Boulder Ballet School Teachers

Katelyn Burgess received a B.F.A. in ballet with a teaching, character dance, and performance emphasis and a minor in history from the University of Utah in 2006. In Utah, Katelyn danced with Character Dance Ensemble and performed throughout the U.S. as well as internationally in London, Vancouver, and Beijing.  She has been on teaching faculty with the Salt Lake Dance Center in Salt Lake City, Utah; and Dance in the Rockies in Durango, Colorado; sharing her knowledge of ballet, tap, jazz, and character dance. Currently, she teaches throughout the Denver area specializing in creative movement for Mountain Kids in Louisville and ballet for The Dance Company in Castle Rock. She is a principal dancer for Boulder Ballet and teaches ballet and character dance for the Boulder Ballet School.

Ana Claire is the Director of the Boulder Ballet School, which has more than tripled in size under her direction. 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, and co-choreographed the 1998, '99, and all productions since 2001 of Boulder Ballet's Nutcracker. Ana studied dance pedagogy at Texas Christian University, attended the teacher training workshop with former New York City Ballet principal Jillana, and has over twenty-five years of teaching experience.

Peter Davison has been involved with Boulder Ballet since 1986, including roles as a dancer, choreographer, administrator and teacher. A 35-year multi-disciplinary performing career has enabled him to create unique educational programs such as Boyz Dance and Physical Theater for Dancers. Peter has taught dance, theater and juggling in numerous multi-week residencies in public schools throughout the Denver area. He has taught movement and choreography at Celebration Barn Theater in Maine, Naropa Institute's Lecoq Theater Program, the national circus schools of both Quebec and France at the invitation of Cirque du Soleil director Guy Caron, and workshops for professional performers in Spain, Germany, and throughout the U.S.

Barbara Demaree is a founder of the Boulder Ballet School (originally the Ballet Arts Studio above Tom's Tavern) and of the Boulder Ballet. She was born in Britain and trained at the Bush Davies Ballet School. She has been a professional dancer, performer, teacher and choreographer. She was resident choreographer at Boulder's Dinner Theatre for twelve years, and was twice nominated for the Denver Critics Award for choreography. Barbara has been an Associate Director of Boulder Ballet - teaching, coaching, directing and choreographing for the company, and is the winner of the Pacesetter Award for the Arts in 1996. Barbara has been honored for her work by the Arts and Humanities Assembly of Boulder and the Boulder Arts Commission.

Kristen Demaree trained under her mother Barbara Demaree, and performed with Boulder Ballet for many years in soloist and character roles, receiving particular critical acclaim in the comedic role of a Stepsister in John Prinz's production of Cinderella. Kristen co-produced Pandora's Muse, a multi-media collaboration with Boulder Ballet Principal Dancer Elvira Stewart at the Dairy Center for the Arts. Kristen is a graduate of the University of Colorado Film Studies program and has created several dance films, including Ondine which was featured at the 2007 Sans Souci Dance Film Festival. Also an accomplished musician, Kristen is a member of the duo Carnelian, specializing in traditional Swedish fiddle music.

Kathryn Elliott trained and performed in London where she was on full scholarship with the London Contemporary School of Dance, and in New York as a full scholarship student with the Jennifer Muller Dance Company. Returning to Boulder, Kathryn danced with the Hannah Kahn Dance Company, Colorado Repertory and with other independent choreographers before founding 3rd Law Dance/Theater to perform her own work and the work of her collaborators. She began her teaching career as an instructor for the University of Utah Liberal Arts Dance Program and as a guest artist at Utah State University. Kathryn graduated from the BFA program at the University of Utah, where she received the Dee R. Winterton Award for outstanding choreography, performance and teaching.

Christina Louise has been teaching dance classes for 25 years. She has a BA in dance from the University of Colorado and has performed professionally both in Ballet and Modern Dance Companies. She writes dance curriculums and gives children's dance workshops to teachers in Denver metro area schools. Christina publishes children's CD's of original songs, poems and stories for creative movement jointly with composer Brian Golden.

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 with companies in Europe 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 is married to Bill and also serves the community teaching an interdenominational Bible Study.

