Today we’d like to introduce you to Shalay Andrus.
Hi Shalay, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in a small town in Arizona, and from as early as I can remember, music spoke to me. When music was on, I always started dancing. Music made me feel something when words couldn’t. In high school, I danced on the dance team, and even though there weren’t resources for formal lessons, I found my way to the dance floor through local country dances. Partner dancing gave me a sense of safety and connection that was lacking at home.
What most people didn’t see was what I was carrying beneath the surface. By the age of 12, my Mom was married seven times. Throughout these years, I experienced severe abuse, sexual, physical, emotional, spiritual, and ritual abuse. Much of that trauma involved a deep violation of trust and a distortion of spirituality, which made healing difficult. My mother’s strength and resilience were a lifeline for me, and her example shaped who I am today. Still, the impact of that early trauma followed me into adulthood in ways I didn’t fully understand at the time.
In 1997, I joined a country dance team at Utah Valley University, which led me to my first United Country Western Dance Council (UCWDC) event. That’s where I discovered West Coast Swing, and I couldn’t leave the swing room. In 1999, at my first West Coast Swing Dance Council (WSDC) event, I watched Jessica Cox and Jordan Frisbee dance a junior routine. Something in me clicked. West Coast Swing spoke to me in a way no other dance had before. It completely stole my heart.
That same year, I got married and began building my family. Within five years, I had four children. Dance became something I held onto, traveling to events when I could, social dancing on weekends, and continuing to learn and train while raising a family. For a long time, dance was my place of joy, even before I understood how much it also regulated my nervous system and kept me connected to my body. Due to my trauma, I had what was called Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Dance truly became a lifeline in keeping me grounded.
In my early 30s, while raising four kids and navigating an unhappy marriage, I became deeply aware of how much my past trauma was shaping my choices, my relationships, and my sense of self. The next decade took me through some of the darkest and most challenging healing work of my life, working through body memories, dissociation, suicidal ideation, and the long process of rewiring belief systems that were formed in survival.
My healing came through a combination of modalities: DNMS, Somatic Experiencing, breathwork, meditation, spiritual practices, and dance. Dance became more than movement. It became a bridge back to myself, back to others, and back to God. On the dance floor, I found peace. I learned how to stay present in my body, how to feel joy safely, and how connection could be healing rather than harmful.
Over time, teaching West Coast Swing revealed something even deeper. I began to see how dance, connection, and somatic tools could genuinely transform people, not just as dancers, but as humans. Helping someone regulate their nervous system, build trust, and experience connection through their body felt like a natural extension of my own healing.
After more than a decade as a dance coach and single mom, I returned to school in 2014 to complete my bachelor’s degree, and later earned my MBA in 2023. Alongside my dance work, I’ve continued contracting with a nonprofit supporting communities affected by leprosy in India, work that keeps me deeply grounded in service and purpose.
Today, I live in Mapleton, Utah, with my incredible husband. I’m a mother, a teacher, a coach, and the founder of Dance to Uplift, a space where dance, somatic healing, breathwork, and connection come together. What I do now is the result of everything I’ve lived through. I help people feel safe in their bodies, connected to themselves and others, and open to joy.
My story is one of pain, yes, but more than that, it’s a story of resilience, healing, and choosing to turn lived experience into purpose. And that’s what continues to guide me forward.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road.
I am writing this on my last day with Rising Star Outreach, helping those with Leprosy in India.
I’ve known for a long time that this dance healing work was part of my purpose, but knowing something in your heart and having the courage to fully step into it are very different things. For years, fear kept getting in the way. I had a family to support, real responsibilities, and very practical questions running through my mind: How do I make money doing this? Can this actually be sustainable? How do I turn something I love into more than just a hobby?
Another struggle was that I was deeply conditioned to support others while doubting my own worth and capacity. Helping people came naturally to me, but believing I could build something for myself, something successful and aligned, felt unfamiliar and even unsafe at times. A part of me was still operating from old programming rooted in survival, fear, and self-protection.
It took years of intentional healing to recognize and release those belief patterns. Clearing that old programming, especially around scarcity, worth, and trust, was not quick or easy, but it was necessary. Teachers like Gabrielle Bernstein had a profound impact on me, particularly her work around choosing again, shifting perception, and leaning into joy rather than fear. That mindset shift slowly changed how I related to myself and what I believed was possible.
