Owner and Artistic Director, Primary Instructor

Juliana Vorkink Martin began her dance training as a shy three year old in a pre-ballet class. She quickly fell in love with ballet and has spent over 20 years in the ballet industry. Juliana earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Ballet emphasizing in Teaching and Character Dance from the University of Utah's Ballet Program -- one of the premier collegiate ballet programs in the country.

Mrs. Martin is fully certified in American Ballet Theatre's National Training Curriculum, one of the most respected ballet pedagogy systems in the world, and has Affiliate Teacher status with ABT. She was also mentored by Raymond Lukens, the co-author of the curriculum, and was asked to present her classes at the curriculum's trainings for aspiring teachers. Juliana has successfully presented students from West Point Ballet for American Ballet Theatre's ballet examinations, with her students passing with merit and honors. Juliana is certified in Level 1 of 4Pointe. Martin has attended teacher trainings at Central Youth Pennsylvania Ballet with Marcia Dale Weary in Carlisle, PA. Juliana has trained dozens of dancers for Youth America Grand Prix, the world's largest ballet competition. Many of Mrs. Martin's former dancers have received scholarships and awards, moving on to professional or collegiate dance programs.

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Juliana is currently an Associate Instructor in ballet at the University of Utah's School of Dance. Juliana is an established classical and contemporary ballet choreographer, completing original story ballets such as Toads and Diamonds, Peter and the Wolf, Hansel and Gretel, and The Wizard of Oz. She was an adjunct professor in Brigham Young University’s Ballet Area and is currently studying to be certified in Stott Pilates. She is also certified in Progressing Ballet Technique, a revolutionary cross-training program designed for ballet dancers. Mrs. Martin has completed teacher trainings with muvMethod. In 2020, Juliana was awarded Riverton City's Business Woman of the Year award for her achievements in business with West Point Ballet. She is also the founder of Utah Theatre Ballet, which is West Point Ballet's resident non-profit performance company.

Mrs. Martin is passionate about teaching ballet, but believes that each dancer is a person first, and a dancer second.

Associate Director of Performances, Ballet Instructor

Hannah Hurd earned a BFA in Ballet Teaching and Choreography at the University of Utah. She began dancing at a young age in Colorado Springs, Colorado where she developed her love for dance. To further pursue ballet, she began Dancing at Ballet Society of Colorado Springs. In her early teens, Hannah moved to Mesa, Arizona, and started dancing for a pre-professional company - Ballet Etudes. As Hannah advanced in her training throughout the years, she performed many different corps and soloist roles in The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Coppélia, Giselle, Peter Pan, and Peter and the Wolf. At the age of 16, Hannah performed with the Phoenix Symphony for a New Year's Eve Gala.

In her adult years, Hannah has been a guest soloist for productions in Sandy, Utah where she performed major roles in Cinderella, Nutcracker, and Sleeping Beauty. Hannah received her college training from former Ballet West dancer and coach Maureen Laird, renowned dance critic, and coach Regina Zarhina, Calvin Kitten of The Joffrey Ballet, and many other artists. Along with her college ballet education, Hannah also performed corps and soloist roles in Les Sylphides and Paquita and choreographed many works for the University of Utah Ballet Showcase performances.

Hannah is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 5 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She is a MUvmethod, 4pointe, and Progressing Ballet Technique Certified Teacher. Hannah is a competition judge for various dance competitions in the Salt Lake Valley.

Hannah is currently the Associate Director of Performances at West Point Ballet Academy and an adjunct faculty member for the ballet department at BYU. She is an experienced and innovative contemporary and ballet choreographer. She has enjoyed choreographing and coaching students for YAGP and other competitions. Creating original ballets, and restaging original works has been a lifelong goal and a major accomplishment. Hannah enjoys teaching pre-ballet up to advanced technique, pointe, and adult ballet. Hannah not only strives to educate students about proper technique, but also instills great work ethic, teamwork, positivity, and achieving personal goals

Director of Contemporary Dance, Ballet Instructor

Sharlee began her dance training in Salt Lake City, Utah and went on to graduate with a BA in dance performance from Brigham Young University. While pursuing her college degree, Peay performed with ballet and contemporary companies, touring performances in Idaho, Colorado, India, and China. While pursuing her college degree, Sharlee received several awards including Rookie of the Year, Outstanding Female Performer, and All-Around Excellence in Performance, Academics, Leadership and Choreography. She was also honored to graduate magna cum laude and be on full tuition scholarship for both dance and academics through the duration of her college education; which included the 
prestigious Leona Holbrook Scholarship,
Phyllis C. Jacobson Scholarship, and Abrelia Clarissa Hinckley Scholarship.

