Faculty
Ana Claire – Artistic Director
Photo by Sue Daniels
Ana studied ballet with Maxine Williamson, Fernando Schaffenberg, Milenko Banovic, Barbara Demaree and Larry Boyette. She has performed with Fort Worth Ballet, Fort Worth Opera, David Taylor Dance Theater, Aladdin Theater, Boulder’s Dinner Theater, Jan Justis Dance Company, and 3rd Law Dance/Theater, and was Prima Ballerina with Boulder Ballet for many years. She has produced, directed, and choreographed fifteen Storybook Ballets, all with original music, scenery and costumes created in collaboration with local artists; co-choreographed the 1998, ’99, and all productions since 2001 of Boulder Ballet’s Nutcracker, and has created numerous works for Boulder Ballet’s professional company. Ana studied dance pedagogy at Texas Christian University, attended the teacher training workshop with former New York City Ballet principal Jillana, and has over 30 years of teaching experience. Boulder Ballet School has more than tripled in size under her direction.
Amy Earnest – Assistant School Director
Photo by Sue Daniels
Amy began dancing at the age of three in Atlanta, GA. Amy received her training with the School of Atlanta Ballet under the direction of Tom Pazik, School of American Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. As a professional dancer she performed with Hartford Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre (currently Charlotte Ballet), Tulsa Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. She also was a finalist in the prestigious New York Ballet Competition of 1996 and was a member of the Chautauqua Ballet from 1998 to 2000. Amy has been teaching and coaching students for the last 12 years and is certified with the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum in Primary through Level 3. Amy owned and directed Avant-Garde School of Dance, along with her husband Lance Hardin, where they choreographed and produced numerous performances including an annual Nutcracker. Amy has trained and coached students that have continued their training with prestigious schools including American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet, Houston Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet School. Amy is also a certified Pilates instructor receiving her certification through D.K. Body Balancing accredited by the University of Nevada Las Vegas and approved by the Nevada and Arizona State Boards of Physical Therapists. Amy also enjoyed her role as company teacher with Dawson Wallace Dance (formerly David Taylor Dance Theatre), from 2008-2012, along with a variety of requests as guest instructor. Before coming to Boulder Amy and her husband Lance Hardin served as Co-Dance Directors at The Myles Reif Performing Arts Center in Grand Rapids, MN.
Kate Adams
Kate Adams is a Boulder native who began dancing at Boulder Ballet at the age of 3. In Colorado, she has had the chance to compete in the Denver Ballet Guild’s Young Dancers Competition where she received 2nd place in 2010 and 6th place in 2014. As she rose through the school, Kate also had opportunities to attend summer programs such as The Harid Conservatory, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, and Texas Ballet Theater. After graduating high school, she moved to Georgia to study with the Atlanta Ballet. In her two years with Atlanta, she was given the opportunity both years to perform in the snow and flower corps alongside the Atlanta Ballet company in John McFall’s The Nutcracker. Kate has since moved back to Boulder where she is excited to continue working with Boulder Ballet while pursuing a Health Sciences degree online through the University of South Dakota.
Kelsey Byrne
Photo by Sue Daniels
Kelsey Byrne is from Orange County, California, where she received her training at the Orange County High School of the Arts as a member of the Classical and Contemporary Dance Department. At OCHSA, she had her first experience teaching ballet as a volunteer for Camp OCHSA, an outreach program that offered free art classes for local children. Kelsey graduated from Indiana University in 2015 as a ballet major in the Jacobs School of Music. At IU, she had the opportunity to perform a variety of Balanchine works, namely The Four Temperaments, Western Symphony, Emeralds, and Swan Lake, as well as classics such as La Bayadere and Michael Vernon’s adaptation of The Nutcracker. She also studied ballet pedagogy and taught ballet classes at a beginner and intermediate level for the music elective program at IU.
Kristen Demaree
Photo by Sue Daniels
Kristen Demaree grew up in Boulder, Colorado studying ballet at Ballet Arts Boulder, under the ownership of her mother Barbara Demaree. While there, she also trained with many others: Milenko Banovich, Becky Jancosko, John Prinz, Joyce Rossiter, Wanda Tierney, Misha Tchoupakov, and Robert Sher-Machherndl. Kristen performed with the Boulder Ballet in its early years in many productions: Carmen, Cinderella, Coppélia, La Fille mal Gardée, Les Sylphides, The Nutcracker, Paquita, and Romeo and Juliet. Kristen also attended the Boston Ballet summer programs, as well as studying ballet at the University of Colorado with Robin Haig from the Royal Ballet, where she performed in the rare staging of Vaslav Nijinsky’s Juex. Kristen holds an MFA in dance from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She created the capstone project “Strange Bird and the Cloud Spirits” (2014), based on Act II of Giselle. She reproduced the ballet with her production company “Delusions of Grandeur Productions.” Kristen is also a traditional Scandinavian folk fiddler in Swedish and Norwegian styles. She teaches folk dancing from Scandinavia and Europe, and is involved in local music groups. Kristen writes about ballet in her blog at kristendemaree.com.
