
meet our team
Owner & Director of Paradigm Dance Project
TIFFANY
My studio is where your teammates are a part of your family; together becoming a Paradigm.
Please reach out to me via email if you have any questions about my studio.
Instructor
KIM
Kim has studied Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Jazz, Contemporary/Lyrical, Hip Hop, Musical Theatre, Ballroom and Modern Dance since she was 9 years old. She has studio training at a competitive level and protégé training at Pacific Northwest Ballet. Kim also trained in Seattle at the University of Washington and has performed off Broadway at Seattle's Paramount Theatre.
Kim participated in the Seattle Sonic NBA Dance Team during college. She served as Captain for 3 years and had the honor of being chosen to travel to Germany, Spain, Thailand and London with the NBA All-Stars Team. Adding to her credits, Kim participated in the entertainment industry by being cast in numerous movies, commercials, music videos and T.V. series.
Recently, Kim served as the Director/Head Coach for several Division 1 universities coaching both their dance and cheer teams (University of Arkansas, Texas A&M and Oral Roberts University). Kim opened her own recreational/competitive dance studio (Gotta Dance) in Winona, MN in 2004. She owned, directed, instructed and choreographed Gotta Dance students for over a decade before turning the studio over to a new owner and making a transition. In 2015 she started Paradigm Dance Project with her sister, Tiffany Holan. Paradigm is now under the ownership/direction of Tiffany.
Kim is thrilled to be returning to the Midwest and will be back in the studio along side her sister offering instruction and choreography to competitive dancers and local high school and collegiate dance team members, as they work to enhance their dance team competitive skills.
Instructor
ALICE
Alice Chase is a Rochester native who has been dancing and celebrating her love of the arts since the ripe young age of two. She primarily trained at Allegro School of Dance & Music, honing her skills in choreography and every genre from ballet to hip-hop through her senior year of high school. During her high school career she not only trained classically, but found a love for the competition and the commercial world of dance.
Alice attended many national competitions and was selected to travel with Dance America Company as a junior faculty member, where she performed in cities all over the US and assisted workshops alongside world renowned choreographers. She then went on to pursue her BFA in Performing Arts (emphasis in Dance Theatre) at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles and New York City. There she studied the industry and all genres of dance, as well as took full time courses in film, writing, acting, vocal techniques, and musical theatre. In addition to her studies at AMDA, she had the opportunity to train bi-coastally at EDGE Performing Arts Center, Millennium Dance Complex, Broadway Dance Center, The Playground LA, and Evolution Dance. Alice is passionate about all things dance and loves to teach dancers of all ages (particularly in the contemporary and jazz genres).
Instructor
JAYDEN
Jaden Kramer is an accomplished dancer with accolades such as Dancer of the Year, Winning numerous National Championships as Soloist and Company group competitor. He has trained and worked with many world renown choreographers. Jaden has had a very extensive dance career for more than 16 years and he is an amazing asset to team at Paradigm Dance Project.
Instructor
ALESSANDRA
Alessandra started dancing at Toby Lagervall Dance Studio/Dance Dana & Company, where she danced with the Moscow Ballet Company in their production of The Great Russian Nutcracker. She graduated with Honors from Perpich Center for Arts Education, where she studied under Mary Harding and Tom Kanthak. While at PCAE Alessandra worked with numerous guest artists (Ellie Sandstrom, Jeffery Peterson, and composer Marc Mellits, to name a few), and participated in master classes with Eddie Oroyan, Michelle Miller, Stephan Reynolds and several other dance professionals. At PCAE Alessandra also choreographed and performed in the annual shows, as well as venues throughout the Twin Cities area.
Alessandra attended the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where she graduated Cum Laude earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Dance and a Minor in Creative Writing. At UWSP she trained under Joan Karlen, Jeannie Hill, Michael Estanich, and Pamela Luedtke. While at UWSP she worked with multiple artists like Kelly Bartlett, Lily Cai, Claudio Muñoz, Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, Billy Siegenfeld, Luc Vanier, and several others. She also choreographed works and performed in the dance program’s major productions Afterimages and Danstage.
Alessandra is now teaching dance technique in numerous genres, and creating choreography across the Midwest. She has received choreography awards, and has had her work showcased by students at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. In addition, she judges both Regional and National dance competitions.
Instructor
HAILEY
Hailey is an accomplished dancer in training. She began dancing with us at the age of 4 and has trained consistently since that age in all styles of dance.
Hailey has won numerous scholarships and titles with companies such as Jump and Radix. Hailey was the recipient of Grand National Titles. She is currently an apprentice with Tremaine Company for the 2022 season and has been with them since 2018. As Hailey travels the country with Tremaine, she continues to learn from some of the best instructors in the world. We are fortunate to have Hailey with us at Paradigm.
