FACULTY

Wanwan Cai began dancing ballet and Chinese classical dance when she was five. She trained with her local art school for many years and continued her dance training in college. During college and graduate school, she also performed with a Shaoxing opera company in Tianjin, China. Wanwan taught yoga at OmTree Shala, and has served as the director and teacher of the Lawrence Jasmine dance group.

Paige Comparato | Ballet

Paige Comparato started her ballet training in Topeka at age nine at Barbara’s Conservatory of Danse. She later danced with Ballet Midwest where she performed several principal roles. Paige continued her ballet training at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth for two years before returning to Kansas University to pursue a degree in Art History. She primarily teaches ballet but also choreographs, directs and costumes dance performances including Elfwyn’s Saga, Sleeping Beauty and most recently, La Fille Mal Gardee. Paige also teaches ballet for the AIM adult contemporary dance company and youth contemporary company at Point B dance studio. Paige has worked for the arts center in many capacities for more than 20 years.

Hope DeYoung Daniels | Ballet

Hope DeYoung-Daniels grew up in Kansas City and has been passionate about dance for as long as she can remember. At age 15, she moved to New York City to train under the guidance of Deborah Wingert, François Perron, Marina Stavitskaya, David Howard, and Elena Kunikova, among others. Hope has shared a stage with members of New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and Brice Mousset’s Oui Danse. She has taught classical ballet, contemporary, and jazz classes in the Kansas City area for six years. She is a graduate of Johnson County Community College and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree at the University of Kansas, but the most important title she holds is “mom.” Hope is excited to bring her love of movement to the Lawrence Arts Center.

Tristian Griffin | Artist in Residence, Ballet, Modern

Tristian Griffin was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He trained at the Legacy School of the Arts, Virginia School of the Arts, and Kansas City Ballet. In 2014, Tristian graduated from Texas Christian University earning his BFA in ballet with a minor in English. While at TCU, he performed works with featured solos by Christian Von Howard, Gerald Arpino, and Susan Jaffe, and was awarded the Corps de Ballet International’s Basil Thompson Memorial Scholarship in 2012, and the Nordan Fine Arts Scholarship for all four years of undergraduate study. Following graduation, Tristian danced with Garth Fagan Dance Company under the direction of Garth Fagan, PJ Norwood, and Natalie Rogers-Cropper. He has also danced with Washington DC-based contemporary dance company Company E, and with the esteemed Owen/Cox Dance Group under the direction of Jennifer Owen. In addition to dancing professionally, he has also taught in various settings including classes through Em’s Spotlight and HALO Foundation for underprivileged children within the Kansas City community.

Anna Hastings | Jazz, Tap

Anna Hastings is from Olathe, Kansas. She is currently pursuing a BA in dance and a minor in business at KU, where she is also a Rock Chalk Dancer. Anna is excited to be a part of the team at Lawrence Arts Center!

Jerel Hilding | Ballet

As a principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet for 15 years, Jerel Hilding performed in works by many of the 20th century’s most influential choreographers, including George Balanchine, Gerald Arpino, Jerome Robbins, Frederic Ashton, John Cranko, Kurt Jooss, Leonide Massine, Mark Morris, and Twyla Tharp. He directed the New Jersey Ballet’s Artist-in-Education program and worked as an instructor for New York’s City Center Theatre Outreach Program. Hilding is an associate professor and associate chair of dance at the University of Kansas, where he teaches all levels of ballet, pointe, pas de deux and music for dancers. Jerel holds a BFA in Music from Louisiana State University in New Orleans (now the University of New Orleans).

Betsy McCafferty | Preschool Dance, Kinder Ballet

Betsy started ballet in Wichita, KS as a child. She continued studying as an adult under Deborah Bettinger’s program at the Lawrence School of Ballet as well as the Lawrence Arts Center. She has enjoyed opportunities to dance in the Lawrence Ballet Ensemble, the Choreographer’s Showcase events, and the Kansas Nutcracker. Betsy teaches preschool ballet, kinder ballet, dancing fairy tales, and beginning ballet classes at the Arts Center.

Dance had been a part of Ashley Sandefur’s life and heart from an early age, but it was a knee surgery in high school that led her to a love and admiration for physical therapy. Ashley graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in exercise science in 2000. After working in a physical therapy setting for a few years, she was introduced to Pilates, which married her love for movement and science seamlessly. Ashley has taught rehab-based Pilates in Lawrence and Topeka for more than a decade, practicing different styles of rehabilitation varying from injury rehab, injury prevention pertaining to dancers, and chronic trauma, as well as for basic wellbeing and health. Movement cannot be overemphasized as part of our whole health. It is Ashley’s honor to help others move through life and discover wellness.

Annie Stark | Irish Step Dance

Annie Stark is a third-generation Irish dancer in her family with roots in Sligo, Ireland. She is a champion Irish dancer and teacher with the Driscoll School of Irish Dance where she trains and competes year round. She is also a company member of the dance company Ceili at the Crossroads, fusing traditional and modern Irish dance with contemporary dancing. Along with being a dancer, she is an accomplished Irish fiddler, and performs Sundays as the in-house dancer at O’Dowds Irish Pub in Kansas City. Annie studied violin at the Chicago College of Performing Arts. The mixture of the two art forms encourages a unique perspective on Irish dance.

Maya Tillman-Rayton | Hip Hop

Maya Tillman-Rayton is a KU graduate with a degree in human biology. Currently she is a faculty member in KU’s Department of Theatre & Dance, and recently choreographed a piece for the University Dance Company titled “Procession.” Maya’s teaching career spans 15 years and has included students of all ages in Lawrence and Kansas City. She is married to a “retired” dancer and has two beautiful children.

Kierstin Bennett | Little Movers, Ballet

Kierstin Bennett has trained in many dance styles for over 15 years but has focused on her love of ballet for the majority of that time. Kierstin is pursuing a Mechanical Engineering degree at the University of Kansas, to become a Neural Engineer one day and design and work with prosthetics. Kierstin is honored to continue to have dance as a key part of her life, during this time by teaching young dancers how to create and learn through movement.

Liat Roth | Contemporary, Ballet

Liat Roth, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, began her training under Kathleen Massot and Lisa Nicholas. She furthered her education at the St. Louis Ballet, Kansas City Ballet School, Houston Ballet, and Joffrey Ballet School. In 2021, Liat graduated cum laude from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performance and Choreography. Within the dual emphasis Ballet and Modern program, she had the opportunity to dance works by Paula Weber, Christopher Huggins, George Balanchine, Salvatore Aiello, and Tom Gold.

Shannon Pickett | Ballet

Shannon Pickett received her initial ballet training under Christine Fossemalle in Hot Springs, AR, and Barbara Ebert in Topeka, KS. In high school she began performing with Ballet Midwest, and continued to study dance on scholarship at the University of Kansas with Jerel and Krystyna Hilding, where she performed leading roles with the University Dance Company while completing her B.A. in English. She holds an M.A. in education and teaches at Eudora High School. Specializing in ballet, Shannon has served as a performer and instructor locally for the past 20 years.

Justin Harbaugh | Tap, & Social Dance

Justin Harbaugh is from Emporia, Kansas. He has earned degrees in music from Emporia State University and Kansas State University. Justin traveled the world as a professional dancer on board Holland America Cruise Line for ten years. He has also appeared in several productions at Music Theater of Wichita, and regularly choreographs productions at the Lawrence Arts Center. Justin holds a D.M.A. in clarinet performance from the University of Kansas. Contact Justin Harbaugh by calling 785.843.2787 or emailing justin@lawrenceartscenter.org