Our Staff

Ricki Nettleton: Operations Manager

Ricki Nettleton is the Operations Manager here at Premiere Dance Company! She grew up dancing in Oklahoma City where she found her passion for performing. She spent three years on her high school pom team. She then attended Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas where she spent 3 years on their dance team. While in Kansas she taught Jazz and Hip-Hop at a local studio. After returning to Oklahoma she is applying her management skills to the dance world and couldn’t be happier to be part of the Premiere Dance Family!

Liz Smith: Competition Director

Liz is entering her 9th year of teaching at Premiere. She was raised in Norman, and has been studying dance since she was 3 years old. After graduating high school, she spent 6 years teaching and choreographing at Modern Dance Arts before joining Premiere Dance Company in 2016. Liz has a passion for competitive dance, and spends most of her time at Premiere choreographing and cleaning routines for the competition company. Liz is also the head coach of the Norman North Pom program. Since 2018, she has led her teams to win over 20 OSDTDA State Championships, and 4 National Championships at NDA and DTU dance team competitions. She was awarded the OSDTDA Outstanding Choreography award in 2018, 2019, and 2020, and was named the OSDTDA Coach of the Year in 2022. Liz recently joined the OSDTDA Board as the Coaches’ Liaison, and is excited to be a voice & resource for dance team coaches in Oklahoma! Liz loves being involved in her community through teaching and coaching, and treasures the relationships she builds with each of her students. She can’t wait for another year of growth and learning at Premiere!

Carley Schmitt: Pre-Company Director

Carley Schmitt began dancing as a teenager in Bradenton, Florida and instantly fell in love with the art of dance. Carley is trained in ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, pointe, and hip hop. She attended Oklahoma City University’s dance program and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in American Dance Pedagogy in May of 2021. While attending OCU, Carley had the opportunity to perform with the American Spirit Dance Company under the direction of Jo Rowan, work behind the scenes for several university productions, and teach in the Community Dance Center. Carley has also been able to perform at Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Florida, and in Carnegie Hall throughout the course of her career. Carley believes every child deserves the right to dance and express themselves creatively. Her mission is to teach every student she comes across to feel confident in themselves and to love the world a little more. Carley is also certified in Rhythm Works Integrative Dance. Her favorite style of dance is jazz, and she enjoys working with students of all ages and abilities. Carley joined Premiere Dance Company in the fall of 2021 and has loved getting to work with each of her students. Carley is looking forward to passing on her knowledge and passion for dance for another year at Premiere!

Sarah Matteson

Sarah discovered a passion for dance and choreography at a very young age and jumped right into the competitive dance world. Native to Minnesota, her training includes jazz, ballet, pointe, tap, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop, precision, acrobatic arts, and pageantry. She continued her dance education at the University of Minnesota’s College of Liberal Arts-Twin Cities, while also teaching and choreographing for the surrounding Minnesota Twin Cities/Western Wisconsin areas. With over 20 years of professional experience with dance studios and dance teams, Sarah’s award-winning choreography entertains & captivates, yet challenges both dancers and audiences alike.

Her teaching style can best be described as positive and encouraging, yet disciplined. “Seeing that ‘light up’ moment on a dancer’s face and sharing a love for being in a creative space feeds my soul,” she says.
Sarah is also a wife and proud mother of four beautiful children and believes that contributing to keeping the arts alive is the best way she can give back to the next generation. She is committed to nurturing and developing a new generation of artists who express themselves through dance. Sarah resides in Blanchard, Oklahoma, and is currently an adjudicator for BravO! National Dance and Talent, Thunderstruck Dance Competition, and Impact Dance Adjudicators. She enjoys spreading encouragement, love, and light to dancers across the country!

Lacey Becker

Lacey Becker is so excited to start her second year with Premiere Dance Company! A born and bred Houstonian, Lacey found her way to Oklahoma City for college. Lacey holds a Bachelor of Science in Dance and Entertainment from Oklahoma City University and an Master of Arts of Cultural Policy and Arts Management from University College Dublin in Dublin, Ireland. Since she could walk, dance and entertainment have been a huge part of her life. Lacey has been dancing since was was 2 and has 14 years of dance teaching and choreography experience. In her career she has worked with studios and dancers across the Houston area, Oklahoma City, and abroad. While she enjoys all styles of dance, Lacey's first love has always been tap! Currently, Lacey is the event services manager for Cory's Audio Visual, where she gets to work with clients to bring their event vision to life. Lacey is excited to get back in the classroom and work the the amazing Premiere Dance Company dancers!

