DIRECTOR & TEACHER

Rosana Barragan is a dance educator and performing artist. She has taught children for over 20 years, and is deeply passionate about investigating movement in infants and children. Rosana owns Calliope Dance Studio for children in San Francisco. She is also a professor of dance at Saint Mary’s College of California.

Originally from Colombia, Rosana earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Social Studies from Universidad Javeriana in Bogota; and a Master’s degree in Dance from the Laban Centre, City University in London. She has served as a professor of dance at Universidad Javeriana and Academia Superior de Artes de Bogota in her native Colombia, and since 2006 at Saint Mary’s College of California. She has worked as a teacher, guest artist and dancer with the Latin Ballet of Virginia since 1998. Rosana has been involved with dance since birth, inheriting the art form from her mother.

Read more about Rosana here.

CALLIOPE CLASS TEACHER

Kelsey Bergstrom is an interdisciplinary artist, performer, and educator of dance, music and theatre. She has been performing professionally in plays, musicals, and dance shows since age eleven. She earned her B.A. in Theatre Arts and Literature from Sarah Lawrence College, including rigorous dance training in ballet, modern, jazz, tap, and stage-dance. She is now pursuing an MFA in Dance at Saint Mary’s College. Since 2014 she has taught at Calliope, and she now loves teaching as much as performing. Supporting the growth of young artists fulfills her life-goal of nurturing the creative spark in all people; creating a healthier, happier, more expressive world.

CALLIOPE CLASS TEACHER

Colleen Bialas is originally from Muskegon, MI and graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy. After high school she was trained with the Richmond Ballet of Virginia for two years before moving to Santa Barbara, California where she performed with the State Street Ballet and Ballet Santa Barbara. She has performed in Santa Barbara Dance Alliances’ New Works show and at the Monterey Dance Festival. She attended San Francisco State University where she studied Biology and Dance, and she earned her MFA in Dance from the University of California, Irvine.  Colleen has taught at Calliope since 2012, both during the school year and at the annual summer camps. She enjoys teaching and sharing her knowledge and love of dance with her students!

FLAMENCO & WORLD DANCE TEACHER

Kerensa DeMars was captivated by Flamenco while earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the San Francisco Art Institute. With a background in ethnic dance, her passion for Flamenco led her to Madrid in 1997 where she joined renowned world music group Radio Tarifa and toured with them as a featured dancer through 2003. In those seven years she studied with Spain’s foremost Flamenco artists including the great maestro Toni ‘El Pelao’. She has performed internationally – at London’s Royal Festival Hall, the Teatro Calderón of Madrid and the Tivoli in Barcelona. Kerensa has directed Flamenco/Arabic productions both in the US and Spain, most recently the Flamenco/Moroccan fusion project Zahara at San Francisco’s Cowell Theater. She directs and performs in the weekly ‘Flamenco Room’ show, now in its tenth consecutive year. Kerensa was appointed to the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards Committee. She teaches at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts and conducts workshops both in the US and abroad. She is thrilled to join Calliope and to share her passion for Flamenco with the children!

CALLIOPE CLASS TEACHER

Jana Griffin is a dancer, teacher, choreographer and artist from Fresno, CA. After falling in love with dance at the age of two, throughout her youth she studied jazz, ballet, tap, hip-hop and contemporary dance. She earned her BA in Dance from San Francisco State University. Since then, she has designed musical theater choreography for high schools, colleges, and professional theater companies in Fresno and the Bay Area. As a member of the contemporary dance theater company detour dance, she was featured in the film "Rawhide" and in the work for the stage, "Beckon." Currently she teaches modern dance at The Hamlin School for grades K-4. She loves to share her passion for dance and to cultivate a connection between movement, expression, and joy in young bodies, minds, and hearts.

EURYTHMY TEACHER

Isabella was born in Brazil and grew up in Cochabamba, Bolivia. After completing high school in Bolivia she studied movement at the University of Dance in Venezuela. Then, in England she discovered Eurythmy and has dedicated herself to this art form that meets her life’s calling. She received her diploma in Eurythmy from Rudolf Steiner College in 2010 and furthered her training at Eurythmy Spring Valley in New York. Isabella has been an Assistant Teacher in Waldorf-inspired nursery and kindergarten classrooms in Colorado and Oregon, and she has taught Eurythmy in the early grades. In 2013 she joined Waldorf School of the Peninsula in Los Altos, CA, bringing Eurythmy to the grades one through five. Isabella is thrilled to join Calliope during the summer to share her love for both dance and Eurythmy with the children.

CALLIOPE CLASS TEACHER

Candy Ramírez recently moved to the US from Spain. She studied Dance at the Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid. She earned her MFA in Performing Arts in 2010, her BFA in Pedagogy of Classical Dance in 2010, and her BFA in Choreography and Interpretation of Classical and Contemporary Dance in 2008. She was taught by renowned dancers including maître Loipa Araujo and maître Lienz Chang of the Cuban National Ballet. She has received scholarships to international courses led by Victor Ullate and Nacho Duato. Candy has classical and contemporary dance performing experience, as a dancer at the Young Ballet of Madrid and other companies. Candy has taught dance since 2008, including ballet and contemporary dance at all levels. Most recently, Candy served as Artistic Director of the Marcelo Gomez Matias Foundation in Avila, Spain, a position she held until she came to the US. Candy has explored other dancing disciplines. She joined the WiTeam company of Hip-Hop in 2010, as a dancer and later as a teacher and artistic advisor. She also enjoys the dances of many latin rhythms such as salsa, bachata, merengue, and cha-cha-cha.