2893 North Avenue
Grand Junction, CO 81501
970-243-5954

Dance Works Instructors

kathryn
Kathryn J. Schulte has made it her life's work to provide quality dance instruction in the Grand Valley.  She founded Dance Works in 1980 with the vision of creating a well-rounded dance program at an affordable price so that she could spread the joys of dance throughout the community.  Kathryn began her dance training right here in Grand Junction from Joanne Gardner.  She majored in ballet at the University of Utah under the direction of William Christensen and performed with the Utah Civic Ballet.  She transferred to the University of Colorado and studied under Larry Boyette, Nancy Spanier, and Charlotte Irey.  After graduating with a degree in dance she moved to San Francisco and was accepted as a company member in the Pacific Ballet Company.  Kathryn has and continues to attend master classes with countless legendary teachers and choreographers including Gus Giordano, Luigi, Joe Tremaine, Karen Hebert, Patricia Dickinson, Dolly Kelepecz, Mia Michaels, Frank Hatchett and others.

Kathryn has touched countless lives with her devotion to dance, both as a performer and a teacher.  Within her 27 years in business, Kathryn has seen generations of students waltz through the doors of Dance Works.  Her commitment to her students has always been exceptional from her business ethics to her teaching skills.  Kathryn has also been the primary seamstress for each of Dance Works' ballet productions and dance concerts, sewing over 600 costumes each year.

Kathryn is married to Terry Schulte, her loving and supportive husband.  They have three wonderful daughters:  April, Crystal, and Rachel.  All three have had professional dance careers.  Rachel, her youngest, is still dancing in "Les Folies Bergere" at the Tropicana in Las Vegas.
 
crystal
Crystal Schulte-Onsrud has been dancing since the age of three, trained by her mother Kathryn Schulte. Throughout her childhood, Crystal also had the opportunity to train with master teachers including Joe Tremaine, Bobbie Bolling, Mia Michaels, Paul Franklin, Charles Kelley, and continues to train with master teachers and choreographers currently through Dance Educators of America. Crystal performed and competed with the Dance Works Connection during Middle School through High School and received numerous scholarships and awards. She was named All American in High School and started instructing and choreographing for the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA DANZ) during her senior year. After attending Mesa State College she pursued a professional dancing career that began on Norwegian Cruise Lines with Jean Ann Ryan Productions in Miami, FL. Crystal later relocated to Las Vegas, NV and danced in "Jubilee" at the Bally's Resort and Casino, "Legends in Concert" with On Stage Productions at the Imperial Palace, and performed and choreographed in numerous concerts and benefits throughout Las Vegas, Los Angeles and surrounding areas. Crystal has also danced for Greg Thompson Productions in Lake Tahoe, NV. Crystal has a wonderful supportive husband and three beautiful children. She enjoys teaching the art of dance and disipline to her students and loves working alongside her mother and sister.
 

 

april

April L. Schulte-Barclay has been dancing since the age of three, training primarily with her mother at Dance Works through her childhood and teenage years.  As a sixth grader, April became the youngest member of the Dance Works Connection and won numerous awards at regional and national competitions.  In high school she trained for a summer with the David Taylor Dance Company in Denver, Colorado.  In college she attended the University of Northern Colorado on a dance scholarship where she danced with their performance troupe and ballet company.  She later transfered to Mesa State College to study within a premed program.  Alongside her studies at MSC, April taught many dance classes at Dance Works and won choreography awards through the dance program at MSC.  She also took a break from her undergraduate program and danced professionally with Jean Ann Ryan Productions in Philadelphia, PA.  After graduating Mesa State College with a major in biology and two minors in chemistry and dance, April danced professionally with Greg Thompson Productions in Tunica, MS.  Following her professional dance career, April received her masters degree in Oriental medicine, and she now owns Healing Horizons Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine and is pursuing her doctoral degree.  April is proud to be teaching at Dance Works alongside her mother and sister and is enjoying integrating her dance expertise with sports medicine related treatments in her clinic.
 
 

 

Elizabeth Gieck began dancing at Dance Works under the instruction of Kathryn Schulte when she was nine years old. She began with ballet, and now has had the opportunity to try nearly all types of dance the studio has to offer, including Tap, Jazz, Polynesian, Lyrical, Hip-Hop. Recently she has also begun studying Middle-Eastern. She now teaches Pre-Ballet, Jazz, Tap, and Ballet combo classes, as well as beginning Hip-Hop. She loves teaching children and having the opportunity to learn from them. She feels blessed to be teaching alongside her greatest influences, the Schultes and one of her best friends Natasha Kranow. Elizabeth also attends Mesa State College where she is working towards getting her degree in Art Education.     
 
