KaDee Simensen-Lopez Minot Varsity

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1 Megan Gilbertson Megan s passion for dance began when she was just three years old. In her early years, she danced in studio dance and then for the Valley City High School Hi-Lites throughout high school. During her senior year she was voted her team s Most Valuable. After high school, Megan moved to Fargo, ND, for cosmetology school. After earning her cosmetology license, she moved back to Valley City in 2009 to begin her career. Upon returning, she started coaching with the Just For Kix Program. That same year, Megan was offered an assistant coaching position with the Hi-Lites dance team. She had that position for one year and was then given the nod as head coach, a position she has been honored to have five years. During Megan s year as assistant, she helped coach the dance team to their first state championship in Class B Hip Hop. The following year as the new head coach, she led the team into the Class A finals at State. At the 2015 North Dakota State Dance Championships, the Hi-Lights qualified for finals in all three categories they competed in, and went on to earn 2 nd place in Hip Hop, 3 rd in Jazz, and 6 th in Pom. Through her leadership, the Hi-Lites have elevated their competition level by competing annually in a UDA regional competition, where in 2014 they won the Sportsmanship Award and this year earned 3 rd place in Hip Hop, 5 th in Jazz, and Best Costume. In 2015, Coach Megan guided the team to a team-first invitation to the NDA National Dance Championship in Orlando, FL, where the team made finals in both categories in which they competed, all while working with a very young team of four seventh-graders, four eighth-graders, two freshmen, one sophomore, one junior, and one senior dancer. The success that the Hi-Lites have experienced has led to greater interest from very young dancers through junior high as well as great support from the school and community. With the greater interest, this year marks the first year in school history that the Hi-Lites have assembled a junior varsity squad, a credit to Megan s leadership and coaching. Megan opened her own dance studio, Studio 29, in 2010 and in 2015 became the Director for the Just For Kix program in Valley City. Because of the higher level brought to the Hi-Lites program, Megan gathered the Hi-Lites parents in the spring of 2015 and helped initiate what has become the first ever booster organization for the Hi-Lites dance team. Supporting Hi-Lites In New Experiences, or SHINE, is now organized to support the dance team and the coaches, allowing the dancers new experiences that will develop them for a lifetime. Without Coach Megan s foresight and dedication to understanding dance, this would not have happened. Megan tries to bring in outside choreographers, dancers, and other teams to expose her dancers to different styles of dance as well as coaching and teaching techniques. Coaching has been an amazing experience. Being able to see kids overcome things they thought once were impossible is one of the best feelings in the world. As a coach we are there to teach them that nothing is impossible, to believe in their dreams and to continue to push their limits. My biggest belief of a successful team is having a strong bond on your team. By the end of a season we are not just teammates but sisters, friends, and a family. Megan is honored to be nominated for this award and wishes all the teams and coaches the best of luck at State.

2 Jordan Jost Jordan has been involved in dance in North Dakota since she was 6 years old. She danced at studios, in junior high, in high school and in college. Jordan has been coaching at the high school level for 12 years, the junior level for 2 years and the collegiate level for 2 year. She is currently the head varsity coach for the West Fargo dance team. Jordan s first coaching job was with the Casselton Casseltinas. It was the team s initial year and Jordan helped get the team started. She introduced the team to their first state competition in January of In 2005 and 2006, Jordan coached the West Fargo JV Packatahnas earning 2 state titles. At the same time, she also assisted the varsity team and helped them win several state titles and two national championships. Jordan also encouraged her JV teams to compete at higher levels across the region. Jordan s 2006 JV team competed as a Varsity team at UPA, earning a second place trophy in the kick division. In 2007, Jordan left the JV Packatahnas to be a full time Assistant Varsity Coach, and later moved on to the Head Coach position for the season. She and her team have earned multiple ND state titles in kick, jazz and pom. They have also been nationally ranked for the past 11 years. Jordan developed an All Star program in West Fargo Elite Junior and Senior All-Star teams competed both regionally and nationally. In 2009, West Fargo Senior All-Star was awarded third place at the UDA National All Star Championship in Orlando, Florida, competing in the Jazz category and earning a bid to compete at Worlds. Jordan has participated in coaching conferences through NDADD, UDA, UPA and the University of Minnesota. She also has instructed dance conventions and camps with WACPC and WOW Factor Dance in the Midwest. Jordan was an apprentice NDADD judge in 2003 and has participated in the UPA judge training program. Jordan feels it is important for her dancers to never be complacent and to always be challenging themselves. Her dancers have taken classes from visiting choreographers and traveled across country for training. Jordan brings in as many outside sources as she can to help the team improve and be exposed to different dance styles. Jordan also encourages and supports her former dancers to keep dance in their lives beyond high school by dancing in college, coaching or coming back for alumni practices with the team. Not only do Jordan s dancers focus on the sport, they are active in many community events. Her Varsity team has been involved in volunteering making blankets for the NICU at Innovis Hospital, walking all night at Relay for Life and the Fargo Marathon. As a coach, Jordan believes that it is very important to give back to the community that supports the team. Jordan s coaching philosophy is that every day an athlete must believe they will be a champion. She takes care of her dancers in and out of dance practice. She is their coach, their mother, their sister, their friend. Jordan leads by example. The dancers always have a goal. That is to do their best and if 1st place isn't the place that they have earned she doesn't dwell on it. She moves on to the next competition or the next year and tries to take the comments and improve. Jordan just wants the girls to do their best.