Instructor
LAURA
Laura has danced for over 35 years and has been a coach and choreographer in the competitive dance industry for over 20 years. She grew up dancing competitively in the Twin Cities at the former Butterfield Gallery of Dance in Maple Grove, MN. She trained primarily in ballet, jazz, lyrical, tap and musical theater; and has traveled throughout the United States learning from the greats of the industry. In college, she spent her first two years as a dance major at the University of Minnesota, and later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Child Psychology. From there, Laura served as a coach, choreographer, and leader helping to design and administer a variety of programs with Fusion Dance (a nationally recognized program out of Red Wing, MN) for over 10 years. Her dances have won top awards in the competition circuit.
Laura’s basic philosophy is that technique never goes out of style! Beyond technique, Laura's class asks students to pull from their life experiences to heighten their level of performance. As each student learns the same choreography, they are presented with many ways to perform it. Laura keys on the individuality of each student and asks them to bring that uniqueness to their routines. This is truly a valuable skill for any dancer, young or old, to realize. Further, being a child psychology graduate, Laura has found many interesting ways to help her students gain this skill.
Although most of Laura's time with dance has been choreographing and teaching, she has performed with Colleen McClelland’s dance troupe for a Red Wing Shoe Company industrial, as well as having featured roles in Judi Olson's dance companies, Ignite and Synergy, and with the American Heritage Dance Company under the direction of Maria Boscaino. Loving dance with all her heart, Laura has found a noble profession in teaching dance. She loves to perform but her true calling has been teaching and all the
rewards that watching dancers grow has to offer.
Instructor
CARTER
Carter Full was raised in Rollingstone, Minnesota. He started dancing at the age of 5 and started competitive dance at the age of 8. Carter trained at Gotta Dance under the direction of Kim Whipple in Winona, MN where he began his training in the following styles: Tap, Hip Hop, Jazz, Ballet, Musical Theatre, Lyrical, and Contemporary. As he grew, Carter trained at The Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts and with Ballet LaCrosse under the direction of Larissa Oberly. He performed in 3 separate productions including: Coppelia, The Little Mermaid, and A Little Princess.
Carter traveled and trained with various dance conventions including Artistic Dance Exchange (ADE) where he was a participant in the All-Star Prodigy Program. Carter was a multi-participant of Elite Tap Feet where he performed at the Twin Cities Tap Festival in Minneapolis, MN. After school, Carter went on to train in New York City. Carter is a graduate of the Professional Semester at Broadway Dance Center.
In addition to training at Broadway Dance Center, Carter also received training at Peridance Center, Steps on Broadway, and Brickhouse NYC. While in New York City, Carter added Theater Dance, Street Styles and Acting to his repertoire. Most recently, Carter performed as an entertainer with Disney Cruise Lines on the Disney Wonder.
Instructor
ELLIE
Hello my name is Ellie Messmann, I have been dancing for fifteen years. I trained under Kim Whipple and Tiffany Holan.
I am currently a member of the Tremaine Performance Company and I enjoy travelling across the states assisting all the incredible instructors. I enjoy taking classes at the various Conventions that PDP attends and I love competition. I want to share my love of dance with the students at PDP.
Instructor
CLAIRE
Claire Nameth trained and danced competitively at Denise’s Dance Academy in Overland Park, Kansas. She trained in contemporary, lyrical, jazz, tumbling, musical theatre, modern, ballet, and pointe. She received additional training in various styles from numerous master classes. Claire also has experience teaching classes at Denise’s Dance Academy and choreographing solos for competition.
Claire majored in Child and Family Development and Dance at Missouri State University where she choreographed a small group contemporary piece in the 2018 Fall Dance Concert and performed in various pieces throughout her college career. She was also the Secretary of a student dance organization there for two years where she choreographed several group pieces and performed in various routines.
Claire is currently a full time Certified Child Life Specialist at Mayo Clinic. She is excited to share her passion for dance with the students at Paradigm Dance Project.
Instructor
MC
Miss M.C. (Mary Cecile Smith), began dancing at Fusion Dance in Red Wing, MN and started competitively dancing at age 11. She trained in numerous styles including ballet, pointe, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, musical theatre, tap, hip hop, and heels. While training, she attended many dance conventions and workshops in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Chicago and Kansas City, and received multiple scholarships from West Coast Dance Explosion and LADF.
After high school, Miss M.C. attended Minnesota State University Mankato, where she was a member of the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 dance team. Additionally, Miss M.C. received her Bachelors and Masters degree in Special Education from MSU-Mankato, and works currently as a licensed special education teacher in Pine Island, MN. Miss M.C. has taught at various studios within Minnesota and helped start/create the adaptive dance program at Fusion Dance.
Instructor
Jayden
Jaydan Kaehler is originally from Winona, Minnesota and has been dancing since she was 5 years old. She started training at Gotta Dance under the direction of Kim Whipple and continued dancing throughout high school in Winona. Jayden is trained in Ballet, Tap, Lyrical/Contemporary, Hip Hop, Jazz, Musical Theatre, and Modern. She was an assistant teacher for 2 years in high school and was selected as the Directors Assistant during her senior year of high school. While in this position she facilitated rehearsals, choreographed multiple routines and taught classes independently.
