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 – School Director, Ballet Instructor (Primary & Lower Divisions, Homeschool, Adaptive)

Sydney Walker 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 five 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.

Jessica Berroth – Ballet Instructor (Upper & Lower Divisions), Ballet Mistress

Jessica Berroth began dancing at the early age of 3 after she saw her first ballet. It was love at first sight. Her formal ballet training began at Deane Dance Center in Sacramento CA under the instruction of the late Barbara Crocket. She then continued her training at The School of Ballet Arizona with Truman Finney and Dina Vasilieva Dyakova. Other notable instructors include Alexander Vetrov (Bolshoi Ballet Master), Paul Mejia, Slawomir Wozniak, and Daniel Baudendistel. Jessica attended summer intensives at Boston Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet and State Street Ballet with scholarship.

Jessica began her professional career in 2008 with Terpsicore Dance Company where she had the privilege to perform as a soloist in an original neoclassical ballet by Ian Poulis and works with choreographer Kevin Jenkins. After a year of travel and dance in Italy, Jessica continued to perform with Terpsicore Dance Company until their close in 2016. She has since guested with Convergence Ballet and Southwest Ballet Theatre, her favorite role being Carabosse from Sleeping Beauty, which she performed while 5 months pregnant.

Jessica has been teaching pre professional ballet for the last 8 years and is the proud mother of 3 beautiful children.

Elijah Evans – Ballet Instructor (Boys’ Ballet)

Born and raised in Newport, Rhode Island, Elijah Evans began his dance training with The Newport Academy of Ballet, under the direction of Miki Ohlsen. There he had countless opportunities to perform with The Island Moving Company and the Junior Company in productions such as The Nutcracker, Dracula, and The Great Friends Dance Festival. Elijah studied Ballet Pedagogy with a scholarship to The University of Hartford: Hartt School under the direction of Stephen Pier. There he had the opportunity to study Ballet, Limón and Graham Techniques, Contemporary Dance Forms, Composition, Kinesiology, and Ballet Pedagogy: Primary to Advanced Levels. While attending, he danced works by acclaimed choreographers such as: Lar Lubovitch, Claudia Schreier, Martha Graham, Jose Limon, George Balanchine, August Bournonville and Doris Humphrey.

Elijah’s professional experience involves freelance work dancing with Island Moving Company, Spindle City Ballet, Part of the Oath Dance Company and The University of Hartford: Hartt School Community Division. He prides himself in having a strong pedagogical understanding of classical ballet through all levels. Elijah mentored under Sarkis Kaltakhtchia, Debra Collins Ryder, and Amy Manfredi. During that time he cultivated a syllabus for beginner male dancers, a syllabus for dancers in the intermediate levels, as well as a syllabus for teaching modern dance in school settings for children with no dance experience.

Now retired from the stage, Elijah keeps his passion for dance alive by sharing his knowledge and love of classical ballet to the younger generations. He is looking forward to his first season with Southwest Ballet Theatre.

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.

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 (Pointe, Adaptive), Ballet Mistress

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).

Angela Mitchell – Tap Instructor

Angela Mitchell has trained in many styles of dance starting at the age of three. Some of those styles include ballet, jazz, tap, musical theater, and more. Growing up in local, competitive dance studios, Angela had started competing at the age of nine in a tap company, where she toured and performed in multiple cities. With her tap group, Angela took many master classes in tap, ballet, jazz, modern, contemporary, and hip hop.

Angela started teaching dance to various ages in 2013 where she later became company competition director for ages five through nine. While studying dance education at Grand Canyon University, she continued teaching and performing in GCU faculty and student choreographed shows. Within 2022 and 2023, she has choreographed for multiple competition tap teams and taught across the valley.

While she has also recently gotten married, Angela still carries her passion for teaching and is looking forward to new adventures ahead. She hopes all students feel welcomed and comfortable to learn, but most of all, she hopes they feel the love for dance.

Gillian Rojas – Ballet Instructor (Upper & Lower Divisions, Adult), Ballet Mistress

Gillian Rojas has her Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from Arizona State University. In 2024, she will graduate from Northern Arizona University (Phoenix Biomedical) with her Doctoral degree in Physical Therapy. She continues to teach ballet and choreograph during school, and looks forward to coming back to SWBT.

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.

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.