A warm welcome to Coach Sammie

Samantha Allen began dancing at three years old and still continues to dance today. She danced with the Crystal Lake Park District Crystal Attitudes pom squad and studied tap, jazz, ballet and hip hop at the Algonquin Academy of Dance.

Sammie continued her love of poms at Lundahl Middle School for three years and Crystal Lake South High School for four years. She was the Captain of the JV team and co-captain her senior year for the varsity team. The Crystal Lake South Gatorettes competed in Pom and Kick and won the state title in kick through TDI in 2009.

After high school Sammie attended The University of Iowa where she participated in classes through the University of Iowa Dance Club and the UI college dance program. She also was a member of the RiderGirl dance team for the semi-professional Cedar Rapids Hockey team her senior year.

Sammie is so excited to be a Premier Poms coach and can’t wait to help the dancers create their own memories through dance that will last a lifetime! 

Introducing Coach Sheila

Sheila is graduating from Crystal Lake South High School this Spring. She has been dancing since the age of 3. The styles of dance she takes part in are ballet, pointe, modern, jazz, lyrical and Irish step dancing.

Rebecca McCarthy School of Dance is where Sheila learned her love of dance growing up. She was an assistant dance teacher in the past and this summer she is thrilled to teach classes on her own at the studio. 

Sheila has always enjoyed poms and dance. She first fell in love with poms in 6th grade and has been a part of it ever since.  Sheila made the JV team at Crystal Lake South her freshman year and was a member of the Varsity team the next three years. Sheila was a captain of her team. She participated in choreographing routines for the basketball and football games and also the squads pep rally routine and competition pom routine.  She truly enjoys working on technique and is willing to help anyone that wishes to improve on theirs!  

She is very excited to start her journey with Premier Poms and is looking forward to meeting everyone!! 

Meet coach Lisa

Lisa Losito began dancing at the age of 4 with the Judith Svalander School of Ballet. She danced there for 14 years studying ballet, pointe, modern, jazz, character and tap. During her high school years she participated in 3 summer intensives. She danced 2 summers with American Ballet Theatre in Austin, Texas and one summer with Milwaukee Ballet.

Lisa began her pom career in middle school on her  6^th grade spirit squad and then two years on the pom squad. Lisa went to Crystal Lake South High School where she was on the pom squad all four years. They participated in Memorial Day Parades, Homecoming Parades, performed at football and basketball games, pep rallys and competed in the Pom and Kick categories through IDTA and TDI.  

Her senior year they placed 2^nd in State in AAA Pom and AAA Kick.

After high school, Lisa spent two years as a dance major at Florida State University. She is currently studying at DePaul University to pursue a degree in Public Relations and Advertising. Lisa enjoys coaching and inspiring the girls at Premier Poms Experience to be the best that they can be!

Meet Coach Heather

Heather Bilbrey is a graduate of the University of Kansas. She graduated with a Bachelor of General Studies in Psychology. She has over 20 years of dance experience, including training in ballet, jazz, hip hop, modern, pointe, tap, musical theatre, contemporary, and lyrical. Heather studied dance under some of the most respected teachers in the University of Kansas Dance Department during her four years in college. Growing up, she studied at St. Charles School of Dance, Ruth Page Foundation School of Dance in Chicago, and the Broadway Dance Center in New York. She found her love of dance at an early age when started performing at age six in numerous dance competitions and, notably, in the Chicago Tribune Charities production of The Nutcracker at Arie Crown Theatre. She's received multiple scholarships, including several from the CNADM convention.


In high school, Heather was on her competitive dance team all four years. She made varsity as a freshman and continued on to be co-captain her junior year and captain/choreographer her senior year. As the leader of her team, she choreographed multiple pom, kick, and dance routines, while teaching the values of being on a teamthrough team building. She currently continues her love of teaching through being a member of the Star Performance Company. As a member of this elite staff, Heather conducts numerous summer camps each summer for high school and junior high school dance teams. This experience takes her from neighboring schools, to Indiana, St. Louis, and even as far as Tampa Bay, Florida. During these camps each summer, Heather choreographs and teaches pom, kick, jazz, and hip hop routines while focusing on team unity as a whole with the girls.


Heather is excited to be able to be a part of the Premier Poms Experience!

Meet Coach Megan!

Megan Ulmanis is a freshman at Winona. She was on the Cary Grove pom squad for four years. In high school she was also involved in choir, service groups and participated in pageants. She has been dancing for 16 years and has a true passion for it. She has taken classes consisting of ballet, jazz, hip hop, pointe, tap, and swing choir. In her free time she enjoyed teaching a religious education class and coached a jr. Trojans Pom squad for 3 years. She has also worked as a nanny for two families and absolutely loves children. Megan coached for Premier for one year and was sad to leave but college was calling!  Megan currently dances hip hop on a college team and is a member of the sigma sigma sigma sorority.  We are so lucky to have Megan choreograph for Premier even though she is in college out of state! 

