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Amy Colwell is the Assistant Studio Director, as well as the director for our competitive Razzle Team Program. She is an accomplished choreographer and coach.

Amy has been teaching our younger students ballet, tap and jazz for the past 20 years.

Amy received her dance training at Hill-Top Dance studio in Kansas City, KS and participated annually in their Nutcracker production. Amy has a Business Management and Psychology degree from Baker University.  Amy has 4 children (2 of which grew up dancing at the studio) and lives in Parker with her husband Greg and their 2 dogs.

Courtney Stremel is a graduate of Oklahoma City University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Dance Management. She was a part of the American Spirit Dance Company and performed in Home for the Holidays and Broadway Revue during her time in the company.  Courtney grew up dancing at a local studio in San Antonio, Texas and graduated from North East School of the Arts, a performing arts high school. She has performed in several shows at Fiesta Texas and worked in the Entertainment department for Gaylord Hotels. Courtney is the General Manager at CSD and is thrilled to also share her passion for dance with her students as a dance teacher. 

Abby grew up training competetively in Northern Minnesota with Dance Escape Dance Studio, Dreamdance Academy, and the Minnesota Ballet. She was on the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee Dance Team her freshman year of college, then graduated undergrad from the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities, with a degree in dance and a degree in communication studies. Throughout her 20+ years of dancing, she has had the pleasure of working with many well-known choreographers, in many genres, across the US.

Abby's love for dance stems from the idea that movement always tells a story and can also help us to feel and embody our emotions. 

Abby also is our Full-Time Communications Lead here at CSD. 

Angela Matson began with the company in 2017.

She is a former dancer with Odyssey Dance Theatre in Utah. She grew up dancing at The Studio in Utah, and then taught for Jazz N Place Studio prior to moving to Colorado.

Angela is the Team Artistic Director, as well as the Advanced Contemporary teacher here at CSD.

She is both a well-sought after teacher and an award winning choreographer.

Plus, she is mom to 2 rockstar kids and lives in Parker with husband Josh, and dog Bowie.

Rebecca Dean has served as a Principal Teacher at CSD since 2005. As the Ballet Director of CSD's Ballet Department and Colorado Youth Ballet Company, she has directed, choreographed, and staged several full-length ballets, including: Nutcracker of Parker, Cinderella, Aladdin, Swan Lake, Alice in Wonderland, Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty, Snow Queen, and Wizard of Oz. Rebecca earned a BFA in Ballet, from the University of Utah (Teaching/Performing Emphasis). Rebecca has been danced professionally with companies including: Apex Dance, Ballet Ariel, David Taylor Dance Theatre, Ballet 5280, Chadash Dance, 7Dancers, Kim Robards Dance, and Ballet Magnificat!

Rebecca lives in Parker with husband Chris, their daughter Annabelle, and their dog Ted.

Deshawn Royale's mission is to elevate the Colorado Hip-hop dance scene by pushing the importance of foundational training, encouraging others to create authentically, and by uniting the Colorado dance scene as a whole. From Parker to Breckenridge, Deshawn loves to connect with dancers who share the same passion for dance that he carries. Deshawn currently works at a few different studios in the Denver Metro area where he teaches and coaches/choreographs for competitive companies. He has been teaching for around 5 years and has been the director of the hip-hop program at Colorado School of Dance for the past two years. Deshawn has been dancing for the past 10 years with a mix of self-training, conventions, international dance mentorship programs, and the continued support of local dance instructors and studios. 

Karen is proud to have been with the Colorado School of Dance since 2002. She grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and danced in a small ballet school in downtown Philly.  She has her B.S. in Nutrition from the University of Southern Mississippi. Karen is honored to be in the continual role of “Mother Ginger” in our annual Nutcracker of Parker. She has a son, Dalton, who started with the Colorado School of Dance when our doors opened in August of 2002. He was in both the APT Team and our Ballet Company until his graduation in 2016. 

Her love has always been a constant of the arts and, she has had the wonderful opportunity of teaching Children's Tumbling at CSD for the last 13 years.

Amanda has been at CSD for the past 11 years teaching ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and musical theater. She is a coach for our APT teams and directs the Youth Ballet Company. Amanda grew up in Colorado and received her formal dance training as an apprentice company member with David Taylor Dance Theatre. She also has trained with the Milwaukee-Pennsylvania Ballet and Boston Ballet. She received her BFA in Dance with a focus in Ballet as a scholarship student at the University of New Mexico with a minor in Criminology. Her training includes classical and contemporary ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, and flamenco. She has danced as a soloist with Ballet Theater of New Mexico, Dance Theater of the Southwest, Ballet International, and the University of New Mexico Dance Company.  She has also performed as a contract member for David Taylor Dance Theatre. 

Amanda has 2 children and lives in Parker with her husband, Robbie and their 2 cats.  

