was invited to judge the highly competitive State Drill Team Championship in 2011, the year before she left Utah and moved to Idaho. She is a former member of the Utah Dance Judges Association. Upon moving to Idaho, she judged regional Idaho High School Drill Team competitions and the Miss Idaho Dance Drill pageant.

Candice’s passion:
Candice absolutely loves helping young dancers and teams perfect their execution, express their life’s feelings through movement, round out their performances based on judging rubrics, and master dance elements and technique.
Aside from dance, Candice has served as a US Senate intern in Washington D.C., runway model, and former city and county Miss America pageant royalty. She is currently on hiatus from her high-end photography studio where she was the owner and principal artist. Candice especially enjoyed marketing consulting for small businesses and has won university and national advertising awards.

Candice is a wife and mama of four children: a basketball player and three little dancers.
She loves king crab legs dripping in butter, wish she sang like Celine Dion (and tries to), can’t get enough of Sound of Music, and feels at home when she gets on a horse. She also speaks Spanish and loves serving in her church.

Candice currently resides in Meridian, Idaho.

candice andrus

rachel price

bonnie story

jessica starr

amy
de vera

madie piñon

chelsie hightower

jessica holker

heather lewis

talia little

taylor stanger

malece miller

hannah jarvis

brinley harris

bayli thompson

micadyn sanders

katie woodward

brittany nordhoff

ella memmott

kassidy andersen

local

guest

our faculty & Staff of
collaborative artists

megUMI nishimori

katelynn white

lilia mcarthur

Rachel Price -
Non-Comp Director, Concert Dance Director, Instructor

Rachel Price grew up near Detroit, Michigan, where she danced as a member of local dance teams from 6th grade through 12th grade. She served as an officer on her high school dance team which helped her develop leadership skills. 

After high school, she attended Ricks College where she danced as a member of the performing company, CDT 2. She studied ballet, jazz, modern, tap, ballroom and folk dance. Rachel graduated from Ricks College with an Associates Degree with dance emphasis. After Ricks, she continued her education at The University of Idaho as a member of UIdaho’s Dance Theater. She was trained in Luigi Jazz technique and continued to study ballet as well as dance history, pedagogy, and kinesiology. She performed twice at The American College Dance Festival, and was chosen to tour Idaho with renowned choreographer, Bill Evans. Rachel also developed a great appreciation for modern dance and performance. Rachel studied various modern dance artists, both past and present and earned a lead role in the restaging of Passacaglia and Fugue by the great Doris Humphrey. She graduated from U of I in 2004 with a B.S. degree in dance education.

For the next three years, Rachel taught for various studios throughout Utah and Idaho, honing her skills and finding her place as a teacher and choreographer. After her family settled in Meridian in 2007, Rachel taught classes at home in her garage studio where Seasons Dance Company was born. During this time, she also judged the Twin Falls competition, Canyon Rim Dance Classic for 3 years. In 2012, her family moved to Twin Falls where she continued to operate Seasons Dance Company. Rachel soon outgrew her home classes and quickly made a name for herself in the Magic Valley. Her vision was to provide a quality dance education that focused on creativity and passion, while still offering excellent technical training. 

After 7 years in Twin Falls, she sold her studio to a trusted teacher and the Price family (which includes her husband Justin and their 5 children) returned to Meridian. For 2 years, she has taught at a local studio where she directed and choreographed for the senior performing company. In her first year there, Rachel prepared her dancers (who had never before competed) for their first competition where they were awarded the highest adjudication ranking and earned the Judges Choice award for their piece, “The Clock Dance.”

Her experience with dance administration and working with dancers of all ages puts her in an excellent position to be a part of CADA’s team. Rachel is passionate about teaching young dancers that the love of movement and love of self, coupled with proper technique and a hunger to learn, will provide amazing opportunities in dance and in life. 

