Studio Owner

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Lisa Tuska and her family have made it their mission to help build a thriving performing arts community in Parker since 1997. A decade later she brought the very first Nutcracker Ballet to the PACE Stage, where it continues annually. Tuska is a former collegiate dancer & competitive twirler from the midwest. She has taught dance & managed two thriving dance studios for more than 25+. She has a Degree in Journalism/Public Relations, with her Dance Certification from Ohio University. Her real love is teaching & mentoring. Her students have went on to dance professionally for the NFL/NBA, Broadway, LA and Russia. She is best known as "Ms. Lisa," and often is seen subbing these days, while managing behind the scenes. She believes every dancer deserves to feel seen and supported.

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Studio Director / Razzle Team Director

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Amy Colwell is an accomplished choreographer and coach of the Razzle Dazzle Teams. She has been teaching our younger students ballet, tap musical theatre and jazz for the past 25+ years. She has a Business Management and Psychology degree from Baker University. 

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As a Full-Time Assistant Studio Director, you will find Amy working to lead the staff trainings, help parents, staff and students with scheduling, managing our SOPs, building the calendar and managing productions and venue contracts. She is also the Costume Manager for all team costuming, which includes more than 500 speciality costumes per year.​

 

Amy has 4 children (2 of which grew up dancing at the studio).  She lives in Parker with her husband Greg and their 2 dogs.

General Manager

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Courtney Stremel is a graduate of Oklahoma City University.  She has her Bachelor of Science degree in Dance Management, and she has been a key leader in the business development here at CSD.

 

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 thrilled to also share her passion for dance with her students as a dance teacher. 

Children's Director

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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, Sandy in 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 has been teaching for 15 years in all styles including jazz, leaps and turns, musical theater, poms, ballet, and tap, and this year she is teaching our Wednesday morning Children's Program, and our Christian Lyrical Dance Program for Homeschoolers.

Ballet Director

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Bio coming soon.

Team Director

 

Bio Coming Soon.

Instructor/Assistant Team Director

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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.  

Instructor/Assistant Ballet Director

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Oleg is celebrating his 20th anniversary with CSD. He has been with the company since 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. 

Instructor/Choreographer

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Angela Matson is a former professional 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 Matson began with the company in 2017.  She was quickly promoted to the Team Director in 2019, and led the competitive team program at CSD for more than seven years, taking the team to Palm Springs National Championships in 2024 and in 2026.

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She is an award-winning choreographer, and the lead contemporary teacher at CSD.

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

Instructor/Choreography

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Mark Otloski, a native of Flint, Michigan, and is a former principal dancer of 22 years withthe 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. 

Instructor/Choreographer

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Kara Hess began dancing in Minnesota at the age of three. Kara graduated from Loyola Marymount University in California, with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Business. After graduation, she moved to Los Angeles and signed with McDonald Selznick and Associates, where she worked and trained and landed appearances in productions for Netflix, Disney, Nickelodeon, Fox, ABC, and HBO.

In addition to her work in the entertainment industry, Kara served as the head coach and advisor for the award-winning Saugus Dance Team in California, leading them to 12 national titles in just three years. She has also taught at several studios in California. Kara strives to be a positive influence on everyone she meets. She looks forward to getting to know the studio community and sharing this exciting journey together. She and her husband are also expecting her first baby later this year!

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Instructor/Choreographer

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Gianna Lucarelli is a Colorado Native and received her formal training at Colorado School of Dance. She is a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder with a degree in Dance and Psychology as well as a minor in Spanish. Gianna has trained and taught in several different styles including ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, musical theater, hip-hop (specifically house and Afro-fusion), lyrical, pom, and more. In college, she competed nationally with the Colorado Club Dance Team in jazz and Hip-hop for 3 years while holding an officer position. Additionally, she is a two-time bronze medal champion at the Dance Worlds in the Open Hip-hop division. This is Gianna’s 6th year teaching. Gianna values building lasting relationships and sharing her passion for dance with each of her students. 

Instructor/Choreographer

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Jeremy hails from Florida and began his training under Jerome DeVito in Daytona Beach. After high school, Jeremy first started dancing professionally for Peter Grey Terhune Entertainment. He was casted on cruise ships for 2 years got to train with Cirque de Solei, and danced across 60 countries and 6 continents.

 

Jeremy then moved to NYC and studied with Finis Jhung from ABT and David Howard of NYCB daily whilst pursuing work in theater/dancing. He danced with the band “PHISH” at Madison Square Garden and also was involved in productions of Guys and Dolls, Hairspray, Seussical the Musical, Secret Garden, Meet Me in St. Louis, Jersey Boys, and Kiss Me Kate across multiple states theater houses.

 

Jeremy has also worked over a decade in the dance competition industry as Judge, Director, Assistant Director, and EMCEE. He’s eager to teach and mentor the future of great dancers.

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Instructor/Premier Choreographer

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Linden moved from Southern California to Colorado in 2021, after selling her
Dance and Pilates studio of 20 years. She has a B.A. and a Master’s Degree in Dance, from University California, Irvine. She also is a certified Pilates teacher.

 

She has 40 years of teaching ballet and is an ABT certified teacher and a CPYB curriculum teacher.

 

She has danced professionally in many classical roles and has production experience in setting choreography and staging full length ballet productions. 

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Linden is also part of what makes the productions and our website sparkle, as she ioften helps Tuska behind the scenes, and even leaves her tiny reminders of what makes owning a dance studio so special!

