MEET YOUR RDA DANCE TEACHERS!
Kallyn Rand
Kallyn Rand holds a B.A. in Dance from Metropolitan State University (MSU) of Denver and has been the owner and creative director of Rand Dance Academy in Golden, Colorado since 2018. Kallyn has trained and studied with Jacob Mora, Leslie Merrill, Nicole Predki, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, Hannah Kahn, and others. Kallyn was selected to represent MSU in a new work by Darrell Grand Moultrie in 2017 ACDA Central Conference. She has choreographed for MSU productions, ACDA conferences, annual Children’s Hospital Charity events, and dance competitions in Denver. She has been dancing professionally with Moraporvida Contemporary Dance since 2019 and VisKosity Dance Collective since 2021.
Kallyn began dancing at the age of four at Colorado Center of Dance and dance has continued to be her passion. She continued to teach dance during college, which started out at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design for two years until a Bachelor of Arts Dance program was established at MSU. While at MSU, she interned with Cleo Parker Robinson Dance while becoming Assistant Director and teaching full time at Colorado Center of Dance. She is trained in ballet, pointe, contemporary, lyrical, jazz, hip-hop, and tap and continues to take local classes and workshops in multiple genres. Kallyn endeavors to enrich the lives of young people to experience the movement and exhilaration of dance.
Marinah Fletcher
I’m Marinah Fletcher and I’m so excited to be teaching Creative Movement, Combo Ballet and Tap, Ballet I, Ballet II, and Contemporary classes. I started dancing at Rand Dance Academy in 5th grade and I’ve been an assistant teacher since my sophomore year of high school. I was in the RDA Company where I competed at dance competitions, performed at Children’s Hospital in their Lobby for the kids and have performed at Hearts for Heart’s Sake with the RDA Company where we raised money for Children’s Hospital,CO. I went to Golden View Classical Academy and graduated with honors and now am at MSU Denver where I’m continuing to take dance classes. I hope I can help my dance students not only grow in their technique but become confident in their abilities and learn to love dancing and performing.
Austin Marquez
Austin Marquez is a performer, choreographer and teaching artist based in New York City. Austin has been seen in the immersive theatrical experience Zerospace, the Off-Broadway premieres of GEEKS! The Musical and MANIFESTO: The Diaghilev Project. Austin is a choreographer with work performed on Off-Broadway stages, festivals around New York City, and on screen in music videos. He developed the hip hop department at acclaimed ABT affiliated dance school American Youth Dance Theater, and has been on faculty at Hunter College, Marymount Manhattan College, Lesley University and is currently developing the dance program at Red Rocks Community College. He holds an MFA in Dance from Hunter College and a BFA in musical theater from Marymount Manhattan College.
Michele Major
Michele Major has been training dancers in classical ballet for over 20 years. Before moving to Colorado with her family, Ms. Michele owned and operated a community dance school in Eugene, Oregon and was also Founding Artistic Director of a non-profit dance organization which provided opportunities for students and audiences in the local area. She has staged and directed many student productions, including classical ballets, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, sections from Paquita, La Bayadere, and Gisele, and her own choreography of The Snow Maiden, Hansel and Gretel, and The Blue Bird. Prior to launching her school, Ms. Michele performed professionally in classical ballet, contemporary ballet, and musical theater, most recently performing with San Diego Ballet, and City Ballet of San Diego. She earned a BFA in Dance from Southern Methodist University and has completed teacher training in Vaganova method, including both lower and upper grades as well as Pointe Safe Certification. She has trained dancers who have gone on to professional performing careers as well as other dance and arts careers and involvement in the larger dance community. Ms. Michele is passionate about training healthy and capable dancers and loves sharing all the benefits of classical ballet with students of all ages and aspirations.
