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Teachers
We are so excited at the depth and talent of our teaching staff.
We absolutely have the "DREAM TEAM"
Christina Brusig - Jazz, Choreography & Lyrical
Christina Brusig has been teaching Advanced Jazz, Advanced Lyrical, Choreography, Tap and Hip Hop with the Center for the Arts for nearly 3 years. She also serves as the Assistant Program Director, and the the head coach of the Glenwood Springs High School Demon's Dance Team. Christina is currently in her first year as a member of the Center's Fusion in Motion Belly Dancing Troupe. Distinguished by her choreography, she was head choreographer for Defiance Community Players 2009 Production of "The Wiz". She has also worked with multiple outreach programs, such as "Beyond the Bell" and "Access Roaring Fork" to spread her love of dance to those who can't attend classes at the Center for the Arts.
Christina has been dancing for 21 years, with 7 of those years being spent at the Center for the Arts, doing advanced training with Claire Evans and Karen Samuleson. During her younger years, she was trained at the Academy of Dance and Gymnastics in Rifle, Colorado, and was mentored by Kristen King. Christina's dance teaching abilities sent her all over the state of Colorado, creating dance programs in towns where the arts were completely missing. She has now been teaching dance for 12 years. Christina was a large part of the Center for the Arts "Choreography and Repertory Project" between 2002- 2004. Upon Graduation from Rifle High School, in 2004, Christina adventured across the country to attend the University of Maine at Fort Kent. During college, she formed a free public dance and stretch program at the University, and participated in dance classes at "Jazz it Up" Dance studio in Fort Kent, Maine. She graduated Cum Lade, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Marketing. Although "business" is her business, Dance is Christina's ultimate passion. Christina instills technique, energy, stage presence, and team work into her classes. Her choreography is distinctively unique, and she takes great pride in being abel to work with all ages, and skill levels. Ultimately, she loves to take dancers from being good, to being great.
Laura Bahr - Ballet, Tap Jazz
Laura Bahr grew up in Glenwood Springs and began dancing at the age of three. Her very first class was right here at the Center for the Arts with Maurine Taufer! Laura continued her training throughout high school; focusing on ballet, jazz, modern, and tap. She attended numerous dance festivals and summer camps throughout the state. She also participated in annual examinations held by the Royal Academy of Dance, receiving the excellence rating each year. Throughout college Laura continued dancing and performing, and also began teaching beginning through advanced classes. She has since worked as a paralegal and started a family but can’t stay away from her love of dance! Laura is absolutely thrilled to be teaching at the Center for the Arts and looks forward to sharing her passion with her students.
Karen Corcoran- Voice and Music
Karen Mills-Cochran has been a singer-songwriter, as well as a vocalist and instrumentalist in a variety of local and regional groups since 1984. She has taught voice, guitar, recorder, songwriting, and mountain dulcimer in Western Colorado since 1986. She has been involved in a number of professional recording projects including a CD of her original songs called “The Water’s Edge.” Her current eclectic acoustic band is known as “Collage.” Karen’s teaching experience includes offering instruction in public, private, and performing arts schools, as well as music stores, and individual homes. She is happy to be joining the Glenwood Springs Center for the Arts as a vocal instructor
Judy Davis - Pottery
Nurture your inner potter with a
Wheel
Throwing class,
Hand
Building class, or a
Coil class. Sling some mud around and learn to throw a pot, not a tantrum,
with this easy-going teacher, Judy Davis. This teacher
will really get
your wheels spinning. She puts a spin on everything and gets a glazed
look on her face at the mention of fire. With her talented hands fresh
from a mud treatment, she's always ready to roll (clay that is). She is
constantly adding new masterpieces to her display in the gallery and
tourists carry her pottery to points unknown across the globe. If you
want to nurture your inner potter, Judy Davis is the instructor to
consult. Judy has been teaching for us for 9 years and kids and adults
alike love her clay classes. She gets "All Fired Up" and shows kids how
to throw pots and glaze them beautifully. She is patient, quiet, and a
joy to be around. And she can bring out the "Clay Dog" in anyone! It's
never too late to take a class in pottery. She is a great addition to
the talented staff at the Center for the Arts. She is an awesome potter
in her own right and teaches all ages and all levels of proficiency.
You will learn easily from her straightforward style.
Joy White - Belly Dance
Shimmy with Joy & her Troupe and awaken your passion for Belly Dance! Members of the Defiance Sirens belly dance troupe will teach and reinforces basic, traditional belly dance movements to fun and eclectic music through Tribal Fusion Belly Dance. Belly dance promotes a healthy self-esteem and body image at any stage of one’s life. It also engages one’s body in challenging, fun ways. During this session students will develop a repertoire of belly dance moves and learn a fun choreography while getting a work out.
Dana Irwin - Ballet
Dana grew up and trained in ballet for 15 years in Mobile, AL and was a founding dancer for the Parapluie Dance Company. Throughout high school, she trained mostly with the Royal Academy of Dance curriculum and attended summer intensive camp in Pookeepsie, NY. In college, she danced under Fanchon Cordell who trained mostly with David Howard and Maria Vegh. At Wake Forest, she was also trained in modern release technique from The Juillard School. Since college, she has danced mostly in Denver with an adult group where the love of dance was emphasized. This love of dance is what she hopes to instill her students.
