Ashley Byington
Ashley is a choreographer and performer whose work spans stage, film, and community. She has co-produced and choreographed for the Idaho Screendance Festival, performed with FUSE Dance Collaboration, and created work for Pride festivals around the Northwest. After directing a local competition dance studio for several years, Ashley co-founded an adult hip hop crew that went on to compete nationally and internationally, and spent time bringing more hip hop to the Treasure Valley through battles and open classes to expand Idaho’s dance landscape. With a wide-ranging background in movement and performance, she brings a distinct perspective and passion for the artistry of dance.
@BCT CAST
Isabelle Horgan
Isabelle began dancing at age two, and started seriously training in classical ballet by the age of seven at Ballet Idaho. Through her time at Ballet Idaho, she was involved in a touring ensemble, countless community events, and performing at the opening of the Village in Meridian and JUMP in downtown Boise. She performed in numerous productions of the Nutcracker, as well as a company role in the production of Sleeping Beauty at the age of 16. After high school she continued her dance training, earning a dance minor at Gonzaga University and graduating with honors from the National Dance Education Organization. She participated in multiple student choreography concerts, end of the year Spring Dance concerts, attended (and performed at) the American College Dance Association, as well as the opening of the Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center. She also branched out and made multiple screen dances, floor managed backstage, and ran sound and light boards for multiple shows. She continues to branch out and has since started aerial hammock and also dabbling in burlesque inspired heels and chair dance classes. This is her debut with Off Center and her first time performing at Boise Contemporary Theatre.
Kelli Brown is the founder of Off Center Dance and Artistic Director for Flamenco Idaho. While with OCD, Ms. Brown choreographed over 30 modern dance works and 5 short dance videos. Her flamenco journey has taken her to Spain nine times including multiple grants to study in Granada. She was an adjunct professor at Boise State University/College of Western Idaho and a dance educator at Idaho Arts Charter School. Ms. Brown has performed with groups including, Certamen (Carlota Santana Flamenco Vivo of NY, in the Kennedy Center), Flamenco Idaho, Off Center Dance, MahaVia, Flux, Boise Dance Co-op, Drop Dance Collective, and Idaho Dance Theatre.
Chelsea Santiago
Chelsea has been dancing her whole life. From traditional ballet, salsa and other Latin forms, flamenco, and even cutting’ a rug with funky grooves in her kitchen.
Born and raised in Boise, Chelsea has traveled the world to study dance and other cultures. Currently studying and performing with Idaho Flamenco.
Samantha Buckmier brings a diverse and extensive dance background to Off Center Dance, with a specialization in aerial arts. A graduate of Western Oregon University with a minor in Dance, she toured nationally and internationally for five years with Rainbow Dance Theatre (US, Mexico, China), completed a two-year aerial apprenticeship with A-Wol Aerial Dance Company, and performed with Portland's Subrosa Dance Collective and Pure Dance Company. After relocating to Boise in 2013, Sam immediately joined Stampede Spirit and Off Center Dance, later directing Stampede Spirit for two years and coaching multiple local dance teams. Her passion for trapeze led her to tour with various circus companies before founding Circus Vision, a Boise-based trapeze and aerial arts company. Sam also shares her expertise annually as an instructor at Thunderbird Dance Camp, reaching over sixteen hundred middle and high school students each summer.
Lauren Lloyd
Lauren Lloyd is a multifaceted performer with a strong foundation in classical ballet, pointe, modern, jazz, and musical theater. Her training began at Ballet Idaho Academy, where she rose to the Pre-Professional Division and was featured in productions including The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty, eventually earning the privilege to perform professional roles with the esteemed company. In addition to her classical background, Lauren has a strong command of modern and jazz techniques, with a passion for musical theater that led her to both perform and choreograph for shows in the Boise theater community. She further refined her artistry at the University of Utah, where she earned an Honors Bachelor of Arts. Lauren brings a unique blend of technical skill, emotional expression, and a deep understanding of storytelling to the stage. She continues to passionately explore new forms of movement, always eager to connect with an audience through performance.
Bailey Evans
Bailey Evans is a 26-year-old powerhouse that has been dancing since she was 3 years old. Growing up in Boise, Idaho, Bailey has trained in various styles ranging from Ballet and Jazz to Standard and Latin Ballroom. She spent her adolescence at many studios as well as competing and traveling to popular conventions and competitions throughout the United States. Bailey had the privilege of gaining the State Championship Title with Eagle High School Dance Team two years in a row, where she learned multiple drill team skills. She continued her dance career on the Boise State Spirit Squad for the 2017-2018 season. Bailey has spent her most recent years sharing her knowledge and love for dance at various dance studios in the Treasure Valley. While inspiring young students, Bailey has continued her passion of dancing as an Idaho Horsemen Indoor Football Lady Spur Dancer for the 2025 season and company member of Off Center Dance.
