Dancer Nicole Sieger is an ambitious artist with a purpose.
All she wants to do is dance."This is what I want to do for my career," Sieger said during a break at her dance studio. "I had intensions of owning a place like this when I was nine. I was studying under (Sally Johnson of the Royal Ballet of London) and looked up to her. She had one, so I did."
Having good role models and aspirations paid off. At 19, Sieger runs, owns and manages Premier Academy in Colonial Square, 567 W. 2600 South, Bountiful. The dancer, dressed in black tights and a green leotard, sat back in her chair and talked about some of the challenges of owning a dance studio at such a young age. (She was 16 when she first opened her Bountiful location).
"There are different things I needed to overcome for this," Sieger said as she gestured toward the mirrors. "I was 14 when I first started teaching dance. I taught a few summer workshops and taught when my family lived near Logan. I still get surprised looks when people who come in to sign up realize I'm the teacher.
Other challenges that Sieger has conquered are moving and recruiting.
"When we opened up shop in Logan, there was only one other dance studio," Sieger said. "But once we got things rolling, we had more than 80 students sign up.
"Then we moved to Bountiful and had to start signing up students all over again."
Sieger considers Mikhail Baryshnikov, the famed Pavlova and tappers Savion Glover and Michael Flatley as her idols. And that shows, especially when newcomers read the types of classes Premier Academy offers. There's ballet - including pointe - tap, jazz and lyrical, theatrical dance with an emphasis on the libretti.
"I love dance," she said. "We do everything in this studio."
In addition to Johnson, Sieger has studied under Laurel Clark, formerly of Ballet West, and Adrianne Campbell of the Houston Ballet.
Since opening her studio in Bountiful, Sieger and Premier Academy have competed all over the state. Her dancers garnered the Overall Sportsmanship title at the Dance U.S.A. competition in 1995. During that same event, two of Premier Academy's dancers won dance queen titles.
While the awards and recognitions are wonderful, Sieger said some of her most personal rewards come through her students.
"Dance is hard," she said. "There are times when our students will get quite frustrated with themselves because they have a hard time catching on to the steps. Then when they do get it, especially during recitals, you can see the gratification on their faces. It makes me proud of them."
As for the future, Sieger, who has completed one year at LDS Business College, would like to attend the University of Utah for a dance degree.
"That's what I would love to do," she said. "Dance is my life."