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.

Augusto started his dance training at seven years of age in São Paulo , Brazil. During his eight years as a student at Conservatorio Carlos Gomes and Especial Academia de Ballet, Augusto had the opportunity to perform notable works like Basilio in Don Quixote and James in La Sylphide, where he placed first in the largest ballet competition in South America Festival de Dança de Joinville. 

In 2010 he was selected to represent his Country at the USA International Ballet Competition, where he won a contract to Nashville Ballet. Augusto worked as a Soloist with the Nashville Ballet, under Artistic Director, Paul Vasterling from 2011 - 2017, performing key roles like the Jester in Cinderella, Blue Bird in Sleeping Beauty, the clever Bonvolio, in Romeo & Juliet and the title role in Vasterling's world premiere of Peter Pan. 

 Since Moving to California in 2020 Mr. Silva has worked with Artistic directors and Choreographers Michael Pappalardo, Mark Foehringer, Linda Hurkmans, Ballet 22 and Opera San Jose. Now, After working for San Jose Dance theater as a Soloist for only 2 years Silva has been promoted to Associate Artistic Director. 

Sophia Brodin is new to the Fort Collins area and is originally from Lansing, Michigan. 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 with IUBT she had the pleasure of performing in many works choreographed by Twyla Tharp including Surfer at the River Styx, As Time Goes By, and Deuce Coupe. She has also performed in Jerome Robbins’ Fanfare, NY Export: Opus Jazz, and The Concert. Along with performing as the soloist in George Balanchine’s La Source, Mark Morris’s Sandpaper Ballet, and an original work by 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. Sophia is not only a member of the CCB company she is also on faculty where she has loved every second of being able to teach and inspire the next generation of dancers. She looks forward to her first season with the company and being able to dance alongside a wonderful group of artists.

Jenna Smith is originally from Maple Grove, Minnesota. She started training in dance at age 4, and moved to Colo. in 2005. Here she joined the Colorado Youth Ballet, where she studied with Patricia Hoffman, and Holly Marble. She went on to get her BA in dance at Colorado State University. While at CSU, Jenna was chosen to perform with many guest artists including Viktor Kabaniaev, Katie Elliot, Pilobolus, Gabe Masson, and Tommy Parlon. She performed excerpts from La Bayadère, Paquita, The Nutcracker, and Don Quixote, and danced featured roles in many original works by guest choreographers and the CSU dance faculty. Jenna spent two years in CSU’s Tour Dance Company, performing and participating in lecture demonstrations in schools across Colo., and has been a guest performer with the Aspen Dance Connection in Grand Junction, Colo. Upon graduation, Jenna briefly worked with Cleo Parker Robinson’s 2nd company before joining IMPACT Dance Company in the fall of 2012. She remained both a company member, and publicity and marketing director until moving to Tennessee in 2015. In Nashville, she had the pleasure of studying with Banning Bouldin of New Dialect, and performed one of her original works as a part of their summer “Choreographers” intensive. In the fall of 2015, she was offered a position in FALL aerial ballet company in Nashville. With the company, she performed all over Nashville, and was also invited to dance in multiple projects with choreographer Laurel Desmarais. Currently, she is an active member and Assistant Director of IMPACT Dance Company, and has appeared in several performances with Denver based dance company, Industrial Dance Alliance.

Her choreographic work has been featured in IMPACT Dance Company’s shows, “Words, (Wo)men and Song in 2018, and “C’est La Vie in 2021. She has produced and directed multiple award-winning shows at the Fort Collins Fringe Festival. “Women Working: Movement Stories by 3 Colorado Choreographers” which received the Salt Magazine “Movers and Shakers” award, and “5 X 5” Which received, “Best of Fringe, Audience Choice, and Artist Choice awards. Her choreography has been commissioned in multiple shows by Canyon Concert Ballet; Ballet and Beer: Latin Nights, Ballet, Jazz and Beer, Ballet, Broadway and Beer, and The Little Mermaid. She is very excited to be dancing with Canyon Concert Ballet for the 22’23 season!

Conner Horak was born in Fort Collins, Colorado where he was introduced to dance through a synthesis of musical theater and martial arts training. He received his initial training from Canyon Concert 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 danced with Wonderbound for three years in Denver, Colorado, where he performed with the Flobots at Colorado’s Vail Dance Festival. He has also danced with David Taylor’s Zikr Dance Ensemble, Boulder Ballet, Reformations Contemporary Ballet, Front Range Contemporary Ballet, Starry Night Productions, and James Sewell Ballet, where he worked with James Sewell, Darius Strong, and Gabrielle Lamb. He currently performs, teaches, and choreographs all types of dance in the Colorado area. He is also co-founder and co-director of The Soda Shop Movement Company.

