About the Instructors

Mimi Jones began her formal training under Miki Casalino and later with Willam F. Christensen, Bené Arnold, and Barbara Hamblin. She received her BFA in Ballet with a teaching emphasis from the University of Utah, where she performed with the Utah Opera Company and Utah Ballet. Later, she danced in leading roles such as the Sugar Plumb Fairy and the Snow Queen with the Monterey Ballet Company.  To this day, Mimi continues her personal training at The Ballet West Academy under Bruce Caldwell, Adrian Fry, Liz Weldon and Alex MacFarlan. Mimi  has taught advanced technique, ballet, and pointe classes at different studios in California and Utah for over 25 years. She currently offers a variety of classes for children ages three to nine.

Annie Leymaster began dancing at the age of three and hasn’t stopped since. As a child and teenager, she studied at Salt Lake Dance Center and spent many summers traveling around the country (New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco) to train with professional dance companies. As a child, she was privileged to be Clara in Ballet West’s "Nutcracker" as well as performing many years in other roles. She also had many opportunities to dance in leading roles such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and 12 Dancing Princesses, as a teenager. She began teaching dance as a young adult and has continued for twenty years. Because her husband’s job has placed her in many cities around the country, she’s had the opportunity to run her own small dance studio. She also led close to one hundred dancers in a Christmas production for several years. Annie is excited to return to Utah and be a part of Mimi & Me Dance Academy!

Eliza was raised in a home filled with dance. Under the direction of her mother, Ms. Mimi, she grew to love movement and immersed herself in dance training at a young age. She participated in her mother’s classes from ages three to eleven. In addition to taking at Mimi & Me Dance Academy, Eliza danced at Janet Grey and Virginia Tanner Creative Dance. At age twelve, she furthered her dance education at The Dance Company in Salt Lake where she took a lead role as a ballet soloist in “West Side Story." She has continued her dance training at Brigham Young University in ballet, jazz, and ballroom. Eliza currently enjoys taking at Ballet West with her mother and two sisters. She has been assisting and teaching for Mimi & Me Dance Academy for eight years, as well as conducting private dance lessons to various students for five years. She is thrilled to be able to continue teaching your children and working with her mother this coming year!

Madeline is the youngest of Mimi’s three daughters and just like her sisters, began dancing as soon as she could walk! Her initial desire to perform began as a trained ballerina and competition dancer and has led to many performing opportunities in high school, college, and on her mission. After her classical childhood training with Mrs. Mimi, she became a member of a performing group at The Dance Company. For several years, she participated in conventions and competitions and traveled to New York City to learn from professional instructors from all over the world. Madeline has recently been accepted into BYU’s MDT (Music Dance Theater) program at BYU and is thrilled to be pursuing her dreams as a performer. She has taught for Mrs. Mimi for the last 4 years, as well as neighboring studios. Madeline continues to refine her technique through weekly instruction at Ballet West and BYU. She can’t wait to create and work with your children this year!

Ever since Lizzie learned to twirl, she fell in love with dance and would beg her mom to take her “balleting.” This passion has only grown throughout the years as she began dancing with Mimi as a child. She is grateful to Mimi for leading her to the Children’s Ballet Theatre, where she danced the remaining of high school. She has enjoyed performing in various roles in Swan Lake, Alice in Wonderland, Thumbelina, and Coppelia with the Wasatch Youth Ballet Company. She has spent her summers dancing with CBT, the University of Utah, and Broadway Dance Center. Currently, she is loving her time as a dance major at Brigham Young University and performing with Theatre Ballet Company. Lizzie is very excited to return to Mimi and Me Dance where she first fell in love with ballet. She hopes to inspire creativity and a love of dance in each little dancer! 

Kourtnee is a talented performer with a diverse background in the arts. She trained at the Children’s Ballet Theater, where she developed a strong foundation in classical ballet. She performed in Ballet West’s production of The Nutcracker for many years, as a buffoon, party girl, and soldier. Kourtnee also made her mark as a cheerleader and spent four years with the dance company at Skyline High School. Her passion for dance expanded as she trained at Millennium Dance Complex, where she explored various styles beyond ballet, including hip hop, jazz, and contemporary..