candice andrus

rachel price

bonnie story

jessica starr

amy
de vera

madie piñon

chelsie hightower

jessica holker

heather lewis

talia little

taylor stanger

malece miller

hannah jarvis

brinley harris

bayli thompson

micadyn sanders

katie woodward

brittany nordhoff

ella memmott

kassidy andersen

local

guest

our faculty & Staff of
collaborative artists

megUMI nishimori

katelynn white

lilia mcarthur

amy de vera -
office coordinator/instructor

Amy De Vera grew up in Utah but has been an Idaho transplant since 2013. She’s been dancing since age 3 and received her bachelors in dance choreography and performance in 2018. She has taught and worked with soloists and competition teams at studios all over eastern Idaho for the last 6 years. Her choreography has won many awards at competitions, pageants, conferences, and festivals throughout Utah and Idaho. She also works as an adjunct faculty in the Dance Department at Brigham Young University-Idaho, serving as the assistant artistic director for the performing and touring team, Dance Alliance, and has taught contemporary dance, choreography and improvisation, dance conditioning, and somatics at the University. She holds a YTT200 certification through Yoga Alliance and enjoys helping her dancers discover safe and effective stretching methods. Amy danced professionally with The Dance Collaborative, the Storm/Esplin Project, and spent 3 years on Dance Alliance, performing for thousands while touring across 33 cities in the US and Canada. She’s enjoyed learning from and working with many talented movers, including Ashley Storm, Bill Evans, Michelle Nielsen, Anouk Van Dyke, and Carol Iwasaki. 

candice andrus

rachel price

bonnie story

jessica starr

amy
de vera

madie piñon

chelsie hightower

jessica holker

heather lewis

talia little

taylor stanger

malece miller

hannah jarvis

brinley harris

bayli thompson

micadyn sanders

katie woodward

brittany nordhoff

ella memmott

kassidy andersen

local

guest

our faculty & Staff of
collaborative artists

megUMI nishimori

katelynn white

lilia mcarthur

madie piñon-
choreographer/instructor

Madie began her dance training at a young age focusing strictly on Ballet. After several years of training at Ballet Idaho and EPAC she branched out into other styles including tap, jazz, hip hop, and lyrical. She was the captain of her middle school dance team and then joined her high school drill team, Sweet Liberty, which took the Idaho 5A dance state title in 2012.

In addition to dancing Madie participated in a ton of community theater with Starlight Mountain Theater, MDT Workshop, and Music Theater of Idaho. She enjoyed playing lead roles in musicals such as Into the Woods and Guys and Dolls. After a couple of years of competing she discovered her passion for teaching. She began teaching at Macie’s Dance Studio in Meridian, ID and developed her choreography and teaching skills.

She had the opportunity to choreograph for the Miss Idaho Little Sisters program for two years and started choreographing several competitive solos as well as a piece for Nampa High School’s drill team. As a Senior in high school she choreographed multiple production pieces for her musical theater showcase.

She went on to attend Brigham Young University where she’s taken university classes in several styles and joined the Student Dance Education Organization (SDEO) where she’s been able to attend educational seminars on improving dance teaching methods for children. She’s gone on to expand her repertoire to teaching dance technique to competitive gymnasts as well teaching acrobatics. Her focus now has shifted to private and group technique training for young competitive dancers. Madie is known for helping her students grow through her high standards of technique and belief that all students have great potential. Her well-rounded background allows her to train her dancers to be the best performers and technicians in the classroom and on the stage. Madie currently resides in Provo, Utah as she finishes her degree at Brigham Young University. She frequently travels to her hometown of Boise, Idaho to work with her students.

candice andrus

rachel price

bonnie story

jessica starr

amy
de vera

madie piñon

chelsie hightower

jessica holker

heather lewis

talia little

taylor stanger

malece miller

hannah jarvis

brinley harris

bayli thompson

micadyn sanders

katie woodward

brittany nordhoff

ella memmott

kassidy andersen

local

guest

our faculty & Staff of
collaborative artists

megUMI nishimori

katelynn white

lilia mcarthur

heather lewis -
guest judge & advisor

I started dancing when I was 2 1/2 at Studio C in Eagle with Carol Fipps, and was with her until I graduated high school in 2011. I was on the competitive traveling team when I was about 7 all the way to 18 years old. I was on the drill team at Eagle High my freshman year. After high school I went to cosmetology school in Provo, Utah for a year. Then moved to Moab, Utah where my cousin owned her own dance studio. I taught for her for a full year and worked with the 9-12 year old competition team, and then taught 3 different non-competitive classes. I choreographed several group routines, and solos, and choreographed the whole winter production to Grease. I also choreographed the high school drill teams jazz routine. After I finished that year and moved, I still continued to choreograph solos for a few different girls the following 2 years. 

candice andrus

rachel price

bonnie story

jessica starr

amy
de vera

madie piñon

chelsie hightower

jessica holker

heather lewis

talia little

taylor stanger

malece miller

hannah jarvis

brinley harris

bayli thompson

micadyn sanders

katie woodward

brittany nordhoff

ella memmott

kassidy andersen

local

guest

our faculty & Staff of
collaborative artists

megUMI nishimori

katelynn white

lilia mcarthur

talia little -
tumbling & acro director/instructor

Talia Margaret Little is a sophomore attending Boise State University on a full-ride athletic scholarship for gymnastics. Little started online school when she turned twelve so she could spend over thirty hours a week in the gym. In 2019, Little became the Senior B Junior Olympic National BB, UB, and all-around champion and was a Junior Olympic National team member.