Christina Noel
Christina Noel is a third-generation ballet dancer and teacher. Her grandmother was a soloist with the Brussels Opera circa WWI, her aunt danced with the Polish Ballet prior to WWII, and her parents were professional ballet dancers touring the US and Europe in the 1950’s and 60’s. Ms. Noel has continued the family tradition; dancing professionally for 14 years with Chicago Ballet, Tucson Ballet, San Diego Ballet, Nevada Dance Theater, and finally as a soloist with Colorado Ballet. She has worked with choreographers from the Balanchine Trust, John Butler, and Ron Cunningham. After retiring from the stage in 1987, Christina turned to teaching full time. She has guest taught throughout the southwest as well as teaching regularly at Denver metro dance studios, including in her role as the ballet mistress for the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble and Dance Coordinator for The Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities. For 30 of her 38 years at the Arvada Center, Christina was Dance Coordinator and lead ballet and pointe instructor.
While deeply rooted in artistic tradition, Christina's instructional approach embraces science and modern developments in ballet technique and psychology with an emphasis on injury prevention. Her specialty is working with dancers through their Adolescent Growth Spurts and preparing dancers for pointe work. Throughout the years; she has worked closely with many clinical dance specialists to keep her teaching up to date and continually bring new material into the studio. Additionally, Christina has presented at the International Association of Dance Medicine and Sciences (IADMS) twice and the Colorado Dance Educators Organization (CoDEO). In 2024 Christina was awarded the Teacher of the Year by CoDEO as well as one of 2024 Living Legends of Dance by the University of Denver’s Dance Archives. Her oral history and dance memorabilia will be archived at DU Dance library. Recently, Ms. Noel retired as Dance Coordinator to pursue different teaching and coaching opportunities.
Cara Hazel
Cara is originally from New Jersey and has spent the last four years living and dancing in New York City. During her time there, she studied a variety of dance styles with a focus on street jazz and heels work, while also gaining significant experience in modern and improvisational dance.
Cara completed her undergraduate degree in Applied Dance and Psychology at the University of Tampa, where she studied Anne Green Gilbert’s Brain Compatible Dance Education. This method promotes holistic student growth by emphasizing different qualities of movement, fostering creative problem-solving skills, and creating a nurturing learning environment while also developing technical skills.
With a master’s degree in dance/movement therapy from Pratt Institute, Cara has spent the past four years working as a dance/movement therapist, most recently as a professor in dance/movement therapy and somatic counseling here in Colorado. Her teaching philosophy centers on making sure students not only enjoy their classes but also continue to cultivate their passion for dance while developing their skills and maintaining their well-being.
Cara is thrilled to join Rand Dance Academy and is looking forward to a wonderful year ahead!
Tegra Morgan
Tegra started dancing at the age of 3 with Premier School of Dance in Thornton Co. After graduating high school in 2015, she went on to Elite Dance Academy where she joined the competition team, assisted the teen dance classes and was part of their pre professional program. While being on the pre professional program she was able to go to The Edge performing arts center to train with the professionals currently in the industry, and work closely with a mentor to prepare for the next steps in her Dance career. After a year with Elite Dance Academy she went on to dance professionally with Dream Project Dance Company for 3 seasons and taking class at Dance2b, where she is now an instructor. Recently, she had the privilege to attend American Dance Festival for their 90th season as a work study student. Tegra has a passion for teaching dance in an inclusive, encouraging environment and is excited to continue sharing her love of dance with the dance community
Guest Choreographer Greta Sugai
Greta Sugai was born and raised in Colorado where she grew up dancing since the age of 8. Greta specializes in guest teaching, choreographing and creating workshops across Colorado, and now out of state as well. Just in the past year she has taught and choreographed in Los Angeles, Hawaii, Virginia, Oregon, North Carolina and more! In 2015, Greta developed her own traveling dance company and ministry called Messengerz Dance Co. in which she led her company to New Zealand for a month to teach dance camps to students of all ages, and has since built partnerships there to return back to. She has also been a part of several dance companies and is currently a member with Chadash Contemporary Dance Movement in Denver as a professional level dancer. Additionally, Greta is in the beginning stages of teaming up with a studio in Hawaii and Florida to create a touring company. Finally, she is loving working as an adjunct dance professor at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, CO for their developing dance program. Greta has been blessed to have award-winning competition pieces and she is loving the journey she’s been on so far. She cannot wait to see what’s ahead and the relationships that will form!