Alumni

Alumni Accomplishments

Alya Kretchman

Class of 2018
University of Nevada Las Vegas
UNLV Rebel Girls & Company

Alya began her dance career at the age of 2! She was a part of the Just For Kix program and following that became a dancer with BĀS Studios. She continued with BĀS Studios until her senior year of high school. Along with this, Alya was a member of the Discovery Middle School Fargo Fusion dance team for 3 years. She then became a member of Eagle Elite where she was a Varsity dancer for 4 years and a captain her senior year. While on the team, Alya helped lead the team to 3 state titles in High Kick, Hip Hop and Jazz. Her senior year, Alya helped lead the team to a jazz state title as well as a bronze medal in the medium varsity hip hop category at the UDA National Dance Team Championships. Alya is currently a member of the 2 time Division 1A Hip Hop and 4 time Division 1A Game Day National Champion UNLV Rebel Girls & Company dance team.

"My favorite memory of being on the Davies Eagle Elite Dance Team was definitley every performance that we had. Whether was was a competition, football game or the homecoming pep-fest performance, I loved every single part of performing with my team."

Addy Kollman

Class of 2015
Concordia College
University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldog Dance Team Alumni
North Dakota State University Bison Dance Team Alumni

Addy began her dancing career at the age of 3 at Valley Studio Dance! She was a part of the Just For Kix program for 8 years up until she joined the Discovery Middle School Fargo Fusion Dance Team in 8th grade. Following this, Addy was a member of the very first junior varsity Eagle Elite Dance Team her freshman year. She would then go on to be varsity dancer the next 3 years. After graduating, Addy was a part of the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldog dance team for one year, placing second at the NDA National Championship. After moving back to Fargo, she became a member of the North Dakota State University Bison Dance Team for 2 years. Her final year she was named a captain and helped lead the Bison to take home a bronze medal in the Division 1 pom category at the UDA College Nationals as well as a 4th place in the hip hop category, the first year the team had ever competed in this category. Addy was named an assistant coach of the Eagle Elite Dance Team in the spring of 2018 and has since been a part of three state championships with the team in the jazz and pom category.

"By far my favorite memory from being on Eagle Elite was our finals performance for hip hop at state my senior year. There were so many teams rooting for us that year, many of them came out to watch! Everyone was cheering so loud you could feel the vibrations in the floor. When we all walked off the floor, we were all just in tears because we had truly left everything on the floor and gave it all we had! It's a memory I carry with me all the time and it was in that moment I remembered why I love dance so much and how much it shaped me into who I am today."

Sarae Kellen

Class of 2012
North Dakota State University
North Dakota State University Bison Dance Team Alumni

At the age of 7 years old, Sarae started dancing at Just For Kix and then moved on to dance with The Halftime by Sheri studio. She then went on to the Discovery junior high team Fargo Fusion where she began her love for choreography and helped lead the team to a state title in 2008. Then, entering high school she competed on the Fargo South Bruinkix Varsity Dance Team for 2 years. She was then given the great opportunity to be a part of the very first Davies Eagle Elite Varsity Dance Team for the next 2 years. All four years of high school, Sarae was on the choreography team. She then went on to dance on the North Dakota State University Bison Dance Team for 3 years where she helped the team earn their 2nd and 3rd consecutive National title in the Division 1 Pom category in 2013 and then again in 2014. She then began her coaching career as assistant coach for the Davies Dance Team back in 2013 and then went on to taking the head coaching position in 2015. She has helped lead the team to State Championships in 2015-2016 (Kick), 2016-2017 (Hip Hop), 2017-2018 (Jazz), 2018-2019 (Jazz) & 2019-2020 (Jazz) along with a Bronze Medal at the UDA National Dance Team Championship for the Medium Varsity Hip Hop Division in 2018. Sarae was also name NDADD Coach of the Year in 2018, her first year being nominated for the award. After 8 years, 5 of those as head coach, Sarae retired from coaching after the 2020 - 2021 season, following the team's first state championship in the pom category! She now consults and choreographs for teams all across the country as the co-founder of Limitless Productions Co.

