Faculty

The Faculty

The Sweatshop team brings with it a wealth of knowledge, experience, and diversity unparalleled anywhere in the region. Hailing from all over the world, the faculty includes dancers, teachers, and choreographers from Las Vegas, Broadway, Los Angeles, professional sports dance teams, as well as professional ballet, modern, and jazz companies, giving students access and insight into virtually every professional dance niche there is! Please view the impressive facutly bios listed below.

Brian Young Owner/Director (Jazz/Lyrical/Tap/Assembly Line)
A Colorado native, Brian Young began singing and dancing at a very young age and quickly realized that the performing arts would become his life’s work. After graduating High School Brian moved to Las Vegas, NV to attend UNLV as a dance performance major. While in school Brian taught and performed in and around Las Vegas. Some of his performing credits include EFX, starring Tommy Tune, at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, The Bob Fosse Review at the Rio Hotel and Casino, numerous conventions and industrials, music videos, and in 1999/2000 was privileged to sing back up for Barbra Streisand in Timeless: The Millennium Concerts at MGM Grand Garden Arena under the direction of Marvin Hamlish. Brian later moved to Chicago to further train and dance with Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago where he was mentored by “The first woman of jazz dance”, Pattie Obey, as well as working　with jazz dance greats including Gus Giordano, Frank Hatchett, Sherie Zunker-Dow, Eddie Ocampo, Debbie Tillman, and Emily Yewell.　 Brian moved from Chicago to perform with the LA Jazdanz Company and was later chosen to premier its sister company LA Jazdanz 2 as a principal dancer in San Francisco, CA. He later took a position as a dance captain with Royal Caribbean International to launch the mega ship “Adventure of the Seas” before moving back to Colorado to plant some roots. Brian has taught master classes at over twenty Colorado dance studios and taught Advanced levels of Jazz, Lyrical, and Tap class at both locations of Colorado Ballet Academy where he was also the Competition Program Director.　　For the past　four years Brian has been a guest Jazz dance teacher and choreographer at Denver School of the Arts.　 Locally, Brian has set choreography on both David Taylor Dance Theatre and Colorado Ballet, and has choreographed numerous award winning pieces for his students including both first and second place Contemporary Ballet pieces at the Youth American Grand Prix ballet competition.　 Recently Brian taught jazz　on the Manhattan Dance Project tour, a national tour featuring master classes by Broadway’s premier dancers, and himself. Since the age of 7 Brian always dreamed of the day he'd open his own studio - SWEATshop is the culmination of years of dedication and hard work and is the realization of this dream!

Dana Benton (Ballet)
Dana Benton is from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and is a soloist with the Colorado Ballet. She trained at The National Ballet School in Toronto and the Hamburg Ballet School in Germany. She was awarded the Peter Dwyer Scholarship for Excellence in Dance in 2000. Her many roles over the years have included Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Lucy in Dracula, Cowgirl in Rodeo, Swanhilda in Coppelia, Ave Maria Pas de Deux, Clara and Sugarplum in The Nutcracker, Tinkerbell in Peter Pan, Flower Girl and Cupid in Don Quixote, Peasant Pas de Deux in Giselle, Pink and Aqua in Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1, Gulnara in Le Corsaire, Hermia and Peaseblossom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Flames of Paris Pas de Deux, Bomb Squad in In The Upper Room, and Lead Souvenir Lady in Great Galloping Gottschalk. Mrs. Benton is in her eleventh season with the Colorado Ballet where she has also taught in the Academy and for it's prestigious Summer Intensive Program.

Tami Bing (Lyrical/HipHop/Assembly Line)
Tami Bing is a graduate of Colorado State University receiving a degree in Dance and Psychology.　 During this　time, Tami's Choreography was selected　to perform in the American　College Dance Festival in Wichita, Kansas in　2000. Right out of college, Tami traveled to Boise Idaho to teach at a 3 week Summer Dance Festival at Boise State University. She has been dancing for over 25 years.　Dance training includes Jazz, Hip-hop,　tap, ballet, lyrical, poms, character, musical theatre, clogging, break dancing, contemporary and modern.　 Tami danced as a Denver Nuggets Dancer from 1996-2000 and was captain of the team for 3 years. During this time she was selected to travel to Las Vegas to dance at a trade show for Everlast.　 Tami was a member of the　Damsels Dance Company from 2000-2003. She has been teaching dance for 17 years at local studios in the Denver metro area including The Academy of Colorado Ballet, serving as the company director and co-founder of their competitive company, Aspirations from 2006-2009. Amongst these years she has received numerous high score awards as well as Choreography and Icon awards. Tami has worked with many　local and　nation wide high school pom and cheerleading squads. She has also had the opportunity to choreograph with the Denver School of the Arts for their spring and fall concerts. Outside of teaching, she is currently traveling with Elevation dance convention. Tami is very excited to begin her journey with SWEATshop. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time at home with her Husband and her　2 children.

