Faculty Biographies
Kathleen McCormick, Program Director
Ballet, Pointe
Kathleen McCormick trained in California at the Marin Civic Ballet and continued her studies at ABT, American Ballet Center and the Banff School of the Arts. As a student she was honored with scholarships from the S.F Ballet and N.C. School of the Arts. She danced professionally with Nevada Dance Theatre, Joffrey II, Joffrey City Center Ballet and the Banff Touring Co. She has taught at The Dance Studio, Washington Dance Forum, Washington Academy of the Performing Arts, Dance Fremont and the University of Washington. Formerly she directed the American Ballet Conservatory, ABCDance and the Seattle Youth Ballet.
Steve Casteel
Ballet
Steve Casteel received his early training from the Jan Column School of Classic Ballet in Tacoma, WA. At the age of 16 he trained and performed with Boston Ballet II. He danced with Houston Ballet from 1987 to 1997 where he became a soloist. Steve received his BFA from Cornish College of the Arts in 2002, and an MFA from the University of Arizona in 2004. He has taught at Spectrum Dance Theater, Dance Fremont, Cornish College of the Arts Seattle, Berkeley Ballet Theater, University of Washington and Bainbridge Dance Center.
Leigh-Ann Cohen-Hafford
Ballet, Pointe
Leigh- Ann Cohen Hafford served as the Artistic Director of the Conservatory Ballet of Washington and the Ballet Department at Washington Academy of the Performing Arts for several years. She was a dance faculty member at Oakland University, MI and assistant coach with Ballet B.C. She performed and toured internationally with companies in North America including Ballet B.C., Ballet Jurgen, Metropolitan Ballet Theater and Pennsylvania Ballet. Her choreography has been performed by numerous companies in Canada and the United States. She holds a diploma in dance training and Spanish dance.
Pat Hon
Ballet, Pointe, Modern
On Sabbatical 2008-2009
Pat Hon began studying ballet at the age of 10 in her native Singapore and continued her studies at Rosella Hightower's Centre de Danse Classique in France. She also studied Flamenco and Classical Spanish dance in Madrid, Spain, and performed with the foremost Spanish dance company, Antonio and his Ballets of Madrid, before coming to New York to attend the Joffrey School and the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. She has choreographed for the Atlanta Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet's Summer Inventions, Singapore Ballet, Ballet Concerto of Miami, Goh Ballet in Canada, Federal Ballet Company of Malaysia, Ballet Petit, and for dancers competing in the International Ballet Competitions in Jackson, Mississippi. She also teaches in the Cornish BFA dance program.
Christine Juarez
Creative Dance, Pre-Ballet, Ballet
Christine Juarez received her BS in Ballet and MS in Modern Dance at Indiana University. She performed extensively throughout the Midwest. Christine has participated in the Artist-in-residence program in the Seattle Public Schools, works as a freelance choreographer, is the Artistic Director of Vashon Dance Theater and program coordinator for Summer Dance at Cornish College of the Arts.
Brenna Monroe-Cook
Modern
Brenna Monroe-Cook is originally from Oak Park, Illinois. She began her dance training at the Academy of Movement and Music under the direction of Stephanie Clemens and performed extensively with the affiliated MOMENTA Performing Arts Company. She went on to receive her BFA from The Juilliard School under the direction of Benjamin Harkarvy. Professionally she has worked with Buglisi/Foreman Dance, Thang Dao Dance Company, Subtle Changes, Riedel Dance Theatre and enjoyed five years of international touring with the Limón Dance Company. Ms. Monroe-Cook continues to teach Limón technique and stage repertoire for various companies and schools nationwide as well as presenting her own choreographic work. She also received her Pilates Certification from the Kane School of Core Integration in New York City and is active as a pilates instructor.
Paula J. Peters
Ballet, Pointe, Jazz
Paula Peters received her early training in ballet, modern, jazz and tap at British Dance Academy in Renton, WA under the direction of Sandra Baca. In October of 1991 she joined Spectrum Dance Theater as an apprentice and immediately moved on to become a full company member where she remained for 14 years. She also served as SDT's rehearsal director from 1998 to 2005. With SDT Paula Peters performed lead roles in works by numerous choreographers, including Ann Reinking, Margo Sappington, Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Claire Bataille, Danny Buracezki, Daniel Ezralow, Trey McIntyire, Donald Byrd, Wade Madsen and Dale A. Merrill, touring throughout the US, Europe and Mexico. In addition to working with Spectrum she performed in local industrials and independent artist productions. She has taught as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Washington, the Montana Dance Arts Association, and is currently on faculty at Dance Fremont and Cornish College of the Arts. Upon resigning from Spectrum Dance Theater in May of 2005, she joined Next Stage Dance Theatre for 2 seasons. Paula Peters received her BFA in Dance through the Professional Dancers Program at Cornish College of the Arts in 2007.
Shelagh Regan
Ballet, Pointe
Shelagh Regan trained with the Royal Ballet School, London, England. She danced professionally with Houston Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Virginia Beach Ballet and Los Angeles Ballet. Shelagh toured throughout the U.S. as a Visiting Artist performing master workshops and lecture-demonstrations, she was formerly the Outreach/Education Assistant for Oregon Ballet Theatre and has been a Cornish faculty member and choreographer for over 15 years. She directed the Preparatory Dance Program for five years.
Christine Weh
Creative Dance, Ballet
Christine Weh studied and performed with Cynthia Tosh at Portland Community Ballet . She performs locally in the Northwest and is currently a member of Weaving Dance Company. Christine earned her BFA in Dance from Cornish College of the Arts where she worked with choreographers Mary Sheldon Scott, Pat Hon, Tonya Lockyer, and Gary Masters from the Limon Dance Company. Currently Christine is the Administrative Assistant for Preparatory Dance and a collaborator with the Catherine Mayer Foundation.