Staff Bios

Dana Sorg

Performed and trained with Orlando Ballet, Sarasota Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Pacific Northwest Ballet, North Carolina School of The Arts and The Harid Conservatory. Originally from Orlando, Florida, Dana began her training at age six at the School of Performing Arts with Russell Sultzbach of the Joffrey Ballet and ballet master of Southern Ballet Theatre (now Orlando Ballet.) Between the ages of twelve to fourteen she toured and performed for three seasons as an apprentice with Southern Ballet Theatre where her intensive training included being a member of the corps de ballet in Swan Lake, Giselle, Nutcracker, various contemporary works and outreach programs in the Orange County school system. Dana has had the opportunity to attend various summer and Academic programs all on full scholorship around the United States from the ages of fourteen to sixteen. She has studied under such notables as Marjorie Tallchief of Ballet Rouse, Maria Tallchief and Violete Verdy of New York City Ballet, Christofer Flemming of Pennsylvania Ballet and NYCB, Loyd Riggings of the Royal Danish Ballet, Igor Youskevich, and other professionals recognized in the classical ballet field across the U.S. Rejoining Southern Ballet Theatre as a company member at age sixteen and later being promoted to soloist, her repertoire grew to include leading roles in Don Quixote, Les Sylphides, Nutcracker, Cinderella, Scheherezade and other contemporary works.

Dana has her NCMT license and is also a certified yoga and Pilates mat instructor. When not honing her thirst for kinthesthetic knowledge she is usually playing outside with her energy filled youngsters Keir (7 years) & Lain (5 years.)

Christine Austin

Christine Austin graduated with a BA in dance from the University of Wyoming. Her professional experience includes Manassas Ballet Theatre, Tony Powell Music/Movement, Southwest Virginia Ballet, and Wyoming Dance Theatre with roles in Sleeping Beauty, Anna Karenina, Dracula, Don Quixote, and The Nutcracker, as well as numerous modern and contemporary pieces. Among Ms. Austin's training includes teachers who were once students of the famed Vagonova Academy, the Choreographic School of Alma-Ata, and The Belarus National Choreographic Academy. She has taught and staged ballets throughout Virginia and Michigan, including teaching at Western Michigan University, Manassas Ballet Academy, Arlington Center for Dance, and as a dance artist for the nationally recognized Lincoln Center Institute (LCI) aesthetic awareness program.

Her students have gone on to study in nationally and internationally recognized programs, including the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Since relocating to Bozeman in 2002 Ms. Austin has directed, choreographed and staged several ballets for Montana Ballet Company which includes the Nutcracker for three seasons, Coppelia, and various smaller works for MBC’s summer intensives. In the spring of 2008, Ms. Austin traveled to the Ukraine and Moscow in order to further her ballet and pedagogical studies. She is also the Founding Director of Big Sky Dance Ensemble, and with that role brings many outreach and free community performances to the Bozeman Public Library, United Way, and Gallatin County Schools. Through her strong commitment to the arts, Ms. Austin hopes to share her passion for learning and accomplishment through dance. Christine and her husband, Eric, often times can be found with their two boys Max, 11, and Rory, 8, at the BMX track or on a bike anywhere.

Kristine Chimbos

Kristine Chimbos has been a tap and jazz instructor for the past 23 years, with this being her 15th consecutive season as a staff member of this school. Prior to her return to MBS in 1996, she was the owner and director of Dance Dimensions in Bozeman, where she worked in both competitive and performance venues. Kristine has participated in Main St. Dance Theatre's "Dance Enrichment in Our Schools" program since its inception and has been involved in numerous community outreach activities in conjunction with MBC. For five seasons she was a choreographer for the Nutcracker and has also spent two years as a university level tap instructor at M.S.U. She is also a contributing choreographer to MSDT's holiday show, "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and has been a member of the judges' panel for BHS' Hawks Nite Live talent competition. Her choreography has been featured at Disneyland's Magical Music Days and has earned numerous regional and national awards. She continues her studies with nationally recognized professionals on a regular basis. Supplemental to her dance experience, Kristine holds a B.S. in Business - Marketing from M.S.U. and with her husband, Alex, can be found at the dance studio most days of the week with their two daughters, Andrea and Nichole, who also share a passion for the performing arts.

Rachel Evans

Rachel Evans started her training in classical ballet at Green Bay School of Dance in Wisconsin at the age of 10. She received instruction from Timothy Josephs, Jane Meredith, Diane Danhieux, Kristen Throne, and Cindy Shephard. Rachel performed at Green Bay School of Dance in the roles of Clara, a Doll, Marzipan, a Snowflake, and a Flower in the Nutcracker; also the Dying Swan and the Bird from Carnival of Animals, and Lucille Grahn and Carlotta Grisi in Pas deQuatre. She also performed with Main Street Dance theatrein Paquita and Les Sylphides. Rachel began teaching ballet in 2004. She taught ballet classes for homeschoolers from 2004-2008, and she taught beginning level ballet classes from 2006-2008. Rachel moved to Bozeman for college in 2008, and started dancing and working at Main Street Dance Theater. She has taught for the Big Sky Dance classes and the Ballet/Tap I, Ballet I, and Ballet 2/3 levels. Rachel is graduating in 2012 with a degree in Biblical Counseling; she plans to continue dancing and wants to work in church ministry.

