In eight years, Salt Lake will once again welcome the world as host of the XXVII Winter Olympic Games in 2034. For 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 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 after-school activity many students wanted to be a part of.”

Hillcrest High choir director RaNae Dalgleish and guest choreographer Paul Winkelman work together on the recent BeatALS concert, which honored Winkelman. (Photo courtesy of Janal Williams)

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. I slept on the floor of the auditorium when I was tired, but I loved what I was doing and the productions we did there were absolutely amazing. The students and the quality of their work was stunning,” he said.

After adding his master’s degree in psychology to his undergraduate education degree and master’s in theater, Winkelman pursued the counseling field, leaving Alta in 2003. He worked at Brighton High, Hillcrest High and Utah Valley University before returning to Brighton. 

At Hillcrest, Winkelman helped sustain and elevate the school’s well-known musical theater tradition for a decade, collaborating with choir director RaNae Dalgleish.

“Working with Paul at Hillcrest — I’ve never met a man with more passion and energy and talent,” she said. “He was demanding, but he also made it fun. Our musicals were phenomenal because they had the Paul touch.”

A moment that redefined his world

Winkelman’s ALS diagnosis came after months of uncertainty, injuries and worsening weakness.

“When the fourth doctor told me, ‘You have ALS,’ I just sat there. I vividly remember I went right out of body like I was watching myself,” he said.

The disease takes a physical toll on Winkelman daily. He experiences tremors and painful muscle spasms, which he describes as “painful Charley horses in your whole body” and frequent falls.

“When I fall, my body freezes, and I’m like a piece of glass hitting the floor. My head has been cut open; I’ve had to have shoulder surgery because I ripped the rotator. It scares me to fall, because I know there's no way to stop and, on my way, down, I wonder, how bad is this one going to be? It’s taught me the more invincible you think you are, the less you are. Life can be very fragile,” he said.

Even so, Winkelman’s outlook remains clear.

“My attitude from day one has been positive,” he said. “You can stay positive and contribute, or you can turn this into a negative and give up.”

Today, Winkelman is a part-time counselor at Entrada Adult High school, where the flexibility allows him to continue supporting students.

“I’m still working with them on careers and on getting them graduated,” he said. “If I get up one day and my body just says no, I can work with my disability much more easily.”

Winkelman continues to choreograph, judge competitions and mentor performers, recently coaching a group to the world championships. He also has produced Broadway stars, including Derek Hough of “Dancing with the Stars” and Ashley Bryant in “The Play That Goes Wrong,” and worked on the choreography for the movie, “High School Musical.”

“My mind can still see what the choreography needs to be,” he said.

BeatALS — music, meaning and community

His choreography was on full display recently at Hillcrest High during a BeatALS benefit concert honoring Winkelman. Supported by Dalgleish, he met Bingham High theater director David Martin and worked with Sean’s Garage, a Beatles tribute band, to raise funds for ALS research and awareness.

“We had a night of wonderful music and celebration,” Dalgleish said. “We ended up earning about $5,700 for the ALS Foundation.”

Not only did Winkelman choreograph numbers for the program, he spent time talking with 50 students about music, dance and life. He also shared his journey with the audience during a pause in the concert.

“It was so much fun and the kids were awesome,” Winkelman said. “I heard some songs I didn’t know. I’m quickly becoming a Beatles fan.”

Dalgleish said the experience also impacted the students.

“The kids learned the songs, the history of the time and we had Beatles trivia every day and they learned to be thankful for every day,” she said. “The concert was beautiful. They danced, the orchestra played, the band played, the choir sang. It was stunning. It brought me to tears.”

Gratitude for every day

Winkelman credits his faith, family and friends for sustaining him.

“I’ve lived the life of at least five people,” he said. “I had many incredible opportunities in my life. I can’t be bitter. I just have to find a different way to do things.”

Brighton High recently honored Winkelman with a scholarship in his name for students pursuing ballroom dance at BYU, another reminder of the legacy he continues to build.

“I’m lucky and whether I get the opportunity to choreograph another Olympics or championship, I get up—even on rough days—and I find the positive light, hoping I can change somebody’s life,” he said. “That has been a beautiful blessing, and I’m thankful for every day.”

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)