Meet Our Staff

Miss Sierra started dancing ballet when she was thirteen years old, after seeing the Nutcracker Ballet for the first time. She grew up in Salem, Oregon with a large family who promotes the arts. In high school she danced ballet, Irish, modern, jazz, and Hip-Hop at Discovery School of Dance (DSD). Miss Sierra attended Brigham Young University-Idaho (BYU-I), where she received a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Dance Pedagogy and became certified to teach yoga. Although Miss Sierra is trained in ballet and several dance forms, she continues to educate herself in various movement arts and loves learning about the human body. She recently got her certification for teaching Kaeja Elevations, and has plans to get certified in DanceAbility training in the fall of 2025. She loves spending time outside and with her family, and considers herself a proficient baker. Miss Sierra shares the title of co-owner of Danceworx Academy with her lovely mother, Julie Peacock.

Sierra Peacock

Katie Snyder

Miss Katie started dancing at 3 years old and started taking Irish dance classes at age 5 at Discovery School of Dance (DSD) where she found a passion for the dance style. After many years of attending Ballet and Irish classes, Miss Katie assisted with many classes before teaching on her own. Miss Katie strives to create a welcoming and fun environment for students to learn and gain confidence. She recently graduated from Western Oregon University (WOU) with a degree in Elementary Education and a minor in American Sign Language (ASL).

Lizzy Peacock

Miss Lizzy (Asst. Instructor and Intern) began dancing at Discovery School of Dance (DSD) at age 3 (ballet, pointe, Irish soft/hard shoe, and hip-hop/jazz/lyrical) and has danced continuously ever since! She completed her freshman year dancing at Western Oregon University (WOU) where she received the Laurel Dance Scholarship and danced as a student aspirant with the Rainbow Dance Company. Lizzy is currently a dance major at BYU-Idaho with an emphasis in Dance Choreography and Performance. Lizzy will be working with us this summer as an intern and co-teacher of the pointe' class.

AnnaTandy

Miss Anna (Teaching Assistant) began dancing at DSD at age 2 and continued through the studio for fifteen years studying ballet, pointe, Irish soft/hard shoe, and hip-hop/jazz/lyrical. Anna is a current student at The Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts where she is studying to major in Music Education and minor in Choral Conducting. She is continuing her dance journey as she is enrolled in ballet classes at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee and is currently working with us this summer as a teacher assistant.

Holly Hoem

Miss Holly Hoem has been studying and teaching Ballet for 30 years. She studied Classical Ballet from the age of 13-18 at Dance Spectrum Academy in Eugene, Oregon. After graduating high school, she attended Cornish College of the Arts for 2 years on a full tuition scholarship. She studied Classical Ballet, Pointe, Partnering, Modern dance, Contemporary, Jazz, Choreography and Music Theory. She performed with Cornish College’s dance company for two years. After Cornish College, Miss Holly transferred to University of Oregon to study dance under Susan Zadoff. She also taught Ballet at the Eugene School of Ballet for 3 years. She taught Classical Ballet, Irish, Jazz and Contemporary to students ages three through Adult at Discovery School of Dance (DSD) from 2007-2020. While there, she was responsible for choreographing over 60 dances for the end of year recital. Miss Holly looks forward to teaching at Danceworx Academy to continue her passion for educating students of all ages in the art of dance.

Julie Peacock

Mrs. Peacock (Owner/Manager) grew up in a small town without a local dance studio. However, she was always making up dances and performing them with her friends. As a young girl, she dreamed of dancing ballet and owning a dance studio "someday". Years later, when her family moved to a larger city, Julie took dance classes in high school, competed on dance team, drill team, and varsity cheerleading. She attended Brigham Young University (Hawaii and Provo campuses) and continued to study dance at the college level, including Polynesian, Modern, Ballroom, and Cultural dance styles. Julie holds a Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology, Bachelor's degrees in Communication Disorders & Deaf Education and Travel & Tourism. She is a Certified Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Specialist and works full-time as a Speech-Language Pathologist at Cascade School District. Julie began dancing ballet at Discovery School of Dance at the age of 45 and continues her love of dance as the proud owner of Danceworx Academy. She is a life-long learner, mother, and grandmother.