Mindy Bor (Jazz/Lyrical/Tap/Assembly Line)
Mindy began training at Concert Dance Conservatory at the age of 3. She trained for over 15 years, devoting intensive study to ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, lyrical and modern. She danced as a company member at CDC and began modeling and dancing professionally at the age of 8. She then continued to train and dance as a company member at Dance Movement and Denver Contemporary Dance. Within these companies, she had the privilege of studying with such instructors as Debbie Marcus, Debbie Mercer, Thomas Dixon, Kathy Saenz, Corrine Reed, Brian Manning and Franca Talesio. In addition, she attended master intensives led by Prof. James Clouser, John James Beasant III, Paula Morgan and Kenneth Green, among many others. Ms. Bor began teaching dance in 1994, served as Director of Theatrical Instruction for CRP Community Theater from 2004-2006 and taught for Danza Dance Academy from 2005-2007. She joined the staff at the Academy of Colorado Ballet in 2007 where she worked as an instructor and as the Petite Rhapsody Ensemble director at their South location. She currently teaches for Dance Kaleidoscope, Denver Dance Center, High Pointe Dance Academy and as a guest instructor for Belliston Academy of Dance. In addition to teaching, Ms. Bor has performed with Davis Contemporary Dance for the last 3 seasons and with Louder Than Words Dance Theater during their 2010/2011 season. Mindy's performance credits also include leading roles in local musical theater productions. Some of her favorite parts have included Rosie in Bye, Bye, Birdie, Antonia in Man of La Mancha and Sr. Robert Ann in Nunsense. Her notable choreography projects include Singin’…Rain (DCHS); Anything Goes (FRMT Lincoln Center—assist chor); Man of La Mancha (Augustana Arts—gypsy sequence chor) and Joseph...Dreamcoat(Performance Now). Mindy is thrilled to be a part of Sweatshop's top-notch teaching staff and professional quality training program.

Mia Brown (Contemporary/Hip Hop)
Mia has been teaching dance in Denver, Colorado, for over 15 years and working as a guest teacher and choreographer around the country for 8 years receiving numerous choreography awards. She has trained with choreographers such as Cris Judd, Wade Robson, Liz Imperio and Mia Michaels among others. Mia brings expertise in hip hop, contemporary and jazz, having performed nationwide in each. Mia is the director of Elevation Dance Convention and is also currently directing the dance program at a local high school in Colorado and acts as the head coach for the schools dance team.

Kristi Capps (Ballet)
A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Kristi Capps began dancing at the age of nine. Her ballet training includes the School of American Ballet, Harid Conservatory and North Carolina School of the Arts. While at NCSA, she was chosen to study and perform with the Hungarian State Ballet School in Budapest, Hungary. Upon her graduation, she was a member of the Atlanta Ballet for three seasons and then joined Cincinnati Ballet in 1996. Rising quickly through the ranks to Principal, Ms. Capps delighted audiences in many lead roles including Swanhilda in Coppelia, Kitri in Don Quixote, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Giselle in Giselle, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cinderella in Cinderella and Diamond pas de deux in George Balanchine's Jewels. Her repertoire also includes works by choreographers such as Twyla Tharp, Val Caniparoli, Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Trey McIntyre, Kirk Peterson, Stanton Welch and Jorma Elo. In 2002, Kristi danced the role of the Sleepwalker in the recreation of George Balanchine's La Sonnambula under the direction of Frederic Franklin, CBE for the Balanchine Trust Archives. As a guest artist, she performed with many ballet companies and galas such as the International Ballet Festival of Miami, Florida, International Dance Festival in Vail, Colorado, and Stars of American Ballet in Spain. Ms. Capps also danced as a principal with the Chautauqua Ballet Company in New York under the direction of Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux. In 2007, she performed original works by Luca Veggetti at New York City’s Guggenheim Museum “Works in Process” series and in 2008 she performed the leading role in George Balanchine’s Chaconne with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. As well as being a Principal Dancer with the Cincinnati Ballet, Ms. Capps maintained a faculty position with the Otto M. Budig Academy of the Cincinnati Ballet. She has held guest faculty positions at Midwest Ballet Theater, The Eric Kunzel School of Creative and Performing Arts, and Northern Cincinnati Youth Ballet. She has also been a guest teacher at numerous ballet schools, colleges, and conservatories in numerous states including North Carolina, Maryland, Ohio and Alabama.

Alisa Felin (Children's Program)
As lithe as she is alluring, Alisa Felin has been a dancer for nearly as long as she has known how to speak. The language of dancing has taken Ms. Felin around the world, and back again, to the heart of her beginnings experiencing the joyful, meaningful discoveries found within dance. Ms. Felin began her career as a dancer at the age of three at a dance studio in Scottsdale, Arizona. There began a lifelong passion for dance, including Tap, Jazz, and Ballet, along with the fundamentals for what would become an impressive dance career. Ms. Felin is an award-winning Dupree Dance Competition performer whose dance studies notably include intensive study under the renowned Jean Paul Comelin at The School of Arizona Ballet. While attending Arizona State University to earn a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications and Sociology, Ms. Felin's studies included collegiate level Modern Dance, Improvisation, and Ballet. The rigors of collegiate training prepared Ms. Felin for a prominent role pursuing her lifelong dance passion; Ms. Felin danced for three years as a professional cheerleader, earning a noteworthy position with The Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders as Captain.

