Faculty

Anneke is from Stillwater, Minnesota where she began her Vaganova training at age 6 with St. Croix Ballet. She had the opportunity to attend many summer intensives. Her favorites include Dutch National Ballet, OWDF, Bolshoi Ballet, English National Ballet and Kirov Academy of Ballet, DC. She received her pre-professional training under Gelsey Kirkland in NYC.

She accepted her first professional contract at age 17 with Continental Ballet as an apprentice. Later she joined Texas Ballet Theater’s Studio Training Company and performed with Ben Stevenson’s Alice in Wonderland. Anneke was a founding company artist with Magnum Opus Ballet. She has also danced professionally with St. Paul Ballet, Metropolitan Ballet, US International Ballet and Columbia Classical Ballet before joining Canyon Concert Ballet.

Anneke started teaching at her home studio in 2013. Since then she has taught and choreographed at numerous studios throughout the US, plus taught and assisted in directing many summer intensives in various dance styles. In 2019 Anneke was school rehearsal director for The Great Wilmington Nutcracker.

One of her passions is character dance and she has had privilege to train under Ukrainian dancer Neka Tobak and has taught many Master classes. Her pedagogy training is in Vaganova, Bourneville and many styles of character. Her experience includes working with students of all ages and abilities, ranging from age 3 to pre-professional and adults.

Anneke is honored to share all that her teachers have imbued in her. Her desire is to help pass on this love, knowledge and joy of dance, from one generation to the next. She loves working with each student and seeing them reach their full potential in this art form. Anneke is excited to be dancing and teaching with CCB

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 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 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.

Laurel began dancing in 2004, and since then has been involved with several studios in Loveland, Fort Collins and Boulder. You may have seen her at Canyon Concert teaching Find Your Style, Broadway to LA, or Fairy Princess summer camps. She had the opportunity to perform and teach ballet in Harpenden, England with Lighthouse Dance, where she now teaches modern, acro, and ballet. Laurel has attended ballet, contemporary and modern workshops with the Martha Graham Dance Company, Pilobolus, Alexandre Hammoudi of the American Ballet Theatre, David Taylor, founder and director of Zikr Dance Ensemble, and Robert Sher-Machherndl, founder and director of Lemon Sponge Cake Contemporary Ballet. In 2016 she was introduced to aerial dance and since then has performed with Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance in their Student Company as the lead role in Peter Pan and has had the honor of performing with the Frequent Flyers Professional Company for two seasons. As an apprentice she performed with the Boulder Philharmonic in Claudel Suite and at the Denver Fringe Festival and Boulder Arts in the Park. Laurel received her BA in Studio Art and Dance from the University of Northern Colorado in 2020. During her studies at UNC she performed choreography directed by Erica Randall, Jennifer Deckert, Monte Black, and Christy O'Connell-Black, and was invited to introduce aerial dance to the students of Greeley Central High School for their production of Barnum. Laurel is very excited to be teaching Contemporary/Modern at Canyon Concert this year!

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. 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 and  Professional Trainee programs and serves as a rehearsal assistant for some company productions. As well as teaching dance, Amy teaches English and sponsors the drama club at Lincoln Middle IB School.

Morgan Militare started her dance training at 2 years-old in Westminster, Colorado where she danced competitively and performed in many studio showcases, and storybook ballets with Artistic Fusion Dance Academy. While growing up Morgan had the opportunity to learn from many teachers and choreographers including: Joey Dowling, Danny Lawn, Jen Jarnot and Kirsten Russel. During her high school years she completed American Ballet Theater testing, passing with both Honors and Merit. All of these experiences pushed her to take her dance career further by attending Colorado State University for her Bachelor's Degree in Dance.

During her time at CSU Morgan has performed in many works including those of: Chung-Fu Chang, Grace Gallagher, Judy Bejarno, and Madeline Harvey. Her choreography was adjudicated multiple times while attending CSU, allowing her to set choreography for the many spring dance concerts. Along with choreographing and performing, Morgan found her passions for health and exercise science and teaching dance through other classes taught at CSU.

