cristi tan

Cristi grew up dancing in Lakeville, MN where she was on the Star Liner Dance Team and the Lakeville North Dance Team. While in high school Cristi performed in the Presidential Inaugural Parade For President George Bush, danced halftime at the Outback Bowl in Florida, competed in the State Dance Team Tournament and was awarded All State Dancer by the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders her senior year. After high school, Cristi attended St. Cloud State University and earned a degree in Elementary Education. During this time, Cristi taught at the Just for Kix program in St. Cloud, was the JFK Director in Mora, and was also a coach for the Lakeville North Dance Team. After college Cristi danced for a Semi Pro Football Team for 3 years and took the Head Dance Team Coach position at Prior Lake High School and Prior Lake Middle School. Cristi spent 12 seasons coaching at Prior Lake and in this time the team grew from 20 dancers to 70 dancers and attended to the State Tournament 8 years in a row. Cristi has also been nominated Coach of the Year through MADT and Prior Lake High School in 2015 - 2018. In 2018 Cristi performed at the Superbowl Halftime Show with Justin Timberlake!

With her love of dance she decided to start her own studio too! Evolution Dance Company is entering its 12th year and Cristi is proud to be a positive role model in so many kids' lives. 

studio owner and director + instructor

kristina FOLSTAD

assistant director + competitive instructor

Kristina started out as a studio dancer at the age of 3, training and competing  with Chanhassen Dance and Performing Arts Centre. Growing up she trained in all different styles- jazz, ballet, lyrical, musical theater, hip-hop, etc. Kristina then attended Eden Prairie High School, where she was a 4-year member and senior captain of the Eden Prairie Pom Squad. With her team, she won 3 Jazz National Championships at the National Dance Team Championships,  along with 5 second place finishes. She then moved on to attend the University of Minnesota - studying Communications and Sports Management. While earning her degree she was a 4-year member and senior captain of the University of Minnesota Dance Team. During her time on the team, she won 6 national titles at the UDA College Championship and won a gold and silver medal as Team USA at the ICU World Championship. While on both her high school and college dance teams, she received awards such as Most Inspirational, Most Improved, and Gopher Spirit Award. Kristina also spent 8 seasons as an assistant varsity coach with the Prior Lake Dance Team, attending the State Tournament 6 years in a row. Currently, in addition to her time at EDC Kristina works as part of the Miss Dance Team MN organization, and is proud to help coach for Team Minnesota each spring. 

This will be Kristina's 9th year with Evolution Dance Company, and her 5th year working full time with the studio. She is grateful to push boundaries, express creativity, and help to shape young dancers and adults every single day! 

competitive instructor

Nicole is from Centennial, Colorado; where she trained at Starstruck Academy of Dance for 16 years. She began competing for the Elite Company Team at the age of 5; in that time she also had the opportunity to assist many name choreographers from around the country. Nicole graduated from Arapahoe High School where she was a 4-year varsity letter winner and captain of the dance team her senior year. As a senior, she led her team to a state championship. After high school, Nicole moved to Minneapolis, MN to attend the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. At the U, she continued her dance career as a member of the University of Minnesota Dance Team. During her time on the team, she won 6 national titles at the UDA College Championship and won a gold and silver medal as Team USA at the ICU World Championship. Nicole was a 4-year collegiate varsity letter winner and served as a captain her senior year; helping lead the team to a double National Title. She graduated in May 2017 from the College of Science and Engineering with a Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering (B.Bm.E), emphasizing in Medical Device Design; she now works full-time as a Supplier Quality Engineer with Medtronic in Plymouth, MN. 

Nicole has been with Evolution Dance Company for 7 years - she continually pushes our competitive program both with her creativity and knowledge of the dance industry. 

MADDY VERCELLI

competitive instructor

Maddy cannot wait to start teaching at EDC this season! She is currently a Sophomore on the University of Minnesota Dance Team and majoring in Elementary Education. She is originally from Shorewood, Illinois where I grew up doing both studio and dance team training in all styles from jazz, contemporary, ballet, hip hop, and even pom. Her favorite style of dance is either jazz or pom, and she loves to work technique with energetic dancers!

Maddy has been dancing for 18 years and loves the community that the dance world creates, as well as getting to watch dancers grow and develop year after year. She is beyond excited to get to mentor all of you through Season 12! 

ashley le

recreational instructor

Ashley started dancing at the age of 3 where she’s trained in various styles such as jazz, high kick, hip hop, ballet, and more! Her dance career consists of 12 years of competitive studio experience and 5 years as a Varsity member and senior captain of the Burnsville Dance Team. After “retiring” her dance shoes, her passion for dance transition into a teaching role. She choreographed over 20 dances for dance clubs during her time at the University of Minnesota, and she’s currently going on her 4th year of coaching for the Two Rivers Dance Team. Ashley’s been lucky to work with dancers of all different skill levels and ages ranging from Preschoolers to College Students. 

She is so excited to continue onto her second year of teaching at Evolution Dance Company!

kacey southwick

ballet instructor

Kacey was born and raised in Minnesota. She started dancing at age 5, studying all styles of dance. At age 11 she became a competitive artistic gymnast, while still continuing part time ballet training. At the age of 16, she began training strictly in classical ballet and still continues to do so today. Kacey has performed the featured roles of Arabian, Flower Queen in Waltz of the Flowers, Rat Queen, and Dancing Doll all from the Nutcracker. She has also performed Puss and Boots from Sleeping Beauty and Work Duet from Coppelia. Kacey lives in Minneapolis and recently became a mom to baby Rory and Callahan! 

