Dance Impressions with studios in both Bountiful and Farmington, 
Utah, just celebrated their 25th year. Kandee Allen and her mom, Vivian Colobella, started the dance studio together in a small 900 square foot space and they have now grown to two locations with nine classrooms. It is now under the direction of Kandee and Mallorie Johns. They offer classes to dancers of all ages and abilities. They believe that anyone can dance and everyone should. They offer a wide variety of dance classes including jazz, contemporary, classical ballet, tap, acro, hip hop and more. Their mission is “To teach dancers the values of dedication, discipline, and hard work while instilling a love for the art of dance.”
They have a large competitive program but also have a wonderful artistic performing company offering professional level training to all dancers. They also have over 50 recreational classes each week. They have experienced, professional instructors which include a large number of their alumni.
Dance Impressions’ alumni have gone on to perform on Broadway, The West End, College, NFL, and NBA dance teams and cheerleaders, Television, Olympic opening ceremonies, Disney, Movies, Internationally, with music artists, and many who have opened studios of their own and more.
In Kandee’s opinion, their dance studio stands out from other dance studios because Dance Impressions is a place for any student who has the desire to learn about the art of dance. Though their competitive program is Nationally recognized, they also have classes for beginning teens, young men, and toddlers. Their dance family is just that, a family. They all work together towards common goals and they love and support each other. It is not about winning, it is about growing and improving, not only as a dancer, but as a person. They want to have successful students – successful in LIFE, not just dance. The time they have with the dancers is limited so she and her mom want to help them grow as dancers and as individuals who can make a difference in this world.
Kandee finds it very hard to choose her proudest moment as a coach because she has had so, so many. She says it is probably seeing one of her students who at only 10 years old opened as the youngest “Billy Elliot” on Broadway. She sat in the audience during his first show thinking “Wow, this has to be terrifying!” She was so proud when he nailed his role with perfection.
Kandee believes the biggest mistake that dancers are currently making is trying to be “Insta-famous.” Social media and television have made kids believe that if you have a million “likes” or two million “followers” or you get asked to be on a TV show it makes you a good dancer. Chasing fame is a terrible thing for kids these days. Relying on “likes” or how many leotard companies you model for is not a way to teach a child about “self-worth.” Dancers are sacrificing their training, their teams, their friends, and the opportunities of learning important life-lessons for a chance to be “insta-famous.” It makes her sad. She has nothing against modeling or dance shows, just does not like to see them give up on their training and their team commitments because they “might” get an opportunity to be “famous.” Their goal as a studio and with their faculty this year is to teach correct principles and build strong foundations even with the classes as young as three years old. They want the kids to learn to love to dance and see the joy that dance can bring, but they want to make sure they are getting a strong start so later they do not have to back track to correct bad habits. They are also going to DISNEYLAND!!!! What could be better?
When Kandee was only a year out of high school, her mom was kind of looking for a new opportunity in the new area to which they had just relocated. One day her mom just asked she was interested? Kandee, of course, said “Sure, I have nothing better going on.” Kandee NEVER expected to be doing this 25 years later. She is so grateful to the time and close relationship she has had with her mom during this time. She believes that starting a studio was the best decision she has made in her life. She is grateful to a mom who loves and supports her in this dream.
Kandee’s mom is now retired and has moved to Las Vegas. Her mom now works with her sister now at her studio “The Dance Zone.” Kandee has a new business partner – one of her hardest working alumni, Mallorie Johns. They both come from a family of girls. Kandee has four sisters and she has three sisters so they both know how to deal with all the girls. Mallorie is her perfect other half. They each have different strengths which has helped them to easily work together and to continue to grow the program.
Each year their Artistic Troupe presents an incredible Halloween Show “Pitch Black.” It is all Halloween themed and was created by one of their alumni who loves Halloween. The show is hugely popular and has quite a following in the community.
Four times D
ance Impressions’ competitive Company has four times been awarded the prestigious NYCDA National “Critics choice” award. They have also been lucky enough to have numerous soloists as National Title winners and also Sabra Johnson who won season three SYTYCD trained at their studio.
One thing that Kandee loves that their studio does is they do a big benefit concert for Shriners Hospitals for Children in Salt Lake City. They have partnered with two other local studios and they all work together to put on an incredible show where 100% of the proceeds go to the hospital. Dance Impressions has raised over $450,000 for the Hospital. Kandee is really proud of this and so grateful to have been in on the creation process 15 years ago. She believes it is the best thing they do each year. They will be presenting their show on November 5th “Art with Heart . . . kids who dance so others can walk.” It is a huge labor of love but it is the most amazing event. Kandee would like to make it a national event for Shriners Hospitals with studios in other states taking part? Maybe eventually?
Kandee advises everyone to “find happiness within yourself, and not from others. You don’t need to have ‘likes’ to be successful. Having a million Instagram followers does not make you a good dancer, solid consistent training does. Take opportunities that come along but without giving up on your training, commitments, or letting your teammates down. Learn to love the person you are without needing others to ‘like’ your pictures. Focus on being self-disciplined, pushing yourself to be the best you can be, and always working hard. In the long run you will find success.”
If you would like more information about Dance Impressions, visit their website at http://www.danceimpressionsutah.com, email them at dance2impress@gmail.com or call them at 801-298-2444 for Bountiful and 801-451-2541 for Farmington. You can also “Like” them on Facebook and connect with them on Instagram.
Anyone who has danced at Dance Impressions, with Kandee Allen, or Mallorie Johns, is invited to comment on our blog.
find happiness within yourself, and not from others.