Morgan loves teaching jazz, contemporary, and tap at Canyon Concert Ballet while also directing the competition team. She enjoys being able to choreograph for kids and bring them to community engagement events and competitions throughout the year! 

Taylor grew up in Michigan and began training at her local ballet studio where her passion and talent allowed her to attend on scholarship. She also attended summer intensives on scholarship at Cincinnati Ballet, American Ballet Theatre New York, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. These summer intensives were pivotal in Taylor finding her elusive and individualistic artistry. Taylor then continued her training with Cincinnati Ballet’s Professional Trainee Division during the 18-19 season and was promoted to second company for the 19-20 and 21-22 season. During her time there, she danced many highlighted roles, her favorites being the Dark Angel in Balanchine’s Serenade and the Vain Queen in Pamela Robinson Harris’s Snow White. During this time in Cincinnati, she was also a part of the ballet faculty at Beyond the Barre Academy and Planet Dance. In 2022, Taylor joined Colorado Ballet’s Studio Company. Some of her most memorable performances from last 22-23 season include Micheal Pink's Dracula and Ben Stevenson's Cinderella. With her move to Colorado Ballet, she had the opportunity to continue to expand her teaching resume. Here she worked with numerous ballet schools as well as creative dance outreach programs. She inspired young artists by creating a space for self-expression and focusing on creative empowerment. Taylor has experience teaching all levels and ages from Pre-K to adult classes, as well as a multitude of dance techniques and is certified in Safe Environment Training for teachers. Taylor is excited and grateful to be able to continue doing what she loves this season with Canyon Concert Ballet!

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.

Megan spent many years assisting the younger children’s classes and rehearsals at Oregon Ballet Theatre’s School and found her love of teaching. While furthering her own training, she began teaching for BalletMet and then Nashville Ballet until coming to Canyon Concert Ballet where she has taught various age groups the same joy and love for ballet that her own teachers fostered in her.

Abbey Mann grew up in Longview, Washington and moved to Fort Collins in 2018. She attended Colorado State University as a Dance Major and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance in Spring of 2022. She began dancing at age 9 in Washington State when her aunt opened Higher Ground Dance Studio. 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. She began teaching dance in 2015, and has a deep passion for inspiring and educating the next generation of dancers. Abbey has performed with Eugene Ballet Theatre, BodyVox Dance Company, Colorado Ballet, and Disneyland’s Dance the Magic. She is thrilled to teach dance classes and work as an Artistic Associate with Canyon Concert Ballet Company.

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

She continued her ballet training in Tokyo, Japan, and attended the Ballet Department at Showa University of Music.

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 started teaching ballet from 2016 and since then she has taught all levels from toddlers to pre-professional classes, in both Japan and the US. Many of her students have competed in recognized competitions and won prizes.

She is also a PBT level 3 certified teacher, which has significantly supported her students' progress even more.

She is really passionate about inspiring the new generation and extremely excited to join the CCB faculty.

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.

One of Colorado’s original Hip Hop teachers, Kevin has an extensive background in all Hip Hop styles. He received training from industry pioneers- Clyde Evans, Eric Finn, Quickstep and Rennie Harris. He has performed with: Don Campbell Lock jr, Electric Boogaloos, Lady Jules of the BeatFreaks, and the lateGary Kendall of the Jabbawockeez, and is a former member of Motion UnderGround’s Hip Hop company EOM. He has Been a guest artist at the Arena in Switzerland, The San Francisco Hip Hop Festival, the Colorado College Dance Festival, The Breaking Point in Montana, CU Boulder, and CSU Fort Collins, Red Rocks community college and Front Range community college.

Kevin now is Bringing this unique flavor to many Studios in Colorado and is the Founder/Director of True 2 Form Dance Group. He has for years been spreading a fire about the history of Hip Hop and a vision for where it could go. At this time, Kevin is a member of Street Stylez b-boy crew, Performing core member with Machinez Remainz popping crew, and Rennie Harris Grass Roots Project. Witch has just finished a small performance tourof the Eastcost.