Meet Ms. Brittanie Carmona

Ms. Brittanie Carmona is a new instructor to our studio this season. Brittanie has traveled and lived around the United States training and teaching dance. She moved back to the Fargo-Moorhead area with her family to be closer to family. We love her passion and love for dance. She is a great additional to our dance family.

Q & A with Ms. Brittanie

Q. What is your favorite part about teaching?

A. I love when I see that spark of passion for dance for the first time in a dancer! Then it’s the biggest privilege to be able to help that love for dance grow.

Q. What inspired you as a dancer?

A. What inspired me (and still inspires me!) is learning from a wide variety of teachers who had so much joy for what they did! I’ve always felt the most myself while dancing & seeing people do what they loved for their career was so inspiring & helped make that dream a reality!

Q. Tips for our dancers?

A. Work hard, practice hard, and always find the joy!

Q. What is your favorite snack?

A. Anything chocolate & COFFEE!

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Brittanie Carmona

Brittanie was raised in Moorhead, MN, where she started dancing at the age of four. She studied ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, musical theater, and hip hop at Valley Studio of Dance/ Dance Studio Elite, and competed across the Midwest in all dance genres. She also traveled and attended numerous dance conventions with well-known choreographers.

After graduating in 2005, she taught and choreographed for First City Dance Studio in Bemidji, Minnesota, then lived in Washington DC & Philadelphia where she worked with and learned from multiple choreographers and dance companies, including the Koresh Dance Company and Joy of Motion Dance Center under Helen Hayes for almost a year.

In 2007, Brittanie moved to Newport Beach, CA and furthered her training at Jimmie DeFore Dance Center, EDGE Performing Arts Center, and Millennium with incredible choreographers. She traveled and took many classes from Tabitha & Napoleon, Mandy Moore, Mia Michaels, Nick Lazzarini, Gil Stroming, Dee Caspary, Joe Tremaine, and more. She also choreographed production pieces for conferences and for the Imagine Foundation.

In 2014, Brittanie moved with her husband and baby daughter to Nashville and taught at Histown Dance Studio and Diamond Academy of Dance. She had the opportunity to work with dancers for multiple award shows & train backup dancers for well-known artists. She also helped prepare and choreograph for competitions, including nationals in Orlando, where we placed well and took home many first overall awards & platinum awards.

In January of 2016, she moved back to Bemidji, MN with her family where she taught and choreographed with First City Dance Studio. She worked with their competitive teams and won multiple platinum, first overalls, and choreography awards.

In September of 2016 Brittanie moved to Fargo with her husband and two daughters. She taught and choreographed for both competitive and recreational programs at Dance Studio Elite. She received many platinum, overall awards, and choreography awards at multiple competitions across the Midwest.

MaryJo Nelson - Introduction

Hello and welcome to day two of our instructor introductions. Today we welcome new instructor, Ms. MaryJo Nelson to our teaching staff this season! MaryJo has been traveling the world for the last many years and is back in Fargo-Moorhead. We are excited to have as part of our dance family!

Q & A

Q. What is your favorite part about teaching?

A. I love being able to watch how students grow and gain confidence as dancers. I think it's especially beautiful when I see students figure out how to stop thinking so hard and to just live and experience the music and the movement. I always hope to inspire students to be the best they can be.

Q. What inspires you?

A. Music inspires me. Music on its own is so emotive and makes me feel like I have to move and express visually the story that the music is telling me. Also, watching amazing dancers and amazing pieces choreography that make me feel something inspires me to want to be better and do better.

Q. Tips for our dancers?

A. Work hard. As with anything, you will only get out of dance what you put into it. Learn from as many different teachers in as many different styles as possible. Learn from people who are better than you. Practice good technique. Create good habits. And once you've done all that, forget about it all and just live in the movement. If you never take the courage to let go and show people your heart, then no one will ever have the privilege to see how great you are.

Q. Favorite snack?

A. Rice cakes or gummy bears :)

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MaryJo Nelson

MaryJo Nelson has been moving since the age of three, beginning with gymnastics and later, after competing for several years in USAG, transitioning to dance. MaryJo moved to Fargo from Phoenix when she was 13 and spent her high school years studying ballet at Brant’s School of Dance Arts. During her senior year, she also competed on the nationally ranked West Fargo High School dance team and was a choreographer for the team. After graduating, MaryJo spent three years with the California based performing arts group, The Young Americans, during which time she had the opportunity to teach dance and perform all over the world in countries including the UK, Germany, Poland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Japan, and China.

