Faculty

Canyon Concert Ballet is very proud of our talented dance teachers. In addition to our resident dance faculty we often welcome guests to teach Master Classes or create choreography. Many of our dedicated instructors have graduate degrees in dance education and have won teaching awards. All are committed to our philosophy of excellence in dance education, quality performance, and helping students reach their full potential.

Canyon Concert Ballet Faculty

Sarah Bailey

Young Dancer Program Instructor

Sarah grew up dancing at the school of the Washington Ballet and continued with ballet and other genres at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Following college, she performed with 4M Dance in San Francisco and Oakland, California. She returned to school to earn a M.Ed. degree in Early Childhood Education and later trained in Anne Green-Gilbert’s methodology of dance instruction at the Creative Dance Center in Seattle. She joined the CCB staff in 2015, focusing on dance with toddlers & parents together and the Young Dancer’s Program. Sarah was honored to attend the CSU Carl S. Bimson Dance/Movement Education Seminar for Colorado K-12 Educators during the summers of 2016-17. Sarah works as a teacher at First United Methodist Cooperative Preschool in addition to being a dance educator.

Judy Bejarano

Advanced Modern Instructor & Choreographer

Judy Bejarano teaches Modern Dance Technique for Canyon Concert Dance Center. She has also staged contemporary works on Canyon Concert Ballet’s Company. Bejarano received her Master of Fine Arts from C.U. Boulder in dance with an emphasis in choreography. She also teaches Improvisation, Choreography and Modern Technique at Colorado State University. Bejarano is the artistic director of IMPACT Dance Company, a dance/theatre company whose performances speak to issues in our everyday lives. She collaborates and creates custom events with area art groups as well as for private events. Bejarano is increasingly interested in redefining the relationship between performer and audience, therefore; IMPACT’s work can be found in nontraditional spaces, from art galleries, to storefronts, to airplane hangars. Bejarano is also interested in exploring the use of dance as a collaborative outreach tool and has a long term relationship with the arts programs at Pathways Hospice. The company also has a well established integrated arts outreach program called Every Voice Matters. Bejarano’s work has been selected for many regional and national festivals including National American College Dance Festival, Colorado Choreographers Showcase, and Gala Concert for the National Dance Association Festival. Her “topic driven work” often uses original text, dance and projection, and continues to be commissioned at the university level and by independent dance, theatre and music groups. Bejarano, an enthusiastic and demanding instructor, teaches workshops and residencies throughout the region.

Melissa Corr

Ballet Mistress, Advanced Ballet Instructor & Artistic Advisor

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.

Terri Jo Englund

Modern/Adult Ballet Instructor

Cassie Eron

Jazz/Contemporary Instructor

Cassie Eron was born in Mohegan Lake, New York where she began dancing at a young age. After moving to Colorado Springs, Colorado she kept exploring her love of dance and theatre. She refined her dance skills at Northridge Dance Conservatory under the study of Kim Davagian training in ballet, pointe, jazz, contemporary, yoga, and Horton Modern. At Liberty High school training under Leslie Williams is where she also studied ballet, jazz, musical theatre, and Fosse as well as costuming and acting.

Cassie will receive her B.A. in Dance this spring from Colorado State University, previously studied at CU Boulder and Hunter College. Here at CSU she has refined her dance technique skills and developed choreography and pedagogy skills training under Judy Bejharano, Chung-Fu Chang, Madeline Harvey, Mathew Harvey, Amber Mazurana, Lisa Morgan, and James Wallace.

Tiana Farnsworth

Children’s Ballet Instructor

Tiana Farnsworth grew up in Colorado Springs, CO. She performed and studied ballet at Colorado Ballet Society and was introduced to modern in her adult years. She started her dance education at Pikes Peak Community College (PPCC) where she danced under Stephanie Kobes-Newcomb.  She performed with the student company, High Altitude Dance Ensemble (HADE), for four seasons.  She completed her Associates in Dance in spring of 2015 and is now attending Colorado State University (CSU) for her B.A. in Dance and B.S. in Health and Exercise Science: Health Promotion. Tiana learned the complexity of choreography, modern technique, ballet technique, and teaching modern and ballet. She also enjoyed dancing in the Ballet Reparatory Ensemble for two semesters. She was a featured dancer of the Ballet Reparatory Ensemble in the Le Corsaire Suite adapted by Madeline Harvey in the “Pas De Trois Des Odalisque” as the first soloist. Tiana currently teaches at Canyon Concert Ballet as a children’s ballet instructor and is excited to spread her joy and knowledge of dance to her students by including history, technique, and fun within her classroom.

