Our Instructors
Shelby Waldron
CDTA Tap-L, AAC, Alixa Flexibility, BS, MBA, First Aid/CPR
Shelby began dancing at the age of 3 in Saskatoon and continued to dance competitively until the age of 22. She has earned her CDTA Licentiate Certification, L1 Acrobatic Arts Certification, and Alixa Flexibility Certification. In addition to her dance certifications, Shelby has also completed a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics at the University of Saskatchewan, an Applied Certificate in Applied Project Management through Saskatchewan Polytechnic, and her Masters of Business Administration from Edwards School of Business. When Shelby is not at the studio she can be found working for the City of Saskatoon as a Functional Analyst.
Shelby will be taking a step back from teaching this year to focus on her growing family but will continue to run administration for Rhythms!
Desiree Deis
CDTA Associate Stage Division, AAC, First Aid/CPR
Desiree has taught with Rhythm’s Dance since 2011. She has taught hip hop, tap, jazz, acro, ballet and lyrical to all age levels over the years and loves every moment of it. Desiree’s dance journey began in her hometown, Fox Valley, at age 10 where she started with tap. From there, she fell in love with all styles and even became a dance teacher outside of her hometown at the age of 16 for 2 years. Thereafter, she furthered her education at the University of Lethbridge with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Exercise Science. While in school, she continued taking dance classes and teaching classes. Desiree moved to Saskatoon in 2011 where she started teaching dance at Rhythms. Along the way, she has also owned a dance studio in Conquest from 2012-2015. 2015 was when she became a full timePilates instructor at Lead Pilates. Outside from her secondary school and Pilates training, she has completed her CDTA Associate Members in both tap and jazz. Over the years, Desiree has received many awards for her choreography. She loves to highlight the strengths in each of her dancers, but also likes to push the envelopes on the weaknesses that we all are afraid of. Facing those weaknesses and working through them with a fine-tooth comb can make that dancer from great to extraordinary!
Shelby Sawatzky
CBTS - RAD Ballet, CDTA Jazz-L, CDTA Acro-A, First Aid/CPR
Miss Shelby has been in love with dance since the age of 4. She is a certified Royal Academy of Dance ballet exam teacher and Member of the Canadian Dance Teachers Association (Jazz-L & Acro-A). She grew up in the Town of Watrous and began teaching there in 2009. Ballet is her absolute favourite! She’s had the opportunity to dance 2 summers at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and dance in Moscow’s Swan Lake. Currently, she’s an administrative assistant at CIBC Wood Gundy, Private Wealth Management. Studying to become a licensed Client Associate.
Miss Shelby has two boys of her own, Teo & Tre, and they give her world more colour! They tried some dance lessons the last two years, but decided they’re more suited for flag football. She’s looking forward to be a ‘football mom’.
She’s feeling extremely lucky to be back teaching for Rhythms Dance this fall. She encourages the students to bring their joy & passion to learn. For the love of dance!
Alexa Delainey
B.Ed., B.A., CDTA Stage Division, First Aid/CPR
Alexa Delainey has been dancing since the age of three and has developed a love for teaching over the years. While she specializes in tap and hip hop, she is trained in a variety of styles and is passionate about each in their own ways. She has completed her Intermediate Foundations Ballet from the Royal Academy of Dance and is very proud to have earned her Licentiate designation in Tap with the Canadian Dance Teacher's Association. Alongside teaching at Rhythms Dance Studio, Alexa is a certified lifeguard and swim instructor at the University of Saskatchewan and additionally, works in the Saskatoon Public School Division as a teacher (specializing in secondary mathematics and studio art). Whether she’s in a classroom, pool, or the dance studio, Alexa believes it is important to challenge her students while still creating a welcoming space where they can feel safe and have fun!
Kayla Delainey
First Aid/CPR, Certified Lifeguard and swim teacher
Kayla fell in love with dance after her first class at the age of 3. She has followed this passion for 15 years and is continuing to do so at Rhythms Dance Studio, participating in the older dance classes. Although she loves all dance styles, Kayla has a soft spot for tap. She has completed her Advanced tap exam through the Canadian Dance Teachers Association as well as her Intermediate ballet exam through the Royal Academy of Dance. Kayla currently attends the University of Saskatchewan in the College of Education with the goal of becoming a middle years teacher. As well as teaching dance, Kayla also works as a swim instructor for the University of Saskatchewan. Kayla loves to teach, and works hard with her kids to make sure they have fun and strengthen their skills every lesson. Kayla hopes she can inspire kids to foster a love for dance similar to the one she has created for herself.