At the age of 22, MaryJo crewed on a sailboat from San Diego to central pacific Mexico. She decided she liked Mexico so much that she stayed and ended up living there for the next six and a half years. For her first three years there, she made her living teaching aerial silks and performing as a dancer and aerialist. For the last several years, MaryJo has been working professionally at theaters in and near Puerto Vallarta, playing starring roles including Roxie in Chicago, Cinderella in Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Kira in Xanadu, and Janet Weiss in The Rocky Horror Show. This past season she also had the privilege to choreograph NuName Production’s Chicago for which she received rave reviews.

After spending most of the last ten years abroad, MaryJo has finally decided to move back to Fargo to be close to her family. She feels so fortunate to have had the opportunity to train in so many different styles of movement from a variety of teachers all over the world, and she can’t wait to be able to share her passion for story telling through dance with the students at Gasper’s School of Dance!

Lyndsey Knutson - Introduction

We are going to do a little series introducing our 2019 - 2020 staff. With the additional of a second location last season, we are excited to add to our staff this season! There are a lot of new faces both in the classroom and at our front desk.

Today we begin to introduce these staff members and we are starting with Ms. Lyndsey Knutson. Ms. Lyndsey is not new to our teaching staff, but is returning this season. She used to own a studio in Fergus Falls, MN and taught Hip Hop several years ago at our studio. She currently teaches Jazz, Musical Theatre, Hip Hop (and Tap). She is also the coach for our Premiere Team (performance team).

We did a little Q & A with our staff and this is what Ms. Lyndsey K has to say.

Q. What is your favorite part about teaching?

A. I really like seeing the growth of each dancer throughout the year. Not only as a dancer but as a person. I also love learning from the students as well. For instance- Sometimes they will say a fact I didn’t know or when doing a piece of choreography they will somehow do a movement differently that makes it look even better.

Q. What inspired you as a dancer?

A. My dance teachers growing up were my mentors as well. They always have inspired me and still do to this day. My family also inspires me to keep learning and bettering myself.

Q. Tips for our dancers?

A. Give your all in everything you do. Don’t hold back due to fear of failure or looking silly. Each day is a gift so soak up every minute of it!

Q. Favorite snack?

A. Popcorn or Cheez-its

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Ms. Lyndsey Knutson

Lyndsey Knutson is well versed in all styles of dance and performing arts. She is an alumnus from Elite Dance and Performing Arts, which was once named "largest and most prestigious dance studios in the Phoenix Metropolitan area." Lyndsey was a national competitive dancer for ten years and has been trained in commercial acting and musical theater. Appearing in numerous stage and televised productions, including a tour through Europe ending with a nationally televised performance in Rosa, Spain, she was also a featured dancer for Showstoppers Entertainment Company.

Lyndsey has trained with the most influential and sought after entertainers in the business such as: Mia Michaels, Dee Caspary, Mandy Moore, Eddie Stratchan, John Crutchman, Joe Lanteri, Rhonda Miller, Alan Sherfield, Desmond Richardson, just to name a few. Working closely with and growing up taking class beside some well known names of today, such as: Tokyo-Kevin Inouye (Master teacher/well known choreographer), Nick Torres (Played Billy Elliot on Broadway in Billy Elliot), Robert McKee (Gus Giordano Jazz Co, Chicago, IL), and Bridget Mc-carter and Ade Obayomi ("So You Think You Can Dance"), she is part of a legacy of professional success.

Lyndsey is originally from Fergus Falls MN, moved to Arizona as a child and has now currently lives in Moorhead MN. She is married to Kyle Knutson and they have a son named Chance. Her dream had always been to open a studio of her own that provided the highest quality instruction in a fun and nurturing environment. With the help of her wonderful husband and family support this dream came true for Lyndsey. Edge Dance and Performing Arts in Fergus Falls MN was open 2006-2018 . After a military relocation to Texas last year they closed the studio.

She is now excited to be working with Gaspers School of Dance and teaching again. Constantly evaluating the dance world of today and updating material accordingly, she helps provide her students with the tools they need to become a well rounded dancer and performer. She wholeheartedly believes in "Building Confidence-Making Memories-Inspiring All". Lyndsey adores her students and feels honored to be a part of their lives.

Lyndsey has been teaching and choreographing dance, both competitive and non-competitive, for over eleven years and takes pleasure in watching students not only progress in their training, but also grow as confident individuals.