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.

Photo credit - JBC-ex

Binyamin Salzano began his dance training at Colorado State University, where he graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and a Bachelor of Science in Zoology in May 2022. Binyamin began at CSU as a non-dancer. However, after taking an elective modern technique course in his first semester, he found a new passion for the art and has since made it an integral part of his life. Before attending CSU, Binyamin trained and competed in Men’s Artistic Gymnastics. From the age of ten, he competed in several state, national, and international competitions, including the 2018 Junior Olympic National Championships, in which he was an all-around finalist and helped his team earn silver. He trained with several former olympians and world champions, such as Vladimir and Alexander Artemev, Samuel Mikulak, and Irina Bendassova.

Throughout his time at Colorado State University, Binyamin has been honing his skills in ballet, modern, contemporary, and jazz techniques. Outside of coursework, he participated in several master classes and residencies from companies such as Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Ballet Jorgën, Urban Bush Women, Koresh Dance Company, and Pilobolus. He was a featured performer in works by guest artists Andre Megerdichian and Dwight Rhoden, as well as many faculty and student, choreographed pieces. In addition to his performance opportunities, CSU faculty and guest adjudicators selected Binyamin's choreography for performance in several concerts, and his solo work Aperture (2022) was chosen as a finalist for the 2022 New Century Dance Project.

Supported by the Arts Without End Foundation

Abbey Mann grew up in Longview, Washington and moved to Fort Collins, Colorado 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 14 years ago in her hometown when her aunt opened Higher Ground Dance Studio, and began teaching dance there in 2015. She quickly fell in love with dance and has continued her training in ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, modern, improvisation, choreography, acrobatics, musical theatre, hip-hop, character dance, and flamenco. In addition to her performance experience with Canyon Concert Ballet, Abbey has performed with Eugene Ballet Theatre, BodyVox Dance Company, Colorado Ballet, and Disneyland’s Dance the Magic. Abbey is thrilled to teach dance classes and work as an Artistic Associate with Canyon Concert Ballet Company this upcoming season!

Supported by the Arts Without End Foundation

Henry Woods is originally from Essex, UK, where he began his training at the age of 4. At 16, he decided to pursue a professional career in ballet and at 18 started his studies at Ballet West Scotland, in the Western Scottish Highlands. It was here that he studied under the tuition of Daniel Job and Sonia Fajardo, along with support from Michael Raynaud and Andrew McNicol. During his studies, Henry attained a foundation degree in professional dance and performance, and later a BA(Hons) in ballet.

While at Ballet West Scotland, Henry had the opportunity to perform alongside multiple guest artists including Norton Fantinel, Karina Moreira, and Natasha Watson. He performed in numerous national tours including Giselle, The Nutcracker, and Swan Lake, and in multiple showcases of different choreographic works, including works by Indra Reinholde.

Henry also has experience in teaching both at a pre-vocational and vocational level, working with several schools over the past few years, and is equally passionate about helping young artists develop as he is having the opportunities to perform on stage.

This is Henry's second season with the Canyon Concert Ballet, and he's excited to continue working and exploring new works with such a great team.

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.

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.

Hamish was born in Stirling, Scotland. He began his dance training at the age of 13 on the Scottish Ballet Associate Program before embarking on his vocational training and gaining a BA in Modern Ballet at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in July 2023.

During his studies, Hamish was given the opportunity to work with Scottish Ballet in their production of “The Nutcracker “ and returned to perform with them on their Tour and World Premiere of Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s ballet, “The Scandal of Mayerling”.

Hamish attended summer programs at the Royal Ballet School and the International Ballet Masterclasses in Prague where he was taught by the likes of Denys Cherevychko, Valentino Zuchetti and Alexander Campbell.

He has also been privileged to work with choreographers John McFall, Andrew McNicol and Julian Moss during his training.

Hamish is excited to move to Fort Collins and begin his career as a dancer with Canyon Concert Ballet.

