Teacher Bios
Heidi Thomas – Artistic Director
Heidi holds a B.A. in Dance Education from Colorado State University. She began teaching at the Morrow School of Dance in 1979 and subsequently purchased the studio in 1983, now known as Dance Arts Studio. Heidi has volunteered her expertise as a choreographer and teacher at Broomfield Heights Middle School, Westlake Village Middle School, Nativity of Our Lord, Broomfield High and Bal Swan Children’s Center. Heidi now serves as Artistic Director of Dance Arts Studio.
Stephanie McGill
Stephanie McGill is a native of Colorado and received her training from the Academy of Colorado Ballet and Dance Arts Studio. She attended Denver School of the Arts with a major in Dance and went on to earn a B.F.A. in Dance, graduating with honors from the University of Arizona. Stephanie has also studied at Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet West Conservatory, The Joffrey Ballet and Columbia City Ballet. Stephanie has danced professionally with the Boulder Ballet, David Taylor Dance Theatre, Interweave Dance Theatre, 7Dancers and New Breed Dance Company. She has also recently joined The Chadash Contemporary Dance Movement family. She has had the honor of performing annually with the fundraising event Dancing with the Broomfield Stars as well as teaching dance classes at Bal Swan Children’s Center. Stephanie is proud to be teaching at Dance Arts Studio, the studio she grew up at. It is her home away from home! She is an accomplished teacher of ballet, pointe, creative movement, tap, contemporary, hip-hop, and jazz and currently runs the performing group companies. She is also a certified Pilates instructor at Pilates Movement for Life, in Arvada. Stephanie is a proud mother of two amazing young boys and loves the support they and her husband always give!
Kelly Dornan
Kelly grew up in Central Maryland and trained at the Washington School of Ballet under Kee Juan Han, Kristian Windom, Monique Menuir, and Kimberly Sondregger. She then went to further her training at Texas Ballet Theater School under Ben Stevenson, Charmaine Hunter, and Kathy Warokomski. She then went on to dance for three seasons with Colorado Ballet’s Studio Company. During her time there, Kelly danced roles in the Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Serenade, and many others. Most recently, Kelly danced in the professional company of Georgia Dance Theatre, and was trained as a teacher for the Georgia Academy of Dance. Here, Kelly taught ballet, pointe, and strength for dancers to all ages, from 3-18. She was selected to choreograph for the student company of Georgia Dance Theatre in the production of Coppelia. Kelly is joining Boulder Ballet this season and is excited to join the Dance Arts Studio team!
Emily Magnuson
Emily Magnuson is a graduate of Minnesota State University Mankato, where she earned a BFA in Dance and a minor in Business Administration. Originally from Sioux Falls, SD, Emily moved to Boulder in the summer of 2017. She received many awards while studying in Mankato, including the Florence Sponberg Theatre Scholarship, the Richard and Mary Davenport Theatre Scholarship and several Outstanding Performance awards. She has performed works by Shapiro and Smith Dance Company, Zenon Dance Company, Allison Doughty Marquesen, Daniel Stark, Julie Kerr-berry, Lisa Conlin, Penelope Freeh, Jeffery Peterson, Eric Campros, and Tracy Stanfeld. In addition to her training at Minnesota State University Mankato, she has studied intensively at Balleraena Dance Studio in Sioux Falls, SD, studying many forms of dance including Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Modern/Contemporary, Hip Hop, and Pointe. She has attended multiple summer intensives including Shapiro and Smith Dance Intensive (Minneapolis, MN), TU Dance (St. Paul, MN), and Synthesis Dance Project (New York City, NY). Emily has taught dance at many studios as well as set choreography for the Balleraena Dance Company and her peers at Minnesota State University Mankato. She recently performed professionally with LiRa Dance Theater Company (SD) and has enjoyed performing with Eclectic Edge Ensemble in Minneapolis, MN. She is so excited to be a part of Dance Arts Studio!
Audra Edwards
Audra Edwards is from Eagle, Idaho, where she studied and performed with the Idaho Regional Ballet under the direction of Jeff and Cathy Giese. She continued her dance education at Butler University, where she received her BFA in dance performance. After Graduating, Audra moved to New York City to perform with Lydia Johnson Dance and various free-lance dance projects. In 2017, Audra joined the Hannah Kahn Dance Company in Denver. She currently is a company member with HKDC, as well as with T2 Dance Project. Audra loves the way her students inspire her to be a better dancer, teacher, and person.