She is a lover of all things physical: dancing, running, biking, golfing, skiing, swimming, hiking, and just walking. Her "day job" is working at Mountain Valley Developmental Services as a Children's Case Manager, Development Director and HR Generalist. "I love to be busy and to learn. As an undergraduate student at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, I studied World Religions and Communication and earned a B.A. After a year in Japan teaching English, I entered a Master's of Divinity Degree program from Vanderbilt University. In 2006, I moved to Colorado and lived in Denver. I have lived in Glenwood Springs since early 2009 and have loved getting to know the town and all it has to offer".
In addition to the love of dance, she hopes to help the students grow and mature as dancers and people. Her goal is that after training with her, the dancers will be able to take class anywhere and have a working knowledge of what teachers are conveying and an awareness of their body in space that transcends the classroom. She hopes to bring discipline and fun to the classroom and is excited and honored for the opportunity to bring her diverse experiences to the barre and beyond.
Jessica Kidd - Silversmithing
A gem of a personality, this teacher definitely shines as a
craftsperson and artist. She has been our full time Silversmithing instructor for fours years and we love watching her students turn out
contemporary, original pieces... even after their first semester. Her
sense of humor is a wonderful asset as she teaches people to hammer,
cut, melt, polish, and twist silver into amazing creations. Jessica's
own extensive body of work has a whimsical quality, as her jewelry
features pleated silver, winding into graceful curves and coils. Her
designs are stunning. Stop by and see instructor Jessica Kidd's work in
the Art Center's gift shop or take a class and make all your own silver
jewelry.
Noemi Kosmowski
Susan A. Mount - Tap & Jazz
Susan is our new Tap instructor. She is bubbly and energetic. She has a vast knowlege in all forms of dance, however tap is her passion. She has been in the Roring Fork Valley for several years studying for a license in Mental Health Counseling with a concentration in Dance Therapy. She has worked with various populations using Movement to enhance, explore and express the human connection to one's own body. She descrivbes movement as our most organic form of expression. She studied dance throughout her college career and at the Graduate School at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. We are very pleased to have her as part of our growning dance staff.
Terry Muldoon - Art
Terry heads our Art Department. She is an excellent, popular and talented teacher. Terry is also one of our "Wild Women". She loves working with
our budding and advanced students, teaching them sophisticated concepts of form and color. Terry
takes them on a creative journey, not only instructing her pupils
about the different forms of art, but also giving them glimpses into
the lives of artists who popularized the many styles of art. She is
bright, whimsical, and a joy. She has captured the hearts of her students. When she is not
creating or teaching art, Terry is a lab nurse at Glenwood Medical
Associates. Her soft touch serves her well in that profession too!
Neal Stiles - Hip Hop and Break Dancing
A professional breakdancer, Neal hasperformed with Break EFX and the Dance2Live Crew from Denver. He
is the founding Director of Fresh Ingredients, the breaking crew at the Center for the Arts. Neal has been teaching hip hop to students of all ages here at the GSCA and through Access Roaring Fork at the Carbondale Middle School. He was the primary choreographer for the Carbondale Community School's production of "The Big Show" and was a choreographer for the Defiance Community Players' production of "The Wiz". He is a joy to watch dance and his students benefit from his positive attitude.
Ashton Taufer - Guitar and Musical Composition
A graduate from the Berklee School of Music in Boston, Massachutes, Ashton's principal instrument is acoustic bass. He also plays electric bass, piano and guitar and is skilled at composing and arranging. He has played with the Colorado State University. The kids love this very talented teacher and musician.
Maurine Taufer - Dance Program Director - Modern and Company
Maurine taught, directed and choreographed in a variety of dance
programs for 22 years. Maurine moved to Glenwood Springs in 1981, and
taught dance and fitness classes for 15 years at Colorado Mountain
College, where she was recognized for her teaching, and at the Glenwood
Springs Center for the Arts, working with students ages 2 to 70. She
directed and choreographed for numerous dance performances locally, and
her dance students have performed in school presentations; at the
Wheeler Opera House; at the Denver Children's Museum; at the "Dance and
the Child International Conference." Maurine was a founding board
member of the Glenwood Springs Arts Council, a board member of the
Glenwood Springs Dance Festival, and she was one of the directors who
created the annual spring production Dancers
Dancing. Her training in children's dance is from the teacher
training program at the Children's Dance Theatre at the University of
Utah. After a few years away from teaching dance, Maurine is pleased to
again offer dance classes at the Center for the Arts. She teaches dance
for confidence, flexibility, agility and body awareness, while
experiencing the joy of dance as a means of self expression. She loves
to mix ages of performers to enhance her choreography. She brings a
fresh approach to the world of dance and choreography.
Brad Vierheller - Piano, Voice
Brad Vierheller is also a new addition to the Arts Center family and
will be teaching our vocal and piano classes. Brad graduated from Adams
State College with his B.A. of Arts with a secondary degree in Vocal
Music Education. Vocal music has always been a passion of his. Brad has
taught private voice lessons, as well as choir classes throughout
Colorado, and holds a teacher's license from the state of Colorado. He
was a member of the All-State Choir in Colorado his senior year of high
school. He has performed with the Pueblo Symphony, the Denver Symphony,
Symphony in the Valley, and the Aspen Choral Society. Brad is also an
accomplished piano player, a gentle soul and a wonderful teacher!
