Danielle Heller: Artistic Director, Tap
Danielle received her BA from Colorado State University, her Master of Education from Capella University, her Principal’s License from CSU Global Online and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Archetypal Mythology with an emphasis in Jungian Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute.
In 2014 she served as chair for the Colorado Dance Endorsement Committee, whose work allowed the state to pass legislation enabling dance educators to become endorsed to teach in the K-12 public school sector. In 2018 and in 2022 she served as chair and co-chair for the Colorado Dance Standards Revision.
She has taught for Red Rocks Community College and various festivals around the United States. She served as Principal and administration for an online/site based middle and high school arts program called Arts Immersion.
She participated as a core member of Ellie Sciarra’s tap company, Women in Tap: Taps Are Talking, from 1999-2009. During the last two years, she served as Dance Captain for the company. From 2013 to 2015 she served as founder and artistic director of The Rhythm Tree Tap Company. In 2017 and 2018 she facilitated and hosted the Rocky Mountain Percussive Dance Festival.
As owner and artistic director of Peak Academy of Dance since 1999, she teaches in the Tap Program, oversees the Exploratory Program, teaches the teacher training and assistant program and supports the staff.
In her spare time, she loves to spend time with her family, gardening, skiing, traveling, and coming up with new and innovative ideas.
Nicole O'Farrell: Talent Group, Jazz, Contemporary Ballet, Exploratory
Nicole O’Farrell has been dancing since 1988. She is trained in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, modern, contemporary, pointe, and musical theater. She has had the opportunity to receive training from Kit Andree, Phan Peterson, Thommie Walsh, Bill Hastings, Chet Walker, Jenny Schiff, and Jacob Mora (just to name a few). Ms. O’Farrell has performed in many events such as competitions, parades, festivals, showcases, and most of The Schiff Dance Collective’s evening length works. She was with The Schiff Dance Collective for it’s duration (2005-2019) as a teacher, choreographer, and performer. Ms. O’Farrell has taught all over Colorado since 1998, was a guest teacher at 2 Studios in Oregon for a summer, and attended the Dance Teacher Summit in New York in 2009. Nicole strives to help dancers of all ages reach their goals.
Michele Major: Classical Ballet
Ballet
Miss Michele has experience as a professional dancer, as a teacher for 20 years, and haswritten a complete training syllabus for ballet. After performing professionally, Miss Michele moved to Eugene, Oregon where she founded Ballet North West Academy. There she trained dancers for 15 years, in addition to serving as Artistic Director for non-profit dance advocacy organization, Pacific Classical Ballet. Her education includes teaching certification in the Vaganova syllabus in both upper and lower grades from Vaganova authority John White and graduating cum laude with a BFA in Dance from Southern Methodist University.
Miss Michele’s performing experience includes classical ballets Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Pas deDeux from Flower Festival in Genzano, and Grand pas Classique. She has also performed neoclassical works including George Balanchine’s Serenade, and she has originated lead roles in Robert Scevers’ Septet, and Jaun Valqui’s Dances and Airs of Ireland. Her experience also includes diverse repertory, including modern dance, musical theatre, and contemporary ballet.
She has performed for San Diego Ballet, Ballet du Soliel, Texas Musical Drama, Western Chamber Ballet, Peninsula Ballet Theatre, City Ballet, and Pacific Repertory Ballet and productions of the Southern Methodist University Dance Department. She has also appeared with Pittsburgh Ballet. Her early training includes the School of Ballet West, and the American Academy of Ballet which included an exchange program with the Vaganova Choreographic Institute in Riga, Latvia.
Over the years, Miss Michele’s students have gone on to success as professional performers and many have secured scholarships to pre-professional training programs and university dance programs. Miss Michele encourages each student in individual dance goals and actively encourages every student to achieve his or her best.
Tess Lozensky
Tess Lozensky has been dancing since she was three years old and began taking aerial silks when she was 7. She has attempted many dance forms throughout her numerous years, but she found a particular passion for aerial silks, trapeze, modern, and poms. Tess seeks to shape the same grace and artistry she first learned on the ground as a dancer into the air as an aerialist. She has been a teacher in Peak's aerial program since 2019. Tess looks forward to kindling a passion for aerial and developing confidence and artistry within her students.