Kyra Brown
First Aid/CPR, Mental Health First Aid
Kyra has been dancing since age 5. She started her dance journey in Borden, Sk where she also started assistant teaching at age 10. In 2015 she started taking tap exam classes with Miss Shelby at Rhythms, that fall she started dancing at Rhythms studio and now she’s taking as many classes as she can (tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, lyrical, contemporary and acro), exam classes in tap, ballet and jazz and teaching our mini and combo classes. Kyra loves to dance, anywhere and everywhere…all of the time! She hopes that her passion for dance inspires those around her to do what they love.
Kyra is a grade 12 student at Walter W. Brown School in Langham. When she is not dancing she can be found working on her family’s farm, operating equipment or working at the Langham Care Home as a Meal Time Assistant. Kyra hopes to get her teaching certificates for dance, own a studio and pursue a career in nursing.
Elianna Adams
Elianna has loved dance for as long as she can remember but her passion for it really took off after her first ballet lessons at 4 years old. At 7 years old, she started lessons at Rhythms where her love of dance only grew. She currently dances Ballet, Hip Hop, Musical Theatre, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, and Contemporary. Elianna is a student at St Joseph High School where she is involved in choir and theatre. Outside of school and dance, Elianna also takes voice lessons, is involved in local theatre, and enjoys reading. She has a love and passion for dancing and performing which she shares with her cousin and best friend, Jayla. This love and passion for dance is what they, as a teaching team, hope to share with their students while strengthening dance skills in an encouraging environment designed for learning, growing and having fun!
Jayla Engel
Jayla Engel has been a dancer and performer for her entire life. She started to take lessons at 4 years old and began dancing at Rhythms in 2015 at 8 years old. She is currently taking Ballet, Hip-Hop, Musical Theatre, Jazz, Lyrical and Contemporary classes at the studio. Jayla is now 17 years old and a Grade 12 student at Saint Joseph High School where she is involved in art, choir and drama. Outside of school and dance, Jayla loves to read, write and draw, as well as listen to music, sing and watch musicals. Jayla is teaching Mini classes this year alongside forever best friend and cousin, Miss Elianna. Together they hope to help a new generation of dancers learn, have fun and become bright stars on and off the stage.
Ellie Gee
Ellie has been a proud Rhythms student for over a decade, and she is so excited to be coming on as a teacher this season! Ellie loves sharing her passion and has previous experience guiding both dance and dancers. A proud member of the Walter Murray Collegiate Pom team throughout high school, Ellie took on the role of sole choreographer and head coach of the school’s inaugural Jazz team this past year. While she has tried out and loved many styles of dance over the years, Ellie is particularly fond of lyrical and ballet. Ellie’s passion for dance continues this year; she will compete competitively and train for her Advanced 2 ballet exam with RAD.
Ellie is currently a second year student at the University of Saskatchewan majoring in psychology, with a minor in English. When she is not at school or dance, Ellie can be found working as a barista at Prairie Ink Restaurant. Ellie is excited to be teaching this year at Rhythms and knows she will learn as much from the students as they learn from her!
Our Assistant Instructor
Livia James
Liv was only 2 years old when she first performed with the Pacsirta Hungarian dance group at Folkfest and started classes at Rhythms Dance. She has continued dancing with both groups over the past 12 years. In 2016, Liv found further inspiration and love of dance when she was cast in Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker in Saskatoon.
With the Pacsirta Hungarian dance group, Livia has performed several times at Folkfest throughout the years. More recently she performed for Telemiracle 2021 and will be performing at the Western Canadian Hungarian Folk Festival this Fall. She enjoys helping the other youth dancers learn the correct steps and timing.
Although she likes all the dance styles Liv tends to pick tap and hip hop as her favourites. At Rhythms, Livia does ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, acro, and lyrical and is in pre-pointe working towards getting on pointe. She has achieved her Grade 3 Tap exam and is working on Grade 4 this year.
Liv is a very kind, gentle, caring individual who is always open to helping others. She is excited to be assisting Miss Elianna and Miss Jayla with the Minis this year!
Our Social Media Manager
Brooklyn Batters
Brooklyn has loved dance since the age 3 when her dance journey began at her first ballet class. In 2014 at 7 years old she started dancing at Rhythms taking Jazz and Hip-Hop classes, where her passion for dance became stronger. She does many different styles of dance at the studio (Lyrical, Contemporary, Ballet, Pointe, Tap, and Musical Theater), but loves Contemporary a little more than the others. Brooklyn is currently a grade 12 student at St. Joseph Highschool, where she gets to take on her other passion for writing. When she is not at dance or school, the next place you would find Brooklyn is at Pink Cadillacs working as a server or hostess. Brooklyn is very excited to take on the role of Social Media Manager this dance season, and is looking forward to sharing her love of dance through Rhythms social media!