Outside of the gym, Little was a young competitive dancer and is a sister to three brothers. She still choreographs dance for fun in her free time and also enjoys painting and writing.

candice andrus

rachel price

bonnie story

jessica starr

amy
de vera

madie piñon

chelsie hightower

jessica holker

heather lewis

talia little

taylor stanger

malece miller

hannah jarvis

brinley harris

bayli thompson

micadyn sanders

katie woodward

brittany nordhoff

ella memmott

kassidy andersen

local

guest

our faculty & Staff of
collaborative artists

megUMI nishimori

katelynn white

lilia mcarthur

megumi nishimori -
ballet faculty/instructor

Megumi started her ballet training in Thailand before relocating to the Philippines. In 2012, she won the Silver Medal at the Asian Grand Prix that led to an invitation from Ballet Manila to be featured as Kitri in their production of Don Quixote. In 2013, she trained at the Acri Horimoto Ballet Academy, won numerous awards including second place in the All Japan Ballet Competition. She then began a scholarship under Patrick Armand at the San Francisco Ballet School where she had the great fortune to dance with the company in AD Tomasson’s Swan Lake and Nutcracker. Also included in her training: Bolshoi Ballet Academy, American Ballet Theatre and the Royal Ballet School.

After training at SFBS, she joined Cincinnati Ballet’s second company dancing in Balanchine’s Serenade and Rubies from Jewels. After one year at Cincinnati Ballet, she joined BalletMet 2 dancing in Balanchine’s Square Dance, Liang’s Wunderland, Symphonic Dances and and as Fairy Godmother in his Cinderella. 

At Ballet Idaho, Megumi has performed roles such as the Loss pas de deluxe from Ricardo Amarante’s Love Fear Loss, Russian Girl in Balanchine’s Serenade, and the Dew Drop Fairy from The Nutcracker.

Megumi is coached by Arleen Sugano who is the creator of “suganosystemballet.” 

candice andrus

rachel price

bonnie story

jessica starr

amy
de vera

madie piñon

chelsie hightower

jessica holker

heather lewis

talia little

taylor stanger

malece miller

hannah jarvis

brinley harris

bayli thompson

micadyn sanders

katie woodward

brittany nordhoff

ella memmott

kassidy andersen

local

guest

our faculty & Staff of
collaborative artists

megUMI nishimori

katelynn white

lilia mcarthur

hannah jarvis -
ballet faculty/
pbt & ballet instructor

Hannah received her MA in Teaching Dance in the Professions, ABT Pedagogy from NYU. She received her BS in Health Science with an emphasis in Public Health and a minor in Dance Education from BYU–Idaho.

Hannah is also the principal author of our proprietary CADA Ballet Curriculum.

Hannah is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 7 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She is also certified in Progressing Ballet Technique.

Hannah enjoys sharing her love of dance with the Treasure Valley and has taught in Idaho for 10 years and within the Treasure Valley for 7 of those years. She believes dance as an art form offers community connection, and emotional growth. She currently dances with Explore Dance Company. Hannah and her husband have three children and enjoy eating delicious food, bike riding, and having family movie night.

candice andrus

rachel price

bonnie story

jessica starr

amy
de vera

madie piñon

chelsie hightower

jessica holker

heather lewis

talia little

taylor stanger

malece miller

hannah jarvis

brinley harris

bayli thompson

micadyn sanders

katie woodward

brittany nordhoff

ella memmott

kassidy andersen

local

guest

our faculty & Staff of
collaborative artists

megUMI nishimori

katelynn white

lilia mcarthur

lilia mcarthur -
competition coach/
instructor

Lilia has been dancing since the age of two and has continued her dance education to train in all genres of dance. She is currently dancing with the Boise State Mane Line dance team. Lilia also has a background of tumbling and cheer. She was on the cheer team at her school on varsity for four years. Lilia has been coaching/teaching all ages for three years and assistant teaching all ages for five years. Lilia has won awards throughout her dance career such as stand out scholarships at conventions, top 5 placements on her solo, and all year first place placements for her high school solo. She has also received national placements in the top 15 at national dance honors, national qualifying scholarships, and the title of Miss Idaho Classic 2021.

