Railmen Winter Guard Staff
Miles Kellett, Director
A native Nebraskan, Miles Kellett has been with Railmen Performing Arts since its rebirth in 2014. He began his professional marching career as a color guard performer with the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps from La Crosse, Wisconsin. After performing with the ensemble for four seasons, he joined the color guard staff in 2014 where he served as a technician for many years. His indoor background includes groups such as Dojo percussion and winter guard, Railmen Winter Guard, and international world class finalist, Mayflower of Essex, United Kingdom. Miles has instructed color guard in many school districts including, Papillion-Lavista, Millard, Omaha, Waverly-145, as well as at the collegiate level at Midland University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
In addition to his marching arts background, Miles Kellett earned his Masters of Arts in Teaching at Hastings College in 2018. Prior to his studies at Hastings College, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance at the University of Nebraska at Omaha where he studied Bassoon under Jim Compton. Miles still fosters his love for music as a bassoonist in the Hastings Symphony. You can find him teaching middle school Band at Hastings Public schools.
Steven Irving, Director
Steven Irving has been with Railmen Performing Arts Inc since the rebirth of their winter program in 2014. He is originally from Kansas City, Missouri and has been a proud Nebraskan since 2015. He has been a marching member for The Colts Drum & Bugle Corps Color Guard during the 2008-2011 seasons and served as an intern for the program in 2012. Since then he has worked with many Nebraskan High School programs such as Bellevue East (2015-2016), Fremont High School (2016-Present), Bennington High School (2016), Westside High School (2017-Present), and Papillion-La Vista South High School (2019) as a choreographer for their winter program. He was also a performing member with the Opus X winterguard during their 2018 competitive season.
Stephanie Smekens, Choreographer
Stephanie Smekens has been working with the Railmen Winter Guards for the last three years writing dance choreography. Originally from Fort Wayne, IN, she now lives in Denver, CO where she is a full time high school Social Studies teacher and Student Council Sponsor. Stephanie's past marching experience includes six years in the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps Color Guard of LaCrosse, WI, as well as one season with the Mayflower World Class Winter Guard of Billericay, Essex, U.K. Stephanie has worked with multiple color guards and marching bands in multiple states over the last ten years, teaching dance and equipment technique and writing choreography.
Mikal Dahlstrom, Technician/Choreographer
Mikal Dahlstrom is color guard director at Elkhorn South High School, where he has been instructing for the past six years. He has been involved with color guard since 2010 and draws experience from a number of ensembles including the Papillion-La Vista South marching band, UNO Marching Band, Dojo Independent Winter Guard and the Railmen Winter Guard, Winter Winds, and Soundsport Corp. He has been assisting on staff with the Railmen Winter Guard for three seasons and is excited to return this year working as a technician and choreographer.
Hannah Rothermund, Technician
Hannah is entering her first year working with Railmen Performing Arts Inc and she is very much looking forward to it. She is from Papillion, Nebraska where she marched in her high school’s program for four years. Hannah was a performing member of the Cornhusker Marching Band color guard for 3 years. She also performed with O.N.E. during the 2016 season and Railmen Winter Guard from 2017-2019. Hannah has worked at two high schools in the area: Bellevue East (2016-2017) and Papillion-La Vista South High School (2018-Present) where she is currently the color guard director.
Kira Hannon, Technician
Kira Hannon is excited to debut as a staff member with the Railmen Performing Arts Inc this year. She is from Omaha, NE and began marching within her high school program. Kira has marched in multiple ensembles, including UNO’s marching band, Wayne State College’s marching band (dance team), Aftershock Winter Guard, Southeast Winter Guard, and Dojo Independent Winter Guard. She has had the honor of marching with Railmen Winter Guard for 3 years in the Independent A class (2015-2017) and 1 year in the Open class (2018). Since then, she has worked with local high school programs such as Omaha Burke and Omaha Central, as both a technician and director.