Ashley M. Calligan —

Owner/Artistic Director

Ashley M. Calligan (Nemeth) is from Denver, Colorado and has been teaching ballet for 26 years. Ms. Calligan trained at The Academy of Colorado Ballet, The Academy of Russian Ballet, and Burklyn Ballet Theatre. While dancing she performed numerous roles including; Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, Soloist in Paquita, Spanish in The Nutcracker, and many original works by Elizabeth Shipiatsky, Robert Royce, Angela Whitehill, and Thom Clower. For the 2008-2009 season she was the Ballet Mistress with Western Arkansas Ballet of Fort Smith, Arkansas. She is currently in her 20th year as the Assistant to the Artistic Director and Ballet Mistress with Burklyn Ballet Theatre, under the direction of Joanne Whitehill. With Burklyn Ballet Theatre she has traveled numerous times to Scotland to perform in The Edinburgh Festival Fringe. For the past seven years she has produced and directed her own full-length production of The Nutcracker. Her students have gone on to dance professionally and to dance in college dance programs such as SUNY Purchase, AMDA, The University of Arizona, and The University of Oklahoma. Most recently Ms. Calligan was the Co-Owner and Ballet Director of Summit Dance Academy in Parker, Colorado.

Ryan Edward Calligan -

Owner/Chief Financial Officer

Ryan has over 20 years in finance and business law. He has successfully owned numerous entertainment companies nationwide for decades. With a keen eye on the nitty-gritty of operations, Ryan is a powerful and indispensable member of the VVAD team. The true “Wizard” behind the curtain, Ryan loves to contribute his vast knowledge of business and finance but he happily allows the teachers and dancers of VVAD to be the real stars of the show!

Additionally, Ryan’s “Behind the scenes” work doesn’t stop at paperwork and tech support. His true passion is creating masterful works of sculptural art in the creation of the stage props and theatrical furniture for all of the productions for VVAD. In his sprawling workshop in Gypsum CO, Ryan creates stunning pieces of hand crafted, and lovingly made functional stage art, from fireplaces and staircases for Nutcracker, to an elegant carriage for Cinderella and “dynamic” visuals for Alice in Wonderland. Ryan’s happiness comes from building VVAD’s incredible future, using all of his diverse skill-sets.

Ryan is also the brain behind our newest attraction, Edwards Fright Fest. This haunted attraction which occurs each Halloween, draws from the the entire Eagle Valley and surrounding locations. If terror is your thing, check this out!

Edwardsfrightfest.com

Maria Barry -

Tippy Toes, Beginning Dance, Jazz, Tap, and Altitude Dance Company Staff

Maria has been teaching Jazz, Tap, and Ballet at Vail Valley Academy of Dance for the last 20 years. She also enjoys teaching Country Western Dance and West Coast Swing. Before moving to Vail, she danced professionally in Denver, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, California and Aruba. She has choreographed for numerous musical theater productions in the Vail Valley and continues to be a vital force at VVAD.

Julia LeClaire -

Altitude Dance Company Artistic Director and Administrative Consultant

Julia LeClaire began dancing at age 11 and joined her studio’s top competitive team within one year of starting formal training. She has a well rounded background in the arts with studies in Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Musical Theater, Hip Hop, Pointe, Cecchetti, Pom, English Country, Character Performance, and West Coast Swing. Julia brings significant competitive experience to VVAD and has earned over 100 platinum level awards for her performances in addition to State and National accolades including the Rockettes Invitational Scholarship and AIA Regional and State Championship titles for Varsity Pom. With a professional background working for leaders in the entertainment industry including The Walt Disney Company and Disney Cruise Line, Julia takes pride in sharing her world class training to support students in an environment that is positive, fun, and compassionate while cultivating creative curiosity, encouraging expression, and championing personal and professional confidence to foster individual growth and development in her dancers both on and off the stage. 

Morgan Kulas -

Ballet, Contemporary, Strength, and Musical Theatre

Morgan Kulas began her formal dance training at the ripe age of 4 at Parker Dance Academy under the direction of Kim Kinnear & Julie Curley. She completed her BFA in Acting Performance at Chicago College of Performing Arts and received a scholarship to continue her dance studies at Hubbard Street. During this time Morgan developed a love for Post Modern Dance and Performance Studies and in 2023 graduated with an MFA in Interdisciplinary Art & Regenerative Culture from University of New Mexico.