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Sharlee began her professional career, immediately following graduation, with SALT Contemporary Dance in June 2014. As a performer she has studied with and performed works by Peter Chu (chuthis), Jermaine Spivey (Kidd Pivot), Modern Dance Guru Donald McKayle, Alex Ketley (The Foundry), Loni Landon, Joni McDonald, Ching Ching Wong, and Ihsan Rustem amongst others. Peay has also had the opportunity to work with Summer Lee Rhatigan at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance where she studied Ballet, improvisation, contemporary and Ohad Naharin's "gaga" technique and repertoire with Bobby Jene Smith and Tom Weinberger (Batsheva).

​Sharlee began teaching at the age of 14 and has taught throughout Utah at various studios teaching ballet and contemporary and setting work on students across the valley. Including work for full length ballets, Nutcrackers, and YAGP. Her 15 years of teaching have brought her to love the unique study, investigation, exploration and hard work that can be found in the studio space. She was recently honored to be a featured choreographer for SALT Contemporary Dance "LINK" Festival in 2019. Sharlee co-founded Oquirrh West Project in May of 2017 where she danced with, choreographed for, and acted as Associate Artistic Director for two seasons. As the current Artistic Director and resident choreographer for the project, she looks forward to continuing her research and exploration.

Ballet Instructor

Kalise began her training with Tatiana Baksheava. At 15 she participated in YAGP and qualified for New York. She then attended North Carolina School of the Arts on scholarship where she graduated from high school with an emphasis in ballet. While at NCSA she was selected to study and perform in Budapest, Hungary.

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She earned her BFA and MFA from the University of Utah where she was a recipient of the William F. Christensen scholarship and a member of Utah Ballet. She performed various soloist roles including; Paquita, Swan Lake, Les Sylphides, Pas de Quatre, Don Quixote, multiple contemporary ballets and toured/performed in Seoul, South Korea. Kalise has had the opportunity to work with renowned choreographers, some of which include; Alonzo King, Thaddeus Davis, Lucas Crandall, Donald McKayle, Giaconda Barbuto, and Robert Moses. She has studied and performed with the Lines Professional Workshop, North West Professional Dance Project, Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert, Utah Contemporary Ballet, Utah Opera (Aida), and Utah Ballet. She taught at Brigham Young University as a full-time faculty member. She choreographed Hansel and Gretel and Cendrillon for the Utah Lyric Opera and thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with various artists in the process. She is certified in mUvmethod yoga and Progressing Ballet Technique. She loves teaching ballet, coaching dancers for YAGP and teaching yoga. She has taught various levels and masterclasses throughout the valley.

Ballet Instructor

Madyson Wurtzbacher began dancing when she was three years old in Tucson, Arizona. She fell in love with ballet at the age of 10, but still continued to train in all styles of dance up until she graduated high school. Madyson started to seriously focus her education and career in ballet at the time of her acceptance at Brigham Young University, and graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Dance degree in 2021.

While at BYU, Madyson was a part of the Theatre Ballet company under the direction of Shayla Bott, Ashley Parov, and Hilary Wolfley. She performed as a member of the corps in Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and Giselle, as well as in George Balanchine’s Walpurgisnacht. She also performed a pas de deux and soloist role in Gerald Arpino’s Reflections, as well as a partnering role in Paul Taylor’s contemporary work, Airs. Other significant roles that Madyson danced in were in contemporary choreographic works by Martha Graham and José Limón. Madyson was also invited with a select number of dancers, to perform Shayla Bott’s contemporary ballet work at a Women in Dance Leadership Conference in Pennsylvania.

