Our Team

Debie Larsen

Artistic Director

Debie Larsen has been a ballet teacher and choreographer for 45 years. She is the Artistic Director for NCADA and Colorado Dance Theatre. She is known for her creative and innovative choreography and for her love and devotion to her students and her teachers.

Janna McQueen

Managing Partner/Dance Instructor

Janna has studied dance for over 15 years, many of those at our studio. After college and a brief stint with the circus and three children later, she came back. Teaching our teeniest of ballerinas the masterful art of bouncing, freeze dance and the love of twirling. Miss Janna loves her students big and NCADA studio is her second home. But most importantly she adores living vicariously through her own ballerinas as they have a deep passion for life and the same desire to dance right through it.

Aniela Finch

Instructor

Aniela Finch grew up in Boulder, CO and began dancing at age 6 with the Boulder Ballet. Throughout her dancing years she received training from instructors that have danced with the Boulder Ballet, Colorado Ballet, and New York City Ballet, Dutch National Ballet and Joffrey ballet and Royal Ballet. During her college years she danced at the UNC and had the privilege of dancing with Ms.Deb Larsen. She now has the joy of teaching dance at NCADA studio where her 3 girls also get to dance. This spring she became certified in teaching Progressing Ballet Technique. Her deepest desire is to share with her students that they are loved, have a mighty purpose and to share and teach the beauty and art of ballet.

Annie Patton

Instructor

Annie Patton is thrilled to teach, and share the love of dance at NCADA with our intermediate dancers. Her love of dance started off at a young age as she enjoyed taking dance from Deb Larsen for a majority of her childhood. While getting both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Education at UNC she continued to dance with Deb. Having now 3 children of her own she just loves seeing them dance at the same studio she grew up in. She simply wants to put the love of dance in everyone's hearts! Annie is thrilled about our new NCADA studio space and is excited to offer more studio events, and dance camps!

Randy Downing

Instructor

Randy Downing grew up in Fort Collins, and teaches tap dance in Northern Colorado. He studied tap under Broadway veteran and master tapper, Gene GeBauer for many years. He is also a massage therapist, and works at Encore Dance Emporium in Loveland. He has participated in many dance and musical theatre productions along the Front Range, including playing Father Stahlbaum and the beautiful Mother Ginger in the Nutcracker Ballet. He has also played Gepetto in Pinocchio, Bottom in Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Dr. Coppelius in Coppelia.

Ally Lonac

Instructor

Ally Lonac started dancing at the age of seven back before it was even called NCADA and was still housed in the basement of the Senior Center. She immediately fell in love with dancing and all of her friends and teachers at the studio. She taught a variety of classes and ages at the studio, which made her want to be a teacher. She graduated from UNC in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in English Secondary Education. Ally moved to Arizona for five years to teach English and she quickly got involved in teaching dance classes there as well. During this time, Ally earned her master’s degree in School Counseling. Ally now lives in Fort Collins teaching 7th grade English. She’s thrilled to live close enough to commute back and forth for dance. Ally literally passes right by three different dance studios on her drive to NCADA each time, but the drive is worth it to be with her dance family.

Madeline Pratt

Instructor

Madeline Pratt teaches some of the beginning and intermediate classes here at NCADA. She started as an assistant teacher to Miss Annie and Miss Janna and has loved teaching some of her own classes the last couple of years. Madeline has been dancing for 12 years at NCADA in various classes such as ballet, pointe, jazz, and lyrical. She has also been involved in Colorado Dance Theatre’s production of The Nutcracker. Madeline graduated from Frontier Academy and is now attending the University of Northern Colorado where she is studying psychology and visual art. She is thankful for the opportunity to teach at the same studio she grew up at and where she continues to pursue her love of dance.

Carly Bray

Instructor

Carly Bray has been dancing at Northern Colorado Academy of Dance Arts for 23 years. She has been a teacher at NCADA for 8 years and has enjoyed teaching ballet, hip hop,tap, jazz and lyrical. She is currently teaching jazz and lyrical and loves her students and classes. Carly also teaches dance at Frontier Academy’s homeschool “Access” program and is a rehearsal director for Colorado Dance Theatre’s The Nutcracker. When Carly’s not teaching she loves being at home with her husband Colten, her son Luke and all her animals. Dance has always been a party of Carly’s life and she hopes to continue teaching for years to come.

