Dance Arts Los Alamos Faculty
Artistic Director
Jonathan Guise
Classical Ballet (Cecchetti & Vaganova Technique),Pas de Deux, Pointe Technique, PBT (Conditioning), Modern (Horton, Graham and Limon Techniques, Swing (Basic, Jitterbug, Lindy & Charleston), Choreography, Jazz (Classical & Contemporary), and Dance Photography
Jonathan has been working in the entertainment industry for 27 years. He began his career in Colorado Springs, dancing with local dance groups and companies at the age of 15. Mr. Guise went on to dance with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Boston Ballet and The Eugene Ballet, to name a few. He has been a dance educator for 24 years, teaching at numerous studios, companies, and universities around the globe. In 2015, his original 2 act ballet Nutcracker on “The Hill” premiered to a nearly sold out auditorium. In 2022, Nutcracker on “The Hill” was selected by the New Mexico Historical Society to receive The Dorothy Woodward Award for Historical Excellence. DALA has turned the ballet into a trilogy, the first ever Nutcracker trilogy in the history of Classical Ballet. Mr. Guise is so very excited to be the Artistic Director of Dance Arts Los Alamos again. “DALA is my family”.
Associate Director
Karina Wilder
Modern (Various Techniques), Contemporary, Choreography & Composition, Conditioning (Pilates, PBT), Young Children’s Classes, Classical Ballet, and Adaptive Dance
Originally from the Chicago suburbs, Karina Wilder built a strong foundation in contemporary and modern dance early in her dance education through intensives with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, training at Lou Conte Dance Studios, and a summer study at Bearnstow in Maine with Ruth Grauert, Dorothy Vislocky, and other modern dance leaders. She earned her B.A. in Modern Dance from St. Olaf College, receiving a four-year Dance Scholarship, a minor in Arts Administration, and the honor of Distinction in Dance. Since 2012, she has taught students ages 2 through adult in Modern, Contemporary, Ballet, Young Children’s & Adaptive Programming, and Conditioning, and has held administrative roles with companies, theaters, and studios since 2015.
Karina’s performance experience spans national and international stages with artists such as Stephan Koplowitz, Alexandra Beller/Dances, Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater, and Jolene Konkel, including performances at the ACDA Dance Festival and the Spoleto Festival with La MaMa Umbria. Her professional training includes certifications from National Dance Education Organization (NDEO), SafeSport, Darkness2Light, National Dance Institute (NDI–NM), and Boston Ballet’s 18-hour Adaptive Dance training. In 2018, she received a Special Education Super Advocate Award for creating a dance program for students with disabilities in Minnesota.
Currently, Karina serves as DALA’s Associate Director, Mixed Repertoire Program Director, and Office Manager, in addition to teaching. Since joining DALA in 2019, she has choreographed many pieces, co-created the Adaptive Dance program, championed the Student Mentor and Intern programs, codified the Mixed Repertoire curriculum, and overseen class scheduling and programming across all levels. Karina is proud to be part of DALA, a welcoming, creative, and supportive home for dancers of all ages and abilities.
Allison Beaux
Pre-Ballet, Ballet 1, Ballet 4, Modern (Various Techniques), & Hip Hop
Allison Beaux is originally from Spokane, WA. Prior to college, she was involved in gymnastics, dance team, various dance genres and competed in a world competition in color guard where they placed twelfth. She received her B.S. in Dance at the University of Idaho in 2005. Modern dance is her most influencing genre, with techniques including Humphrey/Weidman, Graham, Horton and Limon. She was selected to perform in a group piece at ACDFA. Teaching from ages three to elderly and including genres of African, ballet, cardio-kickboxing, creative movement, horse vaulting, inversion dance, jazz, modern, step box aerobics, stretching, tumbling, compositional tools, personal training and more. She has choreographed many routines, including group and solo pieces as a student, teacher, guest artist and director. In January of 2009, she became owner and director of Northwest Dance Center in Pullman, WA.