Lesley Thompson is a versatile dancer, teacher, and choreographer with a distinguished career spanning over 25 years in dance education. She began her professional journey with Idaho Dance Theatre and Off Center Dance, later performing extensively across the country in various contemporary works, and has been featured in print and on runways in Las Vegas. Lesley has shaped talent on faculty at premier dance studios in Seattle, Las Vegas, and Idaho, currently serving as the Ballet Director at Dance Unlimited in Boise. Her comprehensive training includes ballet, pointe, jazz, contemporary, tap, and modern, honed at top studios nationwide such as The Edge Performing Arts Center, Millennium Dance Complex, Broadway Dance Center, The Rock Center for Dance, and The Studios in Seattle. Beyond dance, Lesley holds a BA in Psychology from Boise State University and is a certified 200hr Yoga instructor (vinyasa, yin), barre certified through Barre Bohemian, and certified to teach aerial yoga through Flight Room Seattle. She actively contributes to the dance community as a judge for Spotlight Dance Cup and Thunderstruck Dance Competitions.
April Hill
April Hill received her dance training with Ballet Idaho, Pacific Northwest Ballet School, Arizona State University, and the University of Oregon where she developed a strong foundation in ballet and contemporary dance. She has performed with Idaho Dance Theatre, Traduza Dance Company, and Off Center Dance. With over 25 years of teaching experience, April brings creativity, warmth, and a love of movement to her students. She currently works as a 2nd-grade teacher, where she continues to integrate the arts into the classroom and inspire young learners through the joy of dance.
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Teresa Vaughan started dancing at a young age in Logan, Utah where she was trained in ballet, tap and jazz. She graduated from Utah State University with a degree in English and Dance Education and soon, dancing became her passion and her profession. At age 18, Teresa began her teaching career with the United Spirit Association, teaching dance throughout the western states, and she continued to teach for the next 30 years. Meanwhile, in 1982, she moved to Boise and, with her long-time friend, opened Dance Dimensions studio. Over the next 25 years, the studio flourished and Teresa, along with her partner and staff, trained thousands of young dancers in the Treasure Valley. After retiring from teaching, she was thrilled to become part of Off Center Dance which has given her the opportunity not only to choreograph, but also to feel the thrill of performing on stage once again.
Esteban Anastatio
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Erin Westfall
Erin discovered her passion for dance at an early age, training in jazz, lyrical, and ballet before entering the competition circuit in middle school. A snowboarding accident in high school forced her to step away from dance, until a doctor suggested bellydance as a way to build strength and manage chronic pain. What began as rehabilitation quickly became a lifelong calling. For the past 20 years Erin has been a part of the Treasure Valley cultural-based dance community, sharing her artistry as a performer, and as a teacher for the last 14 years. Her work has earned numerous awards for both performance and choreography, and her dedication to growth has taken her abroad to study in the Czech Republic (Ruska Roma) and Spain (Flamenco). Erin currently serves as Director of Twist of Fate Dance Company and is also a proud member of Flamenco Idaho.
Lisa Whitwell, a Boise native, is the accomplished Managing Director of Off Center Dance, having joined the company as a dancer in its inaugural season (2009-2010) after a decade-long hiatus. Her early training with Georgia Listen instilled a lifelong passion for performance, leading to engagements with Dance Dimensions, Pat Harris, Dance Pros, and Idaho Dance Theatre. Lisa continued her dance education at Boise State University while earning a degree in Horticulture and later performed with Flamenco Fire and Opera Idaho. Transitioning her talents into leadership, Lisa earned a Master’s Degree in Business from Boise State University in 2016. Since then, she has successfully written and secured grants for Off Center Dance and as much as she tries to stay behind the scenes, she appears on stage every show!
