Rylee Thompson was born and raised in Manhattan, KS. She took her first dance class at Bates Dance Studio when she was 8 years old and continued dancing through her high school career. At age 10 she began dancing competitively on the Gems team at Bates Dance Studio, and joined the Pride competition team the following year which she remained on throughout her time at the studio.

Rylee has trained in tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, and contemporary at Bates Dance Studio, with her favorites being lyrical and tap. Alongside this training she has taken classes at Broadway Dance Center in New York, Hubbard Street Dance in Chicago, attended numerous dance conventions, and worked with multiple guest choreographers. She also attended many competitions with the studio, and performed for local events and shows. In addition to her dance background Rylee also took many years of gymnastics/ tumbling and has had some experience with aerial silks.

She rejoined the dance studio in the spring of 2016 and now has the opportunity to teach her own classes. Where she hopes inspire young dancers to continue dancing and pass on her love for dance. After graduating high school in 2015, Rylee decided to continue her education at Kansas State University where she is working towards a B.A. in Chemical Engineering.