Morgan began teaching at Vail Valley Academy of Dance in 2013 under the mentorship of Anne Powell who asked her to develop what is now a thriving multi-level contemporary dance program. Morgan has contributed numerous choreographic works to Vail Youth Ballet Company and Vail Valley Academy of Dance students and has built bridges between studio and community through collaborations with organizations such as TedX Youth Vail and Colorado's Art in Public Places.

Morgan has studied extensively as a teacher; training in diverse pedagogies ranging from classical ballet education with School of American Ballet to post-modern dance and intersectional forms of psychosomatic arts. She is very proud of the young dancers she has had the honor of working with and continues to find joy in the act of teaching.

Colin Meiring -

Substitue Teacher (Past VVAD Teacher for 15+ years)

Colin Meiring started his Performing Arts career at the age of six, competing in Ballroom dancing and won every National title in South Africa. He diversified into musical theatre, television and film performing around the globe. Colin gained International experience performing, choreographing and directing shows for Royal Caribbean and Silversea Cruises. His versatility in the industry, enables Colin to teach Hip-hop, Jazz, Lyrical, Ballroom and musical theatre. Colin’s approach as a teacher, is to apply the principles of strong technique, versatility and enthusiasm. Additionally, Colin has earned an International Dance Teacher’s Association Certification for Jazz.

Christine Hamilton -

Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Contemporary

Christine began her dance training at Dance Arts Center in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, and continued at Chesterfield Dance Center after relocating to Richmond, Virginia. She has over 20 years of experience in ballet, tap, jazz, and lyrical, and has earned awards at NYCDA, JUMP, NUVO, Spotlight, and Rainbow dance competitions and conventions.

She also has a strong background in musical theatre, with ensemble roles in Hairspray, The Wedding Singer, and leading roles in Seussical, and Aladdin. In high school, Christine was a member of her varsity dance team, performing jazz and pom.

Christine studied Business Marketing at Virginia Commonwealth University and continued dancing through classes at The Richmond Ballet and studied modern dance with choreographer Starr Foster. She moved to Colorado in 2018 to pursue a career in marketing and joined VVAD in 2024 after reconnecting with her love for dance.

Her classes emphasize respect, creativity, confidence, and teamwork—all in a supportive and expressive environment. Outside the studio, she enjoys spending time exploring the Colorado outdoors hiking, camping, and skiing.

Lauren Emerson -

Ballet, Contemporary, and Jazz

Lauren grew up in Denver, dancing at the International Youth Ballet and Dual Star Academy of Dance. She performed in ballets such as “Peter Pan” and “The Nutcracker,” and danced competitively through high school. She went on to continue her dance education at Cornell College while teaching part time at a local studio. During that time, she also found a love for swing and charleston dance! After graduating college, Lauren began her career as a school teacher here in the valley and soon got involved at VVAD. She is thankful for the wonderful influence of her dance teachers throughout the years, and she loves sharing her own passion for dance with her students each week. She especially enjoys leading students in developing dynamics and technique in their dancing!

Colleen Teska Schlosser -

Ballet, Contemporary, and Strength

Growing up in WI, Colleen was a competitive gymnast for 4 years before formally beginning her dance training at the age 12 at the Dance Factory with Tina Lendman, where she performed in the yearly Nutcracker and other various shows. She trained in ballet and modern dance at the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Dancespace NY on scholarship. Colleen has danced professionally for over 15 years with a variety of companies in Milwaukee, Chicago, and Austin, was a founding member of Nomi Dance Company directed by Laura Kariotis and continues to work as a guest artist. For over 16 years, Colleen has enjoyed teaching, choreographing, and working as an assistant artistic director at dance studios throughout southeast Wisconsin, Chicago, Austin, Michigan and Colorado. She is very proud to have had her work presented at the Austin Dance Fest Youth Edition and Chicago Dance Fest. Drawing from her love of medicine and dance she has developed strength and conditioning for injury prevention classes at dance studios throughout the Midwest and Texas.

