Welcome to Sioux City - IA Just For Kix!

Hello everyone! My name is Colease Sturges and I’m one of the assistants for the 2019-2020 dance season! This year I will be a senior at North High School and I’m also on the North High Dance Squad. This is my 4th year as a dance assistant and I have been dancing with the Just For Kix program for 12 years! As an assistant, I love sharing my knowledge of dance and technique with kids who want to learn more about their passion. I aspire to be an inspiration to them because they always inspire me to be the best I can be. It’s so special because, not only do they learn from me, I learn something new with them! My favorite thing about assisting is how close I get to the kids and not only do I have my dance kids but I have new friends! I also enjoy getting to know the parents over the year! Its like one big family! I also get to watch them grow not only as a dancer, but as a person over the years and it is truly an amazing experience. I have loved every minute of assistant coaching and would recommend it to anyone who has a strong passion for dance! I can’t wait to see what this season brings!

Hello! I’m Libby Birdsell, I’m a senior at Bishop Heelan High School and this will be my 12th year dancing at the Sioux City Just For Kix program, I’m apart of the Senior Kix, Senior Hip Hop, Senior Lyrical and Dream Team Jazz teams! This is my fourth year assisting and I love it! You get to create a bond with the kids as you watch them grow as dancers and watch their skills improve. When it gets to competition season, it’s my favorite thing to watch them go out on the floor and give it everything they have, and to see their faces when they know they’ve done their best. Sharing my love of dance with every student in my class is why I love being a coach!

Hi there! My name is Katie Pope, and I'll be a senior at East High School. This will be my 15th and final year as a Just for Kix dancer, and my 3rd year of coaching. I love being given the opportunity to combine two of my biggest passions - children and dance! I feel so grateful for the chance each week to help my students grow and bond with each other as they hit the floor as a team, doing something they all have fun with. I can't wait to see what this year has in store for all of us in the Sioux City JFK family!!

Hello! My name is Aspen Sanders. I am going to be a sophomore this year at Sergeant Bluff-Luton. This upcoming year will be my 8th year dancing with the Sioux City Just for Kix program. I am a part of the Senior Kix, Senior Lyrical, and Senior Hip Hop teams. This will be my first year as an assistant and I am looking forward to meeting all of the kids! I am excited to encourage the dancers to do and try their best and share my passion for dance. I can't wait to start this season with you all!

Hello! My name is Christina Mihelakakis. I am going to be a senior this year at West High School. I have been dancing for 14 years all of which have been with the Sioux City Just for Kix program. I am a part of Senior Kix, Senior Lyrical, Senior Hip Hop, and Dream Team Jazz. This will be my forth year assisting for the program and I feel so blessed to be apart of the amazing staff Sioux City JFK has. My favorite part about coaching is getting to know and bonding with each kid throughout the season. Being able to encourage dancers to try their best and watching them grow is something I will always look forward to. It is amazing that I get the opportunity to share my passion and love for dance with this team!

Hello, my name is Jaden Shearn. I currently attend Iowa School Of Beauty to become a Cosmetologist. I have been a Just For Kix Alumni for 2 years. I danced for the Sioux City Just For Kix program for 13 years, I was on the Senior Hip-Hop and Senior Kix teams! This will be my 2nd year assisting the Sioux City program. Dance has always been a huge passion of mine so now that I no longer dance, I can make sure other kids see the beauty in dance! My biggest goal is to make sure children are learning, safe and loved in our environment! I am super excited to see what this season brings the Sioux City Just For Kix teams!

Hello! My name is Shyanne Beavers and I am a Just for Kix Alumni, Class of 2019! I am currently attending St. Luke’s College to become a Registered Nurse. I danced for 15 years, 13 of those years at Sioux City Just for Kix. When I was dancing, I was apart of the Senior Kix and Senior Hip Hop teams. This will be my first year assisting and I am beyond excited to be back dancing, but in a coaching format! What I am looking most forward to is being back involved in dancing, watching my teams grow in not only their performance skills, but also their confidence! I can’t wait to see what this year will bring for my teams and overall, Sioux City Just for Kix!

