Team
West Valley Dance Studio Staff
Owner/ Director/ Choreographer
Jani Patrick
Jani Patrick began her dance training when she entered high school and auditioned for the varsity dance team. She performed and competed for the Elmira high school dance team for four years earning awards and varsity letters. Jani's talent helped her team to excel and bring back awards and trophies from major dance competitions and Oregon State high school competitions. She also had the privilege of performing for the Portland Trailblazers and their amazing fans. During the summers she attended the University Dance Camp out of Memphis Tennessee. There she perfected her technique, studying and performed many different dance genres, along with learning how to choreograph and teach. After high school Jani went onto Western Oregon University where she majored in dance. During college she danced on the Western Oregon University dance team. After college Jani move to Wyoming and obtained a job at Starvalley high school as a dance coach. In 2012 Jani returned to back to Oregon. She has been with West Valley Dance Studio since 2017.
Instructor/ Choreographer
Caroline Smith
Caroline Smith is from Carmel, Indiana and has been training in ballet since she was just three years old. She has trained with varies ballet companies such as Joffrey Ballet, BalletMet and Ballet Idaho in addition to various ballet summer intensives. Along with being a professional ballet dancer, Caroline has a passion for teaching young dancers and implementing a positive environment for students to learn and grow. Caroline has recently joined Eugene Ballet and is excited to join the West Valley Dance Studio faculty as well!
Barre Fitness
Nikki Martin
Nikki graduated from the U of O with a degree in Political Science and Business Administration. However, soon after graduation, I had my first child and found a passion for health and wellness. I grew up dancing, loving movement and am so excited to have found my way back to the studio. Diet and exercise are the driving factors for nearly every disease and I want to give people real, approachable tools to better their lives. With Beyond Barre we go beyond a simple workout: It's about creating a healthy lifestyle that is vibrant and full!
Student Teacher
Alyssa Woolcott
Alyssa has been dancing with WVDS since she was 8 years old. Alyssa then quickly moved into a class helper position. By the age of 14 she started to teach Demi ballet and level 1 dance under the instruction of the teachers. Now Alyssa is teaching solo for Demi ballet, Ballet 1 and 2, Hip hop 1 and Jazz 1. She has taken instruction from WVDS, Joffrey Ballet School of Long Beach CA, Joffrey Ballet School of Las Vegas NV, Joffrey Ballet School of Georgia and Eugene Ballet Academy. We are so proud of Alyssa and blessed to have her apart of our studio.
Instructor
Jade McAnally
Jade is from Columbia, South Carolina and began her dance training with Hillary and Gabor Toth at the Southeastern School of Ballet. In 2013 she moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to train on full scholarship at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Since graduating, she has worked with Ballet Austin, Ballet Arizona, and Oklahoma City Ballet. Jade joined Eugene Ballet as an Aspirant in 2020 and was promoted to Company Dancer in 2022. and Eva Stone.
Instructor
Sierra Kaplan
Sierra Kaplan grew up in Tomball, Texas. She started dance at the age of 3 and started training competitively in all-star dance at age 6 at Dancin’ Bluebonnets. She joined her high school dance team at Tomball High School, the Cougar Charms Dance Team her sophomore year of high school. She was then on the team sophomore through senior year in which two of those years, she was a dance officer. Her senior year, she joined the inaugural KC Collective Worlds Team. She is a 2x Dance Worlds Champion and has won many solo titles and championships. Sierra has assisted coaching for 2 years and has coached for 2 years at The Dance Vault All Stars. Sierra is now a freshman at The University of Oregon on the Oregon Dance Team. While at UO, she is majoring in dance and psychology. Sierra is so excited to join the family at West Valley Dance Studio!
Summer Instructor
Dave Naquin
Dave Naquin is a native of Cowpens, South Carolina. He began his training with Ballet Spartanburg. He started his professional career with the Grand Rapids Ballet (2011–2016). Dave then joined Oklahoma City Ballet in 2016. Under the direction of Robert Mills. He then moved to Los Angeles in 2020 to join Los Angeles Ballet. Dave is happy to be in Eugene and is looking forward to his fourth season with Eugene Ballet.
Summer Instructor
RyLee Boyersmith
RyLee is a third-year member of the University of Oregon Duck Dancers. Born and raised in Medford, Oregon, RyLee trained in a variety of dance styles at Turning Point Dance in the More than Words Company. It was there she learned that dance is about more than movement—it’s also about loving your team and uplifting your community. While RyLee loves all styles of dance, acrobatics will always hold a special place in her heart. She credits ballet, contemporary, and jazz with strengthening the acro work she’s most passionate about—skills she now proudly showcases while competing Pom and Jazz with UODT.
Instructor
Mikala Nelmes
Mikala has been training in ballet, contemporary, and acrobatics for 17 years, predominantly in Washington and Oregon. She attributes majority of her modern and acrobatic training to her time at Turning Point Dance in Medford, Oregon. Her time at TPD truly prepared her for a higher caliber of dance training and led her to audition for the University of Oregon BFA Dance program. Upon getting accepted into the first class of roughly 20 BFA Dance students at the University of Oregon, Mikala began to train in ballet, contemporary, hip-hop, and African idioms 25-30 hours a week. She has performed in roughly 15 shows through the University, and has been the longest standing member of the UO Student Dance Collective since its conception. She has taught at various studios in the greater Eugene area over the last three years as she completes her degree at the University of Oregon. She has a passion for helping students conquer their fears and reach their personal goals and LOVES all the students at West Valley very much!
Instructor
Leila Pierson Kreitzberg
I was born and raised in Harrisburg Oregon, and have been dancing for 15 years starting at age 3 at JCSD. I started competing when I was in the 5th grade. It was a tap group and continued until I was the age of 10. I then moved to UNITY School of Dance and started in their tricks and tumbling classes. I then joined their Kings Krew team and Evolve Company team. I competed in many competitions from Hollywood Vibes to Celebrity, Turn It Up and so much more. I got the honor of traveling to California with my company team and performing on stage at California Adventure Parks. I am overjoyed to be back not just dancing but teaching! Thank you for this amazing opportunity West Valley Dance Studio! I am looking forward to the road ahead!