About Mrs. Rees
I started Ballroom dancing in 1993 as an awkward 9th grader at Dance Dimension studios in Sandy, Utah. I was trained by Paul and Michelle Wilding. At the time, I was very hesitant to start because two of my sisters had done it and competed internationally, and I was afraid I would fail. But I did anyway, and it changed my life. More than any other kind of dance, Ballroom has the greatest potential to be of use to you as you get older. You can ballroom dance in your 90's! And I never would have guessed that it was a skill I would use so much as an adult. The people on my team became life long friends. It was truly a life-changing experience for me--not just learning to dance, but learning to make friends and how to interact appropriately with the opposite sex. Ballroom shaped me in a way I never would have imagined.
I competed in local competitions at BYU, UVU, BYU-Idaho, and in Las Vegas. I performed all over the state and had awesome experiences. My highest honor was 1st place in Swing at BYU against 140 other couples, and also 11th place in the National competition in Swing, Cha-Cha, and Foxtrot. Although ballroom was pretty much my life in high school, I had no desire to pursue it as a career path or college major. I went to USU, majoring in the more practical choice of business education, and was happy to join the student-run ballroom team for two years. After I returned from my mission a few years later, I did not do the team but I was the TA for the ballroom classes up there for two years as I completed my degree. This kept my skills sharp--but I figured my days of formation dancing were over. |
Megan Rees and Quinn Bennion at a Las Vegas competition in about 1994.
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I graduated in 2004 and began working at Elk Ridge the same year. I teach CTE Intro, Keyboarding, Exploring Business & Marketing, and Computer Technology. I absolutely love my job and my subject, and have a great love for the practicality of business. I guess that's why I love ballroom too--it's something I can use! In 2007 I choreographed a simple swing dance for the teacher talent show. Once it became known that I knew how to ballroom dance, I was surprised by the level of interest in both boys and girls at the school--no doubt helped along by the popular TV show Dancing with the Stars.
So for the 2007-2008 school year I started the first Ballroom team at Elk Ridge Middle. It was an amazing experience that lasted three years. As I am also in charge of the talent show, it made sense to make that the performance we were working for. I also started a ballroom club, with 60 members (half boys, half girls) that met each week. We were even featured in the newspaper! Each year had a unique routine and a unique team, and I treasured each one of them. I am still in contact with many of the students who learned from me that year. Many of them continue to do ballroom in college, or danced all through high school in local teams.
I continued for three years doing ballroom, but after three years I was unable to continue. I was pregnant with twins, and I just knew I could not balance ballroom with three children under the age of 3! Thankfully, my dear respected colleague, Darleen Gordon, took over the team the following year, and kept it running for four years. She did a wonderful job, and I was so glad she was able to provide students with this unique growing experience when I could not. However, once she decided to take a job at Bingham, I was more than ready to get my team back, now that my kids were older!
So for the 2007-2008 school year I started the first Ballroom team at Elk Ridge Middle. It was an amazing experience that lasted three years. As I am also in charge of the talent show, it made sense to make that the performance we were working for. I also started a ballroom club, with 60 members (half boys, half girls) that met each week. We were even featured in the newspaper! Each year had a unique routine and a unique team, and I treasured each one of them. I am still in contact with many of the students who learned from me that year. Many of them continue to do ballroom in college, or danced all through high school in local teams.
I continued for three years doing ballroom, but after three years I was unable to continue. I was pregnant with twins, and I just knew I could not balance ballroom with three children under the age of 3! Thankfully, my dear respected colleague, Darleen Gordon, took over the team the following year, and kept it running for four years. She did a wonderful job, and I was so glad she was able to provide students with this unique growing experience when I could not. However, once she decided to take a job at Bingham, I was more than ready to get my team back, now that my kids were older!