Artistic Directors -
Company Dancers -
Guest Artists -
Character Artists
Artistic Directors
Ana Claire is the Director of the Boulder Ballet School, which has more than tripled in size under her direction. Although born in Boulder, Ana grew up on a ranch near Fairplay, Colorado. At the age of 8 she saw American Ballet Theater perform Swan Lake and fell in love with the art of ballet. In an extraordinary gift of support, Ana's mother then drove her to ballet classes in Denver throughout her childhood. Ana has studied ballet with Maxine Williamson, Fernando Schaffenberg, Milenko Banovich, 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, among others. Ana was a principal ballerina with Boulder Ballet for many years, and was twice voted "Boulder's Best" by the Daily Camera. She has produced, directed, and choreographed twenty 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 is also the Director of Boulder Ballet's acclaimed outreach program Steps in Time which has been performed at numerous schools throughout the Boulder/Denver area. 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. She is a passionate teacher, dedicated to helping students achieve technical excellence while nurturing their individual artistry, and many of her students have gone on to professional careers in dance. Ana lives in Boulder with her husband Peter Davison, and children Alexander and Claire.
Peter Davison brings 35-years of diverse performing experience to the Boulder Ballet. His childhood idols were Alexander Calder and Batman, influences that led to training in visual art, juggling, and dance. While a teenager, Peter began his professional career street performing in Los Angeles, and as a variety artist for Hollywood films. He moved to Boulder in 1980. Peter studied ballet with Larry Boyette, Ana Claire, Barbara Demaree, Finis Jhung and Donald Mahler; modern dance with Danelle Helander, and tap with Susan Hadley and Lynn Dally, among others. In 1982 Peter became a founding member of the trio Airjazz with whom he appeared at venues such as the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, New Zealand International Festival of the Arts, BAM, and the Hong Kong Arts Festival. Peter has also been a member of David Taylor Dance Theater, Jan Justis Dance Company, Kim Robards Dance, 3rd Law Dance/Theater, and has performed principal roles with Boulder Ballet since 1987. He has performed solo shows at the Carmel/California Performing Arts Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse, and Utah State Arts Tour, and has appeared as a featured soloist on the CBS, BBC and Fox television networks. Peter has received numerous awards and grants including the Arts Innovation Award from the Colorado Federation of the Arts, and the Performance Fellowship from the Colorado Council on the Arts. Peter has choreographed works for several Colorado-based companies, and he is a recipient of the 2009 Ballet Builders Award for Choreography, from New Choreographers on Pointe in New York City.
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Company Dancers
Kayla Berg began her professional training with German Zamuel and Mark Carlson at the International Ballet School in Colorado Springs. She has attended summer programs with Pacific Northwest Ballet and Pittsburg Ballet Theatre, and placed in the Denver Ballet Guild regional competitions. Kayla graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2009 with a BA in Germanic Studies, and International Affairs, with a specific emphasis on Arctic Politics, and honorary certificates in Business Management and Peace and
Conflict Studies. Kayla has appeared in the Boulder Ballet productions of The
Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty. This is Kayla’s second season as a Boulder
Ballet company member.
Photo by Nick Altiere
Rachel Haber was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. She trained at the Academy of Colorado Ballet on scholarship under the direction of Inessa Plekhanova. While studying at the academy Rachel competed in Youth America Grand Prix regionals where she ultimately gained a spot at the finals in New York City. In June of 2003, she graduated from the academy with honors and joined Colorado Ballet as an apprentice, performing in numerous ballets for the company, including Dracula, The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Peter Pan, and Rubies. The following year Rachel was invited to the Cerri Ballet Academy in Tokyo, Japan as a guest artist, performing principal and soloist roles in Raymonda, Paquita, and The Nutcracker. Rachel has also danced professionally with Ballet Austin, Burklyn Ballet Theatre, and Denver Ballet. This is Rachel's fifth season with Boulder Ballet.
Matthew Helms began his training in Colorado on full scholarship at the Academy of Classical Ballet, where he danced principal roles in The Nutcracker, Giselle and Le Corsaire. He then studied on full scholarship with Mark and Sandra Carlson, and German Zamuel at the International Ballet School where he performed soloist roles in The Nutcracker and Peter Pan. Matthew competed in the 2008 Youth America Grand Prix and the 2008 Denver Ballet Guild
Competition where he received a full scholarship to The Ballet West Academy in Salt Lake City, Utah. Matthew has been a guest artist with ballet companies in Utah, California and Idaho, and for the last three years has performed leading roles in ballets such as The Nutcracker, Paquita, The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, and Le Corsaire. He choreographed a contemporary ballet that was
premiered in the Ballet West Academy Spring show in 2009. Matthew was
promoted to the Ballet West Pre-Professional Trainee Program in 2010 and has trained with artists from American Ballet Theatre, Ballet West, Joffrey Ballet,
Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, Kirov Ballet and David Taylor Dance Theater. Matthew has studied martial arts since age three, has been acting since age four, and has appeared in movies, commercials and TV shows as an actor or a fight choreographer. This is Matthew’s second season with Boulder Ballet.
