Faculty

The most important part of any dance study is the quality of the faculty. Colorado Dance Center’s faculty has been selected with great care. All instructors are experienced teachers and performers. Our ballet instructors are trained in Vaganava, Cechetti, and Russian ballet styles, making our studio truly American in its collaboration of techniques and styles. Our Hip Hop instructors incorporate classic hip hop, poppin’n’ lockin, breaking, and house styles. Our Jazz instructors incorporate broadway, pop, poms, and lyrical jazz styles.

Tina Milius is a proud alumnus of Colorado Dance Center. With over 20 years of dance and performing experience, she trained with Colorado Dance Center for 10 years. Tina has trained and performed with many different ballet companies around the Denver metro-area. She strongly believes classical ballet is the foundation upon which great dancers are built. All other existing forms of dance benefit from its extensive technique. Her expertise includes Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Lyrical, Modern, and Hip-hop. She personally studied and performed with the renowned choreographer, Misha Gabriel Hamilton, with Soul Motion Dance Company. Tina continued her dance education at BYU Provo as a Composite Dance Major, with her emphasis in Ballet. She has instructed and choreographed in Colorado, Utah, and Idaho.

Kristine has extensive experience as a performer, choreographer, and ballet teacher. She was a prima ballerina for the Salt Lake City Chamber Ballet Company and was affiliated with Ballet West. Kristine owned and directed her own Dance Studio until moving to Colorado. Currently, she instructs our advanced and performing company.. Kristine loves her students and wants to help them excel in their self-mastery of ballet technique and make the love of dance a meaningful part of their lives.

Robin has been teaching ballet in the Denver Metro Area for over 30 years. She has staged numerous ballets including: the Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, Firebird, Les Sylphides and Paquita. Some of Robin’s other accomplishments include: Ballerina with Denver Civic Ballet, Ballet Now and other local companies; Choreographer for reproductions of a children’s musical theater company; and presently Ballet Mistress for the Department of Dance and Movement at the Denver School of the Performing Arts. Robin attended Loretto Heights College with a major in Ballet and a minor in Modern dance. She also studied music, dance medicine and education at other colleges and universities. Robin’s greatest pleasure is to teach and pass on her love of dance to her students.

Joanna has loved and studied ballet in Denver since she was nine years old. Joanna knew very early that she wanted to be a ballet teacher. To prepare for teaching, Joanna has taken the teacher certification courses in the Cecchetti method of ballet. She also has studied the modern dance methods of Martha Graham and Horton, as well as Spanish style dancing including Flamenco and Esuela Bolero (a soft-shoed style of dance much like ballet). She danced in the performing company of the Imperial Academy of Dance. Joanna is excited to be following her dream of teaching and sharing her love of dance with her students here at Colorado Dance Center..

Gianina Bunce teaches the Creative Dance class for children 3-6 years of age. She lays the foundation for children’s first experience with dance by nurturing their natural abilities and love for the performing arts. She comes to CDC with a background in Dance and a degree in Early Childhood Education. She was a member of the “Style Dance Team” at BYU-I. She is a former preschool teacher having taught in Windsor and Littleton, Colorado. She is the mother of four young children, two of which dance at Colorado Dance Center. Her teaching technique is play-based making stretch-time, barre work and dancing lots of fun. The children explore favorite childhood themes including; seasons and special holidays through a variety of music, movement, and dramatic dance expression. All movement is developmentally age appropriate and enhanced with her fun games and props. .

She choreographed Dance Tech’s award winning Senior Jazz and Hip-Hop III competitive dance routines in 2005, and was a guest judge at 2005 Technical Dreams Dance Competition in Idaho Falls. In August 2007 she returned with honor to Colorado Dance Center as the new owner and director. She believes Colorado Dance Center’s success is due to the philosophy and quality instruction established by Bonnie Berman, the founder of Colorado Dance Center (est. 1982). Tina is excited to continue to build upon the studio’s 30 year legacy. She wants to share her expertise and love of dancing with everyone who enters the doors at Colorado Dance Center.

Bridget Luly's passion for dance was ignited at three years old in creative dance. She has danced with Colorado Dance Center for almost 17 years. Along the way, she has danced at various studios including International Ballet School and Peak Athletics. Her focus has expanded from ballet to jazz, hip, hop, modern and lyrical. Teaching has become a huge passion of hers. Through teaching, Bridget hopes to share with young dancers what dance means to her and help each student to discover what dance means to them.