David Taylor, Artistic Director 
Jennifer Begley
Jennifer Begley was born in Manila, Philippines on October 29th 1988. She is currently dancing with Ballet Ariel in Denver, Colorado, under the direction of Ilena Norton, with Patricia Renzetti as ballet mistress. She joined Ballet Ariel 2007. She trained at Metropolitan Academy of Dance and the International Ballet School both in Denver, Colorado. She had additional training at American Ballet Theatre in 2005 and at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance in 2006. At the age of 16 she toured with the David Taylor Dance Theatre in their production of The Nutcracker.
Natalie KitkaNatalie Kitka is originally from Amherstburg, Ontario Canada where her love for dance began. At the age of 9 she moved away from home to begin her formal training with the National Ballet School in Toronto. Ms. Kitka also studied with the Michigan Classic Ballet Company, and during this time received the Regional Dance America Festival's award of excellence. Natalie then attended the Royal Winnipeg Ballet where she had the opportunity to perform and tour many ballets, as well as dance for Queen Elizabeth II at Her Majesty's Jubilee Gala in Winnipeg. She later joined the Northern Plains Ballet Company where she performed many principal roles including Cinderella in Cinderella, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. Natalie is very excited to be in her third season with the David Taylor Dance Theatre.
Jennifer KuhnJennifer Kuhn is originally from the North Bay area of San Francisco. She began her formal training with the Marin Ballet, studied with Joffrey Ballet in New York, Richmond Ballet, Ballet West, and Alonzo King's Lines Contemporary Ballet - professional dancer workshop. She attended the University of Utah on scholarship, receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and Master of Fine Arts degree with a teaching and choreography emphasis. During her time there, Jennifer performed with Utah Ballet and completed a teaching assistantship with the renowned University of Utah faculty. In addition, she has performed with Montgomery Ballet in Alabama, Boulder Ballet under the direction of Peter Davison and Ana Claire, and 7 Dancers in Denver. Jennifer is a principal dancer in her sixth season with David Taylor Dance Theatre, performing both classical and contemporary roles in Taylor's works. Jennifer enjoys teaching and sharing her passion for dance with others, wherever it may take her. She is thrilled to work with Mr. Taylor in his exciting new endeavor, the Zikr Dance Ensemble.
Christina MartinChristina Martin was born in Stuart, FL, where she began her serious training at Florida Arts & Dance Co. in ballet and jazz under Tatiana Djouloukhadze-Kopp. Upon graduating from high school in 2002,she was accepted to North Carolina School of the Arts, where she studied with Melissa Hayden and Fanchon Cordell. In 2005, Christina received a scholarship to Orlando Ballet's summer program where she was chosen by former Artistic Director Fernando Bujones to be a trainee in the school. There, she danced the Wicked Queen in Peter Stark's Snow White, and in a Vivaldi pas de deux, presented both at the Gaylord Palms Resort's annual Grande Masque New Year's Gala and for Orlando Ballet School's 30th Anniversary in 2005. Soon after she was offered a contract with the company. Christina went on to perform in many ballets including La Fille mal Gardee, Raymonda, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty, Lila York's Celts, Fernando's Spartacus, and Twyla Tharp's Waterbaby Baguetelles, Nine Sinatra Songs, and In the Upper Room to name a few. Christina has just completed her first season with David Taylor Dance Theater, where she performed in their annual production of The Nutcracker, as well as many classical and contemporary works.
Jackie McMenamanJackie McMenaman is happy to join David Taylor and some of her fellow dancers in the Zikr Dance Ensemble. She is also in her tenth season with David Taylor Dance Theatre after relocating from Montana. Formerly with Montana Ballet Company under the direction of Anne Bates, she was featured in The Nutcracker, as Snow Queen, Conrad Ludlow's Carmen, Matine Memoirs, Midsummer Night's Dream, and Linda Yourth's Coppelia and Masquerade Waltz. She has also danced with Western Ballet Theater under the direction of Toni Pimble, and with Gravity Works Dance in Denver. With the DTDT, Jackie has been featured in The Nutcracker as the Dewdrop Fairy, in Jeoff Horgan's Cheek to Cheek, and in Nikoloz Makhateli's Morning in a Field. She has also had the opportunity to perform in numerous other works by noted choreographers including Gary Abbott, James Canfield, Peter Davison, David Taylor, and James Wallace. Three short years ago Jackie married her long-awaited knight in shining armor, Paul McMenaman, and looks forward to the rest of their fairy tale.
Sean OmandamSean Omandam is from Fresno, California, and received his training on full scholarship from the Harid Conservatory. He joined Colorado Ballet in 2004 as an apprentice and the main Company in 2005. Mr. Omandam has performed several roles with Colorado Ballet including Green Man in Celts, Max in Where the Wild Things Are, featured soloist in Second Exposure and Jessica Lang's From Foreign Lands and People, Russian and Chinese in The Nutcracker and as Petrouchka in the educational school program, The King Who Danced.
