February 2026 | Vol. 26 Iss. 2
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Sandy
Scoring record broken
Bond paid off
Hale Theatre pays off bond 17 years early
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Sandy local breaks basketball record at Brighton Page 16
Still dancing forward By Julie Slama | j.slama@mycityjournals.com Longtime educator and Olympic choreographer Paul Winkelman, now living with ALS, is finding new ways to inspire students and hoping to return to the Olympic spotlight.
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n eight years, Salt Lake will once again welcome the world as host of the XXVII Winter Olympic Games in 2034. For South Jordan resident Paul Winkelman, a longtime educator and counselor in Canyons School District, he hopes it will give him a repeat performance as the opening and closing ceremonies choreographer, a role he cherished during the 2002 Games. “I’d love to do that,” Winkelman said simply, reflecting on one of his greatest experiences of his life. In 2002, Winkelman was teaching at Alta High and coaching its nationally acclaimed ballroom dance team when dozens of people walked into the school commons after school, cameras rolling. Among them was a producer for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. After watching the boys’ portion of the rehearsal, Winkelman recalled being asked who he was and what group was practicing. “I explained we were the Alta High School ballroom dance team,” Winkelman said. “He said, ‘I’ve never seen guys dance like this.’” That chance encounter ultimately led to Winkelman being hired as the full-time choreographer of the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies. His students became the backbone of the Western Frontiers section, the largest segment of the ceremonies, first learning the choreography, then helping teach it to hundreds of performers who filled Rice-Eccles Stadium. “I said many times, the Salt Lake
Hillcrest High performing arts students as well as Beatles tribute band Sean’s Garage and Bingham High theater director David Martin came together to perform in a BeatALS concert to help the ALS Foundation. (Photo courtesy of Janal Williams) Olympics was heaven. It was unbelievable,” he said. Eight years from now, however, if Winkelman returns to the Olympic stage, his approach will look different. In 2022, he was diagnosed with ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, a progressive neurological disorder that attacks motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, gradually robbing the body of voluntary muscle movement while leaving the mind intact. “I teach a totally different way. It’s verbal. I’ll explain to my top couple what I want and they become my legs,” he said. Even with the diagnosis, Winkelman hasn’t stepped away from his career, working with students.
“In 2022, I was diagnosed with ALS, but I knew there’s no way I’m quitting work because I love working with kids, and I wouldn’t know what to do with myself,” he said.
A life shaped by students and the arts
Helping students has been Winkelman’s lifelong passion. He began his career at East Midvale Elementary, where he spent seven years teaching third and fourth grade while building a drama program that quickly grew beyond expectations. “I loved East Midvale,” he said. “We produced all-school productions where everyone from kindergarten through sixth grade could be involved. It was an af-
ter-school activity many students wanted to be a part of.” Winkelman’s reputation led then Jordan School District to move him to an opening at Alta just one week before school started in 1992. There, he continued the school’s strong theater tradition and launched what would become one of the most successful ballroom programs in the country. “We became national champions,” he said. “Of the 10 years I was there, eight times we were the national champions. Those kids worked so hard.” Winkelman lived and breathed work. “There were times I never went home. continued page 4