Stephanie Wood: Poms
“Stephanie started dancing at the age of 3 and attended Peak Academy of dance up to high school. She was a member of the Conifer High School Poms Team for all 4 years and captain her senior year. She was named an All American Dancer for 4 years and All American Cheerleader for 2 years. After high school Stephanie danced internationally in Mexico and Egypt. She has been apart of several pro sports teams including the Colorado Mammoth, Colorado 14ers and was the founder /coach for the Charlotte Hounds team. Stephanie has coached poms at Ralston Valley HS and taught dance classes in North Carolina. Most recently she coached the Conifer High School poms team for 2 years, proudly leading them to their best season in CHS history.
Stephanie has a degree in Interior Design and is the store manager at Mountain Home in Evergreen. She is a Colorado native and loves to spend her free time outdoors with her husband and dog.“
Kathryn Van Riper: Contemporary Ballet, Adult Ballet
Kathryn Van Riper graduated from CSU with a BA focusing on dance. She fell in love with ballet and has been passionate about it ever since. Kathryn moved to New York City after college and had a private massage practice there for ten years. She brings to her classes an extensive knowledge of how the body works, best practices for injury recovery and prevention and a great love of movement.
Sarah Heller
Maddie Jacobsen
Maddie received a BFA in Dance from Colorado Mesa University in the Spring of 2022 with an emphasis on choreography, pedagogy, and performance.
As a choreographer, she has created two collegiate-level works that were chosen for the faculty concert at Colorado Mesa University. One of these pieces titled “Exhaustion” went on to be performed in the American College Dance Association Northwest formal concert for 2022.
As a performer, Maddie has worked with several guest artists and professors at Colorado Mesa University ranging from artists such as Bailey Anderson who focuses on inclusivity of physical and mental ability as a driving force for choreography all the way to Teena Maria Custer a street dance theater artist. As well as primary dance educators Amanda Benzin, Meredith Lyons, Kathy Diehl, and James Wallace.
As a teacher, Maddie has experience teaching Ballet, Jazz, Tap, modern, and Hip Hop and aspires to spark the joy for movement, history, and technique in all students and in all styles. She has been trained by Danielle Heller in her Teacher Training class as well, as completed the Colorado Mesa University Pedagogy class with Amanda Benzin.
Keyli Kelliher: Lyrical
I began dancing at age 5 and fell in love with expressing myself through movement and performing. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Dance and Integrative Physiology from the University of Colorado, Boulder and a Bachelors of Science in Nursing from the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus. I am trained in Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Modern, Poms, Contemporary, Tap, and Hip Hop. I was a member of the Evergreen Poms Team for 4 years. In those 4 years, I was captain and held 3 state championships, and was a UDA All-star. While in college, I spent 2 years on CU's Express Dance Team, a top 25 team in the nation. I have taught and performed internationally. I was the Artistic Director of Eminence Dance Project, a local professional dance company. I love to blend my eclectic background of dance. When I'm not dancing, I am enjoying time with my 2 daughters and husband.
Wendy Westwood: Adult Tap
Wendy Westwood has danced her way from Colorado to California to New Zealand and back again. She has loved to choreograph and teach dance for as long as she can remember. She grew up in Conifer, doing after-school theater classes and productions in the early days of Stagedoor Theatre and dance training at Barbie Graham-Meier School of Dance and Peak Academy of Dance. In 2004 she earned her degree in Theater and Dance from Chapman University in California.
After meeting her Kiwi husband, she spent 6 years in Wellington, New Zealand where she worked as a freelance performer (Rugby 7's Cheerleader), choreographer (FERN Dance Theater) and dance teacher (New Zealand College of Performing Arts & Wellington Performing Arts Center). She also directed her own tap company (the Tap Arts Project), taught middle school (Tawa Intermediate School) - directing their dance academy and supervising their bi-annual production, and started a family. Wendy earned her Graduate Diploma in Teaching Elementary School in 2008 from Victoria University in Wellington. In 2010, the Westwoods returned to Conifer.
Since their return, Wendy has worked up and down the Aspen Park corridor as instructor and choreographer with Peak Academy of Dance, choreographer for Stagedoor Theatre, teacher at Creative Minds Early Learning Center, teacher at West Jeff Elementary, as well as a performer and choreographer for Rhythm Tree Tap Company.