Instructor/Encore Choreographer

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Adrianna, "Ms. Adri", is an accomplished performer and started competing at age 5. She is trained in hip-hop, ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, acrobatics, and poms.  In high school, Adrianna's Varsity Poms team were state champions in hip hop. She also spent four years on the audition-only "Eaglecrest Dance Company" which is still known for its award-winning hip hop team.

 

Fun Fact: Adrianna once faced off against the renowned Abby Lee Dance Company, and her solo was featured in an episode of "Dance Moms"!

 

Adrianna has preformed for the Royal Caribbean Cruiseline, Disney Land parade, and the Disney Land Mainstage performances as well as studying dance at Metropolitan State University. She has been a dance instructor for children of all ages since 2020. She absolutely adores children and has a passion for inspiring dancers of all ages. She is a Colorado native and lives in Parker with her husband and two children.

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Instructor/Blue Angels Choreographers

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Hannah Deges grew up dancing from the age of 5 in small town Nebraska, and is a graduate of Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska with a degree in Arts Management.

 

While attending Midland University she competed on the Warrior Wildfire collegiate competition team winning GPAC, Regional Championships, NAIA and NDA National Championships.

 

She was also largely involved in Vocal and Musical Theatre at Midland University, playing the roles of Holly in The Wedding Singer, Bianca in Kiss Me Kate, and Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray. After graduating college, Hannah moved to San Jose, California and worked as a Studio Manager for several years at a large studio in the area. After relocating to Colorado she joined our family here at CSD as an Administrative Assistant. She and her husband Zech live in Denver with their son and two puppies.

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When Hannah is not teaching dance, she is Tuska's part-time administrative assistant. Her invaluable contributions are what makes CSD so organized and working with proven systems so our dancers can shine!

Tap Instructor/Choreographer

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Originally from Lafayette, Indiana, Mel began dancing competitively at age 5 and trained extensively in ballet, jazz, tap, and contemporary. She began attending SLIDE in New York City to receive pre-professional training from artists Mike Minery, Anthony Morigerato, Ayodele Casel, Jason Janas, and more. In 2016 Mel began dancing with Indianapolis’s Circle City Tap Company and received multiple scholarships to tap festivals like Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s Rhythm World, Detroit’s Motor City Tap Fest, and Dancerpalooza’s American Tap Festival, all while training under artists Nico Rubio and Anthony Morigerato. In 2017 Mel joined The American Tap Company to train professionally in Boston and compete in the IDO World Tap Championships in Riesa, Germany. In 2018, Mel began teaching tap dance classes and choreographing competitive routines for all ages and levels. Mel is a graduate of Purdue University with a degree in Business Administration.

Acro Instructor

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Shannon Fornes grew up doing gymnastics in San Diego, California before falling in love with modern and contemporary dance in middle school. They competed and attended conventions throughout Southern California before graduating high school in 2020.

 

Shannon then attended Mount Holyoke College where they continued their technical training, performed in faculty and student pieces, choreographed and staged several works, and developed a student-led choreography workshop for high school-aged dancers. 

Instructor

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Lilly has been dancing for Colorado School of Dance since she was three years old. She is currently in Senior Company for ballet and a senior in high school at Douglas County High School. In her junior year, she had the privilege to teach Kindy Ballet and Tap and has been a TA for various teachers at CSD over the years. She plans to continue her dance career in college as well as pursue her dream of becoming a ballet teacher. She is very excited to be a part of the CSD staff team for this upcoming season.

Dietician & Facilities Director

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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, and she runs the "Nutrition Nook" at Colorado School of Dance.

 

Karen is honored to be in the continual role of “Mother Ginger” in our annual Nutcracker of Parker. Her son Dalton, one of Ms. Lisa's first students at Parker Rec Center, 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. 

 

Karen's love has always been a constant of the arts and she is a pillar of this community.

Shop & Office Manager

 

Jena 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. 

Front Desk Associate

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Jen is Mom to three incredible dancers, and studio mom to hundreds.

 

She has been working at the front desk helping our families for three years now, and always offers a smile and helping hand to everyone she meets.

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She leads in special projects, and ensures every dancer's birthday is celebrated!

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Thank you Jen!

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Social Media Coordinator

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Selena has a Bachelor's Degree in Graphic Design, and when she saw the job opening for a Part Time Social Media Coordinator, she knew this was the place for her!

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She is also Mom to a Gingersnap & Blue Angel Poms Dancer here at Colorado School of Dance!

Front Desk Associate

 

Brett is not only Mom to two amazing dancers, but she is someone you will always see around the studio with a smile and a helping hand.

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Plus, she dances in the Nutcracker Party Scene each year!

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Thank you Brett!

Nutcracker Costume Manager

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Courtney Townley has been the Nutcracker of Parker Costume Manager for a multitude of years. She brings both support to the students and expertise as a seamstress to the production. 

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Courtney and her team love to work with our students to ensure they feel their best while on stage, while also continuing to bring the high production element to our shows each year.

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New this season -- Courtney will be the "Gingersnap Coach" setting choreography on some of the youngest performers in the show!

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Thank you Courtney!

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Guest Teacher

 

Trey Barber is a prominent hip-hop instructor and choreographer who works with NBA dance teams, music artists, and dance studios across the country. 

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We are excited to have him back in Colorado this August to work with our dancers, and host a master class (open to the public).

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Thank you Trey!

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.

Guest Teacher

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Lyssy Salvador earned her BFA in dance from Chapman University, in California.

 

She is a current industry dancer in LA, focusing on contemporary fusion and hip-hop.  She has 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!

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