Jacob Taylor Dance

Jacob Taylor Dance is dedicated to bringing vital, inventive dance works and instruction to communities across the country. The company engages artists of exceptional talent and distinction - dancers and choreographers whose work inspires, challenges, and delights audiences. Jacob Taylor Dance holds that a dancer's well-being is inseparable from their artistry; it is only when fully nourished that an artist can create and perform at their highest level.   Bringing dancers to locations like Steamboat Springs nourishes creativity, restores the spirit, and elevates the work itself. At the same time, local students are given the extraordinary opportunity to study with these artists firsthand, bridging the professional and the local in a way that enriches both.

Jacob Taylor,  Artistic Director

Reverie Dance

Reverie Dance Company is a professional, contemporary ballet company based in Denver, CO. Founded by Jenna Skipworth, Reverie creates original works that blend classical ballet technique with contemporary storytelling.  The company is committed to building a healthier and more sustainable dance culture by prioritizing artistic collaboration, fair compensation, and meaningful creative experiences for it's dancers.  Known for emotionally honest performances and innovative productions, Reverie explores themes that are deeply human, inviting audiences into worlds that are both imaginative and relatable. Through bold choreography and strong female leadership, Reverie is helping shape a new vision for professional dance in Colorado.

Animus Movement

Avid Dance

Artistic Ventures in Dance (AVID) is a dynamic dance organization committed to pushing the boundaries of movement, storytelling, and artistic excellence. AVID is collection of world class artists who come together from around the nation for projects that cultivate collaboration and establish genuine connection. 

AVID's esteemed dancers connect with local artists to create something authentic to each location, that their community can relate to and participate in. AVID Dance is a company that ventures.

Charlotte Katherine Smith

Charlotte/Charlie Katherine Smith is a Los Angeles, California USA based award-winning choreographer, dance artist, filmmaker, arts educator, Director and Resident Choreographer of Charlotte Katherine and Co. Her works have been presented internationally on stages including Internationales Deutsch-Koreanisches Tanzfestival (Berlin, Germany), Korean International Dance Festival (Seoul, Korea), Seoul International Dance Festival in TANK (Seoul), USA: New York City NY, Seattle WA, Cincinnati OH, Steamboat Springs CO, California: The Ford Amphitheater (Los Angeles), Carmel-By-The-Sea, San Diego, King City and throughout Los Angeles County. 

Her accomplishments include commissions, international collaborations, residencies, and numerous awards, including Luckman Director’s "Pick of the Festival" at LA Dance Festival 2020. Charlotte studied at SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance, Cornish College of the Arts, and Idyllwild Arts Academy.

Golonka Dance Collective

Jennifer Golonka is an award winning dance educator and freelance choreographer. Ms. Golonka was on faculty at Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School and Camp for 13 years, ending her tenure as Director of Dance. Golonka has taught and created works at many dance studios, high schools for the performing arts, and Universities around the country.  Golonka is a Buffalo, NY native and longtime NYC resident. She has danced with the Jessica Lang Project, Hannah Khan Dance Company, Third Law Dance/Theater and Thang Dao Dance Company.  She has performed with Battleworks Dance Company, Take Dance Company, Camille A. Brown and Dancers, Peter Chu’s CHU This, Darrell Grand Moultrie and Nicholas Villeneuve. Jennifer trained at the Martha Graham School for Contemporary Dance and the Limon Institute.

Her choreography and movement direction have been featured in many plays and musicals including original works Sunny Good Enough written by Jonathon Farmer, and Nature of Captivity by Matthew Paul Olmos (Mabou Mines, NYC).  Both have recently been published.  Golonka was Co-Director/Choreographer of The Threshold Project with KC Chun-Manning in Denver Colorado and Co-Director/Choreographer of Nimbus Dance with Beth Elkins-Wales and Brad Wales in Buffalo NY.  Both companies explored the relationship between current events, site-specific work and multi-media collaboration.