Mark Otloski, a native of Flint, Michigan, and is a former principal dancer of 22 years with
the Cleveland/San Jose ballet, under the direction of Dennis Nahat. During his tenure with
the company he established himself as one of the company’s leading danseurs performing
an extensive range of principal and soloist roles such as Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake,
Oberon in A Midsummer’s Night Dream, and The Baron in Leonid Massine’s Gaite Parisienne, as well as having danced nearly every role in the company’s repertory. Mr. Otloski was also a performing artist for 7 years with GroundWorks Dancetheater under the direction of David Shimotakahara and now serves as educational outreach coordinator for GroundWorks working to provide access and opportunities for students throughout the greater Cleveland and Akron school districts to participate in artistic engagements with the artists of GroundWorks. 

Courtney Graeber has been apart of the children’s program here at CSD for 8 years.

She is a Colorado native and attended dance studios similar to CSD from the age of 4 through 17, ending at Ballet Arts where she trained in Ballet and Jazz. She was also a competitive gymnast during that time for a private gym and for her high school team. After graduating high school, she attended Colorado State University where she earned a bachelors degree in Exercise and Sports Science.

She lives in Aurora with her two daughters, husband, and their two goldens. 

Hello there! I’m Danielle Stewart. I am thrilled to start my 7th season as a dance faculty member at Colorado School of Dance! Here is a little bit about my background. I was born and raised in Rhode Island where I began dance classes at the age of 7. Growing up, I was both a competitive dancer and gymnast and cheered throughout high school. As a member of the award-winning Dance Artistry senior dance company, I was on a team of dancers invited to tour and perform in Copenhagen, Denmark, Minsk, Belarus, and Moscow, Russia, the summer between high school and college.

In college I was a choreographer and performer with the Hofstra University Dance Team (poms & hip hop) and student run dance organization called Danceworks.

Elizabeth Moore is a native New Yorker who began dancing and teaching in her family owned studio. She then went on to study at The Ohman School of Ballet/New York Theatre Dance Workshop; The Richmond Ballet School; and The Joffrey Ballet School. Elizabeth graduated from the Long Island Highschool for the Arts with a major in Dance. She then went on to earn her BFA in Dance Performance at The University of Hartford/The Hartt school in Hartford, CT; and her MFA in dance from the University of California, Irvine, with an emphasis on Dance Kinesiology. Elizabeth has also trained at the Martha Graham School of Dance; San Diego Dance Theatre; and the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries. She has presented her research at the annual conference for the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science. Elizabeth has danced, taught, and presented research all over the country and abroad.

Oleg began with the CSD in 2006 and serves as a master teacher and company director. He is best known in his role of Herr Dressmeyer on stage at the Nutcracker of Parker and he has directed, choreographed, and staged several full-length ballets, including: Nutcracker of Parker, Cinderella, Aladdin, Swan Lake, Alice in Wonderland, Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty, Snow Queen. He is a former soloist with the Colorado Ballet, and after an injury, he came to teach at Colorado School of Dance. He is a graduate of the Leningrad Vaganova Ballet Academy. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Education. Oleg was a principal dancer with the Leningrad Modern Ballet Theatre under Boris Eifman, the Boshoi Theatre Grigorovich Ballet, the Moscow Renaissance Ballet, The National Ballet Theatre in Yugoslavia, the City Ballet in San Diego, and he was a soloist with the Colorado Ballet. 

Jena Gonzalez is the Director of First Impressions and the new Front Desk Manager. She has been part of Colorado School of Dance since 2020 when her daughter joined as a Junior Razzle and has been working for Colorado School of Dance in the shop since 2022. She loves working at the front desk and getting to help all of the wonderful families and dancers at CSD. Jena has a Bachelor's Degree in Developmental Psychology and a Minor in Criminal Justice from Metropolitan State College of Denver and grew up in Littleton, CO. Jena has worked with children since 1998 and also owns Night Nannies for Newborns, a postpartum and newborn overnight care agency since 2004. Jena lives in Parker with her husband Luis and two amazing children. 

We are always hiring the best and brightest teachers and arts administrators and saving this spot for someone wanting to share their passion with our CSD Family!  

Contact info@coloradoschoolofdance.com

if you would like to apply.

Calli Lamb graduated from Oklahoma City University with a BS in Dance Management. Calli performed professionally  aboard the Ryndam for Holland America Cruise Lines, and in Branson, Missouri for "Legends in Concert." She also performed regionally in musicals like OZ, High School Musical 2, Grease, Guys and Dolls, Urban Cowboy, and Oklahoma.  Her judging, coaching, and choreography experience ranges from national dance competitions to state champion high school dance teams. She is an accomplished judicator, coach, choreographer and dance teacher, who has been teaching for 15 years in all styles including jazz, leaps and turns, musical theater, poms, ballet, and tap.

