Faculty

SWBT’s faculty are the most sought after instructors in the valley. They bring their wide range of expertise and experiences to share with our aspiring dancers. Scroll down to read more about each faculty member and the expertise they bring to SWBT’s dancers. 

Crystal Fullmer – Artistic Director, Ballet Instructor (Upper Division)

With 25 years of teaching experience at universities, private studios and conservatories, Crystal Fullmer brings a wealth of knowledge into the classroom and rehearsal process.

Her early training started with Jacquie Kunzman, Nina Vasilieff Raimondo, and Frank Bays at a small classical studio in Oregon, while later she studied with Greg Halloran and Lorraine Person at University of Idaho, and Donna Jewell, Mary Anne Santos Newhall, and Eva Encinias-Sandoval at University of New Mexico.

Crystal owned and directed her own dance studio in eastern Washington for a few years, and has also been on faculty with Washington State University, Central Washington University, Alma College, and University of Idaho. She is currently an adjunct with the Dance Department of Grand Canyon University.

Her former students have been accepted to dance programs at Cornish College of the Arts, University of Utah, LINES Ballet at Dominican University, The Hartt School, Western Washington University, University of Idaho, University of Arizona, and University of New Mexico. Some have also danced professionally with Ballet 5:8, State Street Ballet, Ballet Idaho, ArtLab J, and Third Coast Dance Company. 

Sydney Walker Arriaga – School Director, Ballet Instructor (Lower & Upper Divisions, Homeschool)

Sydney Walker Arriaga started classical ballet at the age of four and completed several Royal Academy of Dance examinations with Arizona Youth Ballet under the instruction of Kelly Moul.  She earned exceptional marks in her classical performance and musicality, receiving one of the highest total grades in her studio in 2013. RAD, a worldwide classical ballet syllabus program, inspired her passion for character dance and its strong technique.  After ten years, she joined Southwest Ballet Theatre and has thrived dancing in their professional performances.  Her favorite roles include the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz, Pretty Bird in Tarzan, the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, and a Czardas soloist in Coppélia.

Sydney has over six years of teaching and choreography experience. She is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. Sydney is passionate about educating dancers and enjoys her role at SWBT as it connects her with the staff and families. On the side, she plays piano recreationally with her 15 years of piano experience.  She hopes to continue teaching and dancing in the future.

Sydney is ABT® certified in Pre-Primary through Level 3. She is also certified in adaptive dance by the Boston Ballet Company, Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT), and has earned an Associate in Arts Degree.

Bernadette Gaxiola – Flamenco Instructor

Bernadette Gaxiola began her dance training at age of 6 in Flamenco, Classical Spanish, Spanish Folk, Mexican Folk with Laura Moya/AZ. She began her professional carrier at the age of 13 with Laura Moya Hispanic Dance Company. Her studies also took her nationally and abroad to Spain, which includes flamenco artists Luis Montero, Oscar Nieto, Julia Lopez, La Meida, La Conja, Carola Zertuche, Yolanda Heredia, Isabel Bayón, Antonio “El Pipa”, Antonio Granjero, and Pastora Galvan, among many others.

Performance credits also include Zona Flamenca, Flamenco Ole/Antonio Granjero (PA), Ballet Etudes (AZ), Calo Flamenco Ballet de Martin Gaxiola. She has toured throughout the US and debuted her Solo Solea’ por Buleria’s at the Hecksher Theatre at El Museo de Barrio, just to name a few. She founded Gitanitos del Sol student dance company and Zona Flamenca, also became director of Flamenco at Pepin Spanish restaurant. In 2016, she debuted her production at Arcosanti , Flamenco Meets Vivaldi. To name a few of her works include “Metropolis”/Ballet under the Stars, the Arizona Music Festivals, Orpheum Theatre, Herberger, presented her first Flamenco ensemble at YAGP 2019/ NY.

Teaching credits include School of Ballet Arizona, Scottsdale Dance Academy, Arizona School for the Arts, and is currently on staff at Master Ballet Academy. Now, she instructs/choreographs/performs and remains committed to her goal of inspiring future generations of dancers through the artistic expression of Flamenco. She is an AVP for a national insurance brokerage, and in her spare time, she enjoys Salsa Dancing with her husband and spending time with her children and extended family.

