Emilie - Owner, Pole & Aerial Instructor, Ophidia Performance Group Artistic Director
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Emilie has been dancing and performing since she was 5 years old. She started teaching dance classes in high school and became the owner her hometown dance studio at 20 years old. Her love of dance brought her to Boise in 2015, where she attempted to go to school at Boise State University. "Attempted" is an accurate description because what she really wanted to do was dance, not write papers! In early 2016 she found Ophidia Studio, and aerial arts quickly became her new obsession. Pole dancing and Aerial Silks are her main disciplines but she loves to dabble in Lyra, hammock, flying pole, & of course, dance. She took her circus dreams up a notch and started training and teaching at Fly!Boise, a Flying Trapeze school in 2018. She has performed with the Ophidia Performance Group, Line|Up Pole Company, Fly!Boise, Off Center Dance Company, Boise Circus Guild, Pin Ups on Tour, and at many events around the Treasure Valley. In 2022, she was asked to perform on stage with the one and only Snoop Dogg! An absolute dream come true! Learning about the body, how it moves, and ways to keep it functioning at it's best is another passion of hers! She loves reading and taking courses specifically made for Aerial Arts. She is a certified XPole 1 & 2 instructor, VXN Dance Cardio instructor, Flexibility and Stretching Coach, & plans on adding more certifications to her resume! Her hope is to dance for years and years to come, which can only be done by taking good care of the body! Her favorite part of owning the studio is sharing it with others. Her proudest moments are when students achieve more than they thought possible and beam with pride. She can't wait to see what the future holds.
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Ashley - Aerial silks, hoop, & hammock Instructor
Ashley started her silks journey in 2018 and fell in love. After a few months she moved to Arkansas, but never forgot her love of circus. She moved back to Boise and resumed classes in the fall of 2020. Her passion grew, and she has been teaching since the fall of 2021. Ashley focuses on aerial hammock, split silks, lyra, and duo aerial. She has dabbled in pole, contortion, partner acro, and flying trapeze as well. She loves sharing the knowledge she has acquired and seeing others become passionate about circus as well!
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Alyssa - aerial silks & aerial yoga instructor
Alyssa began her aerial journey on a whim at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, circa 2015. Despite taking summers off to work/adventure in Alaska, she has been a dedicated aerial addict ever since!Life brought her to Boise in 2019 where she found new spaces to play & another welcoming aerial/circus community in which to learn, grow, instruct, & now also perform! Alyssa primarily works on split silks & aerial yoga hammock, but still loves trying new apparatuses & learning new skills from friends/fellow teachers. Catch her in the studio Mondays for Aerial Silks & Wednesdays for Restorative Aerial Yoga.
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Kristin - Pole Instructor |
Alexandra - Pole Instuctor |
Kristin gained a love for dance when she took her first class in 6th grade. She danced on her high school dance team and found that after she graduated the only place she could dance was in her kitchen and bathroom. Too many years later she bought a Groupon to Ophidia Studio for Pole Dancing classes but broke her wrist a couple weeks later. In June of 2014 Kristin was finally able to use her class pass and took her 1st pole dance class and has been addicted ever since. She began teaching beginner pole later in December 2015. She has performed with Ophidia's Pole Performance Group under the direction of Lexxi DuJour and Stephanie Hope and transitioned to Line|Up Pole Dance Company when it originated in 2017. Her favorite moves are Caterpillar Climbs, Pegasus, & ceiling TWERKING. Follow her on Instagram @k_delicious to keep up with her classes & awesome moves!
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Alexandra is the founder of Line|Up Pole Dance Company (@thepolelineup). She started pole dancing in 2009 when she and her sister planned a bachelorette party for their friend. Amazed by the athleticism, aesthetics, and just plain fun of the activity, she and her sister signed up for unlimited passes at their local studio. She became an instructor several years later and has taught classes covering beginner to advanced pole tricks, pole fitness, and is Xpert certified. Alexandra has also trained in aerial silks, flexibility, and multiple types of dance. She loves performing and you may see her at show as Lexxi DuJour. She’s been privileged to share the stage with international and nationally touring burlesque and drag performers as well as local legends and the talented dancers of Line|Up.
Competitions she’s competed in as a solo artist and a duo with her twin include:
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Katie Ponozo - Aerial Silks, Flexibility, & Dance instructor |
Ellen - Aerial Hoop Instructor |
Katie was born and raised in Orofino, Idaho and studied ballet, tap, and jazz in Lewiston and Moscow, Idaho with Festival Dance Academy. She has performed in the Nutcracker with Eugene Ballet Company as a party child and flower. Katie spent two years preforming with Idaho Dance Theatre and one year with Stampede Spirit dancers and recently with Off Center Dance Project and performs aerial silks with the Red Light Variety Show. She teaches dance at Boise State University, College of Idaho and two private studios. She graduated from Boise State University where she earned a BA in theatre with dance emphasis, Cum Laude. Katie primarily subs aerial silks at Ophidia Studio.
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Ellen has been hooked on aerial arts since taking her first class at Ophidia in 2017. She's been spreading the joy of hoop as an Ophidia instructor for the last 3 years. When she's not teaching or performing she's training contortion and a smidge of handbalancing.
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Paige - Pole Instructor
Paige grew up with a passion for dance but was highly uncoordinated. As a youth in high school, Paige was drawn to the challenge of strength and fluidity that gymnastics and cheerleading presented. After graduating from high school, she got distracted by other things in life and stopped dancing, but after a while she was invited to try pole dancing. Paige immediately fell in love with the exciting opportunity to express herself creatively once again and has been dancing ever since. Paige is a member of Line Up Pole Dance Company. Her favorite pole moves include extended butterfly, ballerina, and shoulder mounting.
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Carly - Pole Instructor
An invasive species from California, Carly has called Boise home for the last 5 years. After moving to Boise, she discovered the art of pole dancing and aerial arts through Ophidia Studio and hasn't looked back. Prior to landing in the Treasure Valley, Carly was a dancer of 18 years in the Bay Area with past performance credits including the SuperBowl 50 Halftime Show. She has gone on to work with troupes like Cabaret San Jose and Hubba Hubba Revue: A Neo-Burlesque & Variety Show in San Francisco as well as Boise based companies like Off Center Dance, Alley Reperatory Theatre, and Femme Von Follies. Her specialities are dance pole, aerial pole, chair dance, and flying trapeze. You can catch Carly teaching at Ophidia Studio, Asana Climbing Gym, and Fly! Boise Trapeze.
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Anastasiya - Pole Instructor
Anastasiya was born in Belarus and started gymnastics at the age of 3. After moving to the states at age 6 she continued gymnastics until the age of 11. In middle school and high school Anastasiya participated in a variety of sports including dance, swimming, volleyball, and Mixed Martial Arts. It wasn't until she started her freshman year of college that she discovered her true passion: Aerial Sports. Anastasiya's favorite apparatuses include pole and flying trapeze. She has been pole dancing for the past 5 years and started teaching in August 2022. She has performed several times with Ophidia's Performance Group under the direction of Emilie Dickinson. Anastasiya's favorite pole moves include Jade, Jainero, and Ayesha.
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Lacey - Exotic Pole & floor instructor
With a decades worth of experience dancing in the strip clubs, Lacey is 6 years into her journey as a pole instructor. She has danced at clubs in 6 different states, and competed in 5 different exotic pole competitions, taking 1st in 3 of them. An Idaho native. she has found her passion teaching students how to embrace the sexy side of pole and build their confidence through exotic movement, on the floor and the pole.
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