3 A current dancer of hers says, To me, she is the most inspirational and creative coach I ve ever had. Her head visualizes things so confusing and complex to me. I would not love dance as much as I do if I didn t have someone like her pushing me. Another dancer on the team has this to say about Jordan, Jordan is the type of coach that makes me want to work harder. She pushes all of us to our limits and we wouldn t be where we are today without her motivation and drive for our team. She has high expectations for us and personally that only wants me to work harder. Jordan is a strong person and has undying love for this team. We all agree we couldn t do what we do today without her.

4 Angela Hill Angela began dance at the age of 4, choreographed her first musical at the age 12 and began teaching dance at the age of 15. Angela's dance training includes tap, jazz and ballet; with her primary focus being classical ballet. Dance instructors she was fortunate enough to have trained with include Sue Gunness, director of Waconia Performing Arts Center; Roni Mahler, former principal dancer with ABT; Gus Girodano, Girodano Jazz Chicago; and Bobby Burgess, of the Lawrence Welk Show. She taught dance for community programs and schools in Detroit Lakes, Lake Park, Audubon, Fergus Falls, Wahpeton, Breckenridge and Fargo and has owned dance studios in Casselton and Kindred. As a choreographer she worked at the Fargo/Moorhead Community Theatre on numerous musical productions, produced fashion shows, and choreographed for gymnasts, martial artists, swing choirs, pageants, and pageant contestants. Performance experience includes: Local, State & National pageants; fashion shows; productions of Paint Your Wagon, Cinderella, The Seven Year Itch, Alone Together, Peter and The Wolf, Man of La Mancha, Don Quixote, and (the production wear she met her husband) Frizzlehorn's Grass Shirt and Snake Oil Show. Angela has been a drama coach and dance instructor for over 30 years. She has directed plays in Lake Park, Casselton and Kindred. She was the drama coach at Kindred High School for 14 years. In 1997 she began writing plays so that she could incorporate her dancers and creative movement into her productions. She is currently a published playwright with 4 titles currently being produced across the country. As drama coach her teams won the North Dakota State One Act Competition in 2007 and in She also received the CSTAND Director of the Year Award in In 2004, Angela was crowned Mrs. North Dakota International and also received the YWCA Woman of the year Award for Youth Advocacy for her work as a motivational speaker across Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota - reaching over 20,000 students. Currently she is the owner/instructor of Evolution Dance and has been the head coach of the Kindred Vikette Dance Team for 6 years. During her time as Vikette coach, her team has earned three state titles in Jazz, three state titles in Pom and two state titles in Hip Hop. She has also helped the Vikettes extend their competition to UDA Regionals, DX Nationals where the Vikettes won the lyrical championship, and NDA Nationals - were the Vikettes placed in the Pom, hip hop & Jazz finals. Angela has been married to her husband Timothy for 26 years and they have two children: Spencer, a martial artist and actor who lives in North Hollywood, and Ava, a freshman at NDSU and assistant coach and choreographer for the Vikette team.

5 KaDee Simensen-Lopez Minot Varsity KaDee feels honored to be nominated by her peers for the NDADD Coach of the Year award. She is passionate about coaching and enjoys working with dancers of all ages. KaDee chooses to lead by example and strives to be a positive role model for her team. Her favorite quote is life isn t about waiting for the storm to pass, it s about learning to dance in the rain! KaDee has been coaching the Minot Majettes Varsity Dance Team for the past 15 years. She graduated from Minot State University in May of 2003 with a Bachelors Degree in Corporate Fitness / Minor in Coaching. KaDee s coaching experience includes: director for the Minot Sky Rockets (CBA) dance team, dance team coordinator for the Minot Muskies (NJHL) performance team, coach for the Minot State University dance team, coach for the Culbertson, MT Dancin Divas, and the Minot High School Varsity & Junior Varsity Dance Teams. Her choreography experience includes: the Minot High School Varsity Cheer Squad, the West Coast Show for the San Francisco Paul Mitchell School, the Erik Ramstad chorus variety show, and the dance choreographer for the Western Plains Opera Merry Widow. KaDee s achievements include: being named Universal Dance Association All-Star in 1999, being chosen as a past nominee for the NDADD coach of the year, and being recognized as the National Association of Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) Major of the Year in KaDee currently coaches the Minot High School Majettes Varsity Dance Team and would like to wish all of the teams good luck at state!