Upon earning her degree from ASU, Ms. Felin was distinguished with an invitation to join Cheerleaders of America, an elite group of dancers featuring former NFL cheerleaders. In her role within the organization, Ms. Felin performed for military troops around the world, traveling to destinations worldwide, including Greece, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, and Italy. Pursuing her dance passion around the world, Ms. Felin eventually returned to her roots upon moving to Denver in 2004. The joy of childhood dance and instruction is where Ms. Felin's passion for the art began, and it is where she has invested her talent and heart. Ms. Felin has spent nearly the last decade as a dance instructor specializing in Creative Dance, Tap, Jazz, and Ballet. Ms. Felin joins Sweatshop after having spent the past four years as a highly regarded and sought after instructor with Academy of Colorado Ballet. Ms. Felin's dance passion enlivens all aspects of her life, passion, and joy, including her entrepreneurial spirit. Ms. Felin owns and operates Alisa’s Dance Party (www.alisasdanceparty.com), offering premiere entertainment for children's parties in the Denver area. With wholehearted kindness, exceptional talent, and warm radiance, Ms. Felin is a standout among standouts. She is passionately aligned with the energetic principles and stellar draw of Denver's hottest place to sweat.

Jacob James Mora (Modern Fusion)
Born and raised in the Mile High City of Denver CO, Jacob is the artistic Director of Moraporvida Contemporary Dance, a company based on urban experiences and human emotions., Quickly becoming a sought after choreographer for his unique and powerful repertory Jacob works as an international performer teacher and artist.

Jacob received a Bachlor of Arts from the University of Northern Colorado in Dance & Theatre, with emphasis in Choreography, Acting, and Performance. Jacob has been a member of the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Hannah Kahn Dance, Santee Smith Group, Kaleidoscope Dance Theatre, and Alaska Dance Theatre. He has had the pleasure of working with and dancing the works of Choreographers such as Donald Mckayle, Betty Jones, Ron Brown, Milton Meyers, David Rousseve, Eleo Pomare, David Dorfman and Lisa Race among many.

Jacob Choreographs and teaches around the Country using a unique blend of Contemporary and traditional techniques, fusing Modern, Jazz, Hip Hop, Poetry and ethnic and urban culture. He has been on faculty with the University of Wyoming and the New York Institute of Dance, as well as guest artist and teacher for may other schools, festivals and institutions.

Danielle Sunseri (Ballet)
Danielle Sunseri, an Ohio native, trained as a competitive swimmer and gymnast before studying classical dance. She began at age 14 with German Zamuel and Valentina Moukhanova at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, studied on scholarship with PBTS Schenley Program and Graduate Program under David Holladay and Patricia Wilde, and trained at North Carolina School for the Arts and Mercyhurst College in Performance and Pedagogy. After studies in NYC, at Ballet Arizona and the Colorado Ballet Apprentice Program, she joined Colorado Ballet in 1995 under the direction of Martin Fredmann. She enjoyed various roles in Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, Balanchine’s Serenade and Stars & Stripes, and the principle role of Pioneer Woman in the 1998 historic staging of Martha Graham’s Appalachian Spring. She performed extensively with Kim Robards Dance, as a guest artist with Russian Ballet, Kanopy Dance Company and International Youth Ballet, and worked with noted repetiteurs Patricia Neary, Bart Cook, Janet Eilber, Janek Schergen, James Canfield, Gregory Dawson and others. She is a contemporary soloist in her sixth season with David Taylor Dance Theatre and a soloist and rehearsal assistant for Zikr Dance Ensemble. Ms. Sunseri has 15 years experience instructing young students in foundational levels of classical ballet, stretch, conditioning, character, and choreography. She has been a faculty instructor for nine years with Academy of Colorado Ballet, her first three under the inspiring direction of prima ballerina Patricia Renzetti. Before joining ACB, she was a teacher apprentice under Nadya Zubkov and Kee Juan Han at the School of Ballet Arizona and later completed teacher training seminars in the Russian method with Nadia Tikhonova, Zhanna Dubrovskaya, and Mansur Kamaletdinov. She has instructed students of all levels on several faculties including the School of Ballet Arizona, Pittsburgh Youth Ballet, Rocky Mountain School of Dance, Belliston Academy of Ballet, Youth Ballet Colorado, and International Ballet School and was rehearsal assistant and contributing choreographer for International Youth Ballet productions for two seasons. She directed the youth program for David Taylor Dance Theatre (Ascot) Academy of Ballet and choreographed and staged the children’s Mother Ginger divertissement for David Taylor Dance Theatre’s Nutcracker for three years while conducting numerous literacy-based dance residencies in the Englewood Public Elementary Schools. Ms. Sunseri also teaches beginning ballroom and enjoys directing her own ballet program for figure skaters and gymnasts.