Meet Our Staff

Ann Williams, Founder

Ann Williams has a BA in Dance and Mass Communications from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and has been dancing and performing for over 30 years and has taught for over 20 years at different studios and schools in the Twin Cities area. She has studied with many prestigious companies, institutions and individuals.

She opened Ballare Teatro Performing Arts Center in 1998, and has grown the business from 75 students and 2 instructors to 300+ students, 14 instructors and two admins. Under Ann’s direction, Ballare Teatro has become known for high quality dance education in a professional, nurturing environment. The instructors at Ballare Teatro are professional dancers and dance educators. The studio serves families from all over the Twin Cities area.

She has formed a partnership with the University of Minnesota Dance Program. She is a guest speaker in their teaching dance class each year, and as part of that class BFA dance majors come to the studio for their dance pedagogy practicum.

Ann has served on the board of Keane Sense of Rhythm, a local tap dance company and school, the Longfellow Business Association (co-chair), The Longfellow Community Council (business representative); Art Works in Eagan; and currently is on the board of Off-Leash Area: Contemporary Performance Works. 

Ann is thankful to have Ballare Teatro, and thankful to all of you for helping her make her passion a reality.

Rachel Johnson-Burnett, Instructor and Social Activities Director

Creative Dance, Fundamental A, Fundamental B, Level IB, Level IIA Tap, Level IIB Tap

Rachel Johnson-Burnett has been teaching at Ballare Teatro since 2015. Originally from Minneapolis, she started dancing at the age of 3 and never stopped! She graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College with a B.A. in Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies and Dance. In college, she studied extensively with Melissa Rolnick, Stephan Koplowitz, Jeffrey Peterson, and Sarah Hauss. She has performed in Italy and New Zealand as well as locally (local highlights include RENOVATE at the Ritz Theatre and co-directing, choreographing, & performing in the MN Fringe Festival). She continues her training through taking dance classes as much as possible, but has found that being a dance educator is her passion. Her goal as a teacher is to share her knowledge and love of dance with her students. When not at the studio, Rachel can be found reading, baking, traveling, and spending time with friends and family -- especially husband Dan, daughter Mara, and dog Stella.

Sarah Beck-Esmay, Instructor

Level IV Jazz

Sarah Beck-Esmay is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Minnesota earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance, her MN teaching license and her Masters in Education. In addition to teaching Jazz IV, she is an 8th grade classroom teacher in District 196 and a mother of three Ballare dancers. Having rehearsed in the studio as a member of Eclectic Edge Ensemble with Karis Sloss since before, during and after her pregnancies, Sarah’s children have truly grown up in the studio. 

Other professional performance credits include Ananya Dance Theater, Aniccha Arts, Rhythmically Speaking and in works by Danny Buraczeski, Zoey Sealy, Karla Grotting, Cynthia Gutierrez-Garner, Jolene Konkel and Jeffrey Peterson. Sarah choreographs for adult choirs, school musical theater productions and various pageantry arts programs throughout the state. Past dance instruction experiences include St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Arts, Apple Valley High School, Rosemount High School, Irondale High School, Tonka Dance Works and River City Rhythm. Since she has been a regular at Ballare either rehearsing or parenting for the past 20+ years and has benefited greatly from the Ballare community, Sarah is honored and thrilled to be on staff and give back to a place that has meant so much. 

Brenna Brelie, Instructor

Adult Intermediate Tap

Brenna Brelie has been a tap instructor at Ballare Teatro since 2008!  Brenna has been dancing since the age of 4. She has training in jazz, ballet, modern, and ballroom, but tap and percussive dance have been her passion for as long as she can remember.  Locally, she has danced with Kaleena Miller, Keane Sense of Rhythm, and Joe Chvala and Karla Grotting of the Flying Foot Forum. She has studied with Dianne Walker, Jumaane Taylor, Sam Weber, and Jason Samuels-Smith, among many others. Along with Kaleena Miller, Brenna is proud to have co-founded Twin Cities Tap in 2015.  Additionally, she is the Head of Operations at Pillsbury United Communities, a large multi-service nonprofit in Minneapolis.  Brenna is a proud mom, advocate, traveler, yoga practitioner, gardener, music-lover, nature-enthusiast, and life-long learner. 

Karis Sloss, Instructor

Level V Jazz

Karis Sloss is thrilled to be starting her 21st season with Ballare teatro! She is excited to be back this year teaching Jazz V. It has been incredibly special to be a part of some of Ballare’s graduating seniors’ dance education since they were 3 years old. In 2019 Sloss completed the Arts in Education Masters program at the University of Minnesota; receiving her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction and two MN teaching licenses; a K-12 in Dance and a K-12 in Theatre. The past 4 years Karis has taught dance and theatre classes in the Robbinsdale public school district 281. In 2021 Sloss won “Dance Education Teacher of the Year” through Minnesota Society of Health and Physical Educators. This year, Karis is ecstatic, to be teaching dance and working as an Outreach coordinator for PiM Arts High School in Eden Prairie.