Hi! My name is Alyson Heck and I am a freshman at East High. This is my 8th year dancing at Just For Kix and my 1st year assisting. I love dance and I do it everyday and I love showing other people what makes me happy. I am so glad to be working with kids and teaching them to love dance as much as I do. I cant wait to see what this year has in store!

Hello there! My name is Addison Johnson! I am a senior at Lawton-Bronson High School. I have been dancing with the Sioux City Just For Kix dance program for 7 years. I am apart of the Senior Kix, Senior Lyrical, Senior Hip Hop, and Dream Team Jazz. This will be my first and last time assisting for this program and I am so excited for this season! What I am most looking forward to is all the happy kids dancing and bonding together as a team. I just love that all these kids are going to grow up and improve on their dancing skills and have amazing memories with their teammates. I can’t wait for what my last year dancing has in store for me!

Hi everyone my name is Avianna Rupp, but you can call me Avi. I am going to be a Senior at West High. This will be my 9th year dancing with the Just For Kix program. I am part of the Senior Kicks and Hip Hop teams. This will be my 3rd year of being an assistant, I have high hopes that I will be able to be an inspiration to my dancers, like my coaches were and still are for me. I'm counting down the days until I get to meet you all. Let the memory making begin!

Hi everyone! My name is Kaitlynn Merchant. I am a sophomore at East High School this year and also on the East High Dance Team!! This year will be my 6th year dancing with the Sioux City Just For Kix program and my first year being an assistant. This year I am on the Senior Hiphop, Senior Kix, and the Dream Team Lyrical teams. I was fortunate enough to be apart of the team who won the National Championship this past season in the Senior Hiphop AA category and beyond excited for this year’s season!! Dance has always been a passion of mine and I am very grateful to be apart of this team and to be able to teach younger dancers this season! I am excited to see what this season holds and excited to work with other dancers and be able to share my passion of dance with them!!

Hi! My name is Alison Faulk, I will be a junior at East High School. I am a part of the East varsity cheer team. This will be my 12th year dancing with the Sioux City JFK program and I will be on the varsity showcase kix and hip hop teams. This is my second year coaching and I am looking forward to meeting the new dancers and having another great year!

Hello everyone! My name is Alexis Klouda, I am currently attending Iowa State University and majoring in Biology. This year will be my 14th year with the Sioux City Just For Kix program and my 7th year as an assistant! I may not be here all the time, but I am super excited to help whenever I come back from school! Even though dance was a big part of my life, I will not be dancing through college, but I am very thankful to be able to be here with Just For Kix! I can’t wait for a great season!

Hey Everyone! My name is Emersyn March, but you can call me Emmy! I am a sophomore at East High School where I also do cheer. This is my 7th year dancing with the Sioux City JFK program and my 2nd year coaching! I’m so excited to see what this season holds and meet some new faces! This year I am on the varsity kick and hiphop team as well as the dream team lyrical and jazz teams! I cannot wait to share my love for dance with these younger dancers and watch them grow throughout the season!

Hello everyone! My name is Arianna Miller. I am a senior at East High School, where I participate in varsity cheer, dance, and tennis. I have been dancing with Sioux City JFK for 9 years! I am in Varsity kix, Varsity Hip Hop, Varsity Pom, dream team lyrical, and dream team jazz with the JFK program. This will be my fourth year assisting at JFK. I can't wait to meet some new faces and guide young boys and girls to love dance as much as I do! I love JFK, and I am so excited to see what this next dance season has in store!

Hello everyone! My name is Lesly Montañez! I am a Senior at East High school. At East I do cheer! I have been dancing with Sioux City JFK for 11 years now! I am in varsity kick and hip-hop in this program! This is my 2nd year assisting! So I am very excited to watch and help young dancers become amazing dancers! I can’t wait for a great new season:)!

Hi! My name is Maddie and this will be my 2nd year coaching. I am going to be a sophomore at North High school. This will be my second year on the North dance team and my 11th year with Just For Kix. This year I will be coaching, Lil crew, Middle hiphop, Middle kix, Rising stars jazz and Junior Kix. The classes I take are, Dream team Jazz and Lyrical, Varsity showcase hiphop, kix and pom. I love getting the opportunity to coach these kids and build new connections and get to know everyone! I am so excited to continue my second year of coaching and I know this year will be the best one yet!