Elisabeth King

Instructor

Elisabeth started dancing at the age of 3 with Moving for the Lord Dance studio in Greeley, Colorado. Later, she joined the dance family at Greeley Recreational Academy of Dance Arts in 2002 when she was 7 years old. Elisabeth fell in love with her new studio, and she admired the jazz and lyrical dances the older girls would do. She decided to teach herself the jazz and lyrical dances from the recital videos that were available every year after the June recital, and she continued to do so until she was 13 years old. In 2010, she was given the opportunity to become an assistant dance teacher. The following year she was given classes of her own and she began teaching jazz, lyrical, and pre-elementary ballet and tap. Elisabeth continued teaching jazz, lyrical, and hip hop until 2016, and she took a break from teaching until 2018. She now teaches hip how, she and is overjoyed to be pursuing her passion of teaching dance again.

Tiffany Dann

Instructor

Tiffany Dann absolutely loves teaching dance at NCADA. For Tiffany, it is not just about the steps in dance, it is the passion and intention behind those steps. She has had many students over the years, and each one has their own unique story to tell through this beautiful art form. She began dancing at 3 years old, and her dance education continues to this very day. Tiffany has followed NCADA as they have moved locations over the years, and she is thrilled that we now have this brand new space to call home. She hopes this allows us to expand and invite more people of all ages to come and dance with us. Dance has so many lessons to teach beyond just dance. It teaches confidence, determination, perseverance, friendship, communication, unity, love, and so much more. She hopes to continue spreading that love and help individuals recognize her passion for many years to come.

Mikaela Degitis

Instructor

Mikaela is one of our teachers who has quite literally grown up at the studio. She began dancing at the age of three and continues to study today — it is her belief that learning should never stop. For Mikaela, dance has always been an outlet for the cast emotions of the human experience. According to Mikaela, “That’s what makes dance so beautiful — you can show people how you feel.” It is her goal to give her students the technical foundation that is necessary to put the depths of the human spirit on display.

Crystal Scolaro

Instructor

Brandy Sanchez

Instructor

Brandy started dancing when she was 4 years old. She enjoyed dancing in all different genres; jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical, Pom and hip hop. She danced all the way through high school, joining a competitive dance team as a freshman and was given the privilege to teach as a junior and senior. Dance has always been a passion for her, even through having four children and being a homeschool mom. Watching her own girls dance has been such a wonderful blessing. She is so honored and excited to be teaching jazz (her favorite dance genre) and Mommy and Me ballet at NCADA.

Karissa Sandhoff

Instructor

Patti Fine

Instructor

Patti has been a NASM certified personal trainer and fitness instructor for over 18 years. She has taught multiple formats from mind/body to boxing. In her career she has worked with all fitness levels and limitations, providing safety first and meeting clients at their starting point to feel successful, confident and reach their goals. Through her journey, she has continued with two programs that speak to her personally. One is willPower & Grace; full of precision, mindfulness and meaning, with thoughtfully guided and emotionally moving music. The other is POUND; filling the need to cut loose like no on is watching, go a little wild, like a drum solo."

Cindy Jones

Instructor

Cindy retired from teaching high school (May 2020) and is enjoying the opportunity to pursue dance and fitness activities. She is a certified group fitness instructor through both ACE and AFAA. Zumba is so much fun that after becoming licensed in March 2017, she has continued taking as many classes as possible including Aqua Zumba, Zumba Gold, and Zumba Toning. She has been teaching Zumba for about two years and taught Aqua Zumba for two years. Zumba is accessible to individuals of all ages and fitness abilities. Cindy says the most important thing is to leave your inhibitions at the door, come, have fun, and move to the music.

Tiffanie Hicks

Instructor

Tiffanie Hicks has had a love and passion for music since the age of 3. She has been in numerous audition choirs, ensembles, musical theater productions, and performed solo work throughout her vocal career. Tiffanie studied voice at Azusa Pacific University, the University of Northern Colorado and Boise State University. She received her degree in music with an emphasis in voice and has been teaching private voice ever since. She also conducts the children’s choir at Bethel Baptist Church and leads music for their worship team. From gospel, to jazz, to pop, to rock, to opera, Tiffanie’s passion is to teach healthy vocal techniques to her students in any style of music they enjoy. In her free time, Tiffanie loves to spend time with her husband Kyle and four kids: Jedidiah, Lydia, Titus & Seriah.