Head Coach Bethany Nielcen grew up in Birmingham, AL, and Tampa, FL, where she studied dance and gymnastics from age five. She was a member of her middle school, high school, and college dance teams on which she performed and competed at the state and national championship levels. Bethany was chosen as a member of the nationally-recognized American All-Star dance team, and received the honor of performing at the Super Bowl XXXIV Pregame Show alongside Tina Turner, Travis Tritt, and Faith Hill. Bethany attended Auburn University and Birmingham-Southern College, majoring in Secondary Education and Dance. She was a member of the BSC Southern Stars Dance Team, competing and placing in the Semi-Finalist round at the UDA College Dance Team National Championship in Orlando, FL. Bethany also performed as a member of the AU Flag Line of the Sudler Trophy award-winning Auburn University Marching Band, with appearances at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, LA, and the 55th Presidential Inaugural Parade in Washington, D.C. Additionally, Bethany studied ballet and choreography in the Birmingham-Southern Dance Department under the direction of Mira Popovich and Ruth Henry, and she performed as a company member of the LynnTerra Ballet in Auburn, AL. Bethany has instructed students in ballet, tap, jazz, and ballroom at various dance studios and public schools in Alabama and Washington, and has provided choreography and coaching for numerous middle school and high school dance teams, majorettes, and color guards. She also worked for Pacific Northwest Ballet from 2010 to 2023, including serving as the Operations Coordinator of their Eastside school location in Bellevue, WA, and the Lead Arts & Crafts Teacher for PNB's Eastside Summer Dance Workshops. Bethany began coaching the Ballard High School Dance Team in 2015.

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Assistant Coach Brittany Smith grew up in Madison, WI and started dancing at the age of three. Throughout her life she has trained in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, hip hop, ballroom and Irish dance, performing and competing on both regional and global stages in all of those styles. Through high school, while continuing to compete in studios, she also joined and competed on her high school dance team, leading as captain both junior and senior years. Competitive achievements include multiple regional 1st places in the WACPC Southern Wisconsin Regionals, multiple top 5 Wisconsin State placings, two international dance and music festival tours, and placing in the top 100 of the World Championships of Irish Dance in 2007. She attended college at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where she majored in Spanish & Bio Anthropology and minored in Modern Dance Performance and Composition, taught at a local studio, coached a high school dance team, and coached her college club dance team, UW-Madison Dance Elite. Since graduating, Brittany has been a member of two professional companies, movement continuum in Lexington, KY and Third Shift Dance in Seattle, WA. Brittany became assistant coach of the BHS Dance Team during the 2022-2023 school year, and loves coaching more and more every year!

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