Gillian Rojas – Ballet Instructor (Upper Division)

Gillian Rojas is a physical therapist with a Doctoral degree from Northern Arizona University and a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from Arizona State University.

Gillian has professional dancing experience with Ballet Arizona, Orange County’s Festival Ballet Theatre and Convergence Ballet in Phoenix. She received training at the Lauridsen Ballet Centre, Southland Ballet Academy and the San Francisco Ballet School. She also studied at the Royal Ballet School, in London, for a short term. During summers, she studied ballet on scholarship in New York, Boston, San Francisco, Houston and London. In 2013, she was one of the original dancers to perform in Gala De Danza, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, an annual international dance performance. She was also a YoungArtsDance winner in 2014 and competed in the Youth America Grand Prix finals, in New York, for three years.

In addition to her experience with dance, Gillian has her 200-hour Yoga Certification and Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) certification.

Erica Lizotte – Administrative Assistant, Ballet Instructor (Primary Division, Recreational), Enrichment Instructor, Homeschool Jazz Instructor

Erica Lizotte began her dance training in Massachusetts where she was born and raised. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a BFA in Dance Performance. Upon graduation, she moved to Chicago to pursue her love of dance. She was blessed to have performed with various companies such as Zephyr Dance and Cindy Brandle Dance Company. Erica relocated to Arizona and found a home with Center Dance Ensemble, the resident modern dance company at the Herberger Theatre in Phoenix.

She performed 10 seasons with CDE and was grateful to be under the direction of the late Frances Cohen and Diane McNeal Hunt. Erica has a lifelong LOVE for dance and is excited to be back with SWBT to share her enthusiasm and passion for teaching the next generation of dancers.

Melissa Marshall – Ballet Instructor (Adaptive), Rehearsal Director

Melissa Marshall started her dance training at the age of three, in Albany, New York. At the age of six, she began more serious ballet training with the Albany Berkshire Ballet under the direction of Madeline Cantarella Culpo. She performed in many ballets including Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cinderella, and the Nutcracker.

Melissa performed and travelled with the ABB company throughout the East coast and Canada performing several roles in the Nutcracker. She attended Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet for two summer programs under the direction of Marcia Dale Weary in 1995 and 1996. In 1997, she put her ballet career on hold to pursue a career in physical therapy at Springfield College, Massachusetts. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in 2001, and Master of Science degree in Physical Therapy in 2002.

Melissa worked as a licensed physical therapist in the state of New Mexico, in the school-age, early intervention, in-home pediatric, and geriatric settings for eight years. She moved to Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico, in 2010, where she resumed dancing and began teaching with Destiny Dance Academy. In 2017, Melissa opened Elegante School of Dance and Therapeutic Center where she choreographed and taught ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, hip hop, acrobatics, yoga, toning and conditioning as well as provided physical therapy services and therapeutic massages to children and adults. In late 2017, Melissa moved to Goodyear, and became a licensed physical therapist in AZ, working with children with disabilities. In 2018, Melissa began dancing and performing with Southwest Ballet Theatre. She currently teaches, assists and performs with SWBT.

Melissa has a passion for uniting her physical therapy and dance backgrounds to serve children with special needs in the ballet studio. She is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT).

Luke Roosma – Ballet Instructor (Boys’ Ballet)

Luke Roosma is currently enrolled at Grand Canyon University in his 3rd year. Growing up in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, he began training at the Peak Academy of Dance at the age of 5. At the age of 13, his family moved to Show Low, AZ, where he continued his training with the Dance Academy of the White Mountains. Through his connections with The Dance Academy, he has performed in various professional shows, including “Dance in the Desert,” a modern dance festival in Las Vegas, NV, and with Dance Theatre West’s production of Sister Moses in Havana, Cuba. Since moving to the Valley, he has performed in multiple shows at GCU and with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra this past year. He was also the Nutcracker/Cavalier in Southwest Ballet Theater’s 2024 production of The Nutcracker. Luke is well-versed in a multitude of styles, including Modern, Hip Hop, Tap, Lyrical, Contemporary, Ballet, and Jazz.