Natalie Smith
Dance Exploration, Creative Movement, Pre-Ballet, & Ballet 1
Natalie Smith fell in love with dance the moment she took her first class when she was 3 years old. Starting at an early age, she studied classical ballet, jazz, tap, modern and other styles of dance including the rhythms of African Drums and Afro-Beats. Natalie has always favored ballet. She first studied ballet under Susan Sell of Creative Movement and then continued her study of ballet through Santa Fe Dance Foundation, Santa Fe Community College and Moving People. Natalie has always enjoyed all types of fitness from being a student of dance and Martial Arts to now instructing fitness classes for our community.
Almost 10 years ago, a friend introduced her to Zumba and, as they say, the rest is history! In 2014, while teaching Zumba at New Mexico Dance Theater, Ballet faculty approached Natalie about teaching early childhood classes. She was excited to teach dance to children!Teaching at DALA is a dream come true for Natalie.
Dance is a big part of her life. Natalie enjoys teaching Mini-and-Me, Dance Exploration and Pre-Ballet classes through DALA, as well as the many fitness classes she teaches around Los Alamos. Natalie produced her first early childhood holiday recital for DALA in 2019. She’s excited to continue teaching dance in the early childhood program and working on upcoming productions with DALA.
Tamara Sol Flys
Flamenco and Classical Spanish
Tamara Sol Flys took her first flamenco classes in Spain at age 10. After her family returned to the United States she continued her studies with Lydia Torea and later with Dini Román. Other influential teachers have been Carmela Greco (daughter of the late Jose Greco), Domingo Ortega, Manuel Reyes, Mercedes Ruiz, La Tati, and La Truco at the famous Amor de Dios School in Madrid, Spain. Tamara has travelled many times to Spain to deepen her knowledge of flamenco, both for her own and her students’ enrichment.
A professional performer since 1993, Tamara’s first experience was as a member of Artes Bellas, the esteemed company of her teacher Lydia Torea. Since that time she has appeared in live and televised
performances such as “Flamenco Fireworks” at the Phoenix Symphony Hall and the Tucson Convention Center, and “Sabor y Ritmo” at the Century Club in Los Angeles. From 1997-99,
Tamara had the opportunity to share the stage with such acclaimed artists as Elena Andujar and Maria Bermudez under the direction of accomplished choreographer Fred Darsow at Arizona State
University. She was also honored to perform alongside Edwin Aparicio in multiple productions from 2005-2008 in Maryland and Washington, DC. She taught multiple classes in Baltimore for over 8 years, including at the Peabody Preparatory, Experimental Movement Concepts, and Baltimore School of Dance.
An experienced and popular teacher, Tamara’s classes are grounded in a thorough knowledge of and enduring passion for the flamenco art form. Class exercises are created with a specific purpose in
mind, leading to self-assurance and confidence with the material. Equal attention is given to all students regardless of experience, and the steps are learned slowly and thoroughly. Blessed with humor, Tamara has in addition the rare ability to clearly explain and teach many of the layered secret subtleties of flamenco dance.
Tamara Sol Flys received a B.S. in Microbiology (magna cum laude) from Arizona State University, a Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and a MPH
from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
Rachel Zervakos
Classical Ballet (Cecchetti, Vaganova, ABT® National Training Curriculum), Pointe Technique, Variations, Modern (Horton & Limon Technique), Strength & Stretch
Rachel Zervakos is an instructor and choreographer based in Santa Fe, NM. She holds a B.F.A. in Dance from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 7 & Partnering of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She received her initial dance training and performance experience with the Roswell Dance Theatre in Roswell, GA, continuing her training in summers at American Ballet Theatre, Kaatsbaan Extreme Ballet, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and Walnut Hill, as well as Regional Dance America festivals. In 2014, she completed her internship at American Ballet Theatre working in ABT’s National Training Curriculum Education department. Rachel has performed major roles in many classical ballets including Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, and contemporary work by José Limón, Trey McIntyre, and Twyla Tharp, among others, and was a founding member of Lamorris Namari Ballet in Atlanta. Her choreography and classical staging has been performed in many DALA productions, The Boston Conservatory New Music Festival, BalletFest Atlanta, Fleetwood Dance Theater’s The Nutcracker, Dance 101 Atlanta Performance Series, and Youth America Grand Prix, where her collaborations with Jonathan Guise have received top placement awards and advanced to world finals. Rachel has taught as guest faculty at New Mexico School for the Arts, Zeitgeist Dance Theatre, and National Dance Institute – NM. She is proud to call DALA her dance home, and since 2022 has been DALA’s Rehearsal Director for Upper Levels, costume assistant, and a social media manager.
