Our Staff
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Deanna Bren
Executive Director
Deanna's four years of leadership have been instrumental in Festival Dance weathering through the Pandemic, and numerous venue issues that have arisen. She continues to persevere in bringing professional touring artists to the Palouse and has successfully welcomed Ballet Victoria, Rainbow Dance Theatre, Ballet Fantastique & Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble.
Deanna has a strong public relations and educational background and holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies from EWU. Before Festival, she was a founding member and director of Cornerstone Educational Cooperative, a large, one-day-a-week, dynamic, alternative learning environment based in Moscow, ID, and worked in promotions for The Spokesman-Review and as the Communications Director for The Salvation Army in Spokane, WA. Deanna has taught art classes and public speaking participated in music and theater productions and promoted the arts for several years.
Rachel Winchester
Academy Director & Community Engagement Specialist
Rachel Winchester is a choreographer, educator, and filmmaker with a passion for innovative storytelling. She holds both a Bachelor's and a Master's of Fine Arts in Dance. She has had the privilege to teach hundreds of dancers of all ages, including students at the University of Idaho, the University of Oregon, and Pacific Lutheran University. Rachel's choreography has been recognized and presented through the American College Dance Association and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, the San Diego & Tijuana Mexico International Fringe Festival, Movement Research and Williamsburg Arts Nexus in New York City, and Seattle’s 12 Min Max at Base Experimental Arts. Her films have been featured in 40 North International Film Festival, Idaho Screendance Festival, and ACDA Northwest conferences. Her choreographic research was presented at the 2019 National Dance Education Conference in Miami. Rachel loves working with talented young people. She has been a children’s dance instructor for Festival Dance Academy in Moscow, Idaho and for the American Dance Institute in Seattle, WA. She recently worked as a physical education teacher in Tacoma Public Schools and was a 2022 guest artist for Seattle’s Kaleidoscope youth dance company. Rachel is excited to be back living and working in the Moscow/Pullman area, and to bring her education and experience to the role of Academy Director & Community Engagement Specialist for Festival Dance.
Taylor Luck
Outreach Coordinator, Discover Dance Instructor
Ballet 5, Pre-Pointe & Genesee location
Taylor has a Bachelor of Science in Dance and serves as a member of AmeriCorps. Taylor first started with tap dance at 3 years of age and followed her passion while growing up in Spokane, WA. Through middle school and high school, she danced competitively on her studio team as well as her high school dance team. Taylor is a graduate of the University of Idaho Dance program with a minor in business. She is currently working on her Pilates certification through the UI. Taylor is so excited to reach out to the community and bring dance instruction directly into area schools, especially the rural Palouse. She loves connecting with educators and coordinating professional Touring Artist’s Youthreach programs. She also continues to teach at Festival Dance Academy in Level 5 Ballet and takes beginning Ballet to the community of Genesee.
Saskia Zijlstra
Financial
Assistant
Saskia moved to Pullman in August 2018 with her husband and 2 boys. Saskia began working for Festival Dance in November 2019.
Before moving to Pullman she lived in Augusta GA and worked in a similar job helping to run a tennis academy.
She and her family moved to Wisconsin, but she still helps remotely with the Annual Budget and training. Saskia has a great love for the arts and her family. Saskia enjoys spending time outdoors whether working in her beautiful flower beds or going on adventurous hikes with her boys. She is also a creative person working in the wholesale floral industry, and designs theater costumes and sewing in her spare time.
Melia Gold
Administrative Assistant
Melia is from Wenatchee, Washington and she just moved to Moscow this year, 2022. This is her first year with Festival Dance, and she is very excited to be working with us. Melia previously worked as an Accounts Payable Coordinator in her hometown while she was finishing he Bachelor's degree at WSU-Global,
and decided she wanted to go back to school for her accounting degree this winter. Melia has always had a great appreciation for the arts. She danced as a child and took choir classes growing up. She was also self-taught on the piano and the ukulele. In her free time, Melia loves to go to the gym, sing, play her ukulele, and draw portraits.
Our Dance Instructors
Our Dance Instructors
Colleen L. Bialas
Senior Level Instructor
Ballet 3/4 & 6
Instructor at UI Dance
Colleen is originally from Muskegon, Michigan, and graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy. She attended San Francisco State University (BS) for her undergraduate studies and holds an MFA in Dance from the University of California Irvine.
Colleen has performed with Ballet Santa Barbara, State Street Ballet, and the Richmond Ballet. During her professional career, she performed in works by George Balanchine, Brian Carey Chung, Carrie Diamond, Benjamin Harkarvy, Melinda Horwitz, and Robert Sund among others. Colleen has considerable experience teaching, choreographing, and restaging works. Her MFA thesis work focused on creating a written history of ballet companies in Los Angeles. She additionally taught at the Performing Arts Academy of Marin (Mill Valley, CA), Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp (Twin Lake, MI), and Calliope Dance Studio (San Francisco, CA). She is thrilled to be back in Moscow with her daughter!
