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There comes a point in almost every dancer’s journey where you hit a crossroads. Not because you no longer love dance… but because somewhere along the way, the pressure starts getting louder than the joy. I think this happens more than people realize in West Coast Swing. Especially for those of us who are deeply invested in our growth. We care. We want to improve. We want to challenge ourselves. We want to become better dancers, better partners, better communicators, better a

There’s something I see so often… and maybe you’ve felt it too. You go through your day, doing all the things you’re supposed to do. Showing up for your family. Handling responsibilities. Keeping everything moving. But somewhere in the middle of it all… You feel a little disconnected. From your body. From joy. From you. And it’s not always something you can explain. It’s just this quiet feeling of, “There has to be more than this…” When You Don’t Feel Like Yourself Anymore Fo

There’s a question I’ve been asked more and more lately… “After all these years… why are you still dancing?” And the truth is, the answer has evolved just as much as the dance itself. But if I go all the way back to the beginning…to 1998, traveling the UCWD circuit on a country dance team… It started with something simple. It started with connection. Where It All Began: Finding Home on the Dance Floor When I first found West Coast Swing, I didn’t come from a studio background

Starting June 9th | Mapleton, Utah There comes a point in your dancing where something shifts. You’re no longer just trying to learn the steps. You’ve taken classes. You’ve shown up. You’ve put in the time. And yet… Something still feels just a little off. You can do the patterns. You can follow along. You can keep up in class. But when you step onto the social floor, it doesn’t quite feel the way you hoped it would. You find yourself thinking: Why does it feel rushed? Why do

Have you ever walked into a space and just felt it? Not because everything looked perfect. Not because everyone was the same. But because there was something real there. Something alive. Something connecting people beyond surface level. That is what dance has always been for me. And it is exactly why I created UPLIFT. Dance Has Always Been My Place of Connection For as long as I can remember, dance has been more than movement. It has been a place where I come home to myself.

Have you ever found yourself in a season where nothing seems to be flowing? Where the goals you’ve been working toward… just aren’t clicking into place. Where you’re doing “all the right things,” and yet something feels off. And suddenly, you’re standing at a quiet crossroads wondering: Am I missing something? Is there another way? Why isn’t this working? If you’ve been there, I want you to know, this isn’t failure. It’s an invitation. The Hidden Weight of “How It’s Supposed

There’s a quiet moment that happens more often than we talk about. It doesn’t always look dramatic. It doesn’t always feel obvious. But if you’ve been dancing for a while, especially in the West Coast Swing world, you’ve probably felt it. That subtle shift…Where your dancing stops feeling like you And starts feeling like something you’re trying to manage, control, or protect. Where, instead of moving freely, you start wondering: What are they thinking about me? Did that look

Today, I found myself sitting quietly, taking in a musical performance. Not just hearing it… but feeling it. There’s something powerful about watching someone fully in their gift.The way their voice carries emotion. The way their presence fills the space. The way, without even trying, they create a moment where others feel seen, understood, and connected. And as I sat there, I couldn’t help but reflect on something deeper… Purpose. Calling. What The Alchemist calls your Pers

Many people today feel overwhelmed, anxious, or disconnected because their nervous systems are constantly under stress. Research shows that rhythmic movement, music, and social connection can help regulate the nervous system. Dance combines all three. Practices like West Coast Swing, somatic movement, and breathwork help people move out of stress and back into a state of balance. In my classes at Dance to Uplift in Mapleton, Utah , I regularly see people walk in carrying the

Peace is not something we achieve after we prove ourselves. It is something we begin with. When our baseline becomes peace instead of pressure, life starts to feel easier. Through practices like breathwork, somatic movement, and social dance such as West Coast Swing, many adults in Mapleton, Provo, Springville, and across Utah County are discovering how to regulate their nervous system, reconnect with themselves, and move through life with more joy, presence, and authenticity

If you had met me as a little girl in a small town in Arizona, you would have seen someone who couldn’t sit still when music came on. Music spoke to me before words ever could. When it played, I danced. Always. What you wouldn’t have seen was what I was carrying. Today, as the founder of Dance to Uplift in Mapleton, Utah , I guide individuals and couples through West Coast Swing, somatic healing, breathwork, and nervous system regulation. But this work didn’t begin as a busin

Tonight, an old country song reminded me of the little girl who used to sing about love she did not receive from a father. For years, I chased peace, through doing things for others, through the dance floor, through proving I was worthy. What I didn’t know was that peace isn’t something we find out there. It’s something we slowly build inside our bodies. Through faith, somatic healing, and West Coast Swing, I’ve learned how to feel safe enough to soften. And now, instead of c

I’ve asked myself this question more times than I can count. Why didn’t I create my business twenty years ago? Why didn’t I do more of what I love back then? Why did it take so long to get here? And every time the question comes up now, the answer arrives just as clearly: Because I needed to live first. Because I needed the healing. Because I needed the seasons that shaped me into someone who could truly hold space for others. For a long time, I thought timing was something I

It’s the start of a new week. And not just in the way we casually say that on a Monday morning, coffee in hand, checking boxes and calendars. This week feels different. It feels intentional. A remembering. It feels alive. It feels like a quiet but powerful exhale after years of holding my breath. This is the first time I’ve truly listened to what has always been there. A knowing I’m finally ready to embrace. To let live not just in my mind, but integrate more fully into my bo

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post. Not because I haven’t had things to say, but because life has been full . Full in the kind of way that stretches you, asks more of you than you expected, and invites you to meet yourself honestly in the middle of it. I knew January was going to be a lot. I could see it coming. What I didn’t fully realize was how much it would ask of me, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Back in October, I made the decision to

When the Place That Heals You Also Challenges You In my last post, I shared how I couldn’t always see my light and how dance helped bring it back. What I didn’t share then is this truth: Even the very thing that heals us can sometimes be the place where we feel the most out of alignment. Dance has been one of my greatest teachers, healers, and companions. And yet, there have been moments, seasons even, when stepping into certain dance environments made me want to shut down… o

When You Can’t Always See Your Light There were seasons of my life when I couldn’t always see my light. Not because it wasn’t there but because my past, my fears, and my pain clouded my vision. Trauma has a way of doing that. It convinces you that what happened to you defines you. That you are broken. That joy belongs to someone else. For a long time, my body held stories I didn’t yet have words for. My nervous system carried memories my mind was still learning how to underst

There’s a sentence I hear more often than almost any other when women walk into my classes for the first time: “I wish I had started sooner.” It’s usually followed by a nervous laugh. Sometimes a shrug. Sometimes tears welling up unexpectedly. And almost always, it comes from a place much deeper than dance. What they’re really saying is: I thought this part of my life had already passed. I thought joy like this was for younger bodies. I thought it was too late to begin someth

If you’re in Utah County and looking for adult West Coast Swing classes, somatic movement, or intentional dance spaces focused on connection and nervous system healing, I’d love to welcome you into one of my upcoming offerings through Dance to Uplift.

Looking Back with Thankfulness, Moving Forward with Intention As the calendar turns and a new year begins, I find myself doing what I always do at this time of year, pausing. Pausing to reflect. Pausing to breathe. Pausing to take in the fullness of what this past year has offered me. Dance has been the backdrop of so much of my life for decades now. It has held me through grief, guided me through healing, and taught me how to stay connected to my body when my mind wanted to