With guest teachers, Yosvani Ramos, Jeffory Elliot and Elijah Meader. Ballet Masterclass series 2017, will be commencing in April. We will be scheduling half days of masterclasses at different studios around the Colorado Ballet dance community. Classes will consist of Technique, Pointe and Batterie/Jump strengthening. Classes will be taught by Colorado Ballet Principal dancer- Dana Benton, and sol
oists Francisco Estevez and Tracy Jones. We have also have guest instructors - Yosvani Ramos, Principal dancer of Colorado Ballet along with Jeffory Elliot for Contemporary and Elijah Meader for Tap and Musical Theatre. Our prices are-
$35 for technique class
$25 for each additional class offered. We also do packages-
$55 for Technique + 1 class
$75 for Technique + 2 classes
and $100 for a whole day package
Bios
Dana Benton-
Dana Benton was born in Hamilton, Ontario in Canada, where she began her training with Lou and Pauline Zamprogna at The Dance Centre. At the age of 9, she was accepted to the National Ballet School in Toronto where she trained for eight years. Dana graduated from the National Ballet School with Honors in Academics and was awarded the Peter Dwyer Award for Excellence in Dance. Upon graduating in 2000, Dana received a contract with the Alberta Ballet Company in Canada. She spent one year with the company as an apprentice. In 2001, she joined Colorado Ballet as a Corps de Ballet member. In 2007, she was promoted to Soloist and in 2014, she was promoted to Principal. With Colorado Ballet, Dana has worked with many well-known choreographers and repetiteurs including Val Caniparoli, Bronwen Curry, Judith Fugate, John Gardner, Thierry Michel, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Jessica Lang, Edwaard Liang, Donald Mahler, Amanda McKerrow, Michael Pink, Brian Reeder, Domy Reiter-Soffer, Dwight Rhoden, Amy Seiwert, Paul Sutherland, Lynn Taylor-Corbett, Doug Varone, Shelly Washington, Septime Webre, Christopher Wheeldon and Lila York. Since joining Colorado Ballet, she has performed many Soloist and Principal roles. Her notable roles include Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Swanilda in Coppélia, Cow Girl in Rodeo, Ave Maria Pas de Deux, Sugar Plum and Clara in The Nutcracker, Gulnara in Le Corsaire, Tinker Bell in Peter Pan, Pink and Aqua in Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1, Red Girl in Celts, Lucy in Dracula, Princess Florine and Diamond Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, Pas de Trois in Swan Lake, Peasant Pas in Giselle, Flower Girl and Cupid in Don Quixote, Hermia and Peaseblossom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Flames of Paris Pas de Deux, Bomb Squad in In The Upper Room, Lead Souvenir Lady in the Great Galloping Gottschalk, and the featured role in Amy Seiwert’s Traveling Alone. This is Dana's 15th season with Colorado Ballet. Francisco Estevez
Born in Quito, Ecuador, Francisco moved to the USA in 1995. He began his ballet training in Louisville, Kentucky and at the age of 16 was invited to finish his professional training at the School of American Ballet in New York where he also had the opportunity to perform featured roles with the New York City Ballet. Upon graduating in 2008, Francisco joined Boston Ballet under the direction of Mikko Nissinen where he danced for 2 years before joining the Barcelona Ballet under the direction of Angel Corella. As a member of this company, he performed various soloist and principal roles and took part in the "Feria del Libro" in Guadalajara, Mexico, the Spoleto Festival in both Italy and Charleston, North Carolina and the Peralada festival, Catalonia. Francisco won 1st Place at the Premio Internacional de Danza Roseta Mauri, in 2011. His notable roles to date include Balanchine’s Tarantella and the 1st and 2nd themes from The Four Temperaments, Jorma Elo’s Carmen Illusions, Principal in Jerome Robbin’s 2 & 3 Part Inventions and the 1st and 3rd Sailor in Robbins’ Fancy Free, Peter Martin’s Les Gentil Hommes, Christopher Wheeldon’s For Four, DGV, Polyphonia and VIII, Pink, Red and Aqua Couples in Clark Tippet’s Bruch Violin Concerto, Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room, Stanton Welch’s Clear, Franz in Coppelia, Benno and Neopolitan in Swan Lake, the Peasant pas de deux from Giselle, the pas de six from Napoli, the Nutcracker Prince and Sugarplum Cavalier in The Nutrcracker, Jester in Ben Stevenson’s Cinderella, Lysander in Wheeldon’s A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Renfield in Michael Pink’s Dracula, among others. Francisco joined Colorado Ballet during the 2012-2013 season and was promoted to soloist in 2015. Tracy Jones
Born in Cork, Ireland, Tracy began to dance at the age of 5 with Ballet Theatre Ireland. Tracy trained professionally at The Royal Ballet School in London where she graduated from in 2007. In 2006, Tracy was a winner of the Ursula Moreton choreographic competition and a finalist of the Young British Dancer of the Year. During her graduate year, Tracy performed with the Royal Ballet in various ballets and joined them on their 2007 International tour to Mexico and the USA. Upon graduating, Tracy joined the English National Ballet as an Artist where she performed in the UK and toured to Beijing, China. From 2008 to 2012, Tracy was a member of the Barcelona Ballet under the direction of Angel Corella. With this company, Tracy danced various soloist and principal roles. In 2013, Tracy joined Colorado Ballet. That June, she was named as one of 10 “Stars in the Corps” by Pointe Magazine. Since joining the company, her notable roles have included “Zulma” in Giselle, the Arabian divertissement in The Nutcracker, Summer Fairy in Ben Stevenson’s Cinderella, Principal couple in Sandra Brown's The Last Beat, Hermia in Wheeldon’s A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Pas De Deux Girl in Jerome Robbin’s Fancy Free, Effie in La Sylphide, Caterpillar in Septime Webre's ALICE (in wonderland), the Muse in Dominic Walsh's Wolfgang (for Webb), Gerald Arpino's Light Rain Pas de Deux, Pas de Trois and Big Swans in Swan Lake, Sea Witch in Lynne Taylor-Corbett's Little Mermaid, Dark Angel in Balanchine's Serenade and the 5th pas de deux in Jiri Kylian's Petite Mort.