Although she enjoys all styles of dance, tap has always held a special place in Wendy’s heart. She believes that everyone has the capacity to feel rhythm and use their feet to make music. Wendy loves working with people of all ages and is very excited to continue her involvement with Peak.
Danielle Post
Danielle has a degree in theater from Alfred University where she studied acting, vocal performance, and directing. She has performed leading roles in comedies, dramas, and musicals, including the title role in Sylvia, which was chosen to be featured at the American College Theater Festival. Danielle then studied voice and vocal performance in New York with star Billy Porter, and was in a 4 person musical singing group that was given a developmental deal with Epic Records. She was a featured actress at the Grand Theater in New Jersey, and helped produce shows for children ages 5 and up.
Danielle loves the light and joy that children bring to the theater, and thrives on developing others talents for the stage. She fervently believes that the benefits children gain from performing develops their emotional intelligence and confidence with others.
Dorinda Dercar
Dorinda Dercar has a BA in Music Ed – Vocal, Instrumental, and Theatre – a Masters’ degree in Vocal Performance, and has taught for 40+ years in New York, New Jersey, and Boulder. A member of NATS (Nat’l Association of Teachers of Singing), Dorinda teaches voice in the styles of classical, or “legit”, musical theatre, pop, rock, and mix. She constantly exposes her students to new skills, trends, and techniques, and loves to collaborate with other voice professionals.
Dorinda also works as a film and stage actor with a lifetime of professional performance experience in opera, live theatre, and musical theatre (Off-B’way in NYC, and in Denver), choir singing, cabaret shows, film, and TV, voice-over, choreography, and directing. She is currently tap dancing with the Rhythm Tree Tap Company in Evergreen, CO.
She focuses on bold, clear, beautiful singing through relaxation, vocal agility, breath flow appropriate for different styles of singing, and vocal health. She works with the demands of the professional singer and has helped many students to write songs and produce studio recordings. She is well known for her success in correcting extrinsic vocal tension, and vocal rehabilitation. She excels at fixing pitch issues and teaches song content from the standpoint of acting or finding the meaning through a personal connection to the text and the music.
Dorinda has taught many people who have gone on to become professional singers and actors. Some of her former students include Jessica Biel, Ace Young (American Idol) Julia Johanos (Arvada Center, and now theatres in NYC), Katie Bland (original Off B’way Cast of Voca People, Kimberly Hannon (the B’way musicals Tommy, Gypsy, and Les Miserables), Tera Lee Pollin (B’way Cast of Mama Mia), Brian Cronin, Matt Peters (BDT Stage) and many more. She has helped many local students gain roles in musicals, plays, All-State Choir, and All-State Jazz Choir. She has coached many pageant contestants in Interview Skills (Hilary Cruz, Miss Colorado and Miss Teen USA, 2007)
Dorinda Dercar is goal-oriented and makes every effort to attend student performances. She likes to see her students in action, helping them to stay on top of their singing and performance needs.
She loves the delight that her students express when they accomplish what they once thought was out of reach or impossible!
Jennifer Carpenter
Jennifer has been a Certified Pilates Mat Instructor for over 13 years. Throughout this time, she has been teaching private lessons and group classes. Her passion for helping others to feel their best both inside and out has led to her continuous learning about the body. Jennifer attended Bauman College and became a Certified Nutritionist in 2015. She enjoys spending time with her two daughters and backpacking with her husband.
Juliet Johnson, Aerial Arts
Juliet has been in the performing arts for 17 years and aerial arts for the last 9 years in both a teaching and performing capacity. She is a graduate of Arts Immersion High School where she focused specifically on circus arts. Juliet has performed in over 19 full-length productions, including 4 professional shows with Moth Contemporary Circus. Her last show before heading abroad was Alice in Wonderland, performed to a sold-out house at the Ellie Caulkins Theater in Denver. Additionally, she has performed in the London New Years Day Parade, at Walt Disney World, and on the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. Juliet is currently obtaining her Bachelors in Circus Arts at the National Centre for Circus Arts in London England with a focus on Multi-Cord.