Danielle Geary

Danielle has been a part of the dance world since she was three years old, studying ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, pointe, and contemporary at the competitive level. Throughout those years, she has danced under the invitation of world-renowned choreographers, such as Debbie Allen and many from the Kirov Academy.

Danielle shares her passion of dance with all walks of life--teaching those with and without disabilities from the ages 2 though 102. Danielle believes all persons can express their story through dance. Her background of Physical Therapy allows her to focus through technique on a dancer’s health, injury-prevention, and strengthening. She strongly feels that all her dancers have the power to be confident and it is her job to help find their way.

Danielle is excited to come into another year at Premiere committed in continuing to share her love, compassion, and fun to her sweet dancers. Currently, she resides in Moore with her four children: Harmony, Beckett, Clarke, and Diesel. Cheers to another amazing dance-filled year!

Breanne Elwell

Breanne Elwell grew up in Edmond, Oklahoma and has been dancing since the age of 2. She studied a variety of dance styles and techniques such as ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, lyrical, musical theater and ballroom. Breanne was a member of the Elite competition groups at Kim Massay Dance Productions until she graduated from Edmond Santa Fe High School. She was a member of the group INTENTION that qualified to compete on Season 3 of NBC Studios “World of Dance.” Breanne has worked with young dancers to help educate them in the basic techniques of dance and choreograph routines. Her goal is to inspire dancers coming up behind her to discover the passion for dance. Breanne is currently attending the University of Oklahoma and is working towards helping other dancers and athletes by getting her doctorate in Physical Therapy. She is currently one of the Dance Directors for OU’s USing and Scandals.

Mitzi LaBrie

Mitzi grew up dancing in Southern California. She began her love of dance at the young age of two. She studied ballet, tap and jazz at a dance studio in Whittier, California. In 2000 she was accepted into the dance program at Oklahoma City University. She spent 3 years performing with the American Spirit Dance Company. While in school Mitzi began her career in teaching at a local studio, during that time she taught all ages and levels. In 2003, she earned her BS in Dance Management. After graduation she taught for the dance department at St. Gregory's University in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

Mitzi is excited to be back teaching. She took a 9 year hiatus to be home with her 3 boys. She looks forward to sharing her knowledge with Premiere Dance Company.

Hailey Lane

Hailey Lane is originally from Dallas, TX. She is currently a student at the University of Oklahoma getting her degree in Public Relations. She was a rhythmic gymnast for nine years at Rhythmic Ribbon of Texas. In high school she went on to perform with the Hebron Silver Wings dance team for three years. Now she continues to be involved in dance as a University Sing director for her sorority. Hailey is so excited to be returning for her second season at Premiere Dance Company!

Emily Wallace

Emily Wallace began her training at Premiere Dance Company. She has had a decade of experience as an assistant teacher at Premiere and is thrilled to be going into her second season as a lead instructor this year. Emily is passionate about inspiring students through the art of dance and is committed to not only building foundational technique, but fostering creativity and a love for movement in aspiring dancers.

Allie Jones

Allie Jones grew up in Dallas, Texas. She has been dancing since the age of 2, and received the majority of her dance training at the Centre for Dance. She has studied a variety of dance styles including ballet, contemporary, jazz and hip hop. Allie was a member of her high school drill team for three and a half years where she served as Junior Lieutenant and Captain. She also had the opportunity to choreograph many theatre production shows in high school. She is currently a junior at the University of Oklahoma and is a dance director for OU's University Sing and Scandals. Allie is so excited to be joining the Premiere Dance Company family!

Clara Strange

Clara Strange is originally from Denver, Colorado. She began dancing at the age of 3 and trained in a variety of styles including ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, lyrical, musical theater, and ballroom. She competed on America's Got Talent Season 6 with the dance group, Silhouettes, where they were named first runners up. She gained teaching experience at the studio where she grew up teaching hip hop for younger dancers. She instantly developed a passion for teaching kids and sharing with them her love for dance. She focuses on teaching proper technique while offering fun and engaging choreography. "As a teacher, I want to give back through dance," she says. Dance has been such an influential part of Clara's life and she looks forward to sharing her passion and knowledge with the dancers at Premiere!

Currently, Clara is a student at the University of Oklahoma working towards a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.

Brooklyn Berry

Brooklyn Berry is from the small town of Sapulpa, Oklahoma. She danced at Art in Motion Dance Company since she was two years old. Brooklyn has been trained in multiple styles including jazz, contemporary, hip hop, and ballet. She was a four year member of her high school dance team where she served as captain her senior year. Brooklyn started teaching classes and choreographing dances her junior year of high school. She continues to teach over the summers and when she’s free throughout the year. She is now a junior at the University of Oklahoma as well as being on the Oklahoma Pom squad for her third year. Brooklyn has a strong passion for dance and can’t wait to share it with the Premiere family!

