Elizabeth Keller began her ballet training at the Royal Academy of Dance in London and continued at Ballet Center of Houston. At 15, she received a full merit scholarship to The Rock School for Dance Education and later danced two seasons with Pennsylvania Ballet under the mentorship of Violette Verdy.

She spent 12 seasons with Miami City Ballet under Edward Villella, performing corps, soloist, and principal roles in works by renowned choreographers including George Balanchine, John Cranko, Jerome Robbins, Paul Taylor, Anthony Tudor and Twyla Tharp. She also taught at the Miami City Ballet School and served as Children’s Ballet Mistress for Balanchine’s The Nutcracker.

In 2012, Elizabeth moved to Boise to perform with Trey McIntyre Project and later joined Ballet Idaho as a principal dancer. She is a certified Dance for PD instructor and founded Idaho’s first Dance for Parkinson’s program in 2014.

Elizabeth began teaching at Eagle Performing Arts Center and became Director of Idaho Regional Ballet in 2018, later assuming leadership of EPAC. She is deeply passionate about instilling a lifelong love of the performing arts and mentoring the next generation of dancers, artists, leaders, and arts supporters.
“I’m passionate about creating a space that is not only technically strong, but artistically rich and deeply supportive. Whether training for a professional career or discovering the joy of movement, every student should feel seen and inspired.

Elizabeth Barreto is a former Principal dancer with Ballet Idaho. Originally from La Grande, Oregon, she started dancing at her mother’s studio and continued pre-professional training with the Anaheim Ballet School.  Elizabeth began her career with Ballet Idaho as an apprentice in 2011 and was promoted to Principal dancer five years later. Notable roles include Cinderella in Edwaard Liang’s Cinderella, Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Wendy in Peter Pan, Odette/Odille in Swan Lake, and principal roles in George Balanchine’s Agon, Allegro Brillante, Valse Fantasie, and Concerto Barocco. Elizabeth retired from the stage in 2023 to stay home and raise her daughter, Piper. Motherhood has undoubtedly been her most rewarding role.

Sara received her early training under the direction of Marilyn Budzynski in Doylestown Pennsylvania. She was a member of the Dance Theatre of Pennsylvania and performed soloist and principal rolls in many full-length ballets. Sara also developed a love of character dance, training under the direction of members of the Voloshky Ukrainian Dance Ensemble in Philadelphia. She had the opportunity to train on scholarship with Boston Ballet School and The Rock school of Pennsylvania Ballet and perform with the Pennsylvania Ballet. Sara continued to dance and perform in college and holds bachelor’s degrees in both dance and communication disorders. After graduating, she turned her focus to teaching. She has taught in the west for 18 years, 13 of which have been at Eagle Performing Arts Center. She attended Marcia Dale Weary’s teacher training program at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and continues to seek opportunities to grow as a teacher.

Mary Johnson is a licensed physical therapist with over 20 years of experience in a variety of settings including acute rehabilitation, hospital, outpatient orthopedic and home health. She launched her private physical therapy practice in 2022, offering rehabilitative treatment, restorative and preventative fitness, and wellness services to clients in a private clinic and fitness studio, and at Idaho Center for Integrative Medicine. She is committed to providing the best care possible, using cutting edge techniques, manual therapy, visceral mobilization, corrective exercise, and healing modalities including dry needling, LLLT and frequency specific microcurrent.

Kyla is a EPAC and IRB alum, having trained under founders Jeff and Cathy Giese and current director Liz. Kyla has been teaching the primary students for the past 5 years at EPAC. When not teaching ballet, Kyla teaches kindergarten for the Vallivue school district. Kyla and her husband Kilen have a hobby farm run by lots of chickens, quail and kittens. They love to backpack, travel and be outside when possible!

Originally from Colorado, Anne earned her bachelors degree in Kinesiology from the University of Colorado, Boulder. As a lifelong fitness and health enthusiast, Anne discovered a love of Pilates that has since turned into a passion for teaching and sharing the Pilates method with others. She received her training under master teacher Jennifer Stacey at Peak Performance Pilates in San Francisco. Anne enjoys helping her clients bring balance to their bodies, improve strength and flexibility, and see them apply Pilates to their daily lives. Anne enjoys having outdoor adventures with her husband and two children. She also loves growing things in the garden and reading in her spare time.

