Meet Our Staff
Natalie Wilson
Natalie Rhodes Wilson is the Artistic Director for Southwest Contemporary Dance Theatre. Natalie has been involved with dance since she was three years old. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Brigham Young University and graduated as the department Valedictorian. She has taught, choreographed and judged professionally for the past 16 years in all genres of dance. While attending BYU she was a member of the Cougarettes and won the NCA National Collegiate Dance Championships. Also during her stay at BYU, Natalie fell in love with modern dance and its benefits for training young children to dance with commitment and imagination. She is excited and humbled to continue the legacy of Candy Fowler, Southwest Dance Theatre and the Virginia Tanner philosophy as the Artistic Director since 2004. Natalie is married to Jeremiah Wilson and they have four children.
Katie Fowler Smith
Katie Fowler Smith danced with Southwest Dance Theatre for fourteen years. At Pine View High School she was a Sterling Scholar in Fine and Performing Arts. While attending Dixie State College she was head cheerleader, Homecoming Queen and Miss St. George. Katie attended Brigham Young University, receiving her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Dance Performance. At BYU she received the Dance Talent Award Scholarship, The Dee Winterton Dance Award, and the Phyllis Jacobsen Dance Award. She toured as a member of Dancer’s Company, performing in South Africa, the Philippines, Korea. She was featured in the dance documentary “Woman the Pioneer.” Katie served a mission for the LDS church in the Canada Toronto West Mission. She is married to Joseph Smith and they have five children.
Alaina Garrett
Alaina Gibb Garrett began dancing with the BYU Children’s Dance program at the age of three. In high school Lainie was the vice president of Orchesis (the performing dance company). She attended Brigham Young University where she studied Dance Education. Lainie received the Dance Talent Scholarship Award for two consecutive years from BYU. While attending BYU she performed and danced with the Dancer’s Company. She has performed throughout the country and and the world, including the Philippines and Korea. Lainie loves to dance and to teach her students. She is married to Ryan Garrett and they have four children.
Susan Baker
Susan Baker has over twenty years of Modern Dance Experience. She has performed extensively in theater and dance. She attended Brigham Young University on a Musical Theater Scholarship and later was given the Dance Talent Award Scholarship. She graduated from BYU with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Dance Education and received a Secondary Education Certificate. Susan taught dance at Provo High School before coming to St. George. She choreographed local productions of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat,” “The Quilters,” and “The King and I.” She also worked with Alta and Bingham High School Modern Dance Departments and taught for the Payson City Summer Arts program. She is married to Aron Baker and they have three children.
Kirsten Duke Bethers
Cassidee Edmunds
Cassidee has been dancing before she could walk. Her mom tried her in ballet at the age of 3 but soon recognized Cassidee was spending too much time holding the teacher’s hand rather than performing and decided to take her out of dance for a while. At the of age 5, her mom gave it another shot and enrolled Cassidee in ballet and jazz at Encore Dance where she enjoyed performing and doing competitions around the community of St. George. At age 11 the studio switched owners and became known as Diamond Talent Productions. Cassidee then had the opportunity to train more extensively in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Modern, and Musical Theater. She was a part of the Diamond Talent Senior Company serving one year as president and enjoyed performing at the Huntsman World Senior Games Opening Ceremonies, Dicken's Festival, and other local events. During high school, Cassidee auditioned for numerous ballet summer intensives. She was accepted and attended the 2004 Joffrey Ballet Summer Intensive in New York City and the 2005 American Ballet Theater Summer Intensive in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Her passion for dance led her to the University of Utah as a modern dance major where she found a new love for Modern and African dance. After 2 years of study (and missing ballet terribly), she transferred to Brigham Young University and was a part of the Ballet Showcase Company with repertoire including: Don Quixote, Pas de Quatre, and new faculty works. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance, she continued her education as an intern at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City during the summer of 2010 where she also took classes at Broadway Dance Center. Cassidee is happy to be back in her hometown, teaching dance, and feels blessed that she and her new husband Rich have been able to make St. George their permanent home. She loves all forms of dance but would consider ballet and contemporary to be her favorite. She enjoys teaching ballet, jazz, and creative dance to so many beautiful dancers at Southwest Contemporary Dance and Dance Alliance.
Chelsea Loftthouse
Chelsea Lofthouse began dancing at the age of 3 and has been passionate about dance ever since. She grew up in Arizona where she was trained in Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Lyrical, Hip Hop and Cheerleading. She was Captain of her middle and high school Drill/Cheer teams and she competed in multiple competitions each year. She attended many dance camps held at The University of Utah where she was chosen to be a member of The All American Dance Team. On this prestigious team, she had the opportunity to travel to Maui, Hawaii and perform at the half-time show at the Hula Bowl. Chelsea moved to St. George in 2005 where she continued her dancing career teaching for Stars Dance Studio where she taught jazz and hip hop. She also attended Jazz and Contemporary dance classes at Dixie State College. She is now married with two beautiful little girls and is currently seeking her Psychology degree at Dixie. She loves teaching children and they love her enthusiasm and passion for dance. Chelsea is excited to be part of the new Dance Alliance where she teaches Jazz, Ballet, Hip Hop and Twinkle Stars.
Chauntelle Plewe Lewis