Pahrump dancer Tayela Brown joins UNLV Scarlet Dance Line

Pahrump is sending another homegrown performer to Las Vegas this fall, as Tayela Brown prepares to join UNLV’s Scarlet Dance Line while studying elementary education.

Brown’s path started early, at age 3, and it ran through years of studio training and school performance in Pahrump. She spent 10 years at Nevada Dance Centre, including eight years as a competitive dancer, and added four seasons with the Pahrump Valley High School dance team. Her dance background was not a short-lived hobby but a steady thread that shaped her discipline, stage experience and long-term goals.

That path reflects the arts pipeline that exists in Nye County, even in a community better known for athletics and desert distances than for producing collegiate dancers. Nevada Dance Centre in Pahrump advertises classes in tap, ballet, jazz, hip hop, lyrical, turns and jumps, and pointe, from beginner to professional level. At Pahrump Valley High School, dance is listed as one of the fall sports, with Joann Cunningham listed as the coach, giving students a school-based route alongside studio training.

Brown’s move also fits into a larger picture of local dance development that has been changing in recent years. A 2025 Pahrump Valley Times story said the PVHS Trojanette Dance Team had 10 girls and was returning to competition after a four-year hiatus. A 2024 Pahrump Valley Community News feature identified Cunningham as head coach of the varsity dance team and said she brought 13 years of experience to the role. Together, those details show the mix of coaching, school support and family commitment that shapes dancers before they ever leave Pahrump.

At UNLV, Brown will step onto a much bigger stage. The Scarlet Dance Line is part of the Star of Nevada Marching Band and was formed in 2009. UNLV says the line performs at all home football games, women’s basketball games, homecoming parades and one road trip game each year. For Brown, that means the transition from local gym floors and studio mirrors to one of the university’s most visible performance platforms.

Her academic plans matter just as much. UNLV says its elementary education program is designed to prepare future educators through research-based professional training. Brown’s decision ties performance and profession together, linking the work she has done in Pahrump with a degree that could carry her into Nevada classrooms after college.