Principal Faculty
Tonia Blomquist-Owner/Artistic Director
Tonia Blomquist attended Weber State University from 1999-2004 on an Academic Departmental Scholarship for Dance. During this time she was also the recipient of the Anya Kenley Arts Scholarship, and was featured as the Performing Arts recipient for WSU in 2001. At WSU, she performed in the Orchesis Dance Company for 8 seasons, and The Moving Company for 3 years.
Tonia is an award winning choreographer and has been choreographing professionally throughout the Wasatch front since 1999. During this time she has also adjudicated for several local dance conventions, and taught Master classes in Modern, Improvisation, Jazz and Contemporary. She was a principal faculty member for Park City Dance Academy from 1999-2016, and then became faculty for Ballet West from 2016-2021.
In 2021, Tonia founded Summit Dance Project. Since its creation, she has continued to teach and choreograph, as well being the Producer and Artistic Director.
In 2024, Tonia was invited to serve on the Dance Educator’s Collective Council.
Sawyer Player-Contemporary Director
Sawyer was admitted into the University of Utah School of Ballet at age sixteen. In 2019, she accepted a position with SALT2, and subsequently SALT Contemporary Dance.
Sawyer’s experience learning from choreographers such as Ihsan Rustem, Garrett Smith, Micaela Taylor, Olivier Wevers, Ching Ching Wong, and Courtney Mazeika, as well as her participation in several Gaga Labs has greatly influenced her choreographic practice.
Sawyer has developed a career as a traveling choreographer and teacher, working with studios, schools, and professional companies. She is the resident choreographer of Fleet Co-Op, and faculty member of All New Things experience. Sawyer has also appeared as a featured artist in Canvas Rebel Magazine. Her choreography has received awards and accolades from organizations such as Artist Simply Human, DanceOne, and The Youth American Grand Prix.
Jaclyn Weisenbeck-Ballet Director
Born in Rochester, NY, Jaclyn Weisenbeck began her formal training at the Timothy M. Draper Center for dance education under the direction of the late Tim Draper and Jamey Leverett. She performed with the Rochester City Ballet for many years in notable roles such as Magical Doll in The Nutcracker, Arabian Temptress in Cinderella, and many soloist roles in original works by Ms. Leverett including Push and Pull, Hoedown, and Gershwin in the Park. As part of RCB’s corps de ballet, she performed in productions such as Don Quixote and The Sleeping Beauty. She was also a featured dancer in Robert LaFosse’s original ballet Correspondence: Everything but the Kitchen Sink. Ms. Weisenbeck attended The Florida State University where she completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance. While studying at FSU, she was blessed with the opportunity to study under notable instructors including Balanchine muse and Kennedy Center Award Winner Suzanne Farrell, Sheila Humphreys, Rick McCullough, Anjali Austin, Dan Wagoner, and Geri Houlihan to name a few. Ms. Weisenbeck performed in many works during her time at University, both classical and contemporary, including Mr. McCullough’s Endswell and Darshan Bhuller’s Stop and Stare. Upon completing her degree, Ms. Weisenbeck joined The Tallahassee Ballet for one season before moving to New York City to pursue a performance career outside of ballet. She was able to tour as a dancer and magician’s assistant with The Magic of Rob Lake, as well as perform with The American Jazz Company (formerly, The Now Unboxing Project). Since moving to Utah in 2017, Ms. Weisenbeck has performed with the Hale Center Theatre in multiple productions including Thoroughly Modern Millie and Anything Goes!. Prior to joining Summit Dance Project, Ms. Weisenbeck was on Faculty at Ballet West Academy Park City where she worked directly with the campus principal to choreograph and stage student productions as well as maintain the highest caliber of ballet education. In addition to performing and teaching ballet, she is a certified Barre fitness instructor.
Allie Kenton-Office Manager
After experimenting with several dance styles at a young age, Allie joined the performance team at Park City Dance in 2011 where she developed a deep love of tap and ballet. She began assistant teaching a few years later, and although she can be primarily found at the front desk, she still continues to instruct tap and ballet for some of SDP’s littlest dancers.
One she graduated from Park City High School, she attended the University of Utah Honors college where she spent the next several years completing a Bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in chemistry. In addition to her prior experience in tap instruction, she also had the opportunity to instruct college-level biology which solidified her passion for teaching. Upon graduating, she developed a fondness for flying airplanes and is now pursuing a career in aviation, hoping to complete her training within the next few years and to become a flight instructor and commercial airline pilot.