About Us
Ms.
Deborah Yarington, Executive Director of The Dance
Center, received her BFA in Modern Dance from Texas Christian University. Classes
include ballet technique with James Clouser and Stephanie Woods, Graham
technique with David Hochoy, Limon Technique with Susan D. Roberts, choreography,
repertory, music theory, dance history, and teaching methods. Highlights
include performing with the New Century Dance Scene, faculty, graduate,
student works, and in the classic Graham work “Seraphic
Dialogue”. She received a scholarship to attend the American Dance Festival
where she was chosen to study choreography with Lucas Hoving and technique
with Doug Varone. She has taught and choreographed throughout the Northwest
including being an Artist in Residence with Ballet Idaho, where she taught four
levels of modern technique, classes for children with special needs, and
the dance curriculum in the Boise public schools. In 2004, Deborah founded
The Dance Center in Bozeman, Montana. With The Dance Center, she has established
“a fresh approach to dance” fusing imagination and classical
technique. She has taught a dance residency each fall at Hawthorne Elementary
since 2004. She co-created Nutcracker in a
Nutshell beginning in 2005 creating
a community dance performance each holiday season. With over fifteen
years of diverse, professional teaching experience, her students consistently
remark “she is really cool and lots of fun!”
Ms.
Anna Hall, Artistic Director of
The Dance Center, graduated in 1997 from
Wright State University with a BFA in Dance. In Dayton, Ohio, she performed
with Bess Imber’s Chamber Dance Ensemble and the Gem City Ballet. Her professional
experience also includes training and choreographing for Ballet
Jeunesse, Stivers School of
the Arts, Pontecorvo Dance Studio, University of Dayton and WSU. In 2000,
Anna received the Monticello Award and was named Regional Dance America’s
Connection Choreographer. In 2005, Anna co-created Nutcracker
in a Nutshell for The Dance Center. Anna’s energy has been an inspiration to a generation
of dancers, and she has played a pivotal role in the growth of The Dance
Center for the past three years.
Ms. Katie O’Neill, Jazz/Tap, Lyrical, Hip Hop, returns to Bozeman from Reno, Nevada where she taught at the reputable Dance Workshop Performing Arts Center. Her dance education includes the University of Montana in Missoula in Performing Arts and the Lou Conte School of Dance, home of Hubbard Street Dance Company, in Chicago, Illinois. During her eight years at The Dance Workshop Performing Arts Center in Reno, Nevada, Katie taught all forms of dance technique and disciplines to over 650 students annually. She has consistently won awards for “Best Choreography” and “Outstanding Technical Skill”. Katie brings her enthusiasm and love for dance to every class she teaches.
Ms.
Amy Stoddart, Advanced Ballet, holds a BA in ballet
from Mercyhurst College, an MFA in dance performance and choreography from
the University of Colorado, Boulder; and she is a STOTT Pilates Certified
Instructor. She has trained at professional organizations such as Boston
Ballet, Cincinnati Conservatory, and was a full-scholarship student at
Tulsa Ballet Theatre and the David Howard Dance Center in New York City.
Amy began her performance career with the Lake Erie Ballet in 1990 and
throughout her professional career has danced principal roles with the
Empire State Ballet, Ballet Caravan, Opera Colorado, Boulder Ballet,
and Dance Theatre of Oregon. She has toured both nationally and internationally
while performing varied repertory from Romantic and Classical Era Ballets
as well as contemporary works by George Balanchine, Rebecca Jancosko,
Robin Haig, Susan Zadoff, Walter Kennedy, Jay Kirk, and Mary Price Boday.
Amy has actively choreographed for universities, professional organizations,
and ballet companies throughout the United States including Empire State
Ballet, Youth Ballet Colorado, Eugene Youth Ballet, Boulder Ballet, University
of Colorado, Boulder, University of Oregon, The UO-Repertory Dance Company,
and most recently the Montana Ballet Company. Amy served as a professor
of dance specializing in ballet technique and dance history at the University
of Oregon from 1998 – 2008.
Elizabeth
DeFanti, Advanced Ballet,
began her classical dance training at Festival Ballet of Rhode Island with
her parents, Christine Hennessy and Winthrop Corey, and subsequently studied
at the National Ballet School in Toronto and the Joffrey Ballet School
in New York City. As a member of Festival Ballet, Ms. DeFanti was noted
for her principal roles in The Nutcracker, Cinderella, A Midsummer
Night’s Dream and Eaters of Darkness. In 1993, she joined
the Cleveland/San Jose Ballet where she danced soloist roles and received
critical acclaim for her portrayal of “Maria” in The Nutcracker.
She made guest appearances with the Mobile Ballet, the Sea Coast Ballet
in New Hampshire, and with the Worcester Youth Ballet. In 1994 she performed
in Charleston, South Carolina’s Piccolo Spoleto Festival where she received
praise for her portrayal of “Kitri” in the wedding pas de deux of Don
Quixote and “Juliet” in the balcony pas de deux of Romeo and Juliet.
Returning to Rhode Island, Ms. DeFanti assumed the role of Artistic Director
of Festival Ballet for the 1997-98 Season. She also assumed ownership of
The Dance Center, School of Festival Ballet and taught extensively in the
school. Ms. DeFanti now resides in Bozeman with her husband and two children,
and she is excited about joining the dance community in Bozeman.