CCD Staff

With great enthusiasm Janelle Ayón joins The Colorado Conservatory of Dance as Director of Community Education! A Colorado native, Janelle’s passion for dance was fostered by her family from a very young age. She trained in multiple dance disciplines including classical ballet, tap, jazz, classical Spanish dance and Mexican Ballet Folklórico. Her strict formation by master instructors from Colorado and Mexico, prepared her for a lifelong career in dance and the arts.

In 1993 Janelle travelled to Mexico City to audition with the world renowned Ballet Folklórico de Mexico de Amalia Hernández. For more than 15 years, Janelle performed three times a week in Mexico City s Palacio de Bellas Artes and toured internationally. She is the only American ́artist in the 70 year history of the institution to dance as a principal and soloist, and also work as an artistic coordinator, public relations representative and tour manager. In 1999 with The Aspen Santa Fe Ballet and the Gates Foundation, Janelle piloted a free after school program in Mexican Folk Dance for K-12 students in Aspen, Basalt and Carbondale, Colorado. Today the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Folklórico serves 500 plus students in The Roaring Fork Valley of Colorado and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Since 2009, Janelle has created works and programming for The Denver Art Museum, The Colorado Symphony Orchestra, The Denver Botanic Gardens, The Longmont Museum and Cultural Center, Denver International Airport, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance and The Kennedy Center’s VSA Arts, Very Special Artist program. As a master instructor of the Amalia Hernández style and approach to enhancing traditional folk dance with classical and contemporary techniques, Janelle has been a guest artist with multiple universities and dance academies in the U.S. and Mexico. In collaboration with numerous community driven organizations, foundations and schools, she has implemented programs in dance and history to promote diversity, cultural appreciation and sensitivity across demographics. Janelle’s commitment to equity in providing opportunities in the arts, aligns with the elevated standard of Community Education programs at Colorado Conservatory of Dance.

David Barbour, Summer Coordinator, has been an avid mover since birth and started exploring classical dance at the age of six. His early instruction began in Colorado at the local parks and recreation program Aurora Dance Arts. As his interest grew, David became enamored with modern styles at Denver Contemporary Dance. At the age of fifteen he was accepted to the prestigious fine arts high school Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. After two years of intense study Mr. Barbour graduated with a Fine Arts Award from the director of the dance program. He then went on to train at the Joffrey /New School BFA program under the tutelage of master teachers Rebecca Wright, Trinette Singleton, Eleanor D’Antuono, and David Howard. David has danced professionally with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Ballet Nouveau Colorado (now Wonderbound), and Onium Ballet Project. With Aspen, he had the pleasure of originating roles in ballets by such luminary choreographers as Nicolo Fonte, David Parsons, Moses Pendleton, and Jacapo Godani. David also danced in works by Septime Weber, Dominique Dumais, Trey McIntyre, Paul Taylor, and Twyla Tharp. During Mr. Barbour’s tenure with Ballet Nouveau Colorado, he danced in creations by Garrett Ammon, Mark Godden, Ma Cong, and Alex Ketley. Additionally, David was part of the ensemble that helped Ballet Nouveau Colorado earn Dance Magazine’s esteemed “25 to Watch”. He also had the honor of playing the Preacher in Minou Lallemand’s Appalachian Spring for Onium Ballet Project.

Mr. Barbour has taught and choreographed throughout the US, and his choreography on various schools and companies has been joyously received nationwide. David is currently proud to be teaching at Colorado Conservatory of Dance and remotely with Queen Emma Ballet in Hawaii. Prior to his return to Colorado he was also teaching at Honolulu Classical Ballet and Punahou School. Before moving to Hawaii he was the Associate Artistic Director of Colorado Conservatory of Dance. David has found great joy in teaching dancers how to express themselves through movement, and learning how to be better dancers and people.

Jameson Courville’s little sister taught him to plié when he was 15, and that brief lesson began and ended his ballet career. Luckily, an avid supporter of the visual arts, he’s dedicated his career to empowering others with skills and tools to tell their stories.

