3.12.2025 - FINDING FLOW WITH EMILY
By: Coral BarnesContemporary and Jazz dance styles have been a gateway for many people to express themselves in different ways, whether through emotions, life stories, self-confidence, or a better understanding of what dance truly means to them.
Contemporary dance style often incorporates freestyle and improvisation, which gives the audience an idea of the playful nature of this dance style. This dance style often explores experimentation, storytelling, and different themes that really help showcase the dance style through the individual lens of both the dancer and the audience. Jazz dance differs from the contemporary style as it has a more lively and expressive nature that shows different responses to music and syncopated beats.
Today, I chatted with one of my good friends and amazing instructors at Elemental Studios, Emily Kaiser to get to know her and learn more about her journey with dance.
So, let’s get to know her, shall we?
Emily Kasier, a Thornton, Colorado native, has over 22 years of dance experience, with roughly 4 of those spent teaching dance. She grew up training and competing in multiple genres, including ballet, tap, jazz, modern, contemporary, pointe, and hip-hop. She completed pre-collegiate training and attended multiple dance competitions and conventions each year with Premier School of Dance from ages 7-18.
In 2012, Emily received the Magic Performer of the Weekend scholarship from the popular dance convention LA Dance Magic. From 2012 to 2014, she was a member of the LA Magic Student Company, where she traveled the country to train, assist, and perform alongside many other talented students from across the nation.
She completed two Bachelor of Arts degrees from CSU in 2018, one being in Dance, where she studied and trained in Ballet, modern, pedagogy, and choreography. During this time, Emily also taught a variety of styles at the Contemporary Dance Academy in Fort Collins, Colorado. Upon completing her degree, she continued to train in a variety of techniques/styles at various studios.
Over the past 2 years, Emily has been a part of several exciting projects, including concept videos and dance performances for Denver-based teams, artists, and choreographers such as Rhianna Cranston, Bad B!sh Club, Jagged Movement, Team Royale, and others. Emily is thrilled to be a part of the Elemental Studios Staff and to share her passion for dance with others.
Here is our Interview!
What is your favorite thing about being a teacher at Elemental?
Emily: “Having the opportunity to share knowledge and creativity with the community, and meeting the wide variety of students that come to Elemental. We have an incredibly diverse staff and coroner base, and it’s been amazing to see everyone come together in the Denver Dance Community.
I also love the supportive and diverse staff members that I get to work with and hang out with on a regular basis. We foster a family-like environment, which makes everyone feel so comfortable in our space.
What is a fun fact about yourself that you would love us to know?
Emily: “Cats are my favorite animal, and I love to pet sit for friends and family since I don’t have any of my own.”
How did you start your dance journey?
Emily: “My parents put me in ballet and tap classes at the age of 3 because I could never sit still and I never wanted to stop. As I grew up, I was part of my studio’s competition team at Premier School of Dance, then went on to study Dance in college at CSU.”
Do you like doing jazz styles or contemporary more?
Emily: “It’s hard to pick a favorite since they have so many differences and similarities and I love both so much, Jazz is a codified technique, where contemporary is a style of dance. This means that contemporary is very broad and abstract in terms of stylistic choices you can make from a choreographic and movement exploration perspective, and jazz has very specific elements and movements involved from a technical training perspective. However, jazz can also have a lot of creative freedom within choreography, just like contemporary. I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to create in both genres while working at Elemental and share my technical knowledge as well as my creative artistry and expression.”
Are there any goals you have for yourself this year for dance?
Emily: “I think this year, my goals are to continue to become a better teacher, train more, and improve my own abilities, and collaborate with other staff members/members of the community this year. I’d love to tap into my creativity a bit more than last year.”
Is there a style of dance that you have wanted to try but weren’t sure about?
Emily: “Not necessarily. I’m pretty open to trying different genres at least once. I would like to explore pole a bit more and want to take the Belly Dancing and Brazilian Funk Pop-up classes we have coming up on 3/22 and 3/27.”
How do you deal with creative ruts when making choreo for class?
Emily: “I’ll either take a break and revisit it, or try improving to the song and see if anything naturally feels good. I also find myself thinking of the best choreography when I’m not in choreo mode. I’ll be at the grocery store or hanging out with friends and something will pop into my head and I always have to try to remember it for when I get back to piecing the choreo together.”
What is your favorite artist at the moment?
Emily: “Chris Brown, The Weeknd, Odesza, and Zeds Dead.”
Do you have any hobbies outside of dance?
Emily: “Going to concerts, trying new restaurants, camping, and pool/hot tubbing.”
Where can people find you on social media, and when are your classes?
Emily: “My Classes are Tuesdays at 6:15 pm. I alternate between Open Jazz and Open Contemporary, and we post which genre I’m doing each week on both the Elemental and my personal IG page, which is @eek27_. Open Level means that it is open to all levels, and each week will vary in difficulty. I always incorporate a thorough warm-up and stretch, and some weeks add in technical training exercises followed in a combo. My DMs are always open to questions and feedback for future classes.”
Thank you so much to Emily Kaiser for taking the time to chat with me about your dance experience and journey. I enjoyed getting to know you, and thank you to everyone for taking the opportunity to read this interview! Make sure to sign up for Emily’s class on Tuesday, and I look forward to my next interview.