Polly Fitch

Polly Fitch began her dance journey 16 years ago. During her years as a student, Polly studied modern, contemporary, ballet, jazz, nontraditional partnering, lyrical, tap, hip hop, and various other dance styles. She performed and competed with different studios around Collin County, Texas. At 16 years old, Polly performed two professional productions with Epiphany Dance Arts as a Training Artist. Around this time, she was given the opportunity to choreograph dances on herself and her peers. She began her teaching career through teaching Summer Camps/classes and Assistant teaching students ages three and up. During these years, she discovered and cultivated her passion for performing, choreographing, and teaching dance. Polly received her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts

in Dance from Belhaven University in May 2022. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, she performed in various modern and ballet works with Belhaven University’s Dance Ensemble and the Dance Ministry Ensemble. During this time, she choreographed multiple group works and solos that were showcased in Belhaven’s Senior Dance Concert and the Emerging Choreographer’s Concert. Polly also enjoyed learning about stage production through her experience as a stage manager, light operator, house manager, and strike coordinator. She left Belhaven with refined experience in dance performance, choreography, teaching and pedagogy, production experience, and dance office management. Polly worked as a choreographer and dance instructor at multiple studios throughout Collin County. She taught contemporary, modern, ballet, variations, pre-pointe, jazz, combo classes, and improvisation classes. She served as the lead choreographer and rehearsal director for the RFAC Dance Rep at Toby’s School of Dance in Collin County, Texas. There, her pieces won multiple awards at local dance competitions. In spring 2024, Polly choreographed a large-scale ballet production based off C.S. Lewis’s, The Chronicles of Narnia, “Step Into the Wardrobe”. This hour length production featured both students and professional dance artists. Around this time, she danced with Full Circle Dance of North Texas as a company member during the 2023-2024 season. Polly recently married and moved to Norman, Oklahoma. She is excited to continue her work in choreography and dance instruction.

Katelyn Enterline

Erin Christensen

Erin grew up in Norman, Oklahoma where she began dancing at the age of four. Erin began dancing at Premiere and joined the competition company in 2016 where she took classes in a variety of different styles, and assisted with classes as well. Erin graduated from Noble High School in 2023. She spent a year away from Premiere while starting her college education at the University of Oklahoma, but has now returned back to Premiere to pursue her love and passion for dance through teaching. In addition to teaching Erin will be helping at the front desk. She is so happy to be back with her Premiere Dance family!

Kaitlyn Reber

Kaitlyn Reber grew up in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She has been dancing since the age of 3, and has trained across a variety of studios over her 15 years of performing. She has studied a variety of styles from ballet, contemporary, and jazz, to hip hop, tap, pointe, and pom. Kaitlyn was a member and captain of the OKC Storm Dance Team, which holds multiple state and national titles. With valuable opportunities in the industry including a callback for the Music Man on Broadway, and a very competitive dance background, Kaitlyn enjoys all sides of the dance world. She has a special place in her heart young students and uses her vast skill set to encourage, train, and positively impact the next generation of dancers. As a current freshman at the University of Oklahoma, Kaitlyn can’t wait to join the Premiere Dance Company crew!

Sarah Westbrook: Digital Media Coordinator

Sarah Westbrook, originally from Virginia Beach, VA, began her dance training at a local studio in Hampton Roads and went on to study at the region’s performing arts high school, The Governor’s School for the Arts. From there, she attended The University of Oklahoma and received her BFA in Modern Dance Performance in 2022. While in school she also furthered her training with Oregon Ballet Theater, Parsons Dance, and Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company.

In 2023, Sarah joined Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s second company, DBDT: Encore! under the direction of Nycole Ray. After one season with the second company, she joined Dallas Black Dance Theatre. She has performed works by renowned choreographers such as Sidra Bell, Rena Butler, Gregory Dolbashian, Tommie Waheed-Evans, Christopher Huggins, Jirí Kylián, Joshua L. Peugh, Katarzyna Skarpetowska, and Take Ueyama. In addition to performing, she also teaches dance to children in a range of styles. Sarah taught at Premiere from 2020-2022 and now serves remotely as our Digital Media Coordinator.

Renee Roberts: Billing Manager

Renee Roberts has been with Premiere Dance Company since 2011 both as a dance mom and as our Billing Manager. She is a mom of eight, and dance mom of seven. Renee has been in the education field for 28 years. Over the course of this career she has homeschooled her own children, ran homeschool co-ops, and owned a private K-12 school. Renee has been married to her husband Don for 29 years and when not working she loves to read and spend time with her family.