 

 

Mary Krasnow has been involved with Middle Eastern Dance for nearly 30 years,  24 of those years as an instructor at Dance Works Studio. Mary has studied Middle Eastern Dance with Nationally and Internationally renowned dancers, including but not limited to,  Morocco of New York, Suhaila Samimpour – San Francisco, Amaya – Texas, Delilah – Seattle, Suzanna Del Vecchio and Joynan of Denver, Jamila and Calypso as well as Azia of Salt Lake City. Mary also has a background in Ballet, Jazz and Tap as well as Polynesian Dance and is studying Anusara Yoga. Mary is Co-Director of Khubsurat Ruh Middle Eastern Dance Troupe with her daughter Natasha.
 
 

 

Natasha Krasnow has been dancing since the age of two, beginning her training at Dance Works and continuing there through her high school years. After graduating from high school, Natasha spent a year studying dance at the University of Kansas where she studied with notable instructors Jerel Hilding, Patrick Suzeau, and Muriel Cohan. While attending KU, Natasha had the opportunity to take many professional master classes in Flamenco, African, and Bharatanatyam East Indian dance. She also studied technique with members of the Fosse Company and the Pilobolus Modern Dance Company. Natasha now attends Mesa State College where she has been featured as a dancer and choreographer in the theatre and dance departments. At MSC, Natasha has been selected to train with guest choreographers Jay Franke, Keith Clifton, and Tracy Stanfield. Through the years, Natasha has been greatly involved in musical theatre and considers herself a musician as well as a dancer. Natasha will graduate from MSC in May 2008 with her B.A. in dance and a minor in anthropology.
 
 

 

Terry Catlin began dancing ballet at 4 years of age. She took her first Middle Eastern class in 1987, studying at Dance Work's studio and continues to attend workshops and seminars and performs in many locations throughout the western United States. She began teaching belly dance in 1997. She set the foundation for tribal belly dance classes in 1999 at Dance Work's, which continue today, and is the director of Woman's Tribal Fusion Belly Dance Troupe. She is certified by Carolina Nericcio in American Tribal Style (ATS) Belly dance.
 
 

George and Marilyn Kelley

 

Deanna has been practicing Yoga for approximately 4 years, but recently decided to dedicate her life to sharing her passion of Yoga with others.  Deanna finished 200 hours of Teacher Training at The Academy of Yoga in July, under the wonderful instruction of Kevin Durkin, who is a certified intermediate (junior) yoga teacher by the United States Iyengar
Association.  Deanna practices Anusara and Iyengar inspired Yoga, and she hopes through her teaching she can help others enhance their lives, just as hers has been, with the practice of Yoga.  She has known Crystal and her family since she was five, and is very honored and excited to be a part of Dance Works.
 
 

 

Chad Kaneakua was born and raised in Hawaii, where he learned street dancing, when it was done in the streets. Among the crews he has danced with, his own Rhythm Nation, ('90-'91 undefeated), solidified his love for street dancing. In '91 Chad moved to Utah and joined the BYU Ballroom Dance Company's touring team where he received most of his formal dance training. Street dancing and ballroom combined, Chad has learned from some of the best performers, competitors, and choreographers in the nation and in the world, these include: Dave Carter, Wade Robson, Johnnie Smith, EZ Rock (Rock Steady Crew), Ron Martez and Corky and Shirley Balles to name a few. In 1997, due to the commercialization of Hip Hop, Chad returned to his roots to teach breakdancing, Chad's credentials include Fluid TV, Sprint Extreme Sports, Disney's "Luck of the Irish", two nation and international tours. Chad has created his own breakdancing curriculum for all ages and boasts Utah's first full-blown breakdancing program. He has organized, and is the director of the "crowds favorite" Fresh Breakers Inc., which is Utah's first performing breakdancing company. F.B.I. is now in its 2nd generation and is better known as "F.B.2G." Chad's goal has been to organize and elevate the art of breakdancing into a level that ranks among the other dance forms. He brings more than 20 years of streetdancing experience to our program and we are thrilled to have him here with us. Chad's Breakers also competed in Chicago at "Urban Jamm" and took 'First Place" in everything they performed. They simply Rock.

 

 

 



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