Leslie Puckett
Scottish Highland Dance
Leslie started Scottish Highland dancing at the age of five while living in Mississauga, Ontario where she performed and competed around the province. She moved to Los Alamos at age 11, and continued performing and competing in NM and neighboring states. She had to travel to CO, TX and CA for lessons since there were no teachers in NM. She has performed and competed in Ontario, the Eastern Provinces, all over the United States, and in Scotland.
Her greatest achievements were qualifying for the United States Inter-Regional Highland Dance Championships twice (competing against dancers from all over the United States) and placing 5th in the sword dance and 7th AA. She stopped competing in 2001, but she still performs with the ABQ & Four Corners Pipes and Drums.
She taught private highland dancing lessons for 20 years before joining DALA in 2016. She has been a Highland Member of the British Association of Teachers of Dancing (BATD) since 1990. She has a husband, two teenagers and 2 cats. She also plays the bagpipes in her spare time with the ABQ & Four Corners Pipes and Drums.
Alanatis Bohlen
Street Jazz, Hip Hop, and Acro
Alanatis Bohlen was born & raised in San Diego County, California. She started her first ballet class at her local dance studio, at 4 years old and continued on dancing throughout her youth & then became a part of her high school dance team. In her youth and throughout highschool, she enjoyed ballet as a foundation to dance, and furthered on to enjoy tap, modern/lyrical, hip hop & jazz. Throughout her youth and teens, she also did Pop Warner cheer, high school cheer & All Star Competitive cheer. In addition to cheerleading, she also did gymnastics. As a high school graduate and young adult, she coached Pop Warner cheer, and local community cheer.
She is currently the head cheer coach at LAMS and an assistant cheer coach at LAHS. As a coach and dance teacher, it is important to Alanatis to empower & motivate today’s youth & athletes & to encourage hard work, ambition, dedication, perseverance, & respect, but most of all to create a fun and enjoyable environment where dancers, and athletes can thrive!
She is currently studying through the ACE program to become a certified personal trainer.
Alanatis is ambitious, motivated, loves animals, singing, the color pink, all things sparkles & glitter, creating choreography, aerial fitness, cheerleading, reading, learning, & dancing!
Luke Reid-Grassia
Classical Ballet, Strength & Stretch, and Modern.
Luke Reid-Grassia grew up in Santa Fe, NM, where he discovered his passion for dance at age 11. He trained at several local studios and attended summer programs including the Ailey School, Walnut Hill, and Alonzo King LINES Ballet. He received his B.F.A. in Dance from New York University-Tisch School of the Arts, where he worked with choreographers such as Gus Solomons Jr., Sidra Bell, Lucinda Childs, and Benoit Swan Pouffer. He has performed with Moving People Dance Santa Fe, Second Avenue Dance Company, and Prometheus Dance Company, among others, and participated in numerous dance projects including Trisha Brown’s Floor of the Forest at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. Luke received a 200-hour yoga certification in 2017 and worked as a stage manager and light board operator at Bates College, Jose Mateo Ballet Theater, and the Emory University Dance Department. He currently lives in Santa Fe with his wife Rachel Zervakos and is excited to work with the students at Dance Arts Los Alamos.
Audrey Roman
Dance Exploration, Pre-Ballet, Pre-Ballet/Tap, Ballet (Cecchetti & Vaganova), and Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT)
Audrey Roman has a long-standing passion for ballet. Even as she got her PhD in Radiochemistry, she continued to study the art of ballet by convincing her Radiochemistry Department Head to grant her and her fellow peers one extra curricular credit a semester. She strongly believes in continued self-education and will always be striving to improve as a ballet instructor for her dancers. On top of Audrey’s B.S. minor in dance, from 2024 to 2025 has obtained Cecchetti Teacher Certifications for Level 1 & 2, Bolshoi Vaganova Certifications for Level 1, and Progressing Ballet Technique Levels 1-3. Audrey has also taught at Festival Dance and University of Idaho. Audrey’s goal for all her dancers is to build lifelong skills, emotional resilience, determination and grit, learn to embrace all aspects of learning a difficult topic, and grow a love of ballet as an art form.