Sarah Ross – Ballet Mistress

Sarah Ross began dancing at the age of 4 and has trained in ballet, modern, jazz, and Hip Hop. Growing up in Chiang Mai, Thailand, she attended Itsara Dance School and Russian Ballet Academy where she gained experience in ballet, jazz, and modern. Upon moving back to the United States in 2019, Sarah attended a summer intensive at the Anaheim Ballet School in California before starting her Bachelors in Dance and Exercise Science at Grand Canyon University. Here she learned a variety of dance styles including ballet, modern, jazz, tap, Hip Hop, and choreography.
Sarah is currently attending graduate school for Physical Therapy at Northern Arizona University but wants to continue working in the dance community.

Hannah Stough – Ballet Instructor (Lower Divison)

Hannah Stough holds more than two decades of dance training, including forms such as Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Tap, and Flamenco. Her experience began with five years competing at the national level until graduating from high school in 2018. Hannah’s ambition led to her acceptance into the rigorous program at the School of Ballet Arizona (SBAZ), where she refined her technique and deepened her love for ballet. While training at SBAZ, she earned featured roles in Cinderella (2019) and Swan Lake at Desert Botanical Garden (2021), showcasing her stage presence and growing artistry. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Grand Canyon University in 2025, where she performed in numerous mainstage productions, including Emerge, Flourish, Odyssey, and Worthy, to name a few. Alongside performing, Hannah developed her choreographic voice through original works presented in student showcases, such as Ambivalence and Transcendence. Her work, Wings, was selected as the faculty pick for the mainstage production of Worthy.

Hannah is passionate about empowering the next generation to explore their values through movement in a safe, supportive environment. As a current instructor throughout the valley of Arizona, she encourages every dancer to feel confident both in class and on stage. She believes that while dance requires precision, alignment, and technical clarity, its greatest power lies in authentic expression. For Hannah, storytelling is at the heart of the art form, and she believes it to be an embodied language that brings emotion to life. Her teaching philosophy centers on helping students discover the vital connection between technique and narrative, both in rehearsal and performance.

Lisa Gray Young – Ballet Instructor (Primary Division), Enrichment Instructor

Lisa Gray Young, a Phoenix native, grew up studying various genres of dance, as well as acting, voice, piano, and flute. After graduating from South Mountain Center for the Arts High School, Young went to Arizona State University, graduating with honors and earning a B.F.A. in Choreography/Performance.

She has performed, taught, and choreographed for a myriad of dance companies, theaters, schools, studios, and churches around the Valley, including Center Dance Ensemble (dancing the principle role of “Gerda” in The Snow Queen, ’98-’00), The Movement Source, Inc., Dance Arizona Repertory Theater, Stageworks, MesaYoutheatre, East Valley Children’s Theatre, Greasepaint Youtheatre, The Mesa Arts Center (co-founded/co-directed Step to This Dance Company), Grand Canyon University, Mesa Community College, Phoenix College, and Paradise Valley Community College.

Lisa has received numerous ariZoni Theater Awards of Excellence nominations for her choreography in the theater community and has won twice for her work in The Orphan Train and The Jungle Book, both with MesaYoutheatre.

She currently also teaches children and teens at Dance Theater West.

Elizabeth Seufert – Operations Director & Board Treasurer

Elizabeth Seufert is a Carefree, Arizona native. She earned a B.A. in Accounting at Hillsdale College in Michigan where she also met her future husband, Chris. Upon graduating, she returned to Phoenix to work for Deloitte as a Certified Public Accounting in the tax division. After a 10-year career, she left to spend more time at home with their children while working on various private clients and volunteering at Archway Trivium Academy. At Archway, she met the founder of Southwest Ballet Theatre, Melissa Hahne, and Elizabeth’s daughter began dancing at SWBT. After the SWBT performance company was established as a nonprofit, Elizabeth joined the Board of Directors in 2016, and Chris joined in 2019. In 2020, the ballet school became part of the nonprofit and at that point, Elizabeth became SWBT’s volunteer Operations Director.

The couple’s work with the ballet is deeply rooted in their pride of living in the West Valley; the original members of this community worked hard to build an enriching local culture and Elizabeth and Chris wish SWBT to be a continuation of that history. You will often find Elizabeth at the Performing Arts Center helping with costumes, meeting with staff, or just dropping in to talk to families.