Lance Hardin – Associate Artistic Director
Photo by Sue Daniels
Lance Hardin is a native of Chicago, where he received his training from Larry Long at the Ruth Page Foundation School of Dance. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Ballet from Indiana University, where he studied under the direction of Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, Patricia McBride, Jacques Cesbron, and Violette Verdy. As a professional dancer, Mr. Hardin has danced with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, North Carolina Dance Theatre (currently Charlotte Ballet), Chautauqua Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet Nouveau Colorado, Boulder Ballet, Springfield Ballet Company, and the Yoko Kasai Ballet Studio located in Japan. He has performed principal roles by world renowned choreographers such as George Balanchine (Allegro Brilliante, Four Temperaments, Western Symphony, Who Cares), Paul Taylor (Esplanade, Company B), Dwight Rhoden (Verge), Nacho Duato (Jardi Tancat), William Forsythe (In the Middle Somewhat Elevated), Michael Pink (Romeo and Juliet), and Alonzo King (Map). Presently, Lance is enjoying many requests as guest artist, teacher, and choreographer. Mr. Hardin has taught dance for the past 23 years and holds numerous choreographic credits including The Denver Independent Choreographer’s Project, Springfield Ballet Company, Boulder Ballet and Fractured a collaboration with his wife Amy Earnest for James Sewell Ballet. Lance and Amy served as Co-Dance Directors at The Myles Reif Performing Arts Center in MN prior to joining Boulder Ballet.
Becky Jancosko
Becky Jancosko has been teaching ballet in Boulder and Denver since 1990 and over the years has been a part of Boulder Ballet as a choreographer, teacher and Ballet Mistress. Becky apprenticed with the Joffrey Ballet in New York and danced as a soloist with European companies including the Dutch National Ballet, Berlin Ballet and Geneva Ballet, and with Pittsburgh Ballet Theater. Her professional career and experience brings a high level of expertise to the students. She encourages students to work hard and to the best of their ability, believing that studying ballet will enhance and enrich all areas of their lives. Becky also serves the community as a regional advisor for Bible Study Fellowship International. She’s married to Bill who patiently encourages her!
Laura Spanioli
Laura Spanioli began her formal ballet training at the age of 14 at Ballet Etudes of South Florida, in her native Miami, under the direction of Susana Prieto. Laura subsequently studied at Butler University and Ballet Austin as well as in the Summer Intensive programs of Kansas City Ballet and Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida. She trained under internationally acclaimed instructors including Susana Prieto, Peter La Fox, Dagmar Moradillos, Rodolfo Rodriguez, Vladimir Issaev, Alla Osipenko, Jerry Schwender, William Whitener, and Gretchen Ward Warren. Laura danced professionally with Austin Metamorphoses Dance Ensemble, Ballet Etudes of South Florida, and Montgomery Ballet. She has performed featured roles in many of the classics and has originated several contemporary roles. Laura decided to take a hiatus from dancing and moved to Colorado in June of 2013.
Anna Warrener
Anna Warrener began her ballet training at the age of five at Boulder Ballet, under Barbara Demaree, Ana Claire, Becky Jancosko, Robin Haig, and Milenko Banovich. Anna attended summer intensive programs at the Bolshoi Academy in Vail, Milwaukee Ballet, Boston Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet, where she remained as a year-round student from 1993-1994. After returning to Boulder, Anna began performing soloist roles with Boulder Ballet in Coppélia, Giselle, Les Sylphides, Cinderella, The Sleeping Beauty, as well as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Clara in The Nutcracker, and the title roles in Romeo and Juliet and The Merry Widow. Anna was also a founding member of Robert Sher-Machherndl’s Lemon Sponge Cake Ballet as well as a guest performer with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet and the University of Colorado Department of Theater and Dance. From 1997-2004 Anna was a faculty member of Boulder Ballet, teaching ballet to all ages and levels. Anna earned her Ph.D. in biological anthropology in 2011 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard in 2015.
