Michael began his dance training in Brisbane, Queensland, and was accepted to study with Queensland Dance School of Excellence at a young age. In 2002 Michael was accepted to the New Zealand School of Dance where he completed his dance training. Michael went on to work with the Royal New Zealand Ballet and performed in works by Val Caniparoli, Jiri Kylian, Frederick Ashton, Stanton Welch, and George Balanchine.

After returning to Australia, Michael worked with Queensland Ballet before launching an independent dance career with Leigh Warren and Dancers, Melbourne Ballet Company, Victoria State Ballet, Opera Victoria, and various other independent projects.

Michael was appointed Artistic Director of Melbourne City Ballet in 2013 and was promoted to Artistic Director/CEO in 2016. Under his leadership, the company annually performed over 100 shows across Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. As Artistic Director, Michael’s works were nominated for numerous dance awards. While there, he also established a comprehensive education program for dancers from 4 years of age to professional level.

Michael joined San Jose Dance Theatre in January 2020 as Artistic Associate. He was instrumental in developing the organization to incorporate a full-time professional company and establishing San Jose Dance Theatre as Silicon Valley’s largest dance organization. In 2021 he worked with Opera San Jose as a Choreographer for the production of Dido and Aeneas and again in 2022 on West Side Story. In January 2022, Michael was appointed Artistic Director of Canyon Concert Ballet, premiering with his new Snow White in May of 2022. During the summer of that year, Michael Choreographed Aida for Cincinnati Opera.

artisticdirector@ccballet.org

Jordan started dancing at age 17 in St. Paul, Minnesota at the Classical Ballet Academy. Two years of training led him to Ballet Chicago in 2010, where he was twice awarded the Dowd Merit Scholarship. After two years under the direction of Daniel Duell and Patricia Blair, Jordan signed his first professional contracts with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet and Columbia City Ballet. Since then he has performed with numerous companies around the country and internationally as a guest artist. Some of his career highlights are: Balanchine's Slaughter on Tenth Avenue and Monumentum pro Gesauldo at the Kennedy Center, Gerald Arpino's Light Rain, Wheeldon's The American with the Ariana Quartet, Twyla Tharpe's Nine Sinatra Songs, and Balanchine's Concerto Barocco at the Harris theatre in Chicago.

Sophia Brodin is originally from Lansing, Michigan and moved to Fort Collins in 2020. She graduated from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music in 2019 with a degree in ballet performance and an outside field in exercise science. At Indiana University Ballet Theater, she had the honor of training under NYCB legend Kyra Nichols, PNB’s Carla Korbes, and Boston Ballet’s Sarah Wroth along with Sasha Janes, Michael Vernon, and the late Violette Verdy. Throughout her 4 years at Indiana University she had the pleasure of performing in many works choreographed by George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Jerome Robbins, Mark Morris, and Nicole Haskins. Prior to attending Indiana University Sophia trained with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater full time high school training program and was given the opportunity to perform with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater company. While with Canyon Concert Ballet she has had the pleasure of performing many soloist and principal roles in Michael Pappalardo’s productions. The 2024/2025 season will be Sophia’s third Season with Canyon Concert Ballet.

Conner Horak-Flood was born in Fort Collins, Colorado where he was introduced to dance through a synthesis of musical theater and martial arts. He received his initial training from Canyon Concert Ballet and summer intensives at Boston Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet, and Next Generation Ballet. He continued dancing at Butler University, where he graduated cum laude with a BFA in Dance Performance with departmental honors. At Butler, Conner had the privilege of performing in Paul Taylor’s Le Sacre Du Printemps (The Rehearsal), Gorgio Arpino’s Viva Vivaldi, and George Balanchine’s Slaughter on Tenth Avenue. Conner has danced with Wonderbound in Denver, Colorado, where he performed with the Flobots at the Vail Dance Festival, with David Taylor’s Zikr Dance Ensemble, Boulder Ballet, Reformations Contemporary Ballet, Amy Anderson’s Engage Movement Arts, Front Range Contemporary Ballet, IMPACT Dance Company, Starry Night Productions, and James Sewell Ballet, where he worked with James Sewell, Darius Strong, and Gabrielle Lamb. He is also a founder, director, and choreographer for The Soda Shop Movement Company. He is thrilled to join Ballet Northern Colorado for the 2024/2025 season.

Natsuho grew up in Italy and started ballet at Il Borgo Danza, a local dance studio in Milan.

She continued her serious ballet training in Tokyo, Japan, and attended the Ballet Department at Showa University of Music. She had the opportunity to study under acclaimed professors in the Japanese Ballet scenes as well as guest teachers from abroad including Amanda McKerrow for Anthony Tudor's works.

She was awarded a merit-based scholarship for her outstanding grades during her studies and graduated with a Ballet Degree. She then danced professionally with City ballet of San Diego, Atlantic City Ballet and Ballet Theater of Indiana. She performed a various repertory in Classical, Balanchine, Neo Classical, Contemporary and Character works and was featured in many soloist/principal roles, including Marie, Ballerina Doll in Act 1 from Nutcracker.

She has also been part of numerous freelance performance projects in Tokyo and performed anything from traditional classical ballet's Grand Pas de deux, like Don Quixote act 3 and Swan Lake act 3, to jazz numbers to original contemporary works.

She has also a lot of experience and passion for teaching ballet and a certified teacher in PBT(Progressing Ballet Technique) level 3. She is new to the Fort Collins area and she is extremely excited for her first season at CCB.

Taylor grew up in Michigan and began training at her local ballet studio where she was a recipient of the Bill Hentgen Merit Scholarship. She attended summer intensives on scholarship at Cincinnati Ballet, American Ballet Theatre New York, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Taylor then continued her training with Cincinnati Ballet’s Professional Trainee Division during the 18-19 season. She was promoted to second company for the 19-20 and 21-22 season. During her time there, she danced many highlighted roles that include Dark Angel in Balanchine’s Serenade and Vain Queen in Pamela Robinson Harris’s Snow White. In addition, she performed in numerous other company productions such as, Wizard of Oz, Nutcracker, and Kirk Peterson’s Swan Lake. In 2022, Taylor joined Colorado Ballet’s Studio Company. Some of her favorite performances from last season include, Micheal Pinks Dracula and Ben Stevensons Cinderella. Taylor is excited for her second season as principal with Ballet Northern Colorado!