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Since graduating, Madyson has become an adjunct faculty member for the BYU ballet dept. She will be teaching technique classes as well as setting choreography on the University students.

Ballet Instructor

Addy was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. She has been dancing now for 18 years. In 2013, she found a passion in ballet and was accepted into the Pacific Northwest Ballet school where she trained until 2019. She has also participated in various ballet intensive programs including Ballet Hawaii, Ballet Austin, Oregon Ballet Theatre, and Ballet West. Addy brings a wealth of performance experience including Coppelia, Snow White, Le Corsaire, George Balanchine's Serenade, Stars and Stripes, Raymonda Variations and The Nutcracker, Gerald Arpino's Reflections, and Viva Vivaldi, and as Odile in Swan Lake. Addy started performing with BYU Theatre Ballet in 2019, and just finished her third year on the company. Addy has recently discovered her love for teaching ballet, and has enjoyed her first year teaching at West Point Ballet. Grateful for her continued growth in training and teaching, Addy looks forward to contributing more to West Point Ballet.

Ballet Instructor

Faith Hymas has been dancing since she was three years old. She trained at Rocky Mountain Dance where she found a love and passion for ballet, but also trained in jazz, hip-hop, and contemporary. She loves to perform and has had the opportunity to perform as a soloist in The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Snow White, and The Sleeping Beauty. Faith attended Utah Valley University where she had the opportunity to train and perform with Repertory Ballet Ensemble. While on the company, she performed in Les Sylphides, Hansel and Gretel, and many other pieces from guest and resident choreographers. She also had the opportunity to learn Arpino’s The Italian Suite from Cameron Basden, former ballet master of Joffery Ballet. After attending Utah Valley University for five years, Faith graduated with a bachelor’s degree in ballet and a minor in business management. One of her favorite things about dance is the ability to challenge herself daily and continually learn. Faith also loves to teach ballet, jazz, and contemporary to all levels and ages. She recently graduated from UVU with a BFA in ballet and a minor in business management. Since graduating, Faith has been teaching at a few dance studios where she teaches students the art of ballet that she loves so much.

Ballet Instructor

Meleah is thrilled to join the team as a dance teacher. Hailing from sunny Florida,

Meleah began her dance journey with early training in her home state at The Florida Ballet before moving to Utah. There, she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ballet from The University of Utah, further honing her craft and passion.

With a vibrant enthusiasm for teaching and a dedication to nurturing creativity, Meleah is excited to inspire and guide students in their dance journey at West Point Ballet Academy.

Ballet Instructor

Jessica is a teacher, choreographer, and performer. She holds a BFA in Dance with an emphasis on ballet from Utah Valley University.

She has been an adjunct faculty member at both BYU and UVU and has set original works on Utah Metropolitan Ballet, BYU Theatre Ballet Studio Company, and UVU’s Repertory Ballet Ensemble.

Jessica has attended teacher training at Central Youth Pennsylvania Ballet with Marcia Dale Weary in Carlisle, PA, and is a Progressing Ballet Technique Certified Teacher.

Ballet Instructor

Mercedes began ballet at the age of 4 and by the age of 11 had fallen in love with ballet. Her desire for more professional training, specifically in ballet technique, led her to West Point Ballet In 2019. She instantly fell in love with the training and professional direction she was given by Juliana Martin herself. 

Mercedes has trained at West Point Ballet Academy since then, indulging herself with knowledge of the ballet world and industry.

While attending West Point Ballet, Mercedes was introduced to contemporary dance, and has learned to admire its art form and free and endless growing movement.

Mercedes has performed various Soloist roles with West Point Ballet in the Nutcracker, Hansel and Gretel, Wizard of Oz, and Cinderella. In January 2024, Mercedes competed with ADC IBC, and placed top 10 in the Classical category. Mercedes has passed the ABT National Training Curriculum student examination in Level 3A with honors, and Level 4A with High Honors. Mercedes graduated early from West Point Ballet and was accepted into the concurrent enrollment program at the University of Utah, and will be  training in the Ballet Program starting fall 2024.

Mercedes is excited to be teaching and can’t wait to share her love and joy with her students, and anyone who wants to learn and aspires to become young artists and dancers.