Melissa Dahms 

Melissa is a proud Colorado native. She started her training at Belliston Academy of Dance in Littleton, Colorado where she performed the role of the Snow Queen in Belliston’s The Nutcracker. She competed in the Denver Ballet Guild 2015-2017. Melissa also received certificates in grades 1-6 of Cecchetti and grades 1-8 in Royal Academy of Dance. She spent the summer at Kansas City Ballet as well as Milwaukee Ballet. 

After some time as a dance major at Colorado State University, Melissa danced as a trainee with State Street Ballet under the direction of Rodney Gustafson. 

Melissa continued as a trainee with Ballet Des Moines for two years. There, she danced as the Spanish Divertissement in Tom Mattingly’s The Nutcracker, and one of Titania’s Fairies in Peter Anastos’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. During her time in Iowa, Melissa performed as a guest artist for Des Moines Metro Opera’s production of Bluebeard’s Castle. 

Her career continued with Ballet Ariel in Denver, Colorado where she was able to perform in productions such as Cinderella, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, and Gregory Gonzales’s Carmen. 

Melissa is thrilled to have this opportunity to perform in the beautiful Steamboat Springs, Colorado!

Deanna Stanton

Deanna Stanton is a professional dancer and choreographer in her 13th season with Ballet Arkansas. She began dancing in her hometown of Clarksville, Maryland. Deanna graduated with a BFA in Ballet from the University of Cincinnati - College Conservatory of Music. During this time, she was also a Trainee with Ballet West for two seasons. Since joining Ballet Arkansas, she has had the opportunity to perform principal and featured roles in George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Gerald Arpino’s Reflections & Birthday Variations, Val Caniparoli’s Lady of the Camellias, Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo & Juliet, and Chris Stuart’s Under the Lights. She has also performed Mina in Michael Fothergill's Dracula, Fairy Godmother in Michael Fothergill's Cinderella, Big Swans in Swan Lake, Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty as well as the Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Queen, Coffee & Dew Drop in The Nutcracker. She has had the privilege of working with choreographers such as Alia Kache, Yuka Oba-Muschiana, Xin Ying, Madison Hicks, and Kiyon Gaines.In addition to performing, Deanna has a passion for choreographing. She has created works for Texture Contemporary Ballet, Small Plates Choreography Festival, Contemporary Dance Choreography Festival,  Rocky Mountain Choreography Festival, New Century Dance Project, Iowa Choreography Festival, the Rhode Island Women’s Choreography Project, The Young Choreographers Festival and eight works for Ballet Arkansas as well as Ballet Arkansas’ Summer Intensive. She has also created two full length ballets; Cinderella & The Little Mermaid.

Sharon Wehner

Sharon Wehner is a Colorado-based dancer, choreographer, and educator with over three decades of experience in professional dance. She enjoyed a remarkable 22-year tenure as a Principal Dancer with the Colorado Ballet, performing iconic roles in classical and contemporary works, and has appeared as a guest artist at festivals including the Vail International Dance Festival and the Tokyo Aoyama Ballet Festival.

Since retiring from the Colorado Ballet, Sharon has flourished as a freelance artist, embracing new choreographic territory that engages audiences in fresh and meaningful ways. In addition to performing, she is a ballet teacher, certified Sports Nutrition Coach, GYROTONIC®/GYROKINESIS® trainer, Yoga instructor, and Reiki Master, with over 30 years of teaching experience at institutions including Colorado Ballet, Perry-Mansfield, Littleton Ballet, and Classic Dance Academy. She is the founder of RISE: The Empowered Dancer, a holistic mentoring program for teen and pre-professional dancers, and the owner and director of Denver Dance Center.

Photo by David Andrews

Steven Ezra

Steven Ezra, born and raised in Long Island, NY, trained with Seiskaya Ballet, Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts, and the School of American Ballet before embarking on aninternational career with the celebrated dance company MOMIX.   Over fourteen years, he performed throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas in works shaped by the visionary direction of Moses Pendleon. After retiring from the stage, Steven found a new calling in nursing, where he continues to care for others with the same presence, discipline, and humanity that shaped his life as a performer. He is deeply grateful for the opportunity to return to the stage for this special performance.

