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

Melissa Corr is a native NewYorker. She began her training with Russian Prima Ballerina Liana Hausler. She eventually joined her company, Genesee Civic Ballet and later Hausler and Company, where she enjoyed many solo roles in the Classics.

Upon arriving in Colorado, she continued her dancing with Denver Civic, now Colorado Ballet.

Through the years she became very interested in pedagogy, and continued to study again in NYC , taking vigorous classes with such greats as Melissa Hayden, Patricia Wilde, Basil Thompson, Nadine Ravine, Zena Romett and Gelsey Kirkland.

Returning to Colorado and rekindling her admiration and love for her Russian training, she studied and danced for Misha Tcherpakova, Meelis Pakri, Pavel Rotaru, Jilliana, Lorita Travaglia, and Dmitre Roudnev.

Melissa has been a pillar in the Fort Collins ballet community, working with the Chamber Orchestra, Fort Collins Symphony, Fort Collins Opera, and the theater companies as well. She has taught and performed throughout the United States and Canada for over 50 years. She has been a member of CCBs fine staff since 1979.

Melissa retired from Colorado State University Music Theater and Dance Department in 2010, where she was the intermediate and advanced ballet technique professor.. She restaged many classic works and also choreographed numerous works of her own during those many years.

For the last 6 years she has taught during the spring semester for Escuela Profesional de Danza De Mazatlan,Mexico, a 4 year dance degree program, and also company class for Delfos, a world renown contemporary company. She has been invited to teach in several states in Mexico and also the National School of Ecuador.

Melissa splits her time now between CCB and EPDM, and is always excited to see her students, where ever they are in the world.

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.

Growing up in Portland, Oregon, Megan received her dance training under the tutelage of Damara Bennet and Anthony Jones while attending Oregon Ballet Theatre School. She then furthered her studies in the Trainee Programs at BalletMet, in Columbus Ohio, and Nashville Ballet, where she performed several featured roles including the Diamond Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty and the First River from Pharaohs Daughter.

Besides dancing, Megan loves teaching and has extensive experience leading children’s classes at all levels. She was also assistant Children’s Coach for Oregon Ballet Theatre’s production of The Nutcracker.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Loren Khan is originally from Syracuse, NY and trained at Ballet and Dance of Upstate NY. Here, she studied under Kathleen Rathbun and Aldo Katton. She became a trainee for Syracuse City Ballet in 2020 with the opportunity to perform in various works with the company including Dracula, Nutcracker, and Swan Lake. In 2021, Loren relocated to Salt Lake City to attend the University of Utah’s School of Dance to pursue a BFA in ballet. Throughout her time at the university, she had the opportunity to study with renowned dancers such as Christopher Allowsway-Ramsey, Margaret Wright Tesch, Jong-Hoon (Jay) Kim, as well as many others. Loren also had the opportunity to perform in various works such as Flower Festival, Sleeping Beauty, La Vivandiere, new works by Christine McMillan, Bashuan Williams, and Rebekah Guerra. Loren is very excited to join Canyon Concert Ballet for 2024/25 for her first season!

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.

Mana Nozaki is from Iwate,Japan. She began studying ballet in Japan when she was three years old. She has won many awards in competitions in Japan and was accepted into the youth company of Goh Ballet Academy in Canada in 2020. Graduate from Goh Ballet Academy in 2022. In 2023, she won first place in the contemporary category at the YBC Ballet Competition in Japan. and In 2024, she won first place in the classical ballet category at the ALL NIPPON D.A.T.E classic ballet competition in Japan.

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. 

Calla Doyle has danced with Canyon Concert Ballet since the age of 3. She has trained in ballet, contemporary, counter technique, modern, and jazz; with ballet being her main focus.

Calla has performed in a number of CCB productions. Her favorite roles include: Clara and the Ballerina Doll in The Nutcracker, Lost Boy in Peter Pan, Flower Girl in The Little Mermaid and so many others. Performing with CCB has provided her numerous memories that she shares with her best friends and family both on and off the stage. As she continues on in her career, Calla hopes to share her love of dance with a younger generation and always be an inspiration to others. Calla is very excited and eager to continue her training this season as a part of CCB2, and can’t wait to see how it all “turns out!”

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.

Anna-Noel Imbriaco (she/they) grew up in North Carolina, where they received their early training at Wake Forest Civic Ballet. After graduating from high school, they attended Colorado State University, where they earned a BFA in Dance awarded with University Honors in 2023. During their time at CSU, Anna-Noel was selected to perform as a featured dancer in works by guest artist André Megerdichian and various faculty members. Additionally, they were selected by faculty adjudicators to perform a self-choreographed solo in a mainstage concert for the dance department and produced a dance film for their thesis project.

Anna-Noel has attended summer programs hosted by Richmond Ballet and Nashville Ballet, where they learned and performed repertoire choreographed by George Balanchine, Nick Mullikin, and others. Recently, they have spent time training with the School of Carolina Ballet, where they have had the honor of receiving instruction from Debra Austin, Marin Boieru, and several current principal and soloist dancers with the company. In addition to their love for performing, Anna-Noel has a long standing for passion and a more recently discovered interest in choreography. They hope to continue working in all areas of the dance world, sharing their love for the art form in whatever way they can. Anna-Noel is thrilled to be returning to Fort Collins and joining CCB as a dancer in the second company.

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!

Kendra Carroll started dance at the age of 11 at a small studio in her hometown and found a passion for dance. Her home studio didn’t offer ballet classes so at 15 she began at School of Carolina Ballet. She continued to dance there for five years also doing summer programs at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, and Ballet Met. This will be her first season with Canyon Concert Ballet.

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!

Savannah Rasmussen was raised in Temecula, California, and received her dance training at Dunamix Dance Project, her local dance studio. She pursued higher education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Performance and Choreography. Upon graduation, she was honored with the Outstanding Performer award by the director of the Dance Department. During her time at UNLV, she also attained a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology and obtained certification in Pilates.

Her favorite performances include Firebird, Giselle and Sleeping Beauty. Savannah had the privilege of performing in a reworked piece from An American in Paris in French Polynesia, where she also assisted in conducting master classes.

Beyond her dance career, Savannah finds fulfillment in teaching. Following graduation, she dedicated her initial post-college year to teaching dance at Julia Lee Performing Arts Academy and Dunamix Dance Project. She also extended her teaching endeavors to Ecuador. There, she taught master classes in orphanages and after-school programs, further contributing to her passion for dance education. Savannah looks forward to her first year at Canyon Concert Ballet.

Eliza was born and raised in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She began her training with Coastal Dance Centre as a company member and participated in the Royal Academy of Dance examinations. After her training, she continued to perform and was a dance instructor while earning her degree in Philosophy at CSU. The most memorable experience of her early training was competing in New Orleans at the Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition. Eliza’s favorite role has been Cinderella’s stepsister in Cinderella. This will be her first season with Canyon Concert Ballet.

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.

Originally from Ontario, Canada, Karissa started dancing at a local dance studio at the age of 3. She began her training at CCB in 2016 and joined CCB2 in 2023. Karissa has been trained in many styles of dance which include tap, jazz, modern and contemporary, with ballet as her primary focus. She has attended several summer dance programs, including the Colorado Ballet Academy Summer Intensive. Karissa has been a part of many CCB productions over the years. Her favorite roles include: Clara in the Nutcracker, a Card in Alice in Wonderland, and a Nymph in Sleeping Beauty.

She is very excited to continue her training at CCB and is looking forward to this season as a part of the CCB2 program!

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.