Jayden brings many years of competition experience to Paradigm. She has been teaching and choreographing for the last 6 years. Jayden's work has won multiple judges awards as well as high placement honors in the competition scene. Currently she is in her last year of college at Minnesota State University, Mankato studying dance to earn a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree. Her favorite style of dance is either Jazz or Contemporary and she is excited to create and share her passion with the dancers at PDP.
Instructor
KAYLEE
Kaylee began dancing at the age of 5 under the direction of Kim Whipple. She trained at Gotta Dance (Winona, MN) in all genres of dance and was a competitive dancer for 12 years. She has won many titles such as Entertainer of the year, Star of Hope, ATA, & more. She has won two team National Grand Champion titles and has traveled as a protégé with the Pulse on Tour and as a Hollywood DJ with Hollywood Dance Jamz. She has trained under many world renown choreographers and more recently takes annual trips to Phoenix, Arizona where she performs and assists under choreographer Monique Young-Dutton as a professional guest dancer.
Kaylee recently graduated from Winona State University with a Bachelors in Public Relations where she was the Associate Captain for the Winona State Dance Team in 2018. She is currently a full time Event Coordinator at Signatures in Winona.
Instructor
DONOVAN
Donovan Reagan, originally named Roland Darnel Butchee, was born in Camden, New Jersey in 1984 and in 1985 Donovan was adopted in Galveston, TX by his loving family, who resides in Corpus Christi today. After seeing his first ballet, The Nutcracker, performed by Corpus Christi Ballet Theatre, it wasn’t until 1995 that he would grace his first dance floor in California. Little did Donovan know how far this career would take him.
At the age of 14 he attended the Idyllwild Arts Academy in Idyllwild, CA in the San Jacinto Mountains, overlooking Hemet, CA. While at Idyllwild, Donovan had the honor of training under Jean-Marie Martz (Ballet – Director of Idyllwild Dance Department, former professional with Stuttgart Ballet, Munich Ballet, and Heidelberg Ballet), Anne Krampen (Ballet - assistant director of Idyllwild Dance Department, former member of the National Ballet of Canada), Deborah Brockus (Jazz – former Chair of Idyllwild Dance Department, Director of Brockus Project Dance Company, current Jazz professor with Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA.), Stephanie Gilliland (Modern – founder and developer of high impact modern), and also Sean Greene (Bella Lewitsky Modern – current professor with Chapman University Dance Department, director and founder of Shield Wall Dance Company, former professional with Bella Lewitzky Dance company and right hand man of Bella Lewitzky, co-founder of Idyllwild Arts Academy).
Shortly after attending IWAA, Donovan found himself in college while dancing with the Bolshoi West, under the direction of Ms. Dorothy Percival. After multiple performances under the direction of Ms. Percival, including his favorite yet not so popular Carmina Borana, Donovan was ushered off to the Joffrey Ballet School of New York City, NY under direction of Edith D’Addario and Gerald Arpino. While an apprentice with the Joffrey Ballet, Donovan found his truest passion for dance and has yet to look back, even after he suffered what should have been a career ending injury. While in New York, Donovan also trained at Steps on Broadway with Joe Lanteri (Jazz), Roxanne Butterfly (Tap), and Ethan Stieffel (Ballet). Donovan also had the honor of training with World Tap Champion Mike Minery both in California and in Texas, as well as Richard Gibson and Zory Karah in San Francisco, CA. Donovan also had the opportunity of performing with Sandy and Don Duncan, Michael Lee Scott, Michael Levine (former Joffrey Ballet), Michael Bannigan, Connor Walsh & Karina Gonzalez of Houston Ballet, to name a few.
After 17 years of teaching and dancing professionally, Donovan decided to establish a pre-professional training facility in 2016 known as YAPP 361 Dance Studio. Focused on providing the highest quality training for individuals of all levels and ages, through YAPP 361 Dance Studio, Donovan also instilled in his students the importance of humility and giving back to the community through the artistry of dance. In 2018 Donovan aided Kim Whipple in selecting top rated TAMUCC Dance & Cheer Teams and fundraising for their athletic department. In 2019 Donovan and Kim collaborated in the coaching of students for YAGP Houston Regional competition. Within these two years, Donovan & Kim Whipple found a kindred spirit with each other in their vision for improving the dance community in the United States and making high quality training accessible for all.
During his teaching career, Donovan has had students accepted to training programs with Joffrey Ballet Chicago, Joffrey Ballet New York, Boston Conservatory, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Lines Ballet, School of American Ballet, Alvin Ailey, and Houston Ballet to name a few. His choreography has won numerous awards at competitions such as Youth America Grand Prix, New York City Dance Alliance, Jump, and has been featured on national TV as well.
Donovan Reagan, now in Rochester, after performing with multiple companies and establishing YAPP 361 Dance Studio, is continuing his focus of giving back to the art form and instructors that shaped him into the professional he is today.
Email Your Resume to PDP
WE ARE HIRING...
Currently we are looking for talented, passionate instructors that love dance as much as we do. If you would like to learn more about joining our family at Paradigm Dance Project, email your resume to Tiffany at: