Professional Dance Instructor
Golden Parker -
Best of Ballroom
Growing up I always loved trying new things so when my mom asked me if I wanted to go to a chacha class, I was excited to try it out. I was terrible; and as a spiteful person, I decided I needed to be good at it. Since then I’ve been hooked and dance has impacted my life in ways I couldn’t have imagined. I started competing as soon as I could and found my passion and career.
Over the past decade, I’ve been competing in American 9-Dance all the way up to open gold, competing in national competitions, and recently switched to country ballroom. I’ve been instructing for the past three years in a variety of styles including American Smooth, American Rhythm, Club, Latin, and Country. Outside of dancing, you can find me hiking, backpacking with my dog, Jezzy, or bowling.
Whether you’re competing, social dancing, or just getting ready for your big day, I’ll be there to help you achieve your dance goals.
Eric Mortenson
Nathan Bales
Professional Dance Instructor
Professional Dance Instructor
Owner/Director/Professional Dance Instructor
Eric Mortenson has been teaching ballroom dancing professionally since 1990. As a certified instructor, he as won many Top Teacher awards in ballroom dance competitions throughout the United States. His competitive students have won numerous top placements.
Eric teaches all styles of dance including American Smooth and Rhythm, International Ballroom and Latin, Country and Western and Night Club. He enjoys teaching couples and singles the social aspects of dancing as well as the competitive.
If you are interested in preparing for a special event, a wedding, or you would like to become a better social dancer or a competitive dancer, call Eric. He likes to make your dance lessons fun and enjoyable no matter what your skill level or dancing goals!
Office Manager
Nicole Parker is the Office Manager for Best of Ballroom and is in charge of social media and marketing. She controls the website material and design as well as the postings on Twitter and Facebook. Stop by Best of Ballroom to see why this is the best place to dance in Colorado Springs!
Wendy Weatherill
In Loving Memory
Jessica Mancini
Carmel Mortenson
Nathan started his dance journey 16 years ago. His original inspiration to begin dancing was Michael Jackson. In the summer of his fifth grade year he began his first hip-hop dance class.
At fourteen he was invited to a group class at Best of Ballroom. He loved it. Shortly after beginning that group class he performed at his first Best of Ballroom showcase and he was hooked! Nathan became a competitive student and was a finalist and won multiple events across the country. Since that time he decided he wanted to share his passion with others and began training to become a teacher. He has trained with some of the top coaches in the country and from around the globe. That training has helped Nathan become the teacher he is today. His students compete from bronze to gold and have won multiple events across the country. In 2017 Nathan won the honor of runner up top teacher at the annual Colorado Star Ball competition.
Nathan teaches all levels of dancing from beginner to advanced. He teaches privates and groups for children and adults. Nathan, with the inspiration of Golden Parker, has helped maintain the standard of excellence at the Best of Ballroom and has helped keep us the top studio in Colorado.
From sixteen years ago to today, Nathan has become a proud father of Nia and husband to Jordania and a top teacher in Colorado. His passion for dance has always continued to grow and he is never done learning! Come in and see for yourself!
Devin Raymond
Nicole Parker
Professional Dance Instructor
Jordania Kadzikowski-Bales
Jordanía Kadzikowski was born and raised in Colorado Springs, CO. She met her Colorado native husband, Nathan Bales, through Ballroom Dancing. Side by side, they teach at Best of Ballroom, along with other amazing instructors.
Dance has been a great portion of Jordanía's life. She started dancing at the age of 5 at Nancy Derby Dance. There, she developed her fundamental foundation in ballet, tap, jazz, contemperary, and so much more. Ballroom came into her life as a young teen at age 16 at NVision Dance. She was a competitive student for 5 years, competing in numerous competitions. Jordanía has also trained with world class coaches; Bob Powers, Ron Montez, Michelle Hudson, Yuriy Kravets, and Felipe Telone Jr. to name a few.
Jordanía came to teach at Best of Ballroom at age 22, teaching social and competitive ballrom dancing for all skill and age levels. Not only is Jordanía an intructor for Best of Ballroom, but is also an instructor for sister studio, Peak Dance Academy. Jordanía ensures her lessons create quality dancing, while embodying excitement and fun. Come join Jordanía at Best of Ballroom, where ballroom meets community.
Pro-Am U.S. Champion
Professional Dance Instructor
Wendy started out dancing ballet and tap with the Mavis Pakenham School of dance at the young age of eight. Her love of the art gave her the incentive to seek other forms of dance and she quickly fell in love with Ballroom dancing. In 1991, Wendy started teaching at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio, to later become DanceSport Dance Studios, where she taught Ballroom, Latin, Rhythm, Country Western and Swing. Wendy taught and competed for several years before taking a hiatus to start a family. Now, with a wonderful family in full swing, she has returned to the dance floor. Wendy enjoys teaching couples, singles, adults and children as well as performing in showcases, doing choreography and competing.
I began dancing at Best of Ballroom in 2012. Prior to that, I was a figure skater for 15 years and had the honor of competing on the national and international stage representing Team USA. During my figure skating career, I was also trained in many different dance styles. I fell in love with ballroom dancing the second I tried it, and I haven’t looked back since. I danced with Golden Parker throughout my entire amateur career; together we received 5 US National Titles. I am now competing at the professional level with my dance partner, David Moon. Dance is a huge part of my life, as is my dance family. I have a passion for performing, competing, and constantly working to achieve my goals. Teaching ballroom dancing and getting to pass on my passion is a true honor. My hope is to guide others on their dance journey, so that they may also be as positively impacted as I was from this incredible sport and our supportive studio family.
We lost a very dear member of our dance family on June 26, 2017. She fought a courageous battle against melanoma cancer. Carmel had a flare for singing, dancing, and putting on a show. She lived fiercely no matter the battle she was facing. Her impact on our studio was dynamic and she is missed every day!
passion. dedication. motivation. determination. growth.
...where dreams become reality...
Professional Dance Instructor
Golden is the owner and Director of Best of Ballroom. In thirteen years, he has set a standard of ballroom dance accomplishments that few studios in the Nation can claim. Since inception, his students have competed in all levels, from Bronze to Gold, at dance competitions across the world. These students have won countless Top Student awards at various events and many of them have been awarded dance scholarships to some of the most prestigious universities in the United States. He has won numerous Top Teacher awards throughout his career. Golden holds many U.S. pro-am champion titles given by the United States DanceSport Championships.
Golden teaches private lessons as well as group classes for adults and children. His teaching style has made Best of Ballroom become the most elite dance studio in the state of Colorado for ballroom and Latin dancing. Come in and see why!