“My favorite memory of being on the Eagle Elite Dance Team was definitley watching the routines I helped choreograph come to life. It is so amazing to see your entire team trust you to help put together what your season would be surrounded on. I was very lucky to have a coach that pushed my creativity and helped guide me through the ins and outs of choreography.”

Abbey Greek

Class of 2018
North Dakota State University
North Dakota State University Bison Dance Team

Abbey began attending regular studio dance classes as a 4th grader until she was introduced to dance team in middle school. She was apart of the Minot Magikix, which is a middle school dance team located in Minot, ND. In August of 2014, Abbey and her family moved to Fargo, North Dakota. It was after this big move, Abbey decided to continue her dancing career and became a member of the Davies Eagle Elite Dance Team. Abbey was a varsity dancer on the Eagle Elite dance team from 2014 to 2018. Her senior year she was named a captain and helped lead the team to a state championship in the jazz category as well as a bronze medal in the medium varsity hip hop category at the UDA National Dance Team Championships. Abbey was a member of the North Dakota State University Bison Dance Team for two years.

"Out of the countless memories I made with my teammates that soon turned into my best friends, some of my favorites I have from being on the EEDT would have to be earning the teams first State Championship in the High Kick Division in 2016, as well as the 2017 Hip Hop, and 2018 Jazz state championships that followed. Also attending UDA Nationals my junior year and then my senior year where we earned a bronze medal in Medium Hip Hop. There’s no better feeling than the one you feel when you hear your teams name announced and you instantly know that all of your hard work, dedication, and teamwork has paid off."

Emily Malmanger

Class of 2017
University of North Dakota
University of North Dakota Dance Team

Emily began dancing at a young age through the Just For Kix program. She joined the Discovery Middle School Fargo Fusion Dance Team in 7^th grade. Her freshman year of high school, Emily was a part of the Davies Eagle Elite junior varsity team and then went on to dance on the Varsity team for the next three years. Emily was a captain on the junior varsity team her freshman year and a captain on the varsity team her junior and senior year. She helped lead the team to a state kick title in 2016, a state hip hop title in 2017 as well as making finals and placing 10^th in kick at the teams first appearance at the UDA National Dance Team Championship, in 2017. Emily was a member of the University of North Dakota dance team in Grand Forks, North Dakota, for three years.

“My favorite memory from being on the Eagle Elite dance team is finishing our finals kick performance at UDA nationals my senior year. We had such an amazing bond and coming off the floor we were all so proud of what we had accomplished that year. The team became a second family to me and when we came off the floor the amount of love and support I got from the girls, the coaches, my parents, and everyone else’s families who were there was overwhelming and I will never forget that surreal moment.”

Ella Thorson

Class of 2019
North Dakota State University
North Dakota State University Bison Dance Team

Unlike many dancers, Ella's dance career did not start until much later in life. In middle school, she began taking dance classes at a local studio and later tried out for the Discovery Fargo Fusion Dance Team, where she danced for one year. Following this, Ella decided going into high school that she would tryout for the Davies Eagle Elite Dance Team. She was named to the varsity roster and danced all four years. Her senior year, Ella was named captain and helped her team to win their overall fourth consecutive state title, this one being in the jazz division. What made Ella's time on the Davies Dance Team truly unique however, was that her and her other fellow seniors were the first athletes in Davies High School to win four consecutive state titles for the school. Among these accomplishments, Ella was also a member of the Eagle Elite Team who took home a bronze medal in the Medium Hip Hop division at the UDA NDTC in 2018. Ella is currently a third year member of the North Dakota State University Bison Dance Team.