Emma Gould

Children’s Ballet Instructor

Emma Gould is a new teacher for Canyon Concert Ballet. She has been a passionate dancer since she was three year old, training with a company called Weehawken Creative Arts, located in South Western Colorado. While dancing with Weehawken, her most notable lead roles included: Snow Queen in “Nutcracker Sweets” 2013, the Sugar Plum Fairy in “The Nutcracker” 2015, the Wicked Witch of the West in “The Wizard of Oz” 2016, and Cinderella in “Cinderella” in 2017.  After being brought up in Weehawken Dance with American Ballet Theater National Training curriculum, class assisting for several years, and teaching pre-ballet, Emma is excited to join the CCB family. Emma loves the youngest dancers, and remembers her own first ballet classes at the age of 3 where her love of dance first developed. Emma has the patience, kindness, technique, and ability to teach pre-ballet and loves it. She is thrilled to share this passion with the children of Fort Collins!

Matthew Harvey

Advanced Ballet Instructor

Matthew Harvey, a native of Allentown, PA, began his dance training with Repertory Dance Theatre, under the direction of Jennifer Haltzman Tracy and Trinette Singleton. He has received scholarships to attended summer dance intensives at Joffrey Ballet School and Chautauqua Institute. From 2006 to 2007, Matthew danced as a trainee at North Carolina Dance Theatre, now Charlotte Ballet. He moved to Greenville, SC and joined Carolina Ballet Theatre in August of 2007. Matthew has been featured as a guest artist with Olney Ballet Theatre, Piedmont School of Music and Dance, Universities of North and South Carolina, and in various cities across South America. In addition to performing, Matthew teaches a variety of dance styles including ballet, jazz, contemporary, and pas de deux. Matthew has been choreographing since 2006, creating works for Carolina Ballet Theatre, Foothills Dance Conservatory, DanceArts Youth Company, Repertory Dance Theatre, and the Youth American Grand Prix.

Vanessa Hearn

Pre-Professional Ballet Instructor

Vanessa Hearn began her dance training at CCB at the age of 3.  A dedicated student, she became a member of the CCB company at age 15 and has taught ballet focusing in the Vaganova and RAD techniques for 6 years at CCB.  In addition to teaching, Vanessa has also choreographed numerous dances and set pieces for the CCB company. Vanessa is trained in several dance disciplines including: Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Tap, Hip Hop, Swing, and Salsa, and has performed in over 50 productions. She enjoys teaching children and adults alike.  She trained under Mia Michaels of So You Think You Can Dance, Misha Tchoupakov of Salt Lake City Ballet and Regional Dance America, and Lorita Travaglia of Colorado Ballet. Vanessa graduated with honors from CSU and served as CCB’s Interim Director during the 2014 Fall Semester.

Amy Hughes

Children’s Ballet Instructor, Choreographer

Amy joined Canyon Concert Ballet as a Company dancer in 1993. She began teaching for the school in 1995, and loves working with students and helping them to be the best dancers they can be. In fact, many current Company dancers started in her Ballet 1, 2, and 3 classes.  She received her dance training from Colorado Ballet, Boston Ballet, and Ballet West, and has received instructor training in both the Royal Academy of Dance and Vaganova styles. Amy also choreographs ballets, solos, and contemporary ballet pieces for CCB’s Youth Ensemble. As well as teaching dance, Amy teaches sixth grade English at Lincoln Middle IB School.

Teal McConnell

Young Dancer Program Coordinator and Instructor

Teal grew up in Jackson Hole, Wyoming where began dancing at the age of six at The Dancers Workshop.  She was first introduced to Modern but then opened up to Ballet and Jazz. While training at Dancers Workshop she participated in productions of The Nutcracker and The Art’s on the Hill Festival.  In 2000, she moved to Fort Collins with her family and continued her training at Canyon Concert Ballet.  Teal has performed in many CCB productions, including: The Nutcracker, Cinderella, and The Wizard of Oz. By far, her favorite roles were in Across the Tracks which allowed her to explore different dance genres in one production.  Teal began teaching at CCB in 2005 and grew her position to become the Young Dancer Program Coordinator and Queen of the Fairy Princess Kingdom each Summer.  She is also the Harmony Studio Manager.   Currently Teal is finishing working on a degree in Elementary Education at the University of Northern Colorado.

Erica Mugoye

Ballet Company Manager, Pre-professional Ballet Instructor, Choreographer & Artistic Advisor

Erica Mugoye started dancing at Canyon Concert Ballet in 1990, and has performed in more than 50 CCB productions. She has been teaching at CCB since 2000, and is currently the Assistant to the Artistic Director as well as the Company Manager and Ballet Instructor. Ms. Mugoye trained under well known dance instructors Gabriella Komleva, of the Kirov Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia, Galina Yordanova, resident guest teacher and choreographer for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Canada, Carol Roderick, Director of the CSU Dance Teachers’ Institute, and Lorita Travaglia, Ballet Mistress for Colorado Ballet. In addition to ballet, Ms. Mugoye has studied many forms of dance including Jazz, Modern, Contact Improvisation, Spanish, Swing, Salsa, Character, Tap, and Hip-Hop.

Jenna Smith

Jazz/Contemporary Instructor

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, Holly Marble, and Jacob Mora. She began her college training at Colorado State University as a dance major, and graduated in 2012.  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 in an active member of IMPACT Dance Company, and has appeared in several performances with Denver based dance company, Industrial Dance Alliance.