Patricia RenzettiPatricia Renzetti was a principal ballerina for the Colorado Ballet for twelve years, and also was a principal dancer with the London Festival Ballet (now English National Ballet), Scapino Ballet of Holland, the Iranian National Ballet, and the Tampa Ballet. She appeared as a guest ballerina with the Estonia National Ballet, Teatro Communale in Florence, Italy, and the Israel Ballet. She has danced numerous leading roles in the classical repertoire including Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet, The Nutcracker, Coppelia, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty. Patricia earned a Master's Degree in Choreography at the University of Iowa, and continues to teach, choreograph, and occasionally perform. She teaches pointe and variations in the Ballet Ariel School as well as staging classical works for the Ballet Ariel Company. She has guest taught in Taiwan and Japan as well as here in Colorado. She was a Guest Lecturer for one month for Naropa and for one year at the University of Colorado in Boulder. She received her MA in Counseling in 2006 and is now a therapist specializing in dancers and other artists' issues.
Peter StrandPeter Strand has danced with the Oakland Ballet, the Minnesota Ballet, the Granite State Ballet in New Hampshire, the Michael Mao Modern Dance Company, Les Ballets Trocaderos de Monte Carlo, the Connecticut Ballet, Pirouettes" International, the Lexington Ballet (KY), and The Quad Cities Ballet. He has also performed as a soloist in Anthony Tudor's Continuo for the Minnesota Ballet, as Sugar Plum Cavalier for Oakland Ballet, as the Prince in Sleeping Beauty for the Granite State Ballet, as Franz in Coppelia for the Lexington Ballet, as the Gold Slave in Scheherazade as a guest artist for the University of Wyoming, and as Don Jose in Carmen for the Quad Cities Ballet to name a few. He is happy to return after eighteen years to David Taylor Dance Theatre as a company member. In addition to his degree at the University of Colorado Peter has attended Colorado College, Loretto Heights College, The National Shakespeare Conservatory, and the Pacific Northwest Ballet School. Most recently he has choreographed Carmen for Opera Theatre of the Rockies, Hot Mikado, Singing in The Rain, La Cage Aux Folles, Damn Yankees, and Nuncrackers for the Colorado Springs Repertory Theatre, The Unsinkable Molly Brown for ActorSingers of Nashua (NH), Romance Romance for Studio Players in Lexington (KY). He has also choreographed and danced in Colorado Springs for Ormao Dance Company and Colorado Youth Ballet and performed in the UCCS Shakespeare Festival's production of Taming of the Shrew as Lucentio. Peter has recently started a new career as a Multimedia designer owning his own company: PSdesignphotography.com., and was able to lend assistance for the design of the poster for the Zikr Dance Ensemble.
Danielle SunseriDanielle Sunseri is from Ohio, and trained as a competitive swimmer and gymnast before studying classical dance. She studied on scholarship with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School Schenley and Graduate Programs, North Carolina School for the Arts, and completed two years in a Dance Performance and Pedagogy Major at Mercyhurst College. After continuing studies in NYC, at the School of Ballet Arizona and the Colorado Ballet Apprentice Program, she danced diverse roles with the Colorado Ballet for two and a half seasons. Some of her favorites include roles in Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Serenade, Stars & Stripes, and the role of 'The Pioneer Woman' in Martha Graham's Appalachian Spring. She performed modern repertoire with Kim Robards Dance for two seasons, and many and diverse contemporary roles with David Taylor Dance Theatre for four seasons, notably as 'Arabian' in The Nutcracker, 'Fate' in Carmina Burana and ensemble in Equinox. She enjoys dancing as a guest artist, most recently with International Youth Ballet and David Taylor Dance Theatre. Danielle specializes in teaching foundational levels of classical ballet, stretch and conditioning, character dance, and choreography and is a faculty instructor for the Academy of Colorado Ballet South School.
Caitlin ValentineCaitlin Valentine began training in New Jersey, and later joined Orlando Ballet, directed by Fernando Bujones, where she danced for five seasons, dancing soloist and principal roles such as Cinderella in Cinderella, Lise in La Fille Mal Gardee, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Guinevere in Camelo and The Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker, among others. Her honors include the Bronze Medal at the 2003 New York IBC, Dance Magazine's "Top 25 to Watch", and the Jury Award at the 2006 USA IBC. Since joining Colorado Ballet, Ms. Valentine has performed as Clara in The Nutcracker, Pas de Trois in Swan Lake, Hermia and Lead Fairy in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and leading roles in several contemporary works. This is her third season with Colorado Ballet.
Sharon WehnerSharon Wehner is from San Jose, California and joined Colorado Ballet in 1995. She trained with Jody White and the San Jose Dance Theater and has danced with Dance Theater Seven, San Jose Dance Theater and San Jose/Cleveland Ballet. She has danced the roles of Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Mina in Dracula, the principal roles in Rubies and Stars and Stripes, Swanhilda in Coppelia, the Cowgirl in Rodeo, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle in Giselle, Red Couple in Celts and the principal role in Antony Tudor's Leaves Are Fading. Wehner also performed in the Aoyama Ballet Festival and the Golden Ballet Costar and the Vail International Evening of Dance Gala in 2005.