Sophia Raasch
Ballet 1
Bachelor of Science in Nutrition
Minor in Dance
University of Idaho
Sophia has always had a love for the performing arts. Growing up in a musical household, she learned the art of singing, acting, and dancing.
She has been dancing for 10 years and intends to keep dancing for as long as she can. Sophia trained at Festival Dance before entering Movement Sciences at the U.I. Sophie is excited to be returning to Festival to teach and share her love for dance and performance with others. She is currently enrolled at the U.I. and working towards a BS in Food & Nutrition as well as completing prerequisites for a Physical Therapy degree. Her goal is to one day have a practice where she can specialize in health and wellness for performing artists.
Julia Jitkov
Ballet 5/6 Conditioning &
Intermediate Pointe
Bachelor of Science
Physics & Mathematics
Washington State University
Julia Jitkov grew up in Pullman WA, where she began dancing at a young age and discovered her passion and love for ballet. She trained with Sears Dance Academy
and Graham Ballet Theater, and Ballet Arts Academy (BAA) in Spokane WA. Julia was a Senior Company dancer at BAA and has performed several leading roles. She fulfilled an internship and began teaching ballet at Ballet Arts Academy in 2019. Julia danced with The Russian Nutcracker with the Moscow (Russia) Ballet and participated in a Music-fest Northwest ballet competition. She had the honor of performing the Dying Swan variation from Swan Lake during the Spokane Bach Festival with live accompaniment by Grammy Award winner Zuill Bailey. She trained at multiple summer intensives around the US including Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and the Joffrey Ballet School.
She is very excited to join the Festival of Dance and is thrilled to teach again.
Festival Dance Board of Directors:
Sharon Stoll Chair
Jennifer Beller Vice Chair
Taylor Raney Treasurer
Liddy Klang Secretary
Trish Gardner
Joann Muneta
Mitch Weisbrod
Advisors & Honorary Board
Advisors & Honorary Board
David Phelan Michelle Hovey
Janis Hall Susan & Bill Weed
Dawn Melton Molly Pannkuk
Jillian Naylor
Lyrical, Musical Theatre
& Troy Ballet
Pre-Veterinary Science Major
University of Idaho
Jillian is an undergraduate student at the University of Idaho studying Pre-Veterinary Science. She grew up dancing competitively as well as recreationally at a studio in California, and has experience in Contemporary, Hip-hop, Ballet,
Pointe, Jazz, Musical Theatre, and Acro. In high school, she was a member of her school's varsity dance, sideline cheer, and competitive cheer teams, and spent innumerable hours in her school’s theatre participating in several shows and earning the rank of Honor Thespian. She has been dancing since she was 3 years old and hopes to keep dancing for as long as she can. Jillian is absolutely ecstatic to begin teaching with Festival Dance and can’t wait to work with the next generation of dancers!
Hannah Turner
Ballet 2, Intermediate Tap
Dance Major,
University of Idaho
Hannah is an undergraduate transfer student to UIdaho, studying Physical Therapy with a minor in Dance. Growing up at the same dance studio her mother grew up at, dance is in her blood and an inherent part of who she is.
She has trained in many styles of dance, with her focuses being tap, ballet, jazz, contemporary, and modern. Hannah chose to transfer to UIdaho for their dance program, and is so excited to be part of the team with the adjoining studio that reaches the next generation of dancers.
Judy Drown
Senior Level Instructor
Teen & Adult Basic Ballet Conditioning
Bachelor of Science in Dance
University of Idaho
Judy Drown (JD) is a long time Moscow community member curious about healthy human movement. She graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Dance from the University of Idaho, became a licensed massage therapist after
studying at the Idaho School of Massage Therapy. Judy has completed her Body Arts Science International (BASI) comprehensive Pilates teacher certificate. For a number of years, she taught for the University of Idaho Dance Program as an Adjunct Instructor, taught for Festival Dance, and run her own massage practice. She has recently returned from Denver, CO, where she honed her ability to bring a diverse and holistic perspective to students. Her goal is to not only emphasize the tasks in class but also to connect how they relate to every day activities and health.
Bella Roberts
Creative Dance &
Begining Jazz Hip Hop
Dance Major UI
Bella Roberts is from Ketchikan, Alaska and has been in love with dance since the age of four. She trained at Ketchikan Theater Ballet for 14 years in ballet, jazz, modern,
and tap. During her time there she was also a member of their Senior Company for 5 years which led to her having opportunities to travel to New York City several times to take classes at Broadway Dance Center, Peridance, and Steps on Broadway. She is currently studying at The University of Idaho for her Bachelor of Science in Dance. She was also awarded A Dance Promise Scholarship Spring 2021 for growing potential in coursework, studio practice, and academic achievement. She has performed in University of Idaho's Fall Faculty pre-professional performance for two fall semesters. As a student she has been able to create dance works and hopes to establish a career in choreography