My acro background comes from a gymnastics foundation. I started tumbling when I was 8 years old and learned my ariel, front ariel, and back handspring by 10 years old. I continued learning other acro tricks like a tinsica, valdez, and variations into and out of my tumbling. When I was 14 I started cheering for my high school and started working on my back tuck and layouts. I eventually progressed all the way to a half twisting layout as well as a standing tuck. I started coaching gymnastics when I was 16 for around two years and was teaching/spotting ages 5-17! I’ve continued to learn new acro skills as well as maintaining my old ones.

“I’ve known about CADA since the very beginning of it and have been following CADA through their journey of their first year. Immediately it stood out to me not just because it’s new but because of the new and beautiful approach they are taking towards growing their dancers. For that reason I chose to be part of this healthy and inspiring program. I am super passionate and excited about working at CADA and so excited to uplift and teach in this program. I know this studio only pushes growth and not change so as a teacher/coach that is extremely important for me, knowing that I will feel comfortable to be my full self and give everything i have to these students with out needing to change who i am. I’m so excited to be part of the early stages of this program!”

candice andrus

rachel price

bonnie story

jessica starr

amy
de vera

madie piñon

chelsie hightower

jessica holker

heather lewis

talia little

taylor stanger

malece miller

hannah jarvis

brinley harris

bayli thompson

micadyn sanders

katie woodward

brittany nordhoff

ella memmott

kassidy andersen

local

guest

our faculty & Staff of
collaborative artists

megUMI nishimori

katelynn white

lilia mcarthur

micadyn sanders -
guest instructor & dance for film mentor/
choreographer

Micadyn began dancing at a very young age. She grew up training with Melanie Walker in jazz and ballet. She found a love for modern dance when she joined the dance company and drill team at her high school. After graduating, she went on to study Dance at Southern Utah University, and Psychology at Dixie State University. She participated in the Dance Companies at both universities, and fell even more in love with both modern and contemporary dance.

She had the opportunity to showcase choreography at both universities and was awarded Dancer of the Year her senior year at DSU. She has a great passion for choreographing, and after graduating, she enjoyed choreographing and dancing with multiple professional companies in the St. George, Utah area, including St George Dance Company, God’s Messengers Dance Company, and Moxi.

She also returned to DSU to choreograph. In addition, she spent many years teaching ballet, jazz, and modern dance. During her professional career, she was invited to take on the role of Assistant Director for Moxi for two years, which she loved, before moving to Idaho with her family.

Micadyn thrived while dancing in and creating dance films, and she knew she wanted to pursue dance film further. She is now fulfilling that dream with RawFocus.

Aside from dance, Micadyn has run multiple successful businesses and enjoys marketing. She has a great passion for travel and loves all things Harry Potter and Disney! She now spends all her time being a wife and a mother to three beautiful children, and of course, creating!

candice andrus

rachel price

bonnie story

jessica starr

amy
de vera

madie piñon

chelsie hightower

jessica holker

heather lewis

talia little

taylor stanger

malece miller

hannah jarvis

brinley harris

bayli thompson

micadyn sanders

katie woodward

brittany nordhoff

ella memmott

kassidy andersen

local

guest

our faculty & Staff of
collaborative artists

megUMI nishimori

katelynn white

lilia mcarthur

lila hoffman - 
student intern/instructor

Lila began dancing in Southern California when she was just 3 years old. She continued with ballet, tap, and jazz, and later added contemporary, musical theater, and hip hop to her training. A highlight for Lila was performing the role of Clara in Yucaipa Dance’s production of the Nutcracker. She also danced with the Yucaipa Dance Performing Group at Knott’s Berry Farm, Disneyland, and California Adventure theme parks, as well as many community venues.

In middle school, Lila began student teaching tap, ballet, and jazz, as well as choreographing under the direction of the owner of Yucaipa Dance, Stacey Lund. She also earned her pointe shoes from her ballet instructor, Jenny Lynch, in 7th grade. Lila began competitive dance when she moved to Eagle, Idaho, in 2020. She is a founding member of CADA’s award winning dance company, Apex.

Lila is very excited for this opportunity to teach some of the studio’s youngest dancers through her passion, experience, and love of dance. She believes CADA is a wonderful dance home for anyone looking for high quality training and a warm and loving atmosphere.