VVAD SUMMER PROGRAMS 2026

VVAD summer 2026 will be announced soon!!

Enroll Here

Summer Course Intensive Instructors:

 

Sarah Tallman -

A native of Colorado, Sarah holds a BA with honors in Dance Performance and Choreography from the University of Northern Colorado, where she was the two-time recipient of the esteemed honor of Dancer of the Year. She has participated in the Inside ODC Professional Workshop, Baardar Dance Institute in Oslo, Norway and Perry- Mansfield Performing Arts School. Sarah has danced with David Taylor Dance Theatre, Kim Robards Dance, Lynn Barr, and Gleich Dances Contemporary Ballet. Off- season, Sarah has been a Principal Artist with Central City Opera performing in Carmen, Anna II in Seven Deadly Sins and Dream Laurey in Oklahoma!. Since joining Wonderbound, Sarah has danced leading roles in Garrett Ammon’s When the Power Goes Out, Intersection, Boomtown, Gone West, and Love in the Digital Age, among others, as well as Dawn Fay’s Like An Onion. Sarah has been featured in world premieres by Alex Ketley, Maurya Kerr, Amy Seiwert, Mark Godden, Ma Cong and Lauri Stallings. An accomplished choreographer, she has created several works for Wonderbound including See Yourself, In-Between Seams, Intimate Letters and I Didn't Hear You, I Was Away with the Fairies. Sarah has taught and created works for the Colorado Conservatory of Dance, and has directed the Intermediate Program at Burklyn Ballet Theatre. Sarah's interests include her loving husband, yoga, the mountains, twinkling lights and the color orange.

 
 

Richy Romero -

Richy Romero, of Vineland, New Jersey, received his ballet training with the Vineland Regional Dance Company, where he performed multiple roles in various productions. Richy is the recipient of numerous scholarships, including the Jonathan Phelps Memorial Scholarship from Regional Dance America/Northeast and the Delaware Dance Festival Artistry Award. He joined First State Ballet Theatre in 2015. Richy has danced in pas de deuxs such as Harlequinade and Pas D’esclave from Le Corsaire. Richy’s roles also include The Hooligan from The Young Lady and the Hooligan, Mercutio in Viktor Plotnikov’s Romeo and Juliet, and as Prince Desirè in Sleeping Beauty. He danced for FSBT for five seasons while also majoring in Education at Wilmington University. When he is not in the studio, Richy enjoys photography, sports, and spending time with his family and friends and golf.

 
 

Brianna Mesa

Brianna is originally from Minot, ND, where she began her training at the age of 10 under the instruction of Rinat Mouzafarov. She attended summer programs at The Kirov Ballet Academy, and The Pilobolus Institute. She graduated from The Boston Conservatory Cum Laude with a BFA in Dance Pedagogy and Performance.  At Western Arkansas Ballet, in Fort Smith, AR,  Brianna teaches a range of classes from Ballet and Pointe to Modern where she has developed the Modern program to four levels for ages 9 and up. Brianna is the new Associate Artistic Director of Western Arkansas Ballet. During the summers, Brianna works for Burklyn Ballet Theatre, where she teaches Ballet and Pointe and has the privilege of setting many classical Ballets. Brianna has been the director of the Burklyn Ballet Intermediate program for 5 years. She has performed the lead roles in classical ballets across the country such as Giselle, Le Corsaire, La Bayadere, Rodeo, Sleeping Beauty, Graduation Ball and The Nutcracker. She has also had the honor of performing classical works by Jose Limon, Alwin Nikolais and Ohad Naharin. Brianna’s teaching method has been influenced by many teachers including Rinat Mouzafarov, Donna Silva, Arthur Leeth, Helen Starr, Dylan Crossman and Thom Clower. She is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique. In 2018 and 2021, Brianna’s choreography was chosen to be performed at RDA’s southwest festival. She believes that Ballet technique comes from the understanding of Ballet History and its vocabulary. If you know where ballet comes from, you can appreciate how the art is evolving. Brianna is excited and honored to work with the dancers in Vail.

 
 

Ezra Schenck

Raised on a homestead in the mountains of Vermont, Ezra began dancing at a local studio as a

child. He joined the Boston Ballet School at age 15 and trained under Peter Stark for two years

before moving to Florida to continue his training with the Sarasota Ballet School. Ezra spent

three years in Sarasota, where he had multiple works choreographed on him by guests Gemma

Bond, Arcadian Broad, and resident choreographer Ricardo Graziano. He also danced in the

corps de ballet for several company productions including Johan Kobborg’s La Sylphide,

Kenneth MacMillan’s Elite Syncopations, and Balanchine’s Western Symphony. Ezra joined

Ballet Austin in 2023 and has been featured in company performances including Stephen Mills’s

Hamlet, The Nutcracker, and The Sleeping Beauty.

 

Hailey Stinchcomb

Hailey was born in Annapolis, Maryland, and moved to Florida at the age of 17 to continue her training at the Sarasota Ballet’s Margaret Barbieri Conservatory. In 2021, she joined the Sarasota Ballet Studio Company and was promoted to the position of Company Apprentice in 2022. During her time with The Sarasota Ballet, she had a principal role choreographed on her by company dancer Richard House, as well as the pleasure of performing in repertoire including Giselle, Serenade, Theme and Variations, Company B, Who Cares?, La Sylphide, Western Symphony, and Elite Syncopations. Hailey joined Twin Cities Ballet in September of 2024, and has since performed several principal roles with the company including the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and Christine in Phantom.