The biggest turning point came when I finally gave myself permission to fully commit. In July, I made the decision to stop standing on the edge and step all the way in. Since then, I’ve been amazed at how many things have lined up, opportunities, connections, and people showing up at exactly the right time. It’s felt like once I moved, life moved with me.
But the truth is, those “miracles” didn’t come out of nowhere. They were built on years of inner work, healing, and choosing to trust joy over fear. This inner work continues to be a part of my daily practice, continually fighting the inner critic from years of abuse.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Dance to Uplift’s mission is to guide individuals and couples into deeper connection, healing, and joy through somatic practices and West Coast Swing.
At its core, what I do is help people feel safe, present, and alive in their bodies again. I specialize in West Coast Swing, but my work goes far beyond steps and patterns. I weave together partner dance, somatic awareness, breathwork, and nervous system regulation to support people not just as dancers, but as humans navigating real life.
I’m especially known for creating environments where people feel genuinely seen and supported, whether they’re brand new to dance, returning after a long break, or highly experienced and wanting more depth. My classes aren’t about perfection; they’re about connection, communication, play, and trust. Dance becomes a mirror for how we show up in relationships, how we listen, how we lead and follow, and how we stay grounded when things feel unfamiliar.
What truly sets Dance to Uplift apart is the intention behind everything. Many dance spaces focus only on technique. I care just as much about how your nervous system feels, how your body processes connection, and whether joy feels accessible to you. Breathwork, presence, and somatic tools are naturally integrated, not added on. People often tell me they leave feeling calmer, more confident, and more connected, not just better at dancing.
Brand-wise, I’m most proud of the heart of this work. Live in Love. Move with Meaning. Play Passionately. It’s not just a tagline, it’s how I teach, how I build community, and how I live. I’m proud that my brand feels welcoming, honest, and real. It’s not about performance or ego; it’s about creating a place where growth happens organically, and joy feels safe again.
My Live in Love series focuses on a 4-week West Coast Swing Couples Date Night series and a family series. Focused on connection, building trust, developing greater patience, and always remembering to celebrate our wins. My Move with Meaning Series is a series of leveled West Coast Swing classes for those wanting to continue and grow their dance, while reconnecting with their joy and individualized movement. My Play Passionately classes are for ladies only. We have a ladies’ night out that integrates breathwork and then releases what needs to be released through movement. And of course, an evening to connect with other like-minded women. Lastly, I offer one-on-one coaching in West Coast Swing, along with breathwork and Somatic Experiencing.
I want readers to know that Dance to Uplift is for everyone. You don’t need a partner. You don’t need experience. You don’t need to “be a dancer.” If you’re someone who wants more connection, more presence, and more joy in your life, this work meets you right where you are.
At the end of the day, my business is an extension of my own healing journey and a way to give back. I’ve seen how powerful it is when the body is included in healing, and it’s an honor to walk alongside others as they discover that for themselves.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Something most people may not know about me is that in my twenties, while working at a chiropractic office, I was asked to come once a week to move with a woman’s bedridden husband as part of his therapy. Dance was something they had done together before.
Each week, our time together became his exercise. Even though Wayne and I became very close, I didn’t realize, at the time, the impact I was having.
A year after I moved away, his wife wrote me a letter letting me know that Wayne had passed. In that letter, she shared that those weekly dance sessions brought him so much joy that she believed they gave them another year together. That letter has always stayed with me.
Since then, it has been in my heart to bring movement into the homes of those who need it most, whether it’s individuals who are bedridden, living with Alzheimer’s, walking the road of abuse, addiction, or difficult seasons of life. I’ve always believed that dance is more than movement. It’s emotional medicine. It’s dignity. It’s connection.
And that experience shaped the way I see my work forever.
Pricing:
- $90 – hourly coaching rate
- $90 – for 6-week West Coast Swing Courses
- $120 TOTAL for a 4-week couple West Coast Swing course
- $20 ladies night out infused with somatic movement and breathwork
- wedding dances and specialty classes please reach out
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dancetouplift.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dancetouplift/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shalay.andrus
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shalayandrus/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DanceToUplift
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/dance-to-uplift-mapleton
- Other: https://share.google/6Z1WCphdaY83WFiZl
