About us
Since 1998 ESPA has been instilling passion and the thought in our students, that anything is possible! Every child dreams of what they want to be when they grow up, a doctor, teacher, an artist, a dancer ...
Here at ESPA we know that motivation, confidence and self-discipline are keys to achieving those dreams! Our coaches are passionate about motivating our kiddos to be the best version of themselves instilling confidence, self-discipline and a love of this beautiful art form! With over 30 years in coaching and training children in the art of dance, we have watched as hundreds of our students have gone on to achieve these gorgeous goals they have set for themselves.
Children are our passion here at ESPA. All of our dancers are encouraged to dream big and then to pursue their dreams, with passion!
Our Founder
Hi, I’m Brenda and I’m the Founder of Expressions School of Performing Arts.
Opening a dance studio and sharing my passion with others has been my dream since I was 11 years old. Dance was my outlet, a way to share my feelings and a way to express who I was and how I felt inside. Dance also taught me the art of self-discipline and how to work for a goal and achieve it!
I then was given an opportunity to teach around the age of 16. I fell in love with those first few students and found that I cared deeply about their success on the stage and in their lives. This is when my heart truly started to understand that I was meant to be a teacher.
I have been blessed to be able to live out my dream daily with the opening of ESPA heading into it's 25th season! We are the largest training center for dancers in the area and we get to influence and mentor students to dream big and work hard to achieve those dreams!
I will spend the next chapter mentoring our new Artistic Director, Justie Latu!
Our Artistic Director
Hi, I’m Justie and I'm the Artistic Director at Expressions School or Performing Arts. ESPA has been my second home since I was five years old. I formally trained at this studio until I graduated high school, and then decided to pursue my dance career further.
I moved to Utah and trained under wonderful and inspiring teachers, but there was always something inside of me that kept calling me back home to Idaho. I realized that what I truly desired was to bring all of the newfound knowledge I had acquired from my time in Utah back to my ESPA family in Idaho and continue to support the quality and growth of our training programs.
Fast forward a few years and I am now taking on the roll of Artistic Director and could not be more thrilled at the opportunity to continue the legacy of ESPA and impact the lives of hundreds of young dancers in the years to come.
Meet the ESPA Creative Team!
Other Faces you will see
Here are a few of our substitute coaches that step in when we need them!
Charlotte Gardunia
Coach Charlotte is magic with our Demi dancers! She is also our go-to
photographer for all of our gorgeous headshots, class and stage photos, and more!
Trigger Weddle
Coach Trigger has been in the performing arts world her entire career! She has her BA in Theatre and MA with a concentration in Acting. Trigger is the Artistic Director for Aspire Community Theatre!
Bailey Bradshaw
Coach Bailey is an Alumni of ESPA! She currently works at Curtis Orthodontics and we love when she returns to the studio to fill in!
I love the supportive environment! There is definitely an attitude of education and growth through out the whole company- not just for the students. Working for Expressions has been wonderful in every way. - Charlotte/Creative Coach