Colleen is also a doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, a licensed acupuncturist, and an American College of Sports Medicine Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist. She owns and operates Two Pines Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine in Eagle, CO and also works at Shaw Cancer Center. Colleen earned her Doctoral degree, with a focus in Integrative Medicine, and master’s degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from AOMA Graduate School of Integrative Medicine in Austin, TX. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Strength and Conditioning from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has 10 years of experience working in hospitals and clinics, including the University of Chicago Medicine, as a Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and stress testing specialist.

Colleen moved to Eagle, CO in 2021, fulfilling her lifelong dream of living in Colorado. Shortly after moving she met her now-husband, Scott – who is the best honorary dance dad! She was the Director of Dance and instructor at MORE2Dance for three years before merging with VVAD. She continues to teach ballet at Gracie Gold’s Ice Skating Camp and she is thrilled to continue teaching the next generation of dancers at VVAD.

Julia Vlaar -

Acro for Dancers

Julia Vlaar was born in Vail, Colorado and was raised in the Vail Valley for a majority of her life except for a couple of years where she lived and worked in New Zealand. She has worked with kids for more than 15 years and has a love for dancing that has been ever-present throughout her life. Ms. Vlaar was a competitive gymnast for 10 years with Vail Gymnastics and was a gymnastics coach in Edwards and Gypsum Colorado for 6 years, teaching toddlers to competitive team gymnasts to adults and everyone in between. She also coached camps, conducted afterschool programs, taught trampoline classes, and choreographed numerous gymnastics routines for her gymnasts at the time, many of whom won first place in their age division in the state of Colorado, some multiple times in a row. Ms. Vlaar completed and received her Associate of Arts degree from Colorado Mountain College.

  Julia has a passion for helping people and seeks to support her students in growing and fostering their confidence in their acrobatic dance abilities specifically, in their creativity, and especially in themselves and who they are. She wants to help her students feel seen, valued, heard, safe, and understood and to passionately pursue believing in their goals and dreams, no matter what challenge may stand in their way on their journey to achieving them. Ms. Vlaar loves to learn and is honored to be working with (and for) such prestigious, talented, knowledgeable, and successful staff members. She is delighted to be teaching at Vail Valley Academy of Dance and is very grateful for the opportunity to encourage and assist the dancers in becoming the best versions of themselves and the best dancers and people that they can be.

Mary Meyer -

Ballet

Mary is originally from Hudson, New York, and has been studying ballet since early childhood. Mary has a passion for teaching and studied Music Education at SUNY Fredonia. She now teaches K-8 Music and Art locally in the valley and enjoys working at VVAD in addition to this. Mary has studied ballet in NY at the Hudson Valley Academy of Performing Arts, and Saugerties Ballet Center. Throughout her time at both dance studios, she had the opportunity to learn from multiple fantastic teachers and learn about different styles of ballet. Mary has also performed many times in the “Nutcracker” Ballet, as well as in many recitals throughout her years of training. Mary loves sharing her passion for ballet with the next generation of dancers.

Kiah Ratliff -

Jazz, Musical Theatre, and Contemporary

Kiah Ratliff is from the Iron Range in Minnesota, where she grew up dancing and teaching at local studios. She attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles for three years where she trained with choreographers in the commercial industry and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Theater. Since, she has been a guest choreographer to set competition pieces; and taught Contemporary, Jazz, Ballet, Hip Hop, Heels, and Modern dance classes. This is Kiah’s second season teaching for Vail Valley Academy of Dance.

Annie Cerovich -

Ballet

Annie Cerovich grew up in the valley, where she began dancing at VVAD at a young age. Her love of learning led her to pursue a bachelor’s degree in English literature, French, and Art History, and she has recently completed her master’s degree in literature at the Université Grenoble Alpes. Throughout her academic journey, dance remained an essential part of her life — from continuing to dance and perform in college, to continuing her training while living in France.

Annie is passionate about teaching dance because it has been not only an important form of artistic expression, but has also shaped the person she has become,  instilling in her the discipline, perseverance, resilience, and confidence that have carried into life outside of the studio. She hopes to pass on those same values to her students, creating a space where they can grow technically, creatively, and personally.

Outside of the studio, Annie finds joy in the outdoors. She loves hiking, skiing, climbing, and camping — anything that brings her into the mountains. She also loves painting and music, and values creativity in all its forms.