Dance Faculty
Owners/Founders


Meghan Honey and Shannon Mortensen
Owners/Founders
With great joy and humbling awe of what the world of dance has granted us, we are pleased to introduce ourselves as the Owners and Directors of Synergy Dance Academy. We have spent a lifetime working and dancing together. From the moment we met, (dancing at the same studio during grade school), we shared a common vision of what dance is, what it should be, and most importantly, how to bridge that gap which seems, at times, daunting and insurmountable.
We have spent our career building programs. First, with the STARS program from 1998-2004 as competition coaches. In 2000, we were thrilled to see the studio be awarded its first national championship! The years followed with more local, state, and national titles. After college, in 2005, we ventured out on our own with the dream of building another successful program. Synergy started with 1 location and 75 students. It has now grown to 3 locations and almost 1,000 students! Synergy is known for taking top awards at competitions and producing dancers highly skilled in jazz, hip-hop, and contemporary. In 2010, we took another leap together as we dove into the beautiful and intriguing world of high school drill team. As co-coaches, we took over the Azurettes at Copper Hills High School and lead them to their first State Championship Title and National Championship Title. The Azurettes are now the current State Drill Team Champions of Utah. Marking their 6th consecutive win!
Between us, we have college degrees, professional dance work, countless choreography awards, endless studio awards, worked with masters in the field, college dance team/company training, and much more. However, there is something much more important that makes Synergy different from other programs. The key to our success . . . why we create successful programs, time after time . . . is best expressed by our name-sake. Synergy- “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. Each person working at their best within our program enhances the person standing next to them. This is the 3-yr-old taking class, despite the fear of leaving mom’s side, that inspires her teacher to be more compassionate. This is the instructor that dances full out, igniting a desire in her students to push further. This is the tumbler who falls and gets up to try again, that inspires a teammate to never give up.
Our students at Synergy learn to set goals, work hard, self-motivate, be compassionate, and along the way . . . inspire someone else to learn those same lessons. As our studio continues to grow, the accountability of each individual intensifies. Our ability to inspire reaches further as does our responsibility to make a difference. We do what we do for the pure love of dance, how that love can affect a student, and how that student can affect the world.
Instructors

Joelle BanfordCompetition Director

Tiffani BarneyBallet Director

Marnie DenosRecreation Dance Director

Danielle Eaton

Brooke Pando

Kendall Henderson

Erin Worland

Karyn Peterson

Kylie Erickson

Alexa Edman

Jami Hodges

Michele Heward

Tara Moncur

Haiden Perrine

Brenda Jensen

Mikaela Mailander

Jordan Williams

Caroline Suzin

JayCee Chhoun

Sam Vongsaravanh

Amber Wade

Chris Lamoreaux

Christian Tippetts