Jamie Johnson received her B.F.A. in Ballet and B.A. in English in 2003 cum laude, from the University of Utah. While in Utah, Jamie danced with the Utah Ballet and the Character Dance Ensemble. She trained at several summer programs including Alonzo King's LINES Ballet, Jacob's Pillow, and Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Jamie apprenticed with the Sacramento Ballet, was a Soloist with Ballet Pacifica, and a Principal with Ohio Dance Theater. She has danced classical and contemporary works by renowned choreographers such as George Balanchine, Michael Smuin, and John Mead. Jamie has been a faculty member of Ohio Dance Theater's Pre-Professional School, Interlochen Summer Arts Camp, Ballet Pacifica Conservatory, and Sacramento Ballet Summer Intensive.

Rob Kuykendall began dancing at the age of 12 in his home state of Indiana at the Evansville Dance Theatre. He trained at the Alabama School of Fine Arts with Sonia Arova and Thor Sutowski, and upon graduation became a company member of Alabama Ballet, under the direction of Wes Chapman. Rob moved to Colorado to join Colorado Ballet, where he danced soloist and principal roles. He then danced with Orlando Ballet under the direction of world renowned dancer Fernando Bujones. Rob has been teaching ballet for three years at schools such as The Alabama School of Fine Arts, Academy of Colorado Ballet, Denver Academy of Ballet and Boulder Ballet School.  His students have been accepted to summer programs with major ballet companies throughout the nation, and apprenticeships with San Francisco Ballet and American Repertory Ballet. His male students at Boulder Ballet are proud to be the highest quality in the state of Colorado, and he is excited to add advanced female students to his roster this year.

Debra Mercer has been teaching and performing in Colorado for 35 years. She has a BA with honors in Dance from York University in Toronto, Canada. She has been a principal dancer with the Jackson Ballet, Colorado Ballet, David Taylor Dance Theatre, and other local companies around the state. She is currently teaching ballet at Colorado College and Miller's Dance Studio and is a member and Ballet Mistress of the Ormao Contemporary Dance Company in Colorado Springs. Debbie has been fortunate to have studied with some of the best ballet teachers in the world, including Antony Tudor, Enrique Martinez, Milenko Banovic, James Clouser, Marjorie Tallchief, and George Skibine to name a few. She has trained in the Bournonville, Vaganova, Cecchetti, and Royal Academy syllabi and travels to Taos, New Mexico every summer to study the Balanchine repertory from Jillana, a former principal with New York City Ballet.

Nicole Miller was trained primarily in England. While attending summer programs such as The Royal Ballet and English National Ballet, it was her Cecchetti syllabus that prepared her for teaching. After passing all of her Cecchetti examinations from level 3 to advanced, Nicole gained her dance diploma while studying at The Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. Since graduating, Nicole has taught at a variety of dance schools, workshops and summer courses including The Illinois Ballet School, Swansea Ballet, Artistic Fusion, Ascot Ballet School, and Miller's Dance Studios. Nicole is a Principal Dancer with Boulder Ballet.

Elvira Stewart began dancing as a child at Ballet Arts/Boulder Ballet. She trained at numerous summer programs including Pacific Northwest Ballet and Vail International Dance Festival, both on scholarship, and was an apprentice with Colorado Ballet. She performed soloist roles with Boulder Ballet, then trained and toured for two years with Rudra Bejart Ballet in Lausanne, Switzerland. Elvira has been a principal dancer with Boulder Ballet since 2003. She has choreographed works for Boulder Ballet and Boulder Ballet II, and co-produced, choreographed and danced in Pandora's Muse, an evening of dance, theater and film at the Dairy Center for the Arts.

Kathryn Wagner, a native of Colorado, trained at the Arvada Center with Christina Noel-Adcock, Eve Paris, and Lisi Elsey. Kathryn has performed in numerous productions with the Arvada Center Dance Theater, including the title role in the 1999 production of Peter Pan, as well as outreach to such places as the Children's Museum, Cherry Creek Arts Festival, and local elementary schools. In collaboration with Christina Noel-Adcock, Kathryn performed the title role in Peter and the Wolf on outreach to Lone Tree elementary schools in 2007, and she is a soloist with Boulder Ballet.  Kathryn is a co-artistic director and choreographer for the Arvada Center Dance Theater, and an instructor for the Arvada Center's Dance Department and summer integrated arts camps. A graduate of Regis University with an elementary education license, Kathryn is a third grade teacher at Eisenhower Elementary in Boulder.

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