"It is so difficult to pick a favorite memory, because I have so many. One of my favorites though would have to be the practice we had at Nationals in 2018 the night before finals for Kick and Hip Hop. Everyone was so in the moment, and focused on what they wanted. I will never forget the energy we all had and the way we felt after the practice. We were all so happy and it was like we had all the satisfaction we needed. Performing in finals the next day was just us showing off and doing us."

Tommi Johnson

Class of 2019
North Dakota State University
North Dakota State University Dance Team

Tommi began dancing in the first grade at Halftime By Sheri Studio. She danced there until the 8th grade. Tommi joined the Davies Eagle Elite Dance Team in the 9th grade and danced all four years. Her senior year, Tommi was named captain and helped lead the team to their fourth consecutive state title and back to back jazz title. Tommi and her fellow seniors made history that year by being the first ever graduating class from Davies to win a state championship every single year in high school! Tommi also earned a bronze medal in the medium hip hop division with the Davies Dance Team in 2018. Following her time on the Davies Dance Team, Tommi is currently a second year member of the NDSU Bison Dance Team.

"I have so many fond memories of the Davies Dance Team. Those girls were and are my best friends. If I had to pick one though, I would say senior year state, walking on and off the floor for jazz. I knew we had done the work and all we needed to do was go on the floor with out story and do what we loved. Seeing all of our friends, family and alumni cheering as hard as they could is the feeling we chase as dancers, and is better than any title or trophy."

Emma Bale

Class of 2018
University of North Dakota
North Dakota State University

Emma started her dancing career at the age of 9 with Just For Kix. In 6th grade, she joined the Discovery Middle School Fargo Fusion Dance Team and began dancing at BAS Studios, where she continued to dance through her senior. Emma then moved on to become a 4-year varsity member of the Davies Eagle Elite Dance Team from 2014 to 2018. She was a senior captain and led to the team to 3 consecutive state titles and a bronze medal in the Medium Hip Hop division at the UDA NDTC in 2018. Emma was a member of the North Dakota State University Bison Dance Team for 2 years.

"My favorite memory from being on the Eagle Elite Dance Team would my senior year winter pep fest. The school normally only gets to see us perform half time dances at football games, so being able to show them our competition routines and what we work so hard at perfecting was very rewarding. Receiving a standing ovation from the entire school is something I will never forget."

Emily Malmanger

Class of 2017
University of North Dakota

Emily began dancing at a young age through the Just For Kix program. She joined the Discovery Middle School Fargo Fusion Dance Team in 7^th grade. Her freshman year of high school she joined the Davies Eagle Elite junior varsity team and then went on to dance on the Varsity team for the next three years. Emily was captain of the junior varsity team her freshman year and a captain of the varsity team her junior and senior year. She helped lead the team to a state kick title in 2016, the team's first state title, and a state hip hop title in 2017 as well as making finals and placing 10^th in kick at the teams first UDA nationals in 2017. Emily was a member of the University of North Dakota dance team in Grand Forks, North Dakota for 4 years.

MacKenna Fraase

Class of 2020
University of North Dakota
North Dakota State University

MacKenna (Kenna) began dancing in middle school on the Discovery Fargo Fusion dance team in 2015. Following this, she was a member of the Davies Eagle Elite Dance Team for 4 years and a captain her senior year. While on the Davies Dance Team, Kenna and her team were able to capture a state title every single year. Her sophomore year, Kenna was a part of the bronze medal team in the medium hip hop division at the National Dance Championship in Orlando, Florida. Following her time on the Davies Dance Team, Kenna went on to attend the University of North Dakota. However, after a year away from dance, Kenna knew she needed to get back into it and transferred to North Dakota State University where she was selected to be a member of the NDSU Bison Dance Team.

"One of my favorite memories while on the Davies Dance Team was being a freshman and seeing my name on the 2016 varsity roster. In that moment I was so excited to start a sport that I knew I was going to be obsessed with for the next however many years of my life. The feeling of pure joy was indescribable and I was so proud of myself for just going for it. I am forever grateful for the limitless experience and opportunities that being a Davies dancer has supplied me with."

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