Hi! My name is Lili Olsen. I am a senior at East High School this year. I am on varsity cheerleading there! I have been dancing with Sioux City Just For Kix since I was in 2nd grade making, this my 11th year. However I have been dancing since i was three years old! I am on varsity hip-hop, kick, and pom and dream team lyrical. This is my third year coaching and I couldn’t be more excited. I am most looking forward to be able to spread my knowledge of dance and watch these young dancers grow into amazing dancers. This year is going to so much fun and I am so excited!

Hi! My name is Chloee Post! I am a sophomore at North High School. I am also on the dance team there! I have been dancing with the Sioux City Just For Kix program for 7 years! I am on the varsity kix, and hiphop team, as well as dream team jazz and dream team lyrical! This will be my 2nd year assisting at JFK and I couldn’t be more excited! I am so excited to meet some new faces, and watch these dancers grow! I am also excited to build new bonds with the kids, and most importantly watch them do what they love! I can’t wait for a great season ahead!

Hello! My name is Ally Shultz and I’m a Senior at North high school. This is my 11th year with the Just For Kix program and my 3rd year assisting. I am apart of varsity kick, hip hop, pom, and dream team jazz and lyrical. I can’t wait to start this season and meet new faces. This season is going to be the best yet!

Hello everyone! My name is Danielle Wendt. I am currently attending Briar Cliff University and majoring in Elementary Education. I have been with the Just For Kix program for 17 years and this is my 5th year as an assistant. My favorite part of assisting is being able to see our young dancers have fun and grow throughout the year. I am so excited to continue to share my love and passion of dance with younger dancers. I am looking forward to what this year has to come and helping our dancers do their best and most importantly have FUN!

Hi!! My name is Hayden Hansen! This upcoming year I will be a freshman at North High. I’m on the North High Competitive dance team and I play volleyball. I have been dancing with Sioux City Just For Kix for 9 years. I’m on varsity kick and hiphop along with dream team jazz and lyrical. This will be my first year assisting and I am so excited to meet new kids, help them grow as dancers, and show them how fun dance really is. I’m so excited to see what this season brings, I know it will be amazing!

Hi! My Name is Kloey Gisel and I am a sophomore at West High School where I do dance and cheer. This is my 12th year dancing with the Sioux City Just for Kix Program! This will be my first year coaching and I am so excited to help these younger dancers expand their love for dance and watch them grow! This year, I am on the Varsity Kix, Hip Hop, and Pom team as well as the Dream Team Jazz and Lyrical team! I am so excited to build bonds with these younger dancers and watch them do what they love!

Hi my name is Jayla Martinez!! A little about me is I go to south sioux city high school, this is my 3rd year coaching! I have been on senior hip hop and senior kix and senior pom, now onto tryout hiphop and kix and pom!!! I’m so excited for this year to watch every dancer grow and expand their dance level skills! My favorite part about being a dance instructor is the little kids emotions toward you and i just love the bonds you can create then seeing them grow into beautiful dancer. Let’s go 2024-2025 season!!!

Hello, my name is Jayce Shultz! I am a senior at Sergeant Bluff High School I have been on the Sergeant Bluff High School dance team for 4 years now. I have been dancing with Sioux City Just for Kix for 9 years! I am a part of varsity kix and hip hop. I am also part of dream team lyrical. This is my third year assisting and I love it so much! I love having the opportunity to assist and help these young kid get better each day. I know this year will be a great one!:)

Hi, my name is Kennady Wendt and I am a Junior at Bishop Heelan High School. This will be my fourteenth year dancing with Sioux City Just For Kix and my first year assisting. I am on Varsity Kix, Varsity Hip Hop for the second year and will be adding in Acro. I am so excited to create new bonds with the dancers and help them have fun dancing!

Hey!! My name is Caitlin Hagestrom and i’m going to be a Sophomore at Hinton High School. At Hinton I participate in our dance and cheer team. I have been dancing with Just For Kicks for 13 years, and I have spent 3 of those years with Sioux City. I am apart of Varsity Kicks, Pom, and Hiphop, Dream Team Jazz and Lyrical, and i’ll also be taking acro this year! This is my first time assisting, but I can’t wait to meet all the kids and be able to grow their love for dance. I am so excited for this next season to start, and I know it’s going to be amazing!!