Audrey Gellman was born and raised in New Jersey where she began her dance training at a local studio. At 16, she began her serious training at Ballet Central New Jersey under the direction of both Alexander Dutko and Thiago Silva. Over the years Audrey has been grateful to perform roles such as Dewdrop and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, and the Principal woman in both Les Patineurs and Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1. Audrey began her professional career at Columbia Classical Ballet where she had the opportunity to perform in many classical and new works.

Audrey is thrilled to begin her first season as a trainee with Canyon Concert Ballet!

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 performed 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 joining Canyon Concert Ballet for the 2023-2024 season.

Anneke De Jong is from Stillwater, MN where she began her Vaganova training with St. Croix Ballet. In 2013, she moved to NYC to train with Gelsey Kirkland in her Professional Program for two years. After completing her training in NYC she returned to MN and danced with St. Paul Ballet as an apprentice and then as a demi-soloist with Metropolitan Ballet, where she performed the role of Marie in the Nutcracker. In 2016 she joined Texas Ballet Theater Studio Training Company and performed in TBT’s Alice in Wonderland under the direction of Ben Stevenson. During her summers she had the opportunity to train with Open World Dance Foundation, Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam with Susan Jaffe and Ernst Meisner, Bolshoi Ballet, English National Ballet, Bossov Ballet Theatre and Kirov Academy of Ballet. In 2017 Anneke was a founding company artist with Magnum Opus Ballet in Madison, WI where she had the opportunity to perform many lead roles and choreograph her first professional piece, Cherish, for MO. She has been a guest artist with companies and studios including in her hometown as Sugar Plum Fairy in Clara’s Dream. She joined US International Ballet in 2019, where she performed demi-soloist roles such as Columbine Doll and Waltz of the Flowers lead. In 2021 she moved to Columbia, SC to join Columbia Classical Ballet.

Along with dancing Anneke loves teaching and sharing what she has learned from her teachers with the next generation of dancers! Anneke is very excited to be joining CCB for her first season!

Photo credit - Ernesto Linnemann

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.

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 to start her first season with Canyon Concert!

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 California native, Kennedy Curtis started ballet 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 at 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. Additionally, she is honored to have performed the La Esmeralda variation at YAGP 2014, Paquita variations with State Street Ballet Pro Track, and in Rodney Gustafson’s Intersection.

Kennedy is thrilled to continue exploring the art form of ballet in her first season at Canyon Concert Ballet!

Quentin first witnessed dance when his school took a field trip to see The Nutcracker, little did he know it would birth a lifelong love for dance. He began his dance training in a small dance studio in Paola, Kansas with a wonderful teacher named Miss Lacy. In that small studio he was the only male in a class of about 8 dancers. He began his training in ballet, contemporary, jazz, and took a hip-hop class every once in a while. When going off to university, Quentin initially received a BA in International Relations and a minor in dance at the University of Northern Colorado. Following that, he graduated Colorado State University with a BA in Dance. In addition to dance, Quentin is also both a runway/print model and cosplayer. Having walked in shows like Thailand Fashion Week, LA Fashion Week, Denver fashion week, etc. and also having done commercial and print work. Beyond that he creates cosplay and props having attended conventions and with plans to begin competing in cosplay competitions. In his free time he likes to create cosplays and props, play Dungeon & Dragons, listen to kpop, and bake!

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 and she began her ballet training at the age of ten under Anna Fendley at Joy of Motion (Siloam Springs, Arkansas). Esther joined NWA Ballet Theatre (Bentonville, Arkansas) in 2017 as an Apprentice, was promoted to Second Company

in 2019 and again to Company Member in 2021. She performed various Corps de Ballet and Demi-Soloist roles in classical repertoire such as NWA Ballet Theatre’s Nutcracker and Cinderella and performed in various contemporary ballets such as Ryan Jolicoer-Nye’s Immortal Beloved: Possessed By Genius, Petit Seat and NWA Ballet Theatre’s J-Street Creations, as well as participating in NWA Ballet Theatre’s outreach programs, such as Dance Beat, Faces and Once Upon a Dance. 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 local organizations such as NWA Movement Hub and Ozark Ballet Theater. She performed notable Soloist roles such as the Snow Queen and Arabian for Ozark Ballet Theater’s The Nutcracker and the Evil Queen in Ozark Ballet Theater’s Snow White.

Esther Gowin is now looking forward to transitioning to Colorado where she will join Canyon Concert Ballet as a Trainee for their 2023-2024 season.

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 to be joining Canyon Concert Ballet this season!

