Our Team of Dance Instructors

Kristina Bergdahl 

Heidi Hamilton

Heidi graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin La-Crosse with a degree in Education, was a member of the UW-L Pom squad, and a guest performer in the Hartford Ballet Company.  She has been the recipient of a scholarship to the Chicago National Association of Dance Masters and Edge Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles to continue studying dance.  She has studied in New York, Chicago, Colorado, and Los Angeles.  Heidi has choreographed for La Crosse area show choirs and dance teams, and the La Crosse Community Theatre.  Heidi has been on staff at Julie's School of Dance, Upward Bound, Misty's Dance Unlimited, and the Youth Dance Program at VMH.  Heid has been teaching science for the past 23 years and is thrilled to be one of the four founding members of Sole Expressions Dance Studio.

Melissa Johnson

Melissa or “Miss J.” as her students know her, is a graduate of Viterbo University with a degree in elementary education. In her early years, she danced locally from the time she was four at various studios in the Coulee Region. While in college, she danced with the open division of the Milwaukee Ballet, performed several roles in the Nutcracker with LaCrosse Dance Centre, and continued taking classes and workshops within the community whereever she was living. For the past ten years she has been an instructor at Nicole’s School of Dance working with both competitive and recreational dancers. She is an Elementary II (4th, 5th, and 6th grade) teacher at LaCrescent Montessori and STEM School where she has worked for fifteen years. She resides in LaCrosse with her husband, DJ, daughter, Greere, and her son, Darwin. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, hiking, traveling, and listening to live music. She is so excited to share her passion with the Sole Expressions studio.

Kelsey Lee

Kelsey is so happy to be back with Sole Expressions, but this time as a teacher.  She grew up and graduated from Westby Area School District in 2016.  While in high school Kelsey danced at Sole Expressions for many years, including ballet, pointe, jazz, and hip hop.  After high school she attended the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and graduated in 2020 with an elementary and special education degree.  Kelsey is going into her second year of teaching at Kickapoo Elementary School as a reading intervention teacher.  In her free time she enjoys hiking/traveling with her fiance, spending time at her family cabin, and playing with her dogs.  Kelsey is excited to be teaching at the studio that made her fall in love with dance and can't wait for the dance season to start!

Bekah Dwyer

Bekah is very excited to continue her journey at Sole Expressions! Throughout middle and high school, Bekah danced with Sole Expressions, enjoying hip hop, jazz, and ballet, and she also performed as part of the competition dance team. Bekah graduated with honors from UW-La Crosse with her degree in Early-Middle Childhood Education. In the past year she has earned her Master's degree in early childhood education from the University of Colorado-Denver. She is now looking forward to moving back home to Wisconsin and beginning her first year as a classroom teacher. She will be teaching 5th grade at Cashton Elementary School. Bekah is very eager to restart her work in the dance community and she looks forward to meeting all the new faces!

Vivian Stephenson

Vivian is a college student at Viterbo University where she is pursuing a degree in Nursing. Additionally, she is continuing to study dance in school and she is also excited to be teaching dance at Sole Expressions and The La Crosse Dance Centre. Vivian grew up on the competitive stage choreographing her own award winning tap solos and attending numerous dance festivals and conventions. She is the recipient of multiple dance awards and scholarships and has been featured in opening numbers and music videos for several different competition companies. She has attended the World Dance Pageant in New York, the NOLA Tap Festival, Chicago Tap Theatre Intensives and more. She has worked hand in hand with numerous professionals in the dance industry. Vivian is excited to be back at her home studio Sole Expressions to share her passion for dance with the next generation of dancers.

Mackenzie Annen

Kenzie is a graduate from the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse with a degree in exercise science. She is also now a master's student at the City University of New York for public health. Kenzie grew up dancing in studios local to the Madison area taking ballet, tap and jazz. From middle school on she was a part of her school dance team focusing on pom, jazz and lyrical styles. For the last 7 years she taught at Nicole's School of Dance. She has taught every style across every age both recreationally and competitively, but has a sweet spot for jazz and hip hop. Kenzie currently works for Mayo Clinic as a personal trainer for their employee health club and under sports medicine. When she's not working you can find her biking, hiking and kayaking around La Crosse with her husband Robby and her dog Apollo.