Hi everyone!! My name is Ella Jensen. I am an upcoming freshman at Sergeant Bluff Luton, at Sergeant Bluff I do my high school dance team! This year will be my 9th year with the Sioux City Just For Kix program. The classes I take are varsity kix and hiphop, as well as dream team jazz and lyrical! This is my first year coaching and I can not wait to make bonds with kids I never thought I needed, watch kids be the amazing dancers they are, and most importantly I’m doing what I love most. I am so excited to start assisting. Can’t wait for this upcoming season!

Hi everyone! My name is Peyten Johnson, I am a freshman at Sergeant Bluff Luton, I participate in high school dance, track and softball there! I have been dancing for 9 years! This will be my first year coaching! The classes I am coaching this year are Flare Firecrackers, Junior Pom and Rising Star Lyrical! I am so excited to meet and coach everyone!! The classes I am taking are Acro, Dream Team Jazz and Lyrical, and Varsity Showcase Kix, Hip Hop, and Pom. I am also doing a solo and duet! I can’t wait to see what this season holds!

Hello everyone! My name is Ava Mierau and I am very excited to be part of staff in the 2025-2026 dance season! I have been dancing at Just For Kix for 5 years now going onto my 6th. I am also a freshman at North High School, I am on the North High dance team! I am looking forward to teaching young dancers and giving them something to look forward to every week! I am so glad to have this opportunity to help others be inspired by doing the things I love most!

Hi, my name is Mikaela Schmidt. I am going to be an 8th grader at east middle school. I have been dancing with Sioux city JFK since I was 4. This will be my 11th year dancing and very first year coaching. I am on varsity kix, pom, and hip hop, along with dream team lyrical and star maker jazz. When I am not on the dance floor,you can usually find me on the volleyball court with my "Raider" team. I am beyond excited for this upcoming season to start and to get to know your dancer!

Hi Everyone! My name is Anaiah Ahlsten. This is my first year being a Just For Kix staff member. I have been dancing for JFK for 11 years. I am also doing East High Varsity Dance, this is also my first year. A fun fact about me is that I love to dance, I also love to play softball, and volleyball. I am looking forward to teach these little kids and making them better dancers. I have 3 siblings so I am very experienced with kids so I can bring big smiles and very higher energy. I can't wait to be a Just For Kix Dance staff this upcoming year!!!

Hi!! My name is Lauren Nacke and I am a freshman at the University of Iowa! I danced with the Sioux City Just For Kix program for ten years! This is my fourth year as an assistant and I love it with my entire heart. I will be back to help with events like shows and camps on my breaks from school! I have built so many connections with so many of the young little girls and boys that share the same love for dance as me! I cannot wait to see what they accomplish this season!

Hello! I’m Angie Soeu, currently studying business at the University of Northern Iowa- where I have the blessed opportunity to dance at the Division 1 level. Although I won’t be assisting with any specific classes this year, I’m thrilled to share my knowledge and support with various classes and events. I love watching my Sioux City JFK family grow, and I can’t wait to see what the dance season has in store for us.

Hi! My name is Joslyn Wilcox and this will be my 4th year coaching. I’m going to be a senior at East High School this year. There I’m in dance, cheer, and student council. The classes I’m coaching this year are Tiny Hoppers 1, Rising Star Lyrical, and Middle Pom. The classes I take are Dream Team Jazz and Lyrical, and Varsity Showcase Kix and Hip Hop. What I love most about coaching is the bonds I build with each kid throughout the season! I’m so excited for my last year and can’t wait for a great season ahead!

Hello everyone! My name is Aubrey Watts. I am a junior at Hinton High School where I also will be doing the school cheer team. This will be my 12th year with Sioux City JFK. I am in dream team jazz, Dream team lyrical, Acro, varsity pom, and varsity kick. This will be my second year assisting. I can't wait to meet new faces or even see familiar ones and share my love and passion for dance with other young dancers!