Bethany Hull
Bethany has been stomping and tapping her way through life since she was old enough to go to dance class. She grew up in Boise learning to clog and Irish step dance, and performed and competed throughout the intermountain west. She went on to train in the BYU Folk dance program until she was invited to transfer to BYU-Idaho to teach undergrad ethnic dance classes while doing her dance degree. While there, she also choreographed for the student dance companies and worked as the director of the Collegiate Folk Dance Company. She graduated with a degree in Dance with an emphasis in pedagogy and choreography in 2012. After moving to Boise in 2014 Bethany choreographed and performed with Explore Dance Company during their 2014 and 2015 seasons. At this time she also began studying flamenco with Luis de la Tota and Estefania Sanchez. In 2018 Bethany switched careers, giving her the time and resources to pursue her dream of studying flamenco on a deeper level. During this time, she began taking dance classes with Kelli Brown at Flamenco Idaho and began to dance with the Flamenco Idaho Company. She has traveled to Granada to study briefly in 2023 and continues to study online with many flamenco artists in Granada– including María Manzanilla, Pilar Fajardo, Maricarmen Guerrero, Macarena Mulero, among others. Along with her flamenco studies she also teaches flamenco classes and choreographs for dance companies in the Intermountain West.
Alyssa Matsuoka
Alyssa’s movement background lies primarily in aerial arts and yoga, starting both in 2015 in Twin Falls, ID. Through the years, aerial arts became her haven, her happy place, where she found her self, her drive, her passion, her favorite thing, and some of her closest/dearest friends. Locally, she can be found teaching aerial silks at Revel Movement, silks and rope for Circus Vision Collective at Tumble Time, and working board at the Circus Vision Collective trapeze rig!
Jen Rish
Jen is a nurse manager, wife, and mom whose passion lies in aerial and performance. She has a deep love for movement as a form of expression and connection, and finds great meaning in the creative process. She is honored to perform alongside such a talented and inspiring group of artists, and grateful for the opportunity to share this work with others.
Katie Ponozzo is a core artist and former Artistic Director (2016-2020) of Off Center Dance, where she has performed and choreographed numerous works since the company's inception. Her extensive dance background includes studies at the University of Idaho and a BA in Theatre with dance emphasis, Cum Laude, from Boise State University (BSU). Katie has graced stages with Idaho Dance Theatre, Stampede Spirit Dancers, and Drop Dance Collective. Beyond her performance career, she is a dedicated dance educator, having served as Head of the Dance Department at the College of Idaho (teaching jazz, ballet, and rhythmic skills), Ballet Faculty at Boise State University, and leading the high school dance department at Idaho Fine Arts Academy.
Acknowledged for her versatile performance skill and aerial arts, Katie has also been the recipient of multiple grants and awards
Trevor Ferguson
Bailey Brooks
Rich Brown
Rich Brown is a local percussionist specializing in Flamenco cajon. He started performing with Flamenco Idaho in 2020 and has performed at Treefort, the Sapphire Room, Coiled, Ochos and many other local venues. He has also performed in Baker City, Walla Walla and Seattle. He has studied in Granada, Spain at Carmen de Las Cuevas and will travel there and study this fall. In addition to his music work, Rich is a mental health counselor and is an ambassador for Blood Cancer United Firefighter Stairclimb, raising money for cancer research.
Kirsten Turner
Kirsten’s primary steps started in Ballet at age 5, and quickly turned to Hip-Hop in her adolescence. She started her first job at Dance West Dance studio in Boulder, Colorado. In high school she began studying Flamenco and dancing in a modern company directed by Rebekah West. After high school she traveled and lived in southern Spain studying Flamenco and Spanish. She studied at Carmen de las Cuevas (Granada,) with Alicia Marquez (Sevilla) and at the Pena De Buleria in Jerez. Her passion for Flamenco led her to the University of New Mexico where she earned her degree in dance and cultural anthropology. She studied under the notorious Encinias family. During her time at UNM she founded and directed the contemporary dance company called the Duke Dance Collective.
While at UNM, Kirsten fell in love with the pedagogies founded by Jacques D'amboise. She became an apprentice and instructor for the National Dance Institute of New Mexico. Kirsten taught with three companies across the Rocky Mountains . In 2013, in pursuit of her Masters in Ethnochoreology from the University of Limerick’s, Irish World Academy of Music and Dance. Kirsten moved to the Treasure Valley in 2016 and met her husband . During this time she has been the primary dance teacher at Idaho Arts Charter School teaching Kindergarten-5th graders. In the evenings she is dancing professionally with Flamenco Idaho. She loves to go Hiking, Skiing/ snowboarding and visiting the Oregon coast. with her husband and children.
Jackson Jensen
Kierra Tomlinson
Kierra has been a lifelong dancer and is thrilled to be a part of Off Center. After 6 years performing on multiple stages in Boise as a burlesque dancer, she is excited to be returning to her first love - modern dance. Kierra loves the way that dance can connect us on a soul level. No words are needed to share a story or convey an emotion. The movement does it all. She is grateful to be able to share her movement with you, and looks forward to where her dance journey will take her.