Kiara Patsan was born in Newcastle, Australia, where she began dancing at just 2 years old. At the age of 11, Kiara started training at National College of Dance, under the Artistic Direction of Brett Morgan OAM. There she trained in Classical, Contemporary & Jazz techniques. She attained a Cert III, Cert IV, & finally a Diploma in Dance.

After graduating NCD, Kiara moved to the USA where she joined Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Graduate program. Whilst at PBT, KIara danced in both School & Company performances including Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Paquita & Terrence Orr’s Nutcracker. She also performed in new contemporary works choreographed by PBT company members.

Whilst at PBT, Kiara has developed her passion for choreography & has choreographed several pieces, including one that was selected to perform at the Carnegie Museum of Art.

Kiara is thrilled to be starting her 1st 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.

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 moved to New Jersey to be a trainee at American Repertory Ballet, before dancing with Rochester City Ballet as an apprentice. Samatha’s favorite roles that she has had the opportunity to perform include Giselle, and Russian Demi in George Balanchine’s Serenade.

Samantha is thrilled to begin her first season as a trainee with Canyon Concert Ballet!

Chihiro Yamaoka was born in Chiba, Japan and started ballet at the age of 5 at the Premiere Ballet Studio. 8 years old, she began participating in various competitions in Japan, receiving awards.

She gained experience while studying temporarily at the Indiana Ballet Conservatory at age 11 and attending a summer intensive in Munich, Germany at age 16.

From 2022, she joined the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School Graduate program. At PBT, she has performed works such as The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and Paquita both at the school and the company. She also performed in neo-classical works choreographed by the company's principal dancers.

Chihiro is very excited and thrilled to begin her 1st season with Canyon Concert Ballet.

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.

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.

This will be her 29th season with the Company.

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.

Ana Collins started dancing at the Dance Factory when she was 3 years old, and was on their competition team for 4 years. She joined CCB in 2016 after deciding to focus on her ballet training. At CCB, she has trained in contemporary and modern along with ballet. Ana has performed some of her favorite roles in CCB productions, including The Nutcracker, The Little Mermaid, and Alice in Wonderland. Last year she had the opportunity to train with the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago in their summer intensive, which she is extremely grateful for. Ana is very excited to be a part of CCB2 this year and continue dancing with her CCB family.

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!”

Emma was born in New York and moved with her family to Fort Collins in 2008. Emma began her ballet training at CCB at the age of 7. Over the years Emma has trained in Ballet, Contemporary, Modern and Jazz. She competed on the CCB Youth Ensemble Dance Team for 5 years. In 2019 and 2021 Emma had the opportunity to train at Ballet Austin's summer intensive. Emma has performed in numerous CCB productions. Some of her favorites are Peter Pan, Little Mermaid and Alice in Wonderland and every Nutcracker. Emma is very excited to be a part of CCB2 this year and looks forward to many years following her passion for dance.

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 first season at CCB.

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 to join CCB2 this season.

Tiarne grew up in Laurieton, a small town in NSW Australia where she began dancing at 4 at Allstars Studio. Tiarne has trained in all styles and at age 11 extended her ballet training in the Interstate Training Program with the Australian Ballet School and then onto the Junior Elite Artist Program with Melbourne City Ballet and National Theatre Ballet School.

At age 16 Tiarne moved to Brisbane, Queensland to undertake an Advanced Diploma of Dance (Elite Performance) at the Queensland National Ballet School. During her time there she accepted an offer as a Trainee with New York Dance Project on scholarship. Tiarne was promoted to Company and performed on tour with New York Dance Project Company in New York City and two weeks in Florida performing lead roles in the Nutcracker.

Tiarne is excited for 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 first season with Canyon Concert Ballet.

Hana was born in Kanagawa, Japan. She started ballet at Baroness Academy Dancing School in her hometown. She moved to London, the UK to begin her training at Central School of Ballet at 17. She performed in some classical works, Mirlitons from The Nutcracker, Aurora's Friends from The Sleeping Beauty and so on. She then went on to earn a BA (Hons) in Professional Dance and Performance. During her studies, she attended The Royal Ballet School Summer Intensive in 2021 and Masterclass Yorkshire Ballet Seminars in 2022. She also had the opportunity to perform including The Queue, Blind Optics, Mirror Mirror, and Dextera in Ballet Central Tour 2023 in the UK.

Hana is so excited to be joining Canyon Concert Ballet for her first season."