Originally from Taiwan, Sunny Hsieh immigrated to Toronto, Canada at the age of five. He began his dance training at the age of twelve to improve his balance for martial arts and quickly became obsessed with ballet. He began training seriously under Evelyn Hart and later joined Orlando Ballet School as a Trainee. Sunny has danced professionally for Ballet Palm Beach, Ballet Des Moines, Ballet Spartanburg, and Colorado West Performing Arts Company. Over the years he has been honored to work with many notable choreographers and teachers including Gina Patterson, Roberto Campanella, and Louis Laberge-Côté.

A Colorado native, Binyamin began his dance training while attending Colorado State University. He went on to graduate Summa Cum Laude with a BFA in Dance and a BS in Zoology in May 2022. While attending university, Binyamin had the opportunity to perform in numerous faculty and student-choreographed works, as well as residency pieces by internationally acclaimed choreographers such as Dwight Rhoden, Andre Megerdichian, and Vincent Thomas. Upon graduation, Binyamin joined Canyon Concert Ballet as an artistic associate and faculty member, and he is now a principal dancer with the company. He also engages the Colorado dance community at large, performing as a guest artist with IMPACT Dance Company and other organizations throughout the state.

In addition to performance, Binyamin has a passion for integrating his background in the sciences and the arts in choreography, and his innovative work was selected for performance in university concerts multiple times. One such piece, Takotsubo (2021), was selected to represent CSU at the American College Dance Association conference in 2022, and his solo work Aperture (2022) earned him a spot as a finalist in the 2022 New Century Dance Project choreographic festival. In June of 2023, Binyamin created his first commissioned work for a professional company, performed by Canyon Concert Ballet as a highlight of their Fort Collins Pride event.

Abbey grew up in Longview, WA and moved to Fort Collins, CO in 2018. She attended Colorado State University as a Dance Major and obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance in Spring of 2022. She began dancing 15 years ago in her hometown when her aunt opened Higher Ground Dance Studio, and she began teaching there in 2015. She quickly fell in love with dance and has continued her training in ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, contemporary, modern, improvisation, choreography, acrobatics, musical theatre, hip-hop, character dance, and flamenco. Abbey is passionate about performing, teaching and choreographing. This season she will be choreographing for the company, teaching, and will direct her second season of the school’s Mentorship and Advisory Program. She is honored and excited to perform as Soloist in her third season with Canyon Concert Ballet.Supported by the Arts Without End Foundation

An international soloist with a decade of performance experience, Henry is excited to be working with CCBallet for a third season. Hailing from Essex (England), Henry’s formal training was at Ballet West Scotland, where he graduated with a BA(Hons) in Ballet and Fdn in Dance. Here he studied under ballet greats such as Daniel Job (NYC Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Cleveland Ballet), and Sonia Fajardo (Ballet de Havana, Elmhurst Ballet), with support from others including Michael Raynaud, Andrew McNicol and Norton Fantinel.

Credits include contemporary works by leading choreographers (including Indra Reinhold), and national tours of Scotland, including Giselle, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker, and more recently with CCBallet, Dracula, The Picture of Dorian Grey, and Sleeping Beauty.

Taigo Watanabe (he/him) is from Shizuoka, Japan. He trained in Japan and attended the Professional Division of the Pacific Northwest Ballet School and the Graduate Program at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater School. He attended summer courses at Pittsburgh Ballet Theater School, Colorado Ballet Academy, Pacific Northwest Ballet School, and San Francisco Ballet School. He joined Roxey Ballet Company in 2022. He joined Canyon Concert Ballet in 2023.

A native of Atlanta, Josh initiated his dance training at the age of 10 at the Conservatory of Dance and Fine Arts. At 14, under the direction of Armando Luna, he began classes with Atlanta Ballet where he graduated from the Pre-Professional Division. Josh earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in dance from Kennesaw State University. While studying at Kennesaw, he won top national titles at the American College Dance Festival for performances in both 2012 and 2014 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He also studied in Taipei, Taiwan at the National Taiwan University of the Arts. Josh has danced with The Georgia Ballet, Ballethnic, Ballet Mississippi, Tampa Bay Dance Theatre, the Madison Studio, and Atlanta Ballet.

In 2019 Josh was honored to have been appointed as Ballet Master of Covington Regional Ballet and became Artistic Director in Spring of 2021. Josh is thrilled to be returning for a second season with CCB as a Soloist.

Anneke De Jong is from Stillwater, MN where she began her classical Vaganova training with St. Croix Ballet. In 2013, she was invited to NYC to train with Gelsey Kirkland in her Professional Program. After completing her training at GKA she returned to MN and danced with St. Paul Ballet and Continental Ballet as apprentice and then with Metropolitan Ballet as demi-soloist, where she performed lead roles of Marie in the Nutcracker and Diamond Fairy in Sleeping Beauty. In 2016 she accepted a position with Texas Ballet Theater Studio Training Company and performed in TBT’s Alice in Wonderland under the direction of Ben Stevenson. Anneke also had the opportunity to train with Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam, Open World Dance Foundation, Bolshoi Ballet, English National Ballet, Bossov Ballet Theatre and Kirov Academy of Ballet. Anneke had the pleasure of working under Susan Jaffe, Ernst Meisner, Gelsey Kirkland, and Lyubov Fominih throughout her training. 

A California native, Kennedy Curtis began her ballet training when she was 2 years old at her local studio, Napa Regional Dance Company. To supplement her ballet training, Kennedy attended many summer intensives including San Francisco Ballet, The Rock School, City Ballet School, and Oregon Ballet School, to name a few. Kennedy received her high school diploma in the discipline of ballet from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina under the direction of Susan Jaffe. Since high school, she has continued her training as a trainee at both American Repertory Ballet in Princeton, New Jersey, and State Street Ballet in Santa Barbara, California.

Professionally, Kennedy has performed many corps roles in American Repertory Ballet’s The Nutcracker, Giselle, and Coppelia, as well as in State Street Ballet’s The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty. In her two years at Canyon Concert Ballet, Kennedy is honored to have performed many corps roles throughout the seasons as well as being featured in soloist roles as Chocolate in Michael Pappalardo’s The Nutcracker and Gold Divertissement in Sleeping Beauty.

Kennedy is thrilled to continue exploring this art form in her third season at Canyon Concert Ballet!