Isabella Jimenez
Intermediate Tap and Teen/Adult Open Tap
Isabella Jimenez began dancing in Houston, Texas at 2 years old. Her first dance class was a tap class and from then on she was hooked. Isabella trained in ballet, jazz, and tap, before her love of dancing and performing eventually brought her into the realm of musical theater. She then went on to be accepted and train in the renowned Theater Under the Stars’ own Humphrey’s School of Performing Arts on scholarship.
Since 2013 she has been teaching children the love of dance and theater and since 2016, choreographing numbers to compete with and win at the Texas Thespians State Competition. She and her partner moved to Los Alamos in the summer of 2023 and in her free time, she enjoys painting.
Hannah Fan
Dance Exploration, Pre-Ballet, Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, Jazz, Hip Hop, and PBT
Hannah began dancing at 4 years old in North Beach, Maryland. She started her training at Abigail Francisco School of Classical Ballet, then onto LeCole De Danse in Annapolis, Maryland. She studied ballet, pointe, contemporary, modern, jazz and tap. Throughout her high school career, Hannah was a member of Southern High School’s dance company where she choreographed many pieces for different ages and dance levels. Hannah was an All-State dancer for three years and an All-County dancer for four years. She coached Tracey’s Elementary Dance Troupe and was a member of Chesapeake Ballet Company for two years.
Hannah has studied under Linda Denise Fisher Harrell, Runqiao Du, Catherine Horta-Hayden, Nicole Martinell and many others, where she was a Towson University Dance Company member. Hannah graduated with her BFA in dance performance and choreography in Spring 2019. Post graduation, Hannah taught in the Baltimore area at local studios, while running a recreation program.
After moving to Jacksonville, Hannah began teaching at Jacksonville Country Day School where she was the Dance Director. She ran an after school dance program and two national winning elementary dance teams. Hannah also taught at Bean School of Dance as a ballet and pointe instructor while managing their award winning competition team. Hannah just moved to New Mexico with her husband and 5 year old labrador puppy. She loves yoga, coffee and the beach.
Chloe Walker
Dance Exploration, Pre-Ballet, Ballet (Cecchetti & Vaganova)
Chloe Walker is originally from San Marcos, TX, where she began dancing at the age of four. During her senior year of high school, she was accepted into Ballet Chicago’s Pre-Professional Program under the direction of Daniel Duell and Patricia Blair. She relocated to Chicago, where she trained for two years in the Balanchine technique and performed in numerous Balanchine works, including Who Cares?, Swan Lake, and Serenade.
In 2013, Walker moved to Charlotte, NC, to join the trainee program at North Carolina Dance Theatre under the direction of Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, Patricia McBride, and Mark Diamond. There, she performed in company ballets and had opportunities to create choreography for
students. She returned to Texas in 2014 to pursue a bachelor’s degree while launching her dance teaching career. Walker graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2017 with a degree in Art History and a minor in Museum Studies.
For the 2018–19 season, she joined Ballet San Antonio as an Apprentice and Children’s Rehearsal Director, performing in Beauty and the Beast, The Nutcracker, and Carmen. Following her departure from Ballet San Antonio, she continued to guest in regional ballet productions and played a key role in developing a local studio’s ballet program, which has since grown into Ballet Texas.
In 2021, Walker enrolled at the University of Oklahoma, earning a Master of Library and Information Studies in 2023 along with certificates in Archival Studies and Digital Humanities. She served as an Adjunct Instructor for the OU School of Dance and worked as an Archivist in the Ballets Russes Special Collections and Archive. In 2024, she accepted a position as Assistant Archivist at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, later serving as Acting University Archivist. She currently works as an Archivist at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, NM.
Ms. Walker has 13 years of teaching experience and is deeply passionate about working with young dancers. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes supporting each student’s individual dance journey by encouraging reflection, fostering a love of movement, and helping students connect
the skills learned in the studio to their everyday lives.