Piper Flair

Piper Flair joined the MSDT staff in 2002. Piper began her performance experience at age 4 on a pair of figure skates in Great Falls, MT, trading in the skates for dance shoes in high school She has over 17 years of dance training and performing experience and has been teaching Jazz, Lyrical and Hip Hop professionally for the last 10 years. After graduating from MSU in 1998 where she was a 5-year member of the Montana State Cheer and Dance Team, she took her dancing to the professional level with the NBA Portland Trailblazer Dancers. Upon her return to Montana, she continued work with the Universal Dance Association as an instructor and district representative for 7 years. She has since continued to teach, coach, and choreograph for Montana Ballet Company, area dance teams, studios, and the MSU Dance Repertory Theatre. Her goal is to provide continuing dance opportunities for local dancers which came true in 2007 and 2008, when she choreographed and placed local dancers in the China and Japan tours of the Magic of Jay Owenhouse. She is the author of the story line for T’was the Night Before Christmas, Main Street Dance Theatre’s signature winter show, converging the ideas of her fellow staff into the script, editing the music, and assisting in prop and costume design and construction. Piper continues her dance education by attending workshops from New York to L.A., and she still enjoys promotional performances with the Blazers. Piper and her husband Ryan are the proud parents of Bodin, age five and Kael, age two.

Laleña Johnston

Laleña Johnston has been dancing and teaching dance for over 30 years. She has trained with New Wet Ballet’s Eugenia Keefer (California Ballet Co.), Houtson Ballet’s bronze medalist Sylvia Gamonet , Paul Giovinazza of the Ballet Trocadero de Monte Carlo, Jerry Crookes (California Ballet Co.), David Crookes (Pennsylvania Ballet Co.) and Michael Onstead (Ballet West). She has also trained with The School of America Ballet (now City Ballet of San Diego) with Misha Moworrski (Bolshoi Ballet) and Linda Yorth (NYC Ballet, personally trained by Balanchine).

Laleña has also taken Master Teacher classes from world renowned Master Ballet Instructor David Howard and has been taught by Master Instructors from the Royal Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Joffre Ballet, the Oregon Ballet.

As a performer, Laleña danced in full length productions of The Nutcracker, Coppelia, Swan Lake and Giselle, as well as variations from numerous other classical ballets. Laleña danced professionally with the Walt Disney Company for two years.

In her non-teaching time she volunteers as a teacher of two and three year olds for her church, attends youth sporting events with her husband David and seven children, and enjoys her new-found passion for Irish Step Dancing.

Mrs. Johnston has been teaching at Main Street Dance theatresince 2003.

Robin Otey

Originally from the Washington, DC area, Robin began her intensive training at the Maryland Youth Ballet. She completed her training at Houston Ballet Academy where she performed with the Houston Ballet in corps de ballet roles in La Bayadere, Swan Lake, The Snow Maiden, Manon, and The Sleeping Beauty. She later danced with Ballet Memphis where she performed numerous roles including: the Peasant pas de quatre in Giselle, Lead Swan in Swan Lake, and Clara and the Snow pas de deux in The Nutcracker. After moving to St. Louis in 2002, she taught at St. Louis Ballet School and performed the Sugar Plum Fairy in their Nutcracker. In addition to her roles in classical ballets, she has performed in multiple modern and contemporary pieces and has worked with some of the nation’s leading choreographers, including Trey McIntyre and Lila York. Robin’s teaching experience includes teacher assisting in Houston Ballet’s Academy and teaching beginning through advanced levels in the Ballet Memphis School and St. Louis Ballet School. Robin and her husband BJ moved to the Gallatin Valley in 2008 when he was called as the senior pastor of Springhill Presbyterian Church. They have three wonderful young children: Makayla (4), Haddon (2) and Avalea (9 mos).

