Our story
Oakley Palfreyman Johnson trained nine years at Lifehouse Performing Arts Academy in Salem, danced on the Salem Hills Dance Company and was its 2019 Dance Sterling Scholar, and earned an Associate’s in Dance Education at Southern Utah University, where she was named Performer of the Year and served in the Orchesis presidency. She opened The Oaks in Santaquin in June 2023 and today teaches at two Santaquin studios.
Why “The Oaks”
Oakley is in the name, but so is the tree. The Gambel oak grows on every bench from Payson to Nephi — slow, deep-rooted, and still standing after the fires. The leaf in our logo holds a dancer because that is the deal here: roots first, then height.
Technique first, with joy
Cecchetti-method ballet from age three, a published level ladder, and pointe only after passing a technique test. Each class builds on the skills of the one before it.
Every age is the main character
Toddlers are not a feeder program and adults are not an afterthought. From Parent & Me to adult ballet and couples’ social dance, there is room for a whole family’s week.
Nothing hidden
Read tuition, fees, policies, and the schedule before you register. Payments and enrollment stay in GoStudioPro.
Rooted in our towns
Two Santaquin locations, performances at Payson Jr. High and Seasons of Santaquin, and summer camps open to Santaquin, Genola, Payson, Goshen, and Salem families.
01Oakley Palfreyman Johnson
Associate's, Dance Education, Southern Utah University (2023); SUU Performer of the Year; Orchesis presidency; Salem Hills Dance Company and its 2019 Dance Sterling Scholar; nine years at Lifehouse Performing Arts Academy; choreography for Maple Mountain, Salem Hills, Springville, and Provo high-school programs; licensed Zumba instructor (August 2023).
02Amanda Wright
20+ years of dance; Lone Peak High School Performing Dance Company; four years of dance education at Utah Valley University (ballet and modern); eight-plus years teaching ballet, jazz, and modern
03Abigail Luke
Trained at Alight Dance Academy and Express Yourself Dance Company (St. George); high-school drill team, second in state; summers at Steps on Broadway and Broadway Dance Center in New York; studying at UVU
04Joshua Peck
Dancing since age six; teaching hip hop since junior high; backup dancer for Brazilian pop artist Emily Ray
05Tymbre Palfreyman
Lifehouse training in ballet, tap, contemporary, and jazz; president of the Salem Hills Dance Company; second-degree black belt (Omega Tao Federation)
06Nicole Stone
18 years of dance; seven years at Lifehouse; three years on the Salem Hills Dance Company; early dance education and ballroom at UVU; two years teaching at Ridge Academy of Dance; pursuing group fitness certification
From our studio archive
The people. The progress. The joy.
Photographs from our previous site, carried forward into the grove.
Showing 18 of 109 photographs.