ENCORE DANCE STUDIO FULL
Upon auditioning, Cassidy became a full member of Chicago Tap Theatre at 17 years old.
ENCORE DANCE STUDIO PROFESSIONAL
She was once again noticed by an instructor, and asked to audition for a professional tap company as an understudy. By the age of 17 she began taking classes at the Hubbard Street Dance studio in Chicago, IL. Her instructors saw potential, especially in tap, and she started performing tap solos (and winning) in competitions at the age of 9. She is an instructor of advanced and intermediate students.Ĭassidy, like most dancers, started dancing at the age of 3. Colleen is Artistic Director of the company, and directs Curriculum Development at the Ballet Academy Ventura the official school of the Ventura County Ballet Company. Colleen is a certified teacher for American Ballet Theater's nationally recognized training curriculum and is co-founder and co-director of American Ballet Intensives, a company dedicated to providing pre-professional training to dance students in a positive and nurturing environment. For over five years she was the classical dance director for the Orange County High School of the Arts (OCHSA) and continues her ties with American Ballet Theater as a teacher and choreographer. She has instructed ballet for more than 25 years and has been a faculty member of the University of Utah, Ballet West, California State Long Beach, California Institute of the Arts, Stanley Holden Dance Center, Westside School of Ballet, Louisville Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Jacqueline Onassis School in New York City and many other nationally recognized schools. Colleen received a Bachelor of University Studies degree from the University of Utah. Before joining American Ballet Theater's main company, she danced with its Ballet Repertory Company under the direction of Richard Englund and Gage Bush. On scholarship, she trained with the Louisville Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, and American Ballet Theater. Colleen danced with American Ballet Theater under the direction of Lucia Chase and Mikhail Baryshnikov.