Mark Goodhart 

Mark Goodhart is retired from IBM’s Watson Health business and has pursued musical interests in the Steamboat area since moving here in 2020. He is a music teacher, with a passion to support kids toward a life-long habit of making music. He also plays regularly at the Holy Name Catholic church.  Mark will be accompanying Jacob Taylor's choreography.

Cameron Smith

A holder of several international awards in solo, chamber music, and composition, cellist-composer Cameron Smith is an active international musician, having presented recitals and performed with ensembles across the USA, the UK, Italy, Mexico, and Spain. He has performed namely with the RoyalScottish National Orchestra, Scottish Ensemble, Benedetti Foundation Ambassador Orchestra, Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, the award-winning Pisces Duo, the Sinfónica Azteca, and most recently had the honor in leading the CSM Galicia Chamber Orchestra. Cameron currently is Steamboat Create’s first Artist-in-Residence at Bliss Hall, holding the Bliss Hall’s Practice Scholarship. He is a graduate of the OAcademy Conservatory's Orchestral Institute where he was mentored by Ilmari Hopkins, and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, studying cello with renowned pedagogue Alison Wells; chamber music with David Watkin, Duncan Ferguson, Jane Atkins, Andrea Gajic, and the Brodsky Quartet; and composition with Stuart MacRae. He holds a BMus summa cum laude from the University of Northern Colorado, where he studied cello with Gal Faganel and chamber music with Russell Guyver, and is an inductee of the Golden Key International Honors Society. He completed one semester of the Soloist Program at the Centro Superiore de Música de Galicia in 2023, studying with Liina Leijala. He recently completed a Certificate in Music Industry Essentials from NYU and Billboard 100, with generous support from the Yellowbrick Scholarship. In fall 2026, he will be beginning the Master of Fine Arts in Film Scoring/Composition and Contemporary Media at the Film Scoring Academy of Europe in Sofia, Bulgaria, as well as beginning his Soloist’s Diploma in cello at the Wiener Musikakademie with Liina Leijala. Upcoming projects include finishing several commissions for the Scotland-based, violinst-piano Euphonia Duo; launching the first Scotland tour as the Pisces Duo with duo partner, pianist and fellow composer Mianoora Kosonen; finishing several projects for viola; doing final edits of his first symphony; working on releasing several un-harmonized and un-performed pieces from the French Baroque and Classical eras with the Pisces Duo; as well as launching, co-directing, and co-managing the Votumna “Hope” Concert Series in Scotland with fellow RCS and OAcademy alumnus, Olivia Tomasovic, due to start in October 2026. His first and current solo recital series, the “Where’s My Piano? Tour”, has recently became award-winning, winning First Prize and Gold Medal in Composition for his Invocation (Invention No. 4), W.6 and Offertorio (Invention No. 5), W.16 from the Bach International Music Competition in Gdansk, Poland, Gold Medal and First Prize in the Beethoven Awards in Gdansk, Poland, and is currently a finalist in the Fenix Awards. In addition to performing and composing, Cameron is passionate about music education and its accessibility, being named one of the first Lead Ambassadors for Nicola Benedetti's Benedetti Foundation, performing with the Grammy-winning violinist in the Foundation's Sessions launch concert in Glasgow and Dundee, 2020. Cameron has appeared on BBC Radio 3, Scotland's STV and ITV, in the Scottish Herald, the Glasgow Times, the Strad Magazine, RCS News, on TV Azteca, and at the TED-Talk pre-COP 26 Summit.

Holly Fielding

Holly Fielding is a violinist and arts entrepreneur based in Steamboat Springs, CO. As the founder of Steamboat Academy of Music&Dance, she is dedicated to fostering excellence, creativity and confidence in students of all ages through high quality music and dance education. Her passion for the performing arts and commitment to arts education have made her a valuable addition to the Steamboat Springs cultural community.