Owner/Director of Cheer - Jenna Montgomery
Coach Jenna comes to us from Buffalo, NY. She participated in all-star cheerleading for 7 years there, where she competed at The Cheerleading
Worlds & The Cheerleading Summit 3 times! She went on to pursue her cheerleading career in college where she won a National Championship with Drury University at UCA College Nationals 2020! She has been coaching for several years in many positions from Junior High teams, tumbling coach positions, & director of cheerleading. She is currently finishing her degree in Recreation & Sport Management at the University of Arkansas! As owner, she is dedicated to creating an environment for athletes to constantly evolve while helping them navigate the struggles & triumphs of life. She is extremely grateful to be in this role at Pride! She can’t wait to see where our amazing families & staff take our program!
Worlds & The Cheerleading Summit 3 times! She went on to pursue her cheerleading career in college where she won a National Championship with Drury University at UCA College Nationals 2020! She has been coaching for several years in many positions from Junior High teams, tumbling coach positions, & director of cheerleading. She is currently finishing her degree in Recreation & Sport Management at the University of Arkansas! As owner, she is dedicated to creating an environment for athletes to constantly evolve while helping them navigate the struggles & triumphs of life. She is extremely grateful to be in this role at Pride! She can’t wait to see where our amazing families & staff take our program!
Director of dance - Alexis Barnett
Alexis Barnett is Arkansas raised and has called Northwest Arkansas home since she was two. She began dancing at Williams Center at three years old training in ballet, tap, and jazz. When she was five she began dancing at All That Dance. She danced there for fifteen years and competed for thirteen. While at All That Dance she trained and competed in tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, contemporary, hiphop, and musical theatre. She competed across the country and received numerous awards in group and individual categories including: World Champion at Disney Dance, title awards in all genres, and jazz and contemporary icon. Outside of studio, Alexis participated in multiple school sports. She cheered for five years starting in eighth grade at Elmwood Middle School and continued on the next four years at Rogers High School. Her team won state runner up two consecutive years and competed at UCA nationals in Disney World her sophomore and junior year. She was the captain of her team every year, she was awarded All-American all 5 years, and Arkansas All-Star cheerleader her senior year. Starting her sophomore year it was allowed to compete in both cheer and dance, so she joined the dance team and competed for two years in kick, pom, jazz and hiphop. Alexis is now in her second year at the University of Arkansas pursuing a bachelors in education. Alexis was a senior in the year of 2020 and did not get her senior season in any of her sports. This makes being a teacher all the more special as she can continue being a part of the sports she loves and has dedicated her life to. She is so excited to be a teacher at Pride and honored to be a part of her dancers’ and cheerleaders’ lives. She hopes to cultivate a positive, supportive, and loving environment. She will do her best to instill not only skill and knowledge, but love, kindness, hardwork, and dedication into all those she has the pleasure of teaching.
Tumbling Director/Assistant Cheer Coach - Kiersten Kelley
Kiersten Kelley comes to our program from Monett, Missouri where she was a competitive gymnast at Monett Gymnastics Center for 14 years up to level 8. She practiced ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, and pointe at Mary Beck School of Dance for 11 years. She was the captain of the Monett High School Pizzazz Poms dance team for 4 years and competed UDA National Dance Team Championships in 2010. She started coaching tumbling in high school before moving to Fayetteville in 2013. She received her Bachelors degree in Psychology from University of Arkansas where she studied Sport & Exercise Psychology. Kiersten has been the head tumbling coach at Pride for 6 years, coaching kids and adults from ages 3-30. She has taught kids to flip with soccer balls onto the field, helped adults improve their CrossFit ability, and also loves teaching dancers acro tricks.
“Gymnastics taught me everything - life lessons, responsibility, discipline and respect.” -Shawn Johnson
“Gymnastics taught me everything - life lessons, responsibility, discipline and respect.” -Shawn Johnson
Dance Instructor - Mary Helen Banks
Mary Helen Banks has been dancing at the Pride of Arkansas for 5 seasons now. She first joined the Pride company in 7th grade, with no prior dance experience. She trained many hours and days a week at the studio, growing her dance experience and talent. She is now a two year member of the Fayetteville High School Varsity dance team, having also been on both Freshman and Junior Varsity teams. She has competed at the State level, bringing home State awards and trophy’s, and also the national level at UDA High School Nationals at ESPN in Orlando, Florida. She has been assisting at Pride for the past two years, and is excited to take on a more involved role this upcoming season!
DANCE INSTRUCTOR - Addison Whitney
Addison Whitney has been dancing for 17 years. She has traveled across the country competing and training with award winning choreographers and won numerous awards and titles such as Miss Primetime, Miss Showbiz, Dance Showcase and Dancer of the Year, TOP Entertainer. She was invited and attended multiple years at Go Pro in Branson, Mo, under the instruction of Helen Phillips and Don Mirault. Her training has been in ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, and musical theater. She has a true love for performing and the arts. Addison has auditioned and made competitive teams such as All That Dance Dance Company, Broadway Dance Center in NYC, and the American Dance Company. In 2018 while representing the U.S.A. in Poland on the American Dance Company, she won a gold medal in the adult jazz formation category and a bronze in the adult jazz group category. The next year she represented the U.S.A. again as part of the American Dance Company at the International Dance Organization “Best of the Best” World Gala in Italy. An honor graduate of Har-Ber High School, Addison attended Arizona State University where she worked with multiple coaches and choreographers for their national winning dance team. When Addison isn’t somewhere dancing, you can usually find her traveling or behind the lens of a camera pursuing her other passions!