Meet Our Teachers

Andrea Nelson (Company Director)

Drea began her training at Spectrum Dance which included a few years of studio competition dance at Metro Dance Center and Larkin Dance Studio in between. She attended Highland Park where she was on the dance team for 5 years, captain for 2 years and their main choreographer. She graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College, primarily on an academic and dance scholarship, competing and performing with the Gustavus Dance Team and the Gustavus Dance Company all four years. She was lucky enough to have a piece of her own submitted for adjudication at the American College Dance Festival.

Drea has been teaching Jazz and Contemporary at Spectrum Dance since 2010. She was with D.D.’s Dance Studio (currently DanceXcel) from 2011-2018, where she was responsible for choreographing solos, duets/trios, small groups, large groups and productions submitted in the competition setting. She is a 3-time national choreographer winner for both Jazz and Contemporary. In the most recent years, she was one of the Varsity Jazz coaches at Apple Valley High School for two seasons. Her main responsibility was choreographing their jazz routines and supervising all of their turns/leaps technique including strength/conditioning. She has been hired out by dance teams in Missouri, around the Chicago area and throughout Minnesota for Nationals choreography, including seniors interested in solo choreography or critique for college dance programs and dance teams.

Upon dissolving the Varsity program this past season, she left her position at Apple Valley in order to open up her availability for solo/private work and to continue a contemporary program at Spectrum Dance. This year she was invited and had the great opportunity to do a few “turn clinics” with several different varsity jazz programs in the South Suburban and Metro East Conference for Dance Team.

Lynn Lorimor (Ballet Coordinator)

Lynn Lorimor began her formal dance training at the Classical Ballet Academy of Minnesota under the direction of Jo Savino where she studied and performed professionally with the St. Paul City Ballet Company for ten years. As a teen, Lynn studied during the summers at the San Francisco Ballet School under scholarships. Her local performances included classical works such as Copelia, Carmen, Firebird, Giselle, Pas de Quatre, Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and various choreographed pieces including soloist and pas de deux roles. Her most memorable performances were accompanied by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Dale Warland Singers at the Basilica, and direction by Myron Johnson and Marius Andahazy. 

After her early professional ballet career, Lynn has enjoyed a life-long journey as a student of dance with her roots in classical ballet. Additional dance studies included lyrical with Zenon Dance School, contemporary ballet with Ballet of the Dolls, and Vaganova classical ballet technique with St. Anthony Performing Arts. Her flamenco studies included travel to Madrid to experience this art form and culture. She had the pleasure of performing in numerous ballet, lyrical, and character pieces with Dance Spectrum under the direction of Phil and Pat Alesso.

Lynn has taught classical ballet classes for 25 years to adults and children. Her teaching is based on many years of performing experience, wisdom, discipline, passion, and love of the traditions of classical ballet. Her choreography has included numerous ballet pieces for beginning through advanced students with music ranging from classical to jazz to rock.

As Ballet Coordinator at Spectrum Dance, Lynn has developed the ballet curriculum and teaches several levels of ballet technique, including readiness assessments for pointe, pre-pointe strengthening, and pointe. Lynn graduated from the University of Minnesota with degrees in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and works as a product development engineer and inventor. She is an advocate for work/life/dance/school balance and is dedicated to her yoga practice..

Kirby Hagen

Kirby Graduated from Augsburg College with a degree in Education and has pursued dancing on her own since the age of fourteen. Kirby has been teaching dance professionally for over ten years in the Twin Cities and is very passionate about raising the self esteem of students through dance. 

Emily Broeker

Emily Broeker grew up dancing in Minneapolis and obtained her B.A. in dance with distinction from the University of Minnesota. She has performed professionally in Minneapolis and Chicago with companies such as Buckets And Tap Shoes, Chicago Tap Theatre, Flying Foot Forum, Eclectic Edge Ensemble, and Keane Sense Of Rhythm. As a choreographer, Emily has had her work featured in the shows Rhythmically Speaking and Rooted: A Hip-Hop Choreographer's Evening. Emily's greatest passion is dance instruction, and she has been teaching for a period of ten years.To expand her knowledge of dance pedagogy, she regularly attends professional development trainings such as the Breaking Boundaries Dance Teacher Workshop and More Than Just Great Dancing Teacher Training. Emily is also certified to teach Level 1 Giordano Jazz Technique and Progressing Ballet Technique. She loves to witness the passion for dance and growth of each student!

Benjamin Johnson (Performance Director)

Benjamin Johnson has been a ballet teacher at Alesso’s Dance Spectrum since the late 1990s, bringing a sharp eye and firm guidance to students eager to learn.  He was a professional ballet dancer for twenty years, taking daily classes from teachers trained in all of the major schools of Ballet.

Past companies include James Sewell Ballet, Dayton Ballet, BalletMet Columbus, Ohio Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Cincinnati Opera, and guest performances with companies across the United States. He has taught ongoing and master classes in ballet, modern, and juggling around the country, as well as regularly in the Twin Cities.  

A choreographer as well, he has had works performed at the Minnesota Fringe Festival,  The Southern Theater, The O'Shaughnessy @ College of St. Catherine,  Collective Soles Dance Festival in Tampa, Florida, the James Sewell Ballet Choreographic Workshop sponsored by the Jerome Foundation, and by ballet schools in Texas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

He is a certified Massage Therapist, and has a private practice focusing on injury rehabilitation and the particular problems of performing artists. 

Jennifer Jenkins

Jennifer is a trained professional dancer with her BA in Dance from Point Park College in Pittsburgh.  She brings energy and exuberance both to the stage and the studio-classroom as she invests all of herself in her work.  She has danced lead roles as well as performed in solo works both at Point Park College. She also performed in the Midwest during which time she had an apprenticeship with Zenon Dance Company of Minneapolis.  In 2003 she was hired as Director of Dance at the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center to oversee, teach and give private dance lessons to aspiring Olympic skaters.  From 2005-2008 she taught guest master classes in New Jersey, New York and throughout the Midwest.  

Jennifer is also certified as a Master Yoga Instructor/Trainer and a LifePower E-RYT 500 Instructor.  Her teaching style centers on presenting strong technique coupled with encouragement and a passion for dance.  She hopes to instill a passion for dance and purpose for being here on earth.