Moving to Denver to continue his career as an AmeriCorps volunteer in metro Denver for the public access television station, Jameson helped build capacity to support the expansion of its media tools and community education programs. Later promoted to the Station Director and Production Manager of the nonprofit local radio and cable television station, he has also written curriculums for the San Francisco-based online education platform MasterClass, and produced hundreds of segments for the syndicated daytime talk show, Daily Blast Live. A

Chris Harris, Project Manager, has been choreographing and dancing in Denver for over three decades. She is a choreographer, artistic director, visual artist, dancer, and teacher with interests in math, science, data visualization, and has a fascination with how we understand arts, dance and the psychology of performance. Chris holds a BFA in Dance and Choreography from the University of Colorado, Boulder and an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College. She has taught at many studios; choreographed for local theaters and dance companies; been a guest lecturer at The Arts Institute of Colorado and CSU; been adjunct faculty at and choreographed for the University of Denver and the University of Colorado. Previously she was artist in residence for the Denver School of the Arts for 17 years, Co-director of the Boulder Jazz Dance Workshop, and Artistic Director/Choreographer for Louder Than Words Dancetheater & the Colorado Youth Dance Theater in Denver.

Kerry Healy, Administrator and Social Media, began her training at CCD when she was 4 years old. Following her graduation from CCD in 2015, Kerry attended Dominican University of California in the Bay Area, where she was a part of the Alonzo King LINES Ballet BFA Program under Alonzo King and Marina Hotchkiss. She earned a BFA in Dance, graduating Magna Cum Laude with Honors in May 2019. While in San Francisco, Kerry worked with artists such as Gregory Dawson, Maurya Kerr, Christian Burns, Alice Klock, Alex Ketley, and Sidra Bell. Kerry’s choreography was performed at the LINES BFA Senior Project Performance and at CCD’s Summer Moving Project 2019. She attended summer intensives at San Francisco Conservatory of Dance and Henny Jurriëns Dance Center in Amsterdam, where she learned Ohad Naharin, Jirí Kylián, and Hofesh Shechter repertoire.

After teaching over school breaks for the last few years, Kerry is happy to return home to CCD to be a part of the faculty! Photograph: Amanda Tipton

Marnie Ina Rundiks, CCD Conservatory Docent, a Denver Native admits that the arts, theater and especially ballet has moved her soul since childhood. Marnie has been involved with CCD since 2007 as a ballet mom, volunteer and now staff member. Not following a traditional path she has a BA in Classics from CU Boulder, managed a large catering company in Dallas, Texas, worked as both Food Service and Assistant Store Manager for Alfalfa’s / Wild Oats, as well as served as Director of English Robin Inc. an online language school. She is the proud mother of Inara and Bergen Wheeler, who are currently attending Canada’s National Ballet School in Toronto. As an off-the-charts ENFP, Marnie has a high social and emotional IQ, which she dedicates to the CCD dancers, families and community at large. Beyond that, she is the face of the ballet either behind the front desk, on the phone, or at events to assist, guide or help with a smile, empathy, humor and enthusiasm. Marnie believes that ballet can enhance lives and is devoted to the cause, envisioning CCD as an international ballet destination and training school. Photograph: Amanda Tipton

Shizuka Sue Sakai, Costume Supervisor, has had the pleasure of helping Colorado Conservatory of Dance with costumes since 2006. She became the Studio Company’s Costume Supervisor in 2011. Since then, she has taken part in the costuming process for several Studio Company and student productions, including The Nutcracker; Summer Moving Project (2014 – 2017); Madeline Stands Tall and Hall of the Mountain King by Camcie Foster; Tale of a Wounded Apple by Maree ReMalia; It All Starts Somewhere by Sarah Jannsen; Ballet Blanc, Secret Garden, and The Boxcar Children by Julia Wilkinson Manley; and Bartok Dances by Mark Foehringer. She is the proud mother of Angela “Momo” and Nicholas Sakai. Photograph: Misha Photography

Joel Schleicher, Production Manager, describes themselves as a theatre generalist. They graduated from Knox College in 2019 with a BA in theatrical design and technologies, with a focus on sound and lighting designs. While at Knox, they participated in the theatre department in a number of roles, including directing Eugene Ionesco’s THE BALD SOPRANO, and writing an award winning comedic play, THE ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF A JOURNALIST, in addition to over 20 sound design credits and 15 dance lighting credits. After graduating, they became the Technical Director at Circa ‘21 Dinner Theatre in Rock Island, Illinois, and following the pandemic, moved to Denver to work at the Mizel Arts and Culture Center at JCC Denver om the role of general stage tech, running lights, audio, projections, and live streams for various productions and rentals in addition to multiple prop design credits. Joel is ecstatic to be joining the CCD family as our new Production Manager. strategic