Meet Jen...

I am so blessed to have been a part of this organization from the very beginning. I believe that children should be able to do what they love, in an environment that is supportive, encouraging, positive, fun, and celebrates individuality. With the pressure of over-the-top competitiveness, which seems to have taken over our society, it is essential to provide a program that considers the heart over a trophy, the esteem of an individual over a state placement, and the all around health of a child over the push for perfection. This is why I believe so strong in Premier Poms Experience. I believe we can teach our girls that they can be in a competitive sport, without sacrificing who they are at the core.

Jen is one of the founding partners of P.P.E. Her work background is a combination of social work and the creative arts. Jen currently is an assistant director for various artist retreats around the country, and loves when she has extra time to spend with the girls at Premier. 

Meet Sue

Susan Barsness ~ Executive Director
Pom pons was a part of my life for over ten years. I was a member of poms in junior high, high school, and college; serving as captain at both Fremd High School and University of Wisconsin. In college I choreographed and led practices along with my co-captain. After graduating, I helped coach Fremd High School poms and judged various pom pon try outs and competitions including the Midwest Badgertte Competitions.

The years I was involved with poms; performing at various sporting events, competing in National competitions and the camaraderie with my teammates, have left me with some of my fondest memories. I wanted my own daughter to have a similar experience with a group sport that I had growing up. I believe a big component in sports is not only working together toward a common goal as a team, but remembering the real importance of having fun while doing so. I have always valued family time. When I was growing up, summers were a time to be carefree, vacation with my family and spend time with my friends. I believe the structure and concept my partners and I have come up with will help bring some of those same elements back into our Premier Pom Pon girl’s lives.

I hope Premier Poms Experience will be something the girls remember as one of their best memories when they look back on their childhood. My desire is for the girls to realize the value of hard work, appreciate their accomplishments, enjoy the feeling of “giving back” when we do various random acts of kindness or perform outside of competing and most of all relish in the enjoyment of just having fun. Creating Premier Poms Experience together with my friends, Jen and Michele, has been an honor and a joy.

Susan lives in Barrington and is married to husband, Dean.  They have two children;
Jonathan and Sarah.

Meet Michele...

Michele Wuertz, Executive Director

I have always been passionate about growing girls strong. As a mother to two daughters, I have strived to find positive female role models for them and others. I have demonstrated this passion with an 8 year commitment as a Girl Scout leader for both of my daughter's troops. My commitment to the community as been ongoing as a volunteer in the elementary school PTO, Character Counts Program, Good Shepherd Hospital Gala Committee and Auxiliary, and Girls Scouts. 

I consider myself to a be a nurturing person and as a result, chose a career as a Registered Professional Nurse.
Recognizing the need for competitive sports to be more balanced; Susan, Jen and I, created the C2 Sports Model. This innovative sports team model stresses the ability to be caring while being competitive. The ultimate modeling of good sportsmanship. C2 promotes self esteem building with building team unity. This is attained by implementing a variety of techniques to demonstrate compassion for self and others while working hard to excel on the competition floor.

Michele is ecstatic to bring this sports model to Premier Poms Experience and looks forward to the long lasting effects it will have on its members. Michele lives in Barrington with her husband and two daughters.

Meet Katie...

Katie Hoffmann is a graduate from Augustana College
in Rock Island, IL. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in
Secondary Education, Biology. At college and for her entire
life she has been extremely involved with extracurricular
activities, specifically through dancing, acting, and singing.
During her four years at Augustana she was an active
member of the Vikettes Dance Team as well as captain her
senior year. Through this dance experience, she
choreographed many hip-hop, jazz, poms, and kick routines,
managed the team financially, provided team-building
activities, led a summer dance camp, and facilitated all practices.

During her student teaching, she was also an assistant
coach for a high school dance team. When home during
the summer, she worked for the Elk Grove Park District in
choreographing for their summer theatre program
productions. In addition, she was a choreographer and
theatre camp counselor for Schaumburg On Stage
Theatre Company where she choreographed many
dance routines for the musical, High School Musical.

In high school, Katie was on the competitive dance
team for all four years and was captain her senior year.
She competed with jazz, jazz dance, pom dance, and
hip-hop routines and went to the state competition all

four years. She also performed at all home football
and basketball games. Katie also had the opportunity
to perform in the Chicago Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Throughout high school, Katie participated in many
musical productions through Schaumburg On Stage
including Annie, Anything Goes, Grease, Joseph and
the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Footloose.
Proceeding high school, Katie danced at Dorothy’s
Dancing Unlimited since the age of five with tap, jazz,
ballet, theatre, and hip-hop.

Katie has a passion for dance and performing. She is
excited that graduating college does not mean that
she will never dance again! She is thrilled to work
with all the girls and is looking forward to another great season!