Project Members

Who We Are

Mary-Catherine McAlvany

Founder, Executive Director, Choreographer and Dancer

Raised in Houston, Texas, Mary-Catherine began dancing at age three under the guidance of Joee Shapiro and Carolyn Roberts School of Dance. She studied at numerous Tremaine Dance Conventions and US Summer Intensives. She also grew up training in musical theater with Theater Under the Stars’ Humphrey’s School of Musical Theater. At 17 she was in South Pacific with TUTS, and was a TUTS Intern during the partnership between TUTS and Disney culminating in the original musical, Beauty and the Beast. Mary-Catherine's choreography has been acknowledged at nationally respected competitions, winning multiple overall 1st place awards for large and small group categories, as well as choreography, entertainment and best technique awards. She has worked for National Dance Association and National Cheerleading Association, and numerous dance studios around the US. She went on to pursue modern and contemporary dance technique at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (Formerly Laban Dance Center) in England, performing new and experimental pieces for many notable contemporary British and European choreographers. Alongside earning a BA in philosophy and theology with honors from Boston College, Mary-Catherine attended the Boston Ballet School under ballet mistress Kristin Beckwith. She is a member of Merely Players theater company in Durango, CO, with whom she has performed in Mary Poppins (ensemble), Shrek the Musical (Sugar Plum Fairy/ ensemble), A Christmas Carol (Ghost of Christmas Past/ Mrs. Cratchet/ ensemble), Sense and Sensibility (Elinor Dashwood), and Velma Kelly in Chicago, and with whom she has choreographed MacBeth and Hamlet, directed All Together Now, and choreograph and co-directed

Bright Star.

Cassandra Owen

Founder, Co-Artistic Director, Choreographer and Dancer

Cassandra has undergone the study of Cecchetti ballet and musical theater in her hometown of Huntington Beach, CA. At Pomona College in Claremont and beyond, she has studied modern dance and theory, West African and African-American dance, world history in the context of ballet, and choreography. She finds herself drawn lately to folk song and dance tradition, improvisation of both song and dance, and the contemporary ballet style. Cassandra wants the whole world to remember their innate musicality and hone their bodily artistry.

Kasey Hall

Co-Artistic Director, Choreographer and Dancer

Kasey has been dancing, performing, and teaching dance ever since her 3rd grade talent show, after which she was hooked! Kasey has performed the lead role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker and lead role in CSUSB’s production of “The Witness.” Kasey co-founded Bear Lake Dance Company in her home town of Big Bear Lake, CA. She has performed with Los Angeles company Project 21, and as guest dancer with Boulder Colorado’s 3rd Law. In 2011, she found her niche dancing with the Hannah Khan Dance Company in Denver, with whom she danced for four years. More recently she co-founded and directed the Denver Choreographers Collaborative where she was able to showcase a growing body of choreographic work. Kasey currently dances with the Wildwood Dance Project, instructing, choreographing and creating dance media in Durango, CO. She has a good many more dance projects up her sleeve! She is also finishing her degree to be a licensed psychotherapist LPCC at NAROPA, and has recently opened two practices--a mindfulness counseling practice, Embodied Conscious Counseling, and Durango Walk and Talk Therapy .

Clara Burnett

Dancer

Clara Burnett began her dance journey at age 3 in her hometown of Palmer, Alaska under the guidance of Sonja’s Studio of Performing Arts. Over the years, her repertoire expanded to encompass various styles of dance including ballet, pointe, jazz, jazz drill, broadway jazz, lyrical, modern, and tap. Her passion quickly propelled her onto the traveling team, affording her the opportunity to showcase her talent along the West Coast at the Holiday Bowl, with Carnival Cruise Lines, and at Disney. For many years, she also enjoyed participating in the Alaskan Nutcracker as a part of the corps, eventually landing the role of Snow Queen. Upon reaching adulthood, Clara relocated to Durango to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Exercise Physiology with a minor in Psychology. Drawing upon over two decades of dance experience and five years of expertise as a physical therapy technician, Clara is poised at the intersection of movement, science, and wellness, ready to make an impact in the Durango community!

Anna-Noel Imbriaco

Dancer

Anna-Noel Imbriaco (she/they) grew up in North Carolina, receiving their early training at Wake Forest Civic Ballet. In 2023, they received a BFA in Dance with University Honors

from Colorado State University. During their time at CSU, Anna-Noel was selected to perform as a featured dancer in works by guest artist André Megerdichian and various

faculty members. Additionally, they were selected by faculty adjudicators to perform a self-choreographed solo in a mainstage concert for the dance department and produced a

dance film for their thesis project. Over the years, Anna-Noel has received additional training through summer intensives hosted by Richmond Ballet and Nashville Ballet, as well as some time spent in the pre-professional program at the School of Carolina Ballet. In addition to performing, they enjoy teaching and choreographing, and hope to spend more time doing both. Most recently, Anna-Noel has returned to Colorado and is currently dancing with Animus Movement.

Camilla Robertson

Guest Artist

Camilla Robertson (She/her) began dancing at age three, in her hometown of Corvallis, Oregon. As her passion grew, she trained at American Ballet Theater, NW Dance Project, Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet, State Street Ballet, Open Space, Visceral Dance Chicago, and Orsolina 28, among others. In 2023, she joined Cobos Mika Junior

Company in Catalonia, Spain. She has performed works by Medhi Walerski, Peter Mika, Marcos Morau, Crystal Pite, Flockworks, Ihsan Rustem, and Albert Galindo. She has been teaching and choreographing dance since age fifteen and finds community to be her founding source of inspiration. Her creative expression and unique style manifest in

her over 30 choreographic works for the stage and video. Camilla is also passionate about writing, photography, and film, and she hopes to pursue all of these art medias more in the future.