Savannah Svoboda

Hip Hop Instructor

With a passion of the performing arts that started at 8 years old Savannah brings a diverse range experience to her teaching. Studying Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Modern, Hip-Hop, Musical Theater, and Clogging she has performed on various stages and taught in different classrooms across the United States. From the University of Wyoming’s Snowy Range Dance Festival to American University’s Musical Theater Intensive in Washington D.C. Locally she assisted in the choreography and production of Colorado State University’s annual Drag Show in partnership with the Pride Resource Center from 2010-2013. Most recently she had the fantastic experience of being the Dance Captain and performer in Fort Collins Children’s Theater’s Fall 2018 production of The Little Mermaid. Outside of the dance world Savannah is a young professional with a career in Human Resources and Talent Acquisition. She is very excited to be part of Canyon Concert Ballet’s team!

David Taylor

Ballet Instructor

David Taylor has been professionally involved in the Colorado dance community for the past forty-eight years. During the course of a twelve-year dance career, he began choreographing in 1976, and since then has created well over 100 original works. In 1979, he founded the David Taylor Dance Theatre, which for thirty-two years was recognized as one of the Rocky Mountain region’s most acclaimed dance organizations, and Denver’s original contemporary ballet company. Mr. Taylor has received three National Endowment for the Arts grant awards along with the City and County of Denver’s first Individual Artist Fellowship award for dance, and in March of 1997, he and his company were proud recipients of the State of Colorado’s Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.  He has been commissioned to create ballets for Opera Colorado, the Colorado Symphony, the Denver Chamber Orchestra, the Museum of Outdoor Arts and the Up Close and Musical Ensemble, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Colorado Wind Ensemble, and for the Dayton Ballet in Ohio. He has also staged works for the Aspen/Santa Fe Ballet, the Lone Star Ballet of Amarillo, Texas, Western Wyoming Community College, Colorado Mesa University and the Canyon Concert Ballet and his original and innovative productions of “The Nutcracker” and “Rainforest” garnered national critical recognition and were booked extensively across the United States for twenty years.  Mr. Taylor has additionally served as a Board member for the Mayor’s Commission on Cultural Affairs, as the Vice President for the Colorado Dance Alliance, as a peer panel member for the Colorado Council on the Arts, and in 2008 received the Carson-Brierly Dance Library’s prestigious “Living Legends of Dance” Award.

Currently, Mr. Taylor serves as the Artistic Director and upper level ballet program faculty member for Denver Ballet Theatre where he teaches ballet technique, pas de deux, pointe, variations and dance history. His extensive background also includes a longtime involvement with metaphysical studies, sacred dance and ritual. In 2009 he founded the Zikr Dance Ensemble, a unique professional company that offers a spectrum of works that are based on transcendent dance rituals from many different ancient world cultures throughout history along with original and contemporary dance/theatre realizations. Zikr employs some of the finest ballet-trained dancers from numerous companies along the Front Range and in 2017, initiated as well what is now a very successful Apprentice Program. The company has received unanimous critical acclaim and standing ovations over the past ten years and besides presenting an annual season in the Denver metro area, tours extensively throughout the United States.

Alta Thuesen

Musical Theater Instructor

Alta has been dancing for 14 years and is happy to be an apprentice this year at Canyon Concert Ballet. Alta danced with Colorado Conservatory of Dance formerly known as Ballet Nouveau Colorado. She has performed in many CCB performances including three CCB Nutcrackers. Alta joined CCB when she was 13 years old and has enjoyed the time and teachers’ dedication to the art form. She thanks her teachers Melissa Corr, Alicia Laumann, and Laurel Brubacher for their support and hard work.

Emily Valerioti

Children’s Ballet Instructor

Brenda Van Fossen-Moore

Yong Dancer and Children’s Ballet Instructor

Bio coming soon!

Analía Weber

Children’s Ballet and Modern Instructor

Analía Alegre-Femenias Weber is a dancer, choreographer and improvisational artist whose works focuses on the relationship of the self and others providing a unique sense to see the world. She obtained her BFA with High Honors from New World School of the Arts under Daniel Lewis and later received the Deans Fellowship for her MFA in Choreography from University of Iowa. Analía has performed works by Charlotte Adams, Robert Battle, David Dorfman, Jennifer, Kayle, José Limón, Donald McKayle, and Bill Young among others. Her choreographic work has been presented at Judson Church and 100 Grand in New York city as well as in Chicago, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Puerto Rico

Currently Analía is faculty at Canyon Concert Ballet and Front Range Community College were she teaches ballet, modern, improvisation and contemporary styles of dance as she continues her dance career with IMPACT Dance Company in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Outside of dance Analía is a Pilates instructor with over 10 years of experience helping dancers and non traditional movers move past injuries and gain more control over their instrument. Her students have continued to dance in prestigious colleges and programs like Juilliard and Point Park University as well as NW Dance Project and Martha Graham. Through her movement work Analía strives to provide her students and clients with tailored instruction to achieve not only their fullest potential but complete joy in movement to live better and more creative lives.