We have been lucky to have Kacey with us for 8 years now! 

erika ellis

ballet instructor

Erika began dancing at the age of 6, with her focus mainly in classical ballet. She received much of her training and mentorship from local professional, Yuki Tokuda. Throughout her career, Erika has danced principal and soloist roles with Continental Ballet Company, Metropolitan Ballet, and Minneapolis Ballet Dancers and has enjoyed performing as a freelance artist as well. Some of her favorite roles include Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Clara in The Nutcracker, Summer Fairy in Cinderella, and Princess Florine in The Sleeping Beauty. In addition to teaching, Erika is pursuing a degree in Theatre Production & Design at Normandale College.

Erika has been a ballet instructor with Evolution Dance Company for 8 years and we are excited for another season with her! 

hannah murray

admin + front desk

Hannah’s passion for dance started when she was 2 years old in a mommy and me class. She grew up in the world of dance! Hannah began competing in lyrical, jazz, tap, hip hop, etc. at the age of 9. In high school, she was an assistant dance teacher for 2 years. She was also on the New Prague High School Dance Team as well as the cheerleading squad. 


In addition to having a passion for dance, she has a growing interest in mental health, and will be attending school to become a mental health therapist in the near future. Hannah has had multiple years of experience working as a receptionist, and is excited to be joining our team!

She is looking forward to supporting dancers in their dancing journey, as well as helping make EDC a place to call home for everyone! 

OUR STAFF

★

★

kristina FOLSTAD

NICole bruhn

izzy Dwire

Izzy grew up in Prior Lake, where she started dancing at age 4. She is a proud alumni of EDC and trained at Evolution Dance Company for 10 years in jazz, contemporary, lyrical, ballet, hip hop, etc. She was also a four year varsity member and senior captain of the Prior Lake Dance Team. Additionally, she had to opportunity to compete with Team Minnesota for three years where she was able to dance with dancers from across Minnesota. Izzy is currently a student at University of St Thomas as an elementary education major and is a member of the University of St Thomas Dance Team. 

Izzy started assisting classes at EDC four years ago, and started teaching her own classes this past season. She loves working with kids of all ages and growing her love for dance!

competitive instructor

Emma Le

competitive instructor + acro instructor

 Emma Le is currently a freshman on the University of Minnesota Dance Team. She has been a dancer for 15 years and spent 7 of those years dancing and teaching at EDC; she has competed and trained in many different styles such as jazz, contemporary, lyrical, hip hop, ballet, high kick, and more! Emma was a part of Team Minnesota for 2 years and was proudly crowned Miss Dance Team Minnesota in 2023. She danced on the Burnsville High School varsity team for 6 years and was captain for 4 seasons. During her time in highschool she was selected for the All-State jazz team for 5 years, and received Most Valuable Dancer on Burnsville for 5 different seasons. At Just For Kix dance camp, she received the "Heather Star-Habeck" award her junior and senior year, and was 1x recipient for the "Rising Star" and "Most Outstanding Dancer" award. Additionally, Emma trained in gymnastics for 6 years, trained under our previous acro instructor, Makenzee Helser, and has a passion for acro in dance.  Outside of dance, she will be majoring in Journalism in hopes to pursue a career as a broadcast reporter.

Evolution Dance Company is like a second home to Emma. She is so happy to be a part of these dancers lives and hopes to inspire them everyday! 

Jess erickson

competitive instructor + recreational instructor

Jess started her dance career at a young age, attending Woodbury Dance Center where she trained competitively in ballet, tap, jazz, and lyrical. Jess continued her dancing career at Gustavus Adolphus College, where she performed on the Fall Performance Dance Team at basketball and football games as well as danced on the Winter Competition Dance Team for 4 years. During her time on the team Jess was elected captain and helped with choreography and technique training. After graduating Jess took over as Head Coach for the Gustavus Performance and Competition Dance Teams and led her team to local and national competitions. After college, she worked at NorthStar Dance Company with recreational and competitive dancers of all ages. She also danced with The Minnesota Dance Collaborative as a company member for 3 years and then transitioned into choreography for company pieces. She then moved on to coaching the JV Prior Lake Dance Team for 2 winter seasons.

Outside of dance, Jess is an elementary teacher for the Prior Lake-Savage Area School District. Jess is excited to bring her passion for dance and teaching together. Jess's goals are to build a strong sense of community and to ignite passion in young dancers as they learn and grow in their early dancing career - we are so excited to have Jess back for a third season! 

macy sisco

competitive instructor + recreational instructor

Macy started dancing at the age of 3 and grew up learning many different dance styles. She trained competitively at Dance Express in Mankato MN for 12 years. After dancing competitively, she joined her student-led high school dance team, Mankato West Orchesis. She danced on the team for all 4 years of high school and her senior year, she was elected as a captain. Throughout her dance career, Macy has performed at national competitions, TimberWolves games, and many community events. Outside of dance, Macy owns an esthetic business providing eyelash and eyebrow services.

We are thrilled to have Macy join the EDC family this season!