Littleton Ballet Academy
Adult and Open Division Faculty
Adrianne Hampton, Musical Theatre, Tap
Adrianne is an award-winning musical theatre performer and choreographer. LA credits include being a two-time Scenie Award and ITL Award winner for her performances in Chicago and Born Yesterday. She recently performed Cassie in A Chorus Line at Sierra Repertory Theatre, performed several supporting roles at the Candlelight Theatre, Sheila in A Chorus Line at Centerstage in Fontana and danced professionally in a contemporary dance company in Orange County. She also played Val in A Chorus Line under the direction of Kay Cole.
Denver credits include being the first Cassie to perform the original choreography that was used in the Broadway revival of A Chorus Line under the direction of Michael Gorman at Town Hall Arts Center. She also starred as Cassie in A Chorus Line at the Pace Center, has performed many performances at the Arvada Center and was Mrs. Wilkinson in Billy Elliot at the Vintage Theatre. She recently won Best Actress for her performance as Olive in Bullets Over Broadway at the Vintage Theatre. She earned 3 nominations from Broadway World: two for Best Actress in Billy Elliot, Bullets over Broadway and one as Best Choreographer for Mary Poppins. Adrianne also won Best Choreographer at the David Marlowe Awards for The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Teaching credits include, Long