Tonja decided to try out dancing when she was 9 years old and didn’t look back. She instantly wanted to try all styles of dance and fell especially in love with acrobatics. To gain more experience, she became a teacher’s assistant for younger acro classes throughout her dancing career.
Tonja was in the performing company during her time with the Innovative Dance family. This exposed her to various conventions, competitions, and community performances. She tried to be at the studio as much as possible by being a class assistant, substitute, and worked in the front office. Although, the highlight was the privilege of being awarded Dancer of the Year in 2012.
Dance gave Tonja a passion to learn more about how the body works and how to improve its movements. Upon high school graduation, she moved to Arizona where she graduated from GCU with a Bachelor of Athletic Training, followed by a Master’s from ASU. During her time at ASU, she worked as an athletic trainer for the university’s varsity sports teams.
Dance was never far from her heart so when the opportunity arose, she moved back to Oregon and began teaching acrobatics at Innovative. Additionally, she is a certified Corrective Exercise Specialist with a desire to optimize the dancers with their strength, flexibility, and movement.
Outside of dance she enjoys adventures with her two young daughters, husband, and goldendoodle.