Instructors
Kylie Schons, Assistant Director
Kylie began her love for dance at the age of 5 in her hometown of Tracy, MN. She began with tap and ballet in grade school. During high school she added jazz and pointe, which ended up being her favorite styles of dance. She was also a part of the varsity dance team at her high school for 6 years. She was a choreographer and captain for four of those years. Her high school dance team consisted of jazz funk and high kick. Kylie also taught ballet to young students before moving to the cities. Kylie loves helping young children develop their love for dance and is so excited to be a part of TranscenDance Xperience. Kylie is our "chaos coordinator". From organization of the office, to planning Showcase and Recital, she is irreplaceable! In addition to her administrative work, she will be teaching some of our competitive classes.
Karla Palmersheim, Instructor
Karla Petit Palmersheim has over 25 years of teaching and coaching experience. She is passionate about dance team and loves to work with young athletes to develop strength, flexibility, technique and stage presence. Karla is a proud coach of the Hopkins Fall Dance Team and teaches technique and competitive choregraphy for TranscenDance Xperience.
Karla has taught/coached since 1996 and her students have gone on to success as dancers and coaches with some of the Midwest's most notable teams; University of MN Dance Team, University of Wisconsin Dance Team, Edina Dance Team, Edina Hip Hop Team, Eden Prairie Dance Team, Hopkins Royelles, Minnetonka Dance Team, Benilde St. Margaret's Dance Team, St. Olaf Dance Team, Gustavus Dance Team, and many more.
After a childhood of studio dance, Karla started with high school danceline and then went on to the University of Evansville. At UE she joined her team as UDA National Finalists in 1998 and 1999. She assistant-coached teams in Indiana and London, England during college. Upon her return to Minnesota in 2000, she ran On Your Toes School of Dance starting in 2000 and opened DanceXchange in 2003. During that time, she was honored to perform professionally with the Tobak Russian Dance Company and competitively with the Exisdanz Dance Team. In 2015, she changed the focus of DanceXchange from a recreational and competitive dance program to a center for other dance and fitness groups to flourish. This change allowed her to return to her original area of study, Social Work, and allowed her more time and energy for her daughters.
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Latrika Papenfuss-Pruitt, Instructor
Latrika has been dancing all her life. She is a universal dancer, who has experience in a large variety of dance styles including salsa, tap, lyrical and hip hop. She has been involved in two Twin Cities dance crews that performed at choreographer showcases and participated in dance battles throughout the United States. Latrika has also taught dance classes at two local high schools, and choreographed for several music videos. As of today, Latrika enjoys sharing her passion for dance with all ages. She is thrilled to be passing that love for dance on to her two daughters, and is excited to continue teaching with TDX! Trika is our resident hip hop instructor, she also teaches conditioning, and will be taking on some of our recreational classes this season. She teaches all ages, from preschool to high school. She is eager to grow her knowledge base of dance in any way possible, and is a fantastic asset to our team.
Annika Laughlin, Instructor
Annika grew up studying dance in Minnesota and New York State. She continued her dance training at Buffalo State College, completing a B.A. in Arts and Letters, focusing her studies on Dance and English. In addition, she has completed a two-year early childhood education program, where she studied the physical, social, mental, and emotional development of young children. Annika worked locally for two years as a company dancer, ballet instructor, and student rehearsal assistant with the Continental Ballet Company in Bloomington, MN before deciding to devote her time to pursuing her teaching interests.
Annika adores working with young ballet dancers. As a teacher, she works to provide a strong foundation in classical ballet technique, from which the dancers can continue to progress in their dancing and grow in their personal artistry. Her classes focus on developing coordination, balance, proper alignment, discipline, musicality, and age-appropriate ballet technique, in a supportive and confidence-building environment. Annika is passionate about teaching ballet and is excited to share this passion with TDX students and their families. Miss Annika will be teaching ballet for our Company students and recreational classes on Saturdays this year.