Sadi is a dancer, choreographer, and writer who recently moved back home to Boise after living and working in New York City for about a decade. Since 2016, she has been a collaborator with Colleen Thomas Dance, performing in multiple productions and venues around New York City, including Thomas’ Bessie-nominated work, light & desire. She has also performed works by Sasha Waltz, Kevin Wynn, Shannon Gillen, Francesca Romo, Donna Uchizono, Loni Landon, Lauren Edson, and Alexandra Beller. Sadi’s own choreography has been commissioned by organizations including CPR – Center for Performance Research, Columbia Ballet Collaborative, and Treefort Music Fest. In addition, Sadi has worked with Boise-based organizations like LED, Project Flux, Migration Theory, Idaho Dance Theatre, and Dance Boise.Sadi graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University with degrees in both dance and sustainable development. At Columbia, through the Barnard College Department of Dance, she studied with artists such as Twyla Tharp, Andrea Miller, Kevin Quinoau, and Jodi Melnick.  Additionally, Sadi has trained at multiple workshops and intensives in the United States, Europe, and Israel. Outside the studio, Sadi is a writer and editor with a passion for environmental sustainability. In her free time, she enjoys skiing, biking, and cozying up with a good book.

Nathan grew up in Canada where he started his dance training. He attended the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School and danced for Festival Ballet Providence and Ballet San Antonio, before enjoying a lengthy career at Ballet Idaho. He loves to choreograph and teach dance including as an instructor for Dance for Parkinson’s Idaho’s movement classes. Nathan is an avid cyclist and will ride to work almost every day of the year and when it’s warm out he’s found swimming in the river. He and his wife Sarah (who also teaches at EPAC) have two children Lazlo and Lily.

Sarah earned her BA in Dance from Chapman University, after training at the Ayako School of Ballet in Belmont, CA. Her professional performing experience includes Anaheim Ballet, Disneyland Resort, Norwegian Cruise Lines, the Boise Dance Co-op, and Ballet Idaho’s The Sleeping Beauty. This is Sarah’s 13th year teaching in Idaho. Sarah is also one of the teachers for Dance for Parkinson’s, which provides free weekly movement classes for people with Parkinson’s. Sarah enjoys being active, music and baking. She and her husband Nathan enjoy dancing and playing with their two little ones.

Studying dance both nationally and internationally from a young age, Lydia graduated with an AA in Dance Performance at New World School of the Arts (Miami, FL) training in R.A.D, Balanchine, Graham, Horton, and Limón techniques where she performed works by Micheal Utoff and Freddick Bratcher. She went on to pursue her BFA at Arizona State University focusing on the works of José Limón, under the direction of Nina Watt, dancing soloist roles in Missa Brevis, Mazurkas, and Dances for Isadora. Furthering her studies, Lydia joined the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance under the direction of Summer Lee Rhatigan where she danced in the reconstructions of Robert Moses’ The Supplicant, Netherlands Dance Theatre’s Fallen Angels, along with contemporary works by Alex Ketley, Christian Burns, and former Batsheva Dancer Bobbi Jene Smith. Since returning to Boise in 2011, Lydia founded Project Flux Dance, a nonprofit Boise-based dance company. She has choreographed over 30 professional works and collaborated with approximately 20 different organizations. Her choreography has received recognition and numerous awards nationwide. She continues to teach ballet, contemporary, jazz, and improvisation throughout the Treasure Valley.

Originally from Oregon, Elizabeth moved out to Idaho with her parents in 2006. She started training under Jeff and Cathy Giese at EPAC in 2008 and was a part of Idaho Regional Ballet when it was first created. After graduating in 2013, Elizabeth did some part-time studies in Early Childhood Education. Following that, she traveled to Australia where she met her Swedish husband Einar. Elizabeth joined the EPAC team as the Business Manager in 2022 and enjoys being part of the studio she loved dancing in. She and her husband now live in Meridian with their sweet daughter Lilja (pron. “lil-yah”). They enjoy dancing, listening to jazz, and partaking in daily fika; a Swedish tradition of enjoying coffee with a sweet or savory treat during the day.