Karis has been studying dance for over 30 years in the styles of jazz, ballet, pointe, tap, hip hop and modern. Zoe Sealy, Lewis Whitlock, Cathy Young and Danny Buraczeski are some of the very talented artists that Karis has been fortunate enough to work with over the years. She is the Artistic & Executive Director of the non-profit theatrical jazz dance company Eclectic Edge Ensemble who had 15 successful years of productions at The Lab Theater, The O’Shaughnessy, Southern Theater, JSB TEK BOX, The Ritz Theatre, Intermedia Arts, Illusion Theatre, Patrick’s Cabaret, and 5 MN Fringe Festivals. In 2015, Karla Grotting and Sloss were delighted to be awarded a SAGE Award for Outstanding Performance for “Lost Voices in Jazz.” Her choreography credits include work at Illusion Theatre, SteppingStone Theatre, Children’s Theatre, Loring Playhouse, University of MN and Saint Catherine/Saint Thomas and numerous public, private and charter schools. Sloss is very excited to be jumping back into the studio for her twenty-first year teaching at Ballare teatro!

Jake Nehrbass, Instructor

Tap III, Tap IV, Adult Fast Intermediate Tap, Adult Advanced Tap

Jake grew up in Minneapolis and started his dance journey when he was three years old. Over the years, he has had the privilege of studying and performing various styles, including tap, modern, jazz, hip hop, international styles, and ballroom. Jake earned his BFA in Dance and Kinesiology from St. Olaf College, which has allowed him to explore the physical and anatomical aspects of movement.



His work as a performing artist, choreographer, and teacher in the Twin Cities is deeply rooted in a love for the art form and a desire to share it with others. Currently, Jake dances with ARENA Dances, Black Label Movement, Ruby Josephine Dance Theatre, and Rhythmically Speaking and has had or continues to collaborate with several wonderful local companies, including Contempo Physical Dance, Concerto Dance, Mixtape, Threads Dance Project, Flying Foot Forum, Hatch Dance/Honey Works, Katha Dance Theatre, Cheng “Technica” Xiong, Buckets and Taps, Eau Claire Dance, STRONGmovement, and in Stephan Koplowitz’s Northfield Experience. He is grateful for each of these experiences, which have allowed him to grow as an artist and connect with talented individuals in the community. In addition to performing and choreographing, Jake enjoys teaching at Prairie School of Dance and Ballare Teatro Performing Arts Center.

Shannon Mulcahy, Instructor

Creative Dance, Fundamental B, Level IA, Level IB,  Jazz III,  Progressing Ballet III, Modern IV

Adult Beginning/Intermediate Jazz

Born and raised in Chicagoland, Shannon Mulcahy graduated from the U of Minnesota- Twin Cities with a BFA of Dance in 2017. Having trained under Minneapolis-St. Paul greats such as Toni Pierce Sands, Erin Thompson, Joanie Smith, Ananya Chatterjea, Karla Grotting and Carl Flink while at the U- she gained a sound technical base in Modern, Jazz Dance and contemporary driven dramaturgy. During her undergrad, she performed in pieces by Martha Graham and Brian Brooks on the Carlson Family Stage at the Northop. Other undergrad credits include Shapiro and Smith Dance, Luke Olson-Elm, Rosy Simas and Brooks Moving Company. 

After college, Shannon joined Contempo Physical Dance as an apprentice and guest artist, danced in countless MN Fringe Shows as well as productions by Rhythmically Speaking and Rebecca Tanner Dance. As of today, she is a core company member of Concerto Dance by Jolene Konkel focusing on traditional jazz and modern works as well as a freelance dance artist throughout the Twin Cities. 

This is Shannon's 6th year of teaching dance, starting at Prairie School of Dance in 2018 and joining Ballare Teatro in 2019. Her teaching experience ranges from Creative dance to jazz technique and groove to contemporary and modern styles all the way to adult jazz and tap. This is Shannon's 5th year at Ballare Teatro, and it's going to be the best one yet!

Siri Hammond, Instructor

Creative Dance, Fundamental A, Fundamental B, Level IA, Level IB, Adult Beginning and Intermediate Ballet, Outreach

Siri Hammond grew up studying ballet and other genres at Festival Dance Academy in Pullman, WA, through which she had the opportunity to perform in ballet productions such as The Nutcracker with the Eugene Ballet, A Christmas Carol, Peter Pan, and Sleeping Beauty. She also gained a passion for musical theatre, performing in local theatre productions from the age of eight. Siri studied theatre and dance at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN where she was a member of Companydance, the college’s modern dance company. Since graduating, Siri moved to the Twin Cities where she has performed with local and regional theatre companies including Artistry, Old Log, Lyric Arts, Zephyr Theatre, Paul Bunyan Playhouse, Nimbus Theatre, and Walking Shadow Company. In addition to dance and theatre, Siri loves singing and making music, figure skating, and spending time in the great outdoors. She is so happy to be on staff at Ballare! 

Cierra Dailey, Admin

Cierra Dailey is currently in her fourth year at the University of Minnesota pursuing a BFA in dance. Growing up, Cierra danced at White Bear Dance Center and Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists. She has performed works by many Twin Cities artists including: Arena Dances, Ananya Chatterjea, Black Label Movement, Elayna Waxse and Shapiro and Smith Dance. Most recently, Cierra performed ‘Swan Song’ by Elayna Waxse at the American College Dance Association’s national festival in Long Beach California. Cierra also enjoys production management and recently co-produced ‘A Fool’s Errand’, a student capstone performance, at the Red Eye Experimental Theater.