Lanna Parker

Lanna Parker has been dancing in the Bozeman area for 18 years. Her specialties are Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical and Hip Hop. She began her dance instruction at Dance Elite with Chrissy Ludin. She then studied with Jeff and Cathy Giese (currently the directors of Eagle Mountain Performing Arts Center of Idaho) at Big Sky Dance Academy. Lanna joined the Montana Ballet School, under Director Ann Bates, in 1998 where she studied and eventually became a part of the Montana Ballet Company in 2001. Lanna danced with the company until 2007. She has danced in 12 Nutcrackers, performing lead roles such as Clara, The Dew Drop fairy, and The Sugar Plum Fairy. Lanna's other dance accomplishments include studying at Ballet West Academy in Salt Lake City, Utah for three years and performing with The Magic of Jay Owenhouse in Nagasaki, Japan and in Bozeman. Lanna now attends Montana State University, where she is a senior and one semester away from receiving her degree in History and Education. She has been teaching kids hip hop, lyrical and ballet at Main Street Dance Theatre for two years now. Lanna would like to thank her teachers Ann, Dana and Piper for encouraging her dance ambitions, and her parents for their love and financial support.

Jennifer Scoffield

At age 8, Jennifer walked in to her first dance practice. That was all it took to fall completely in love with dance! From second through the tenth grade Jennifer continued to dance on various dance teams and organizations in Townsend where she grew up. While competing, Jennifer’s team won many trophies as well as the opportunity to perform twice in the Universal Dance Association Nationals held in Orlando, Florida. At the Nationals they competed once in the Junior High Jazz Division and once in the High School Pom Division. In the eleventh grade she decided to start driving to Bozeman twice a week after school to take classes here at our very own MSDT. That year she also decided to organize and coach her own dance team for elementary aged girls in Townsend. She continued coaching, taking studio classes at MSDT, attending dance clinics across the state as well as cheerleading for her high school until she graduated from Broadwater High in 2004.

After graduation she moved to Bozeman to attend the Academy of Cosmetology. She continued to take Hip-Hop classes from Piper Flair, and perform in several of MSU’s spring recitals. In the spring of 2006, Jennifer had the opportunity to continue performing on the Thunder Struck dance team for the Big Sky Thunder semi-professional indoor arena football team. In the fall of 2006, she joined the staff at MSDT where she has been teaching Hip-Hop ever since. Jennifer is also currently self employed and working as a hair designer at the beautiful Canyon River Spa. She loves both of her jobs! When she is not dancing or doing hair, you will most likely find her with her fiancé or her niece playing at Canyon Ferry Lake in Townsend where she currently resides. This July 2011, she will marry Eric, her high school sweetheart of more than 10 years.

Erin Swietnicki

Erin Swietnicki started her Ballet training in 1989 with Dulce Anaya, student of Alberto and Alicia Alonso, in Jacksonville Florida. In 1995 she was cast in Snow, Waltz of the Flowers, and Marzipan for the First Coast Nutcracker; produced by the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and choreographed by Christopher Fleming of Southern Ballet Theatre. She attended summer intensive workshops with The Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet for three summers before returning as an RA with advanced placement at the age of 18. She finished high school with the Nutmeg Conservatory for The Arts in their 2 year Pre-Professional Residency Program in Torrington, Connecticut; where she performed in choreography by Moses Pendleton of MOMIX. At Nutmeg she is known for her roles as Snow Queen and Arabian in the Nutcracker, Mercedes and Kitri Variation from Act 1 in Don Quixote, and Variation #4 of Paquita. At the age of 19 she moved to New York City and did work-study programs with STEPS on Broadway and Peridance as well as class at ABT. She took classes regularly from Diana Cartier, David Howard, Cynthia Harvey, John Selya, Igal Perry, Max Stone, and Deborah Roshe. She has danced with regional New York Companies including Ballet Long Island, Eglevsky Ballet, Albano Ballet, and Blue Muse Dance Project. In 2005, she obtained a degree in Jewelry Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. She is currently pursuing a Fine Arts Degree in Metalsmithing and a Small Business Minor at Montana State University.

Nick Thomas

Nicholas “Nick” Thomas hails from San Diego, CA and spent his early childhood living in an urban environment and found inspiration in the wide variety of cultures and street performers in the area. These early experiences helped define his attraction to music and dance and he hopes to bring the same enjoyment he felt as a youth to dancers in this area. After moving to Bozeman in 1994 he began singing in choir through High School and attending various martial arts classes, developing a great appreciation for the joys of performing, discipline and expression gained from both hobbies. Over the years he has taken classes and seminars in Tai Chi and Shaolin Gongfu from Dr. Yang Jwing Ming of YMAA as well as traveled and performed at Hip Hop events around the Northwest and especially in the Bozeman area. Competing in state competitions and performing with groups like Wu-Tang clan, Chicharones, Psyche Origami as well as local artists at events such as Sweet Pea makes him a recognized member of the Hip Hop community and has continued to challenge him to become a better dancer every day. With the support, inspiration, and instruction from local dancers Kalam, Derry, Dansun, Eric Sterkel, Piper Flair, and Lanna Parker he has become a proficient Breaker/Popper. Nick’s future plans are to continue to take and teach classes at MSDT with intentions to travel to Breakdance battles, Workshops, and organize and host local performances and events.