Welcome Rita--a recent addition to our faculty, and CSD's Acro Arts Certified Instructor.  Rita will be our new Children's Coordinator and teaching numerous classes as a FT Dance Instructor. Rita Cavicchia has studied dance for 19 years. She grew up in a studio environment in Westerville, OH. She earned her BFA in Dance at Wright State University where she had the opportunity to work with many renowned artists such as Ray Mercer, Lloyd Culbreath of the Vernon Fosse Estate and Dwight Rhoden of Complexions Contemporary Ballet. After graduation Rita spent 4 years teaching and choreographing for a studio in Marysville Ohio. In those four years she received several awards for choreography and creativity from various regional and national dance competitions. During that time she also performed with New Vision Dance Company of Columbus, OH. Rita is currently pursuing her Masters Degree in Dance and Movement Therapy through Antioch University. She is excited to continue on her dance journey at Colorado School of Dance.

Nat teaches our advanced tap and musical theatre program. Nat is a dancer, choreographer, and theatre artist with a bachelor’s degree in Musical Theatre and a minor in Dance from the University of Northern Colorado. Nat also earned a certificate from the Moscow Art Theatre School.

Recently, Nat has worked with theatres such as the Aurora Fox Theatre, Town Hall Arts Center, Dairy Arts Center, Candlelight Dinner Playhouse, North Coast Theatre Festival, the Denver Gay Men’s and Women’s Choruses, and more.

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Nat has trained in many styles of dance, but has always had a special love for tap dance!

Ballet Instructor, Nutcracker Choreographer-

Linden moved from Southern California to Colorado in 2021, after selling her
dance and Pilates studio of 20 years. She has 40 years of teaching ballet and is an
ABT certified teacher and a CPYB curriculum teacher. Linden danced professionally in many classical roles and has production experience in setting choreography and staging full length ballet productions. Linden has a B.A. and a Master’s Degree in Dance, from University California, Irvine. She also is a certified Pilates teacher and teaches from her home studio. Linden is delighted to join the CSD family.

Summer Guest Teacher-

Alan Salazar originally from Mexico City grew up in Orem, UT. Alan started dancing at the age of 14 at Center Stage Performing Arts Studio. There he trained extensively in the disciplines of Ballroom, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Ballet, Partnering and Hip-Hop and was part of national and international award winning competitive dance teams which he eventually coached and directed as well. Alan has been teaching for 20 years. Alan's great attention to detail, gives his students more to think about than just steps. His creative processes and improvisation exercises inspire dancers to push outside their limits and encourage them to develop their own voice.  Alan currently resides in Los Angeles where he continues to train and teaches at Edge Performing Arts Center.

Summer Guest Teacher-

Mallauri Esquibel-Hansen, a native of Colorado, moved to Los Angeles at 17, Mallauri quickly began making a name for herself. Film/TV credits include: LALA land, Valley Girls, Behind the Candelabra, The Greatest Showman, FAME, Princess and the Frog, High School Musical 3, Frozen, Amazon, Google, Dancing with the stars, Gilmore Girls, Good morning America, The Academy Awards, Blunt Talk, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Bunheads, House, Bones, Vegas,The Mindy Project, CSI, the Grammys, 2008 BeijingOlympics, Billboard Music Awards, Much Music Awards, and VH1 Divas Live. Broadway and stage credits include: Travis Walls “shaping sound." 

Currently she travels with NRG dance project, as well to studios all over the world to teach and choreograph. She has a true passion for teaching the next generation of dancers.

Summer Guest Teacher-

Jacki Ford grew up at The Dance Club in Utah. After graduating, Jacki attended the University of Utah on the William F. Christensen scholarship and graduated with an emphasis is performance and teaching. She has worked with such companies as Ballet West, Utah Ballet and as a principal dancer for Rocky Mountain Ballet. Jacki has appeared onstage in “Funny Girl”, “The Radio City Christmas Spectacular” as a Rockette, “Mack and Mabel” with Jerry Herman and “Sinatra, His Voice, His World, His Way” with John Pizzarelli. Jacki has taught as a guest teacher in Tokyo at the Broadway Dance Center, Steps on Broadway in New York City, and as faculty at PACE University in the commercial dance program. Jacki opened her own studio, District Dance NYC for New York’s youth. Her versatility as a teacher in Choreography has kept her in high demand across the country and we are grateful to have her here at CSD.

Summer Guest Teacher-

Becca Tuska is a Colorado native and received her formal training at Colorado School of Dance. She attended Pepperdine University where she earned her degree in Sports Medicine and Visual Art. During her time at Pepperdine, Becca directed and choreographed for the University’s resident dance company Dance In Flight.

Since moving to Maryland, Becca has danced with District Tap and now dances professionally and serves on the board of directors for Tap51. She has over five years of teaching experience and has received many regional and National awards for her choreography.

Summer Guest Teacher-

Lyssy Salvador is currently a Senior at Chapman University, in California, where she is pursuing her BFA in Dance, and a minor in Culture Industries Studies.  She is trained in contemporary, jazz, ballet, hiphop, tap and ballroom.  She is a former NRG prodigy dancer as well as the founding member of Hollywood Connection's Teen Company.  She is currently working as an intern with World of Dance.  She has a strong passion for teaching and choreography, and loves spending time with the students of Colorado School of Dance on her request visits to Colorado!