Melissa Heslep received her training at the School of Orlando City Ballet for thirteen years under the direction of Beatrix Aldana, and spent her summers training with teachers including Luba Gulyaeva, Mark Spivak, Valeria Sinyavakaya and Veronica Aldana. She
performed with the student company until 2001, and upon
graduation was accepted into the 2002 Youth America Grand Prix finals in NYC. In Orlando, she has performed with Russian Ballet under the direction of Vadim Fedotov and has spent the last five seasons with Central Florida Ballet under the direction of Vasile Petrutiu. She has also had the opportunity to travel as a guest artist for many venues in the United States. Her repertoire includes classics such as The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle and The Nutcracker, as well as contemporary works. This is Melissa’s second season with Boulder Ballet.
Alexandra Markovetz is a native of Colorado and received her training at Encore Dance Studio under the instruction of Corinne Kuhl-Reed and Christina Noel-Adcock. In addition, she has
participated in summer intensives at Ballet Austin, American Ballet Theatre, and The Rock School for Dance Education. She was a finalist at the Denver Ballet Guild Scholarship Competition (2004, 2006). She has performed in the City of Aurora’s Nutcracker Ballet in various roles including Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy. Along with her ballet training, Alexandra has danced with Justin Giles’ SoulEscape intensive, and has won scholarships at regional dance conventions. Alexandra teaches dance at Boulder Ballet School, Encore Dance Studio in Aurora, and the Metropolitan Academy of Dance. This is Alexandra’s second season with Boulder Ballet.
Ryan Seate was born and raised in Colorado. He enjoyed
playing sports such as baseball and football through high school, and received a certificate in Graphic Arts & Animation. Ryan began dancing in college and received his ballet training from International Youth Ballet in Littleton, CO under the tutelage of artistic directors Mark and Sandra Carlson, German Zamuel, Vyacheslav ‘Slava’ Mesropov and H. Christopher Fairbank. He then began
dancing professionally with Ballet Ariel. Ryan has danced many
ballets such as Giselle and Peter and the Wolf, and performed leading roles in Le Corsaire, Les Sylphides, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Nutcracker, Peter Pan, Napoli, La Vivandiere and Les Patineurs in addition to modern and contemporary works. This is Ryan’s second season with Boulder Ballet.
Daphne Takahashi is a senior at Boulder High School and has been dancing since she was eight years old. She has attended summer programs with Kansas City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet. Daphne has performed in a number of Boulder Ballet productions including Child Clara in
The Nutcracker, Tiger Lilly in
Peter Pan, Estrellita in
Pepito’s Story, Dorothy in
The Wizard of Oz, and in the contemporary concert
Stepping Out 2011. Last year, she was awarded 3rd place in the Richard Denny Young Dancer Scholarship from the Colorado Dance Alliance. This is her tenth year with Boulder Ballet School and her first season as a member of the Boulder Ballet company.
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, and on outreach to venues such as the Children’s Museum, Cherry Creek Arts Festival, and local
elementary schools. 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. In addition to teaching at the Arvada Center, Kathryn is an instructor for Boulder Ballet School. As a company member with Boulder Ballet, Kathryn’s favorite roles include the ‘Enchantress’ in Beauty and the Beast, ‘Carabosse’ in The Sleeping Beauty, and the role affectionately referred to as ‘Doom’ in On the Move. A graduate of Regis University with an elementary education license, Kathryn is a third grade teacher at Eisenhower Elementary in Boulder. This is Kathryn’s sixth season with Boulder Ballet.
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Principal Character Artists
Kit Kyle is from Winnetka, Illinois. He played many sports as a youth, including hockey and speed skating, were he won a national championship. He was a US National Cycling Team member for 5 years, living and training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He participated in several world championships, winning 2 silver medals. He began studying ballet with Boulder Ballet in 2004. Kit has appeared in Boulder Ballet productions of The Nutcracker, L' Histoire du Soldat, Premieres, and An American in Paris, as well as Storybook Ballet's Wizard of Oz. He has also danced for Blue Moon Dance Company, appearing in several productions including Torque and Moving On.
Peter Davison has performed as a principal and character dancer with Boulder Ballet since 1987. His classical roles have included Franz in Coppelia, Albrecht in Giselle, Don Jose in Carmen, Prince Igor in Firebird, Romeo and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, Catalabutte in Sleeping Beauty, and Drosselmeyer in Nutcracker. As a multi-disciplinary performer Peter has had the opportunity to study and perform with a wide variety of artists over the years including mimes, magicians, jugglers, actors, and physical comedians of all kinds. His one-man show Up in the Air played to seven sold-out houses at the Dairy Center for the Arts in 2011. Peter teaches Boyz Dance, ballet and physical theater at the Boulder Ballet School.
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