Quentin began his dance training in a small town called Paola, Kansas under the tutelage of Miss Lacy at The Dance Studio, now Miami County Dance Movement. There he trained in ballet, jazz, and contemporary, while also taking the occasional hip hop class. He also partook in competitive cheer and was a collegiate cheerleader with The University of Missouri-Kansas City before moving to Colorado. He has received degrees in both Dance and International Relations from Colorado State University and The University of Northern Colorado. In addition to dance, Quentin is also a cosplayer and has brought these skills to assist in some of the costuming side of CCB. He creates cosplays and props, attends conventions, and competes in cosplay competitions. Outside of the dance realm he is also a Certified English as a Foreign Language teacher and has a huge love of learning about different cultures. In his free time he creates said cosplays and props, plays Dungeon & Dragons, listens to Kpop, watches anime and Kdramas, and bakes!

Samantha was born and raised in San Clemente, California. She received her formal training at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Ballet West Academy, as well as Ballet Austin’s fellowship program. She then danced as a trainee with American Repertory Ballet, before joining Rochester City Ballet, and later Canyon Concert Ballet. Samantha’s favorite roles that she has had the opportunity to perform include Giselle, and Russian Demi in George Balanchine’s Serenade.

Naomi Langill started her dance training at age 10 in Sacramento, CA with Capitol Ballet Company. In 2017 she danced professionally with Ballet Frontier of Texas while also guesting with Capitol Ballet Company. She joined Ballet Theatre Company in CT in 2021 as a company dancer where she had the opportunity to perform many soloist roles in her two seasons there. In her career she has been honored to have worked with Paul Majia, LeeWei Chao, Ben Stevenson, Maria Terezia Balogh, Megan Fairchild, Ashley Bouder, Charmaine Hunter, Chung-lin Tseng, Enrica Tseng, Lainey Logan, and Derek Brockington while performing many different ballets and original pieces. In her six years of dancing professionally, some of her favorite roles have been Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Serenade in A, as well as the title role in Sylvia. When Naomi is not dancing she is enjoying playing Dungeon and Dragons or anything else fantasy related.

Emily Thompson, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, began dancing at the age of two, after being prescribed ballet classes to treat her Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. Finding her passion, she left Texas to finish high school at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, and later furthered her training in Toronto, Canada, with Evelyn Hart. She has danced as an Apprentice at Oklahoma City Ballet, and a Company Member at Ballet Palm Beach, Ballet Spartanburg, and Colorado West Performing Arts Company.

Adalyn MacDonald was born in Colorado where she began her training at International Ballet School under the direction of Mark Carlson and Sandra Kerr. In 2021, she moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and continued her training at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Here, she was honored to perform in several main company productions including Susan Jaffe’s Swan Lake and Terrence Orr’s The Nutcracker. Adalyn then relocated to Salt Lake City, Utah to join Ballet West’s Professional Training Division. In the two years Adalyn spent at Ballet West, she studied under Evalyn Cisneros-Legate, Katherine Lawrence, Catherine Batcheller, and Adam Sklute. Here, she had the opportunity to perform principal roles in Vespri and Sleeping Beauty while also performing alongside the company. Adalyn is now very excited to return to Colorado and join Canyon Concert Ballet in its 45th season.

Seth is excited to join Canyon Concert Ballet for the 2024-2025 season. Previously Seth danced at Northwest Arkansas Ballet Theatre and Colorado West Performing Arts Company. He received his bachelors degrees in music and chemistry from Southwest Baptist University, and biology and dance from Missouri State University. Prior to his dance career, Seth was an EMT and continues to hold an active license. Outside of dance, Seth is an active musical theatre performer, pianist, classical singer, and church musician.

Eva Chronert, originally from Green Bay, Wisconsin, moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania to train at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under the direction of Marcia Dale Weary and Darla Hoover. She then joined the trainee program at Oklahoma City Ballet where she studied for 2 years with Racheal and Ryan Nye. After that she joined Minnesota Ballet as an apprentice working under Karl von Rabenau and Jennifer Miller. Additionally, she has attended summer programs at The Rock School, Ballet West, San Francisco Ballet, City Ballet of San Diego, and Milwaukee Ballet. Eva’s repertoire includes works from George Balanchine, Alan Hineline, Marcia Dale Weary, Bruce Wells, Melinda Howe, Robert Mills, Timothy Josephs, Amanda Herd-Popejoy, and Ryan Nye.

Sadie became an apprentice with Canyon Concert Ballet in 2017 and joined the company in 2018. She has been training at CCB for 16 years. She has also trained with Colorado Ballet, Kaatsbaan Extreme Ballet, and The Boston Ballet school. She has trained in Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, Jazz, and Musical Theater. Sadie has also been accepted into the University of Alabama and Utah’s dance programs, and summer programs at Houston ballet, Ballet West, and American Ballet Theater. She is very excited to be able to perform on stage again. Some of her favorite roles in CCB’s productions have been The Arabian Princess and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, and The Rose in Alice in Wonderland.

Esther Gowin grew up in Northwest Arkansas where she began her ballet training at Joy of Motion. Esther joined Northwest Arkansas Ballet Theatre in 2017 as an Apprentice, was promoted to Second Company in 2019 and again to Company Member in 2021. She performed in classical repertoire such as NWA Ballet Theatre’s Nutcracker and Cinderella, as well as various contemporary ballets such as Ryan Jolicoer-Nye’s Immortal Beloved: Possessed By Genius and Petit Seat. While working with NWA Ballet Theatre, she had the privilege to understudy and perform pieces by guest choreographers such as Gillmer Duran, Jennifer Owen and Stephanie Martinez. In 2022, Esther began working free-lance for two local dance organizations, NWA Movement Hub and Ozark Ballet Theater, where she performed as a guest artist in productions such as Ozark Ballet Theater’s The Nutcracker and Snow White. In 2023,

Esther joined Canyon Concert Ballet as a Trainee and is looking forward to returning for her second season with the company..

Elinor Polanski is from Berkley, Michigan, where she trained at Rose Marie Floyd Studio of Dance under the direction of Theresa Butkovich. There, she studied the Cecchetti method, completing the student exams one through six. She graduated from Butler University, cum laude, in May 2023 with a B.S. in Dance-Arts Administration, receiving high distinction. While at Butler, Elinor studied under Marek Cholewa, Rosanna Ruffo, Derek Reid, David Ingram, Ramon Flowers, Susan McGuire, and Cynthia Pratt. She performed in many classical works, such as, The Nutcracker as a Snow Princess and Angel Soloist, and Swan Lake as the Spanish Princess. She also has performed various original contemporary works by the faculty. Additionally, she had the opportunity to perform George Balanchine’s Serenade, set by repetiteur Deborah Wingert. Elinor is excited for her second season with Canyon Concert Ballet!

Having grown up throughout Colorado, Alta began her training at age 3 with small classes through The Recreation. By the age of 7, Alta joined Colorado Conservatory of Dance formerly known as Ballet Nouveau Colorado as a student and trained for many years under Julia Manley. At the age of 14 she joined Canyon Concert Ballet and has been a part of the CCB Company since 2016. Alta concurrently danced while studying toward her Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and later her Master’s in applied Statistics. She has also enjoyed roles in Canyon Concert Ballet’s Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, The Little Mermaid, and every Ballet and Beer. This will be Alta’s 6th season with Canyon Concert Ballet! During her time dancing she has worked with wonderful choreographers Judy Bejarano and James Wallace.

Luma is from Rio de Janeiro/Brazil and began her studies at the age of 8 at ‘Ballet Arte Dos P s’ where she had the opportunity to perform at several national and international dance competitions such as ‘Passo De Arte’, VKIBC, TANZOLYMP, YAGP, WBC and received incredible awards and scholarships.

In 2018, she was accepted to study at Bolshoi Theater School in Brazil where, shortly after graduating, she was invited to join ‘Bolshoi Brazil Youth Company’ where she performed several classical variations, pas de deux and contemporary pieces.

In 2022 she danced with ‘Eglevsky Ballet Company’ in NYC and in 2023 received a scholarship to join the ‘Pittsburgh Ballet Graduate Program’ where she remained until May 2024.

Luma is very happy to be moving to Fort Collins and so excited to begin her first season with Canyon Concert Ballet.

Kayla grew up in Brisbane, Qld where she started dancing at 3 years old doing all styles. At age 11 she moved to Promenade Dance Studio where she furthered her training in the elite part time program. At the age of 15 Kayla moved to Melbourne to train full time at Melbourne City Ballet and onto a diploma of dance (elite performance) at The National Theatre Ballet School. Then she moved back to Brisbane and went and did her advanced diploma (elite performance) at Queensland National Ballet School.

Kayla is very excited for her second season with Canyon Concert Ballet.

Emmeline Bywater, originally from Colorado, discovered her love of dance while living in the UK. She first trained in the creative arts of ballet, modern, jazz, tap, musical theater, and drama at the Jill Stew School of Dance in Oxfordshire, England. Her determination gained her six years of study at the Royal Ballet School in Covent Garden, London, in their Associates Programme.

In 2020, she was honored to begin vocational training toward a BA in Modern Ballet at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, in Glasgow. During this time she has had the privilege of collaborating with the notable choreographers John McFall, Julian Moss and Andrew McNicol.

She also enhanced her training through the Royal Ballet School Spring Intensive, the Elmhurst Ballet School’s Senior Summer School, and the National Youth Ballet.

Emmeline is eager to return to Colorado and thoroughly delighted for her second season. with the company.

A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Maia Cieply started dancing at the age of two and spent most of her childhood dancing at CARE Ballet in her hometown. She attended Interlochen Arts Academy, where she graduated with a major in dance in 2019. Maia recently graduated from Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania, where she received a BFA in Dance and a BA in Integrated Media and Strategic Communications. At Mercyhurst, she trained in many genres including ballet, pointe, modern, jazz, contemporary, and tap. Maia was able to perform in Giselle, Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Random Stars choreographed by Sidra Bell, and many works choreographed by faculty and students at Mercyhurst.

She also performed as a member of SoMar Dance Works in the 2021-2022 season and was a member of Mercyhurst's chapter of National Honors Society of Dance Arts. Additionally, Maia has trained with American Ballet Theatre, Cincinnati Ballet, Grand Rapids Ballet, and Festival Ballet Providence. She is so excited for her second season at CCB.

Kelsey began her ballet training at the age of four at St. Louis Ballet, and at nine, upon moving to Charlotte, North Carolina, she began training with Charlotte Ballet Academy. At 16, she was invited to join Charlotte Ballet’s Pre-Professional Trainee Division under the direction of Laszlo Berdo, Kati Mayo, and Kennedy Center Honors Recipient Patricia McBride. As a trainee, Kelsey had the opportunity to perform numerous coveted works, including George Balanchine’s Walpurgisnacht Ballet (Faust) as well as Alejandro Cerrudo’s Lickety Split. In addition to academy and trainee performances, she has danced numerous corps and soloist roles with Charlotte Ballet, including Chris Stuart’s Peter Pan, Matthew Hart’s The Sleeping Beauty, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux’s The Nutcracker, and Sasha Janes’ Wuthering Heights. Last season, Kelsey danced with the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago as a Trainee under the direction of Katlin Bourgeois, Oğulcan Borova, Raúl Casasola, and Karin Ellis-Wentz, and in the spring was invited to perform as a guest artist with the University of North Carolina in Charlotte. She has spent summers training at the Chautauqua Institution, the HARID Conservatory, Next Generation Ballet, Indiana University, the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago, Ballet Austin, Philadelphia Ballet, and BalletMet. Kelsey enjoys teaching ballet and contemporary dance at Katerina’s Classical Ballet Academy and is the Resident Choreographer for South Charlotte Ballet Company. Kelsey is humbled and honored to perform with Canyon Concert Ballet for the 45th anniversary season.

Sophia grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona and has trained primarily with Arizona School of Classical Ballet, The School of Ballet Arizona, and Rena Backer School of Ballet. Additionally, she attended summer intensives and master classes around the valley with Master Ballet, Scottsdale School of Ballet, and Phoenix Ballet Theatre to name a few. Growing up at Ballet Arizona, she was fortunate enough to have been cast in various productions in children's roles. This inspired her passion for ballet, the live music, and experience of ballets.

In college at Purdue, she took time away from ballet while she pursued an engineering degree and military commission. While at Purdue, she found dance one again wile taking ballet from the division of dance and student organizations. She choreographed and performed with Purdue XSeries, and loosened up with the Swing Dancing club. After a change of course, she decided to return to ballet full time and moved to Chicago to train with Ballet Chicago. There, she has had opportunities to lean and perform Balanchine repertoire and expand on her classical Russian training. Her favorite performance so far has been a principal role in Divertimento No. 15.

Sophia is very excited to return to the mountains and dance with Canyon Concert Ballet for the upcoming season.

Madelyn started her ballet training at Northwest Florida Ballet Academie in 2012, where she received classical ballet, contemporary, and modern dance training for seven years. She performed in productions including Cinderella, Giselle, and The Nutcracker. In 2019, Madelyn began training with Colorado Conservatory of Dance, where she performed in ballet and modern productions. In 2021, Madelyn returned back to Northwest Florida Ballet as a corps de ballet member to continue her dance training and was able to perform her first soloist role as Wendy in Katia Garza’s Peter Pan. She also danced with Joseph Gatti’s United Ballet Theater in Orlando during the 23/24 season as a trainee. Madelyn is excited to join Canyon Concert Ballet for her first year as a CCB2 dancer for the 24/25 season.

Tyler Trussell is from Sardis, Georgia, and began dancing at ten years old. At age twelve, he began to train seriously at Northwest Arkansas Conservatory of Classical Ballet. At thirteen he moved to Oklahoma City Ballet to train for a year before moving to Boca Raton, Florida to study at Boca Ballet Theatre where he trained under Dan Guin and Jane Tyree from fourteen to nineteen with a mix of Vaganova and Cecchetti methods of classical ballet. At Boca Ballet Theatre he performed many featured roles in their full-length productions. Throughout his years of training, he also attended summer intensives at Oklahoma City Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, and Boca Ballet Theatre. Following high school graduation, Tyler furthered his academic and artistic pursuits at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana where he double majored and graduated Cum Laude with High Distinction in Dance Performance and Distinction in English Literature. There he performed soloist and principal roles such as a lead soloist in Maria Konrad’s “Bronze” and the principal role “Paolo” in “Flower Festival” in their 2023 production of Midwinter Dances under the guidance of Maria Konrad, Cynthia Pratt, and Marek Cholewa. Previous professional appearances include performing as a guest artist with Expressenz Dance Center in their annual production of “The Nutcracker” where he performed as “The Nutcracker” and “Dewdrop Cavalier”. In his free time, Tyler likes to cook, read, and enjoy coffee with friends. 

PC: @jeremykyle.photo (first photo), @maxtphoto (second and third photos)

Sadie May Beebe was trained with State Street Ballet and recently graduated from the University of Arizona’s School of Dance. She has received a diverse dance education, dancing in works such as George Balanchine’s Serenade, Peter Chu’s (un|re) cover, and most recently performing in Germany for a workshop with the company FLOCK. With foundations in the contemporary, modern, and classical realms, Sadie strives to show the spirit of life that dance can convey. She is incredibly grateful to be joining the Canyon Concert Ballet community.

Carolyn Ansinn is originally from Doylestown, PA, and trained on full scholarship in the Professional Division program at The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia. She went on to earn her BFA in Ballet Performance with a minor in Psychology from the University of Oklahoma, graduating summa cum laude. During her time at OU, she performed in a variety of classical and contemporary works and had the opportunity to perform internationally at the San Jose Ballet Festival in Costa Rica and at the Academy of Music, Dance, and Fine Arts in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. She is excited to be joining Canyon Concert Ballet for the 2025–2026 season!

I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I started dancing when I was 4 years old at Laurel Youth Ballet in Greensburg, PA. At the age of 13, I continued my training under the direction of Vanessa Haidar and David Martinez Coro. My training consisted primarily of ballet and pointe, but also included modern, contemporary, jazz, and character. Over the years I had the honor to expand my training at numerous summer intensives which include Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet, Boston Ballet SDP, The Kirov Academy of Ballet, and Bolshoi Ballet Academy.

I had the chance to participate in many dance competitions where I received scholarships and awards. Some of which include placing 2nd at both YAGP Semi-Finals and UBC in 2021. In that same year, I competed at YAGP Finals. Unfortunately, my career took a turn in 2021 when I experienced what I thought to be my career ending injury. It put me out of ballet from 2021 to 2024. After undergoing two foot surgeries and intense physical therapy, I have been blessed with a successful recovery. Upon my return, I continued my training with West Point Ballet located in Coraopolis, PA under the direction of Cynthia Castillo and Damien Martinez Coro. I couldn’t be more excited to start my first season with CCB!

Caitlin Federer grew up in the small town of Granville, Ohio. She began her dancing career in a tap class at the age of 3. After falling in love with ballet, she danced for several formative years at The Ballet Academy where she performed several soloist roles with Central Ohio Youth Ballet. During high school, she danced as a Trainee at New Albany Ballet and attended summer programs with Gelsey Kirkland and Sarasota Ballet. Caitlin graduated from Butler University in 2025 with a BFA in dance performance. While at Butler, she performed in several ballet and modern pieces choreographed by her professors and peers. Her training includes ballet, modern, contemporary, and partnering. When she is not dancing, she enjoys time with family, traveling the world, reading and baking.

Elise grew up in South Pasadena, California and kicked off her life-long love of dance when she started her ballet training at the Collenette School of Dancing. Throughout highschool, she pursued summer courses with Pasadena Dance Theatre and the Los Angeles Ballet. In 2011, she moved up the coast to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to study Animal Science and found a second home in Cal Poly’s Dance Program and Orchesis, the student dance company. In her senior year, she was recruited to perform with Ballet Theatre San Luis Obispo company in several productions, including AIDA with Opera San Luis Obispo. After graduating, Elise took a break from dance to figure out what was next and to recover from a foot injury, ultimately choosing to attend a professional graduate program in Zoo, Aquarium, and Animal Shelter Management at Colorado State University in 2016. She returned to dance and to the stage in 2019, balancing life at the studio with life as a lepidopterist (butterfly/moth scientist), the director of the Colorado Butterfly Monitoring Network, and as a dog mom to her beloved pup, Freya. This is Elise’s first season with the company and she is so excited and incredibly grateful for the opportunity to join both the company and community at Canyon Concert Ballet!

Emily grew up in Clatskanie, Oregon and began her training at age 3 with Evergreen Ballet Center in Longview, Washington where she studied under Kathleen Tucker as a youngster and then Erica DeLap. At the age of 19 she took a 20 year hiatus from dance to pursue a career in the airline industry. Emily spent several years as a flight attendant and then advanced to training as an Inflight Instructor and ultimately Manager of Inflight Training. She met her wonderful husband of 19 years while flying the friendly skies. Emily and her husband moved to Colorado in 2006 and found their forever home and Canyon Concert Ballet. Emily began taking classes again in 2006 and has been performing with CCB since 2011.

She has also enjoyed roles in Canyon Concert Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, 35th Anniversary Gala, Paquita and Peter Pan. This will be Emily’s 10th season with Canyon Concert Ballet. She now has two gorgeous girls, one with whom she shares the stage! Emily would like to thank the teachers for providing such a strong foundation of dance for herself and for her daughter, Charlotte. She is so grateful for the group of dancers and teachers that have become her family. Performing with CCB is truly an honor (and hilarious fun)!

Cara began her dance training in the very arts rich “Cowtown” that is Fort Worth, TX with Fernando Schaffenburg. Upon moving to FoCo, Cara joined the Company at CCB and immediately found her tribe. Over the years she has performed numerous roles, some more memorable than others. Her favorites include Ballerina Doll, Chinese, and Russian in the Nutcracker, Modern Couple in Randy Wray’s Passing Fancies, Peasant Pas in Giselle, and Little Red Riding Hood in Sleeping Beauty. Cara truly shines onstage in character roles where her exuberant personality can shine through. Roles such as the Stepsister in Cinderella, Harlot in Romeo and Juliet, Bar Maid in Don Quixote, Wench in Little Mermaid, Pirate in Peter Pan, and the Duchess in Alice in Wonderland have all been truly memorable for both herself and the audience to say the least.

Cara is the official unofficial makeup artist for the Company and has been known to glue eyelashes on just about anyone. She also likes to think of herself as everyone’s “Stage Mom,” not just for her daughters Calla and India, who she also shares the CCB stage with. When she isn’t foam rolling out her muscles, she co-owns and operates Summit Outdoor Living with her husband David, who she thanks immensely for putting up with all of her shenanigans.

Liz Story Jackson, Baltimore, MD, has been dancing for over 30 years. She began her initial training at age three at Damascus Dance Centre in Maryland. After college and a hiatus from ballet, Liz moved to Fort Collins for graduate school (M.A. Rhetoric and Composition, Colorado State University, 2002) and was fortunate to be able to resume the study of ballet at CSU and Canyon Concert Ballet. Liz is very grateful to be part of CCB, and thanks her teachers for providing a strong foundation and the continued opportunity to pursue the love and hard work of dance, as well as the chance to perform with her daughter, Quinn. Being part of CCB also has extended the love of dance and the arts to the rest of her family, and Liz thanks her spouse, A.J., and her son, Mac, for all their understanding, good humor, and support surrounding class and rehearsal schedules (and endless watching of ballet videos and dance movies). Life is better when we dance.

Aimee has been dancing for over 30 years. She began her formal training in Ohio at Wayne Center for the Arts, followed by Ballet Austin in their pre-professional division. During her time there, she performed in the Young Artists of Ballet Austin and in Ballet Austin’s The Nutcracker. She joined CCB in 2001 and performed many beloved roles over the following years, such as Clara, Roses, and Dew Drop Fairy in “The Nutcracker”, White Cat Pas De Deux from “Sleeping Beauty”, and Beauty in “Beauty and the Beast”. After taking a long break from ballet to complete her BS in Microbiology from Colorado State, earn a MS in Health Sciences/Public Health, and move around the country with her family, she is now happily back at CCB and sharing her love of dance with her daughter. Aimee is thankful for all the support from her husband, daughter, family, friends, instructors, and fellow company members. Without their love and support, coming back to dance would be impossible. It is wonderful to be back with CCB!

Andrea Hamilton began her significant dance training with Canyon Concert five years ago and is currently obtaining her Bachelor of Arts in Dance at Colorado State University. She has performed in various character and dance roles with Canyon Concert Ballet including the Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland and Snow White. Andrea is privileged to have trained under the faculty from Canyon Concert Ballet such as Abbey Mann, Henry Woods, Melissa Corr, Terri Jo Englund and Erica Mugoye. Also, she has had the honor of training under the Colorado State Dance faculty Joy Prendergast, Matthew Harvey, Emily Morgan, Judy Bejarano, and Julia Cooper. Though she has not had a typical ballet path into the world of dance, Andrea is persevering with full force to accomplish her passion in getting the essential training with Colorado State University and Canyon Concert Ballet. She is thrilled to be part of the company with the support from her family. Andrea believes that it is never too late to follow your dreams.

Theresa Cordova, Fort Collins, CO, Started her dance journey at CCB in 1989. Her enthusiasm was kindled as a child under the direction of Randy Wray, Melissa Core, Ixchel Levendosky, and many more wonderful instructors.  She got her BA in Dance and French from Gustavus Adulphus College (MN) in 2001, and returned to CO to continue exploring dance opportunities in the region.  She was a member of The Dance Connection helping bring dance to the community.  As well as a Dancer, Choreographer, and Guest Director with Dance Theater of Loveland performing at the Rialto Theater and many on-site performances with the Loveland Museum combining visual arts with dance.  She has been a guest dancer with Opera Fort Collins, Fort Collins Childrens Theater, Front Range Music Theatre, The Cupcake Cabaret, Impact Dance, Mary Wohl Haan, Dance Express, Front Range Classical Ballet, and more.  She has had multiple modern pieces accepted into local shows. Her 2nd chapter at CCB was 15 years ago dancing with the company under the direction of Jessica Freestone.  Some favorite rolls included Spanish soloist in The Nutcracker, Pirate and Pearl in Peter Pan, as well as dancing with the corps.  She also enjoyed teaching ballet for over 10 years and appreciates the opportunity to sub classes when time allows.  Chapter 3 at CCB has a new sense of magic as she gets to share the stage with her two Children, ages 9 and 11 and take class with the next generation of beautiful movers. When not dancing or chauffeuring children, she works in finance at Tarantino Wealth Management. She would not be able to continue her passion without the support of her husband, Francisco.  Dance is in her bones and she is grateful that she can continue to enjoy each step along the way. 

Liam was born and raised in Fort Collins. After watching Ballets his sisters performed when he was young, in he decided to start dancing in 7th grade at Canyon Concert. He received training at Colorado Ballet Academy from 2022-2024. He is looking forward to furthering his training and exited to be performing with CCB2 this year!

Gia Sienna began pursuing dance as a passion and career at 10 years old. Her journey—so far—has included training and performing in the disciplines of ballet, contemporary, and modern. She has completed intensives with hometown studios, Ballet Idaho, and Sacramento Ballet. This past season, she was a part of Roanoke Ballet Theatre as a trainee under the instruction of Sandra Meythaler and Rolando Sarabia; where she performed corps roles and understudy positions. Gia is very thrilled to join Canyon Concert Ballet as a CCB2 dancer!

Abby is from Fort Collins, Colorado, and began dancing at the age of 3. She has trained in various styles including ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, and modern. Over the years, Abby has developed a deep passion for ballet, which inspired her to join Canyon Concert Ballet in 2018. Here, she has thrived in an environment that nurtures her passion for dance and performance. In 2023, she took her commitment a step further by becoming a member of CCB2. As Abby looks to the future, she is filled with excitement and anticipation for the next chapters of her dance journey.

Téah Creasy was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where she began dancing at age 3. At age 7, she began training at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre where she stayed until age 17, progressing through the student and pre-professional divisions. During these years, she attended summer intensives at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre,

American Ballet Theatre, Philadelphia Ballet, and Point Park University. In the fall of 2023, she began attending Point Park University on scholarship pursuing a B.F.A in dance, where she stayed until spring of 2025. She has performed excerpts from “The Sleeping Beauty”, “Awakening of Flora”, and Terrence Orr’s “The Nutcracker”. She recently had the pleasure of being apart of “Drone on the Open Fifth” By Jimmy Gamonet. She has also been apart of many original ballet and contemporary works. Téah is so grateful for everyone who helped turn her dream of dancing professionally into a reality. This will be Téah’s first season with CCB and she could not be more excited!

Kennedy Sanders Originally from Geneva, Illinois, Kennedy began her training at Alma Dance School under Vilma Machin and Guillermo Leyva, performing featured roles such as Tea Lead in The Nutcracker, Dawn in Coppélia, and Cupid in Paquita. She continued her training with A&A Ballet Youth Company in Chicago under Alexei Kremnev, Ludmilla Lupu, and Anna Reznik, also joining the Contemporary Team led by Braeden Barnes. Her performances there included Turtle Lead in Carnival of the Animals, and roles in The Nutcracker. In 2021, she toured Michigan with iBallet Studio and was invited to the YAGP Finals in 2022.

After graduating, Kennedy joined the Milwaukee Ballet Pre-Professional Program, training with Tatiana Jourval-Malinkine. She performed lead roles including Medora in Le Corsaire and Little Swans in Swan Lake and danced in works by Davit Hovhannisyan, Timothy O’Donnell, Meredith Dincolo, Dawn Springer, and Sloan Logsdon. Most recently, she performed with the Milwaukee Ballet in Michael Pink’s Cinderella and The Nutcracker: Drosselmeyer’s Imaginarium.

Anna Anders began her dance training at Western Arkansas Ballet (WAB), joining their pre-professional company in 2014. During her time with WAB, she performed lead roles, including “Snow Queen,” “Dew Drop,” and “Arabian Pas de Deux” in The Nutcracker, “Fairy of Spring” in Cinderella, along with the titular role of  “Alice” in Alice in Wonderland. As a company member with Western Arkansas Ballet, she had the opportunity to perform at Regional Dance America Festivals across the nation. In the summers, Anna trained at Burklyn Ballet Theatre in Johnson, VT, working with a variety of master teachers and performing soloist roles, including “Giselle” in Giselle, “Cupid/Amour” from Don Quixote, the “1st Shade Variation” from La Bayadère, and “Fairy of Wit” from The Sleeping Beauty. Anna graduated from Texas Christian University’s School for Classical & Contemporary Dance in 2025 with her BFA in Ballet and Modern Dance, along with a Pilates Teacher Training Certificate and University Honors. During her time in the School for Classical & Contemporary Dance, she has performed notable roles of “Cygnets” in Swan Lake, staged by Keith and Kellye Saunders; a featured soloist in Paquita, staged by Keith Saunders and Jessica Zeller; new works by Sidra Bell, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Kelly Ashton Todd, Suzanne Haag; and as a featured soloist in Senior Choreography and Capstone concerts. Anna is the recipient of both artistic and academic scholarships, including the TCU Fine Arts Academic Achievement award, the College of Fine Arts Academic & Creative Excellence Award, and graduated summa cum laude. Anna is so excited to be joining Canyon Concert Ballet II this season, and plans to continue teaching Pilates, take up grant writing for nonprofit arts organizations, and continue to share her love for this art form with countless audiences.

Lexi Strauss started dancing at 2 years old and has loved ballet ever since. Based in Littleton, Colorado, she trained at Littleton Ballet Academy under Alison Jaramillo, Debra Mercer, and Lorita Travaglia. Here, she performed many roles, including Fairy Godmother, Evil Queen, and Dew Drop. After graduating, she studied dance for a year at Theater Arts Preparatory School in Las Vegas. She is honored and excited to continue her ballet journey, and see what CCB2 holds for her in the coming year. 

Amy Hood began her dance training at the age of two and studied primarily at Reverence Academy of Dance under the direction of Vera Stephenson. There, she received comprehensive training in Ballet, Character, Lyrical, Jazz, Modern, and Tap. Amy completed seven years in the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) program, successfully passing three of its highest examinations: Grade 8, Discovering Repertoire Level 4, and Advanced 2.

Additionally, Amy spent a summer training and performing on scholarship with the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City where she had the privilege of receiving instruction from Era and Andrew Jouravlev, Angelica Stiskin, and Michael Waldrop. She also had the opportunity to perform original works by Josie Walsh and Ceyhun Ozsoy Amy is equally passionate about dance education and began teaching at the age of 16. She is currently an instructor at A Dance Place in Greeley, Colorado, where she has been on faculty for the past three years.

In addition to her artistic pursuits, Amy holds a B.S. in Environmental Engineering and a B.S. in Biological Science from Colorado State University. She is currently pursuing her Master of Engineering in Civil and Environmental Engineering through CSU's online program.

Amy is thrilled to be joining Canyon Concert Ballet as a Second Company dancer and looks forward to continuing her artistic journey with the company.

Aerin Abad (she/her/hers) is from Chicago, IL. where she started dancing at Chicago Ballet Arts under the direction of Patti Eylar and Leslie Saunders. In high school, she studied at the Joffrey Academy of Dance under Karin Ellis Wentz and Raul Casasola. At Joffrey, Aerin performed Coppelia, Le Conservatoire, and original pieces by Katlin Bourgeois. Aerin graduated cum laude and with high honors from Butler University in May 2025. She received her B.F.A in Dance-Performance as well as a minor in Journalism. At Butler, she performed in numerous ballets, such as The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty, and original contemporary works by David Ingram and Derek Reid. In her free time, Aerin loves to read, write, and explore new places! She is very excited to join Canyon Concert Ballet this season!  

Julianne Renn started dancing at age 13 at Peoria Ballet in Peoria, Illinois under Jorge Laico, Ian Thatcher, and Molly Daly. During her time there, Julianne performed various soloist and ensemble roles including: “Dew-Drop,” and “Marzipan,” from The Nutcracker, “L’Aurore” (Dawn) variation from Coppelia, Études, and the “Fairy Godmother” in Cinderella. Over the years she has attended summer intensives with A&A Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, and Kansas City Ballet, and has had the opportunity to learn and perform various classical and contemporary works including Bournonville’s Napoli, and George Balanchine’s Who Cares?

In 2025, Julianne graduated from the Pre-Professional Program with the Milwaukee Ballet, training under Tatiana Jouravel-Malinkine and Bri Lucey. Her repertoire with the program has included soloist and corps de ballet roles in Le Corsaire, Swan Lake, Paquita, and Don Quixote.

She has also had the privilege of working with contemporary choreographers Dawn Springer and Sloan Logsdon in her time there.

Julianne is beyond excited to join Canyon Concert Ballet this season!

Sofia Sarmento, a native from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, started dancing at the age of five at Compasso Academia de Dança, where she completed part of her education, later graduating from Grupo Minas Gerais de Dança. In 2023, she was awarded a partial scholarship to study contemporary dance at Focus Cia de Dança, under the direction of Alex Neoral. In the same year, she received a full scholarship for the American Classical Ballet - Training Program in Dallas, TX, directed by Ashley Ellis and George Birkadze. Throughout her training, she performed leading roles in classical productions such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Spartacus, La Bayadère, Don Quixote, Giselle, Coppélia, Le Corsaire, and La Sylphide. Sarmento had the privilege of refining her technique with renowned instructors including George Birkadze, Ashley Ellis, Olga Balbocean, Tim Fox, Tindaro Silvano, Leonora Lima, Thales Buzelin, Fernando Maciel, Flávia Burlini, Everson Botelho, Alex Neoral, Carolina Vieira, Jéssica de Jesus, Célia Tadeu, Lúcia Vieira, Emaline Laia, Elias Bouza, Cecília Kerche, Bettina Bellomo, and Beatriz de Almeida. She has also participated in major national and international competitions, including the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP), Passo de Arte, Arte Minas, Ateliê da Dança, World Ballet Competition, and Grand Prix Brasil. 

After a year dancing with American Classical Ballet, Sofia Sarmento joins Canyon Concert Ballet 2 for the 25/26 season.

Gabrielle Harris (she/her) is a recent Magna Cum Laude graduate of Mercyhurst University, where she earned her degree in Dance and Education in Theory and Practice. She has recently performed in Erie, Pennsylvania’s first immersive theatrical experience, Tethered, and appeared in numerous Mercyhurst Department of Dance productions. Her featured roles include Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Marie Taglioni in Pas de Quatre, Marzipan Lead and Dewdrop in The Nutcracker, as well as Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty.

Gabrielle is thrilled to continue her professional dance journey as a member of the Second Company at Canyon Concert Ballet the upcoming season.

Catherine Spratt is from Bel Air, MD where she started dancing at the Dance Conservatory of Maryland under the direction of Barclay Gibbs and Kait Weber. She joined the pre-professional ballet company, Ballet Chesapeake, in 2013. She gained performance opportunities there, including participating in the Youth America Grand Prix and performing for her local community. She performed in full-length ballets including Swan Lake, Coppélia, and The Nutcracker. Her favorite role to perform at Ballet Chesapeake was Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty. In addition, she sought out artistic opportunities at the Kennedy Center, such as performing as an Angel in Kansas City Ballet’s The Nutcracker in 2017 and being a member of the Ballet Master Class Series.

After high school, Catherine went to Butler University, where she gained her Bachelor of Science in Dance – Arts Administration and Computer Science. At Butler, Catherine had the opportunity to work with many esteemed faculty and perform in full-length ballets including The Nutcracker, Giselle, and Cinderella. Catherine loves to read, learn, and travel the world in her free time.

She is very excited to join Canyon Concert Ballet this season!

Lucy Coatman began dancing at the age of 3. During her dance instruction at Canyon Concert Ballet, Lucy studied classical ballet, pointe technique, pas de deux, hip-hop, contemporary, modern, jazz, and character. Her favorite roles have included Swanhilda from Coppelia, and a Nymph in Michael Pappalardo’s Sleeping Beauty. She also competed with the competition team for 8 years where she received many accolades for her solo work, duet work, and group work. One of the highlights was placing first at Fluid Nationals for a contemporary duet. She has furthered her dance instruction by participating in the Joffrey Contemporary Ballet summer intensive and will be studying at the Annarella Sanchez International Conservatory of Ballet and Dance this summer in Leiria, Portugal. She also has been offered many scholarships throughout her training, the highlights are the opportunity to train at the Joffrey Ballet program in New York City, being the opening dancer for Intensity dance competition, a scholarship to train at the Broadway Dance Center in NYC, and receiving a free convention and competition at Fluid Nationals. She looks forward to next year as she will be joining the CCB2 training program at Canyon Concert Ballet. She thanks her family for their support and her many teachers for their help in developing her technique. 

Ella Almer originally from Chicago, IL started her dance training at the age of 6 at Joffrey Academy of Dance.  There she studied for 11 years under the directions of Karin Ellis Wentz, Kyle Seguin, and Raul Casasola.  She performed in academy productions including Coppelia, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty.  Ella was also invited to perform in the Joffrey Ballet Gala from 2015-2017 as well as the Joffrey Ballet Nutcracker where she danced various roles in the children's cast between the years of 2012 and 2017.  She has attended various summer intensive programs including Joffrey Academy's ISDI, A&A Ballet, European School of Ballet, Philadelphia Ballet's company experience, and Oregon Ballet Theater.  In 2020 Ella joined A&A Ballet's Youth Company under the directions of Alexei Kremnev, Anna Reznik, and Ludmilla Lupu.  She continued her training here until 2023 performing in productions including Swan Lake, Fish in Carnival of the Animals, and Flower Lead in the Nutcracker.  Ella also competed in YAGP Chicago both as a soloist and in ensembles in 2022 and 2023.  In 2023 she joined New Orleans Ballet Theater as a trainee under Gregory and Marjorie Schramel and Oliver Halkowich, dancing corps roles in their Nutcracker, George Balanchine's Serenade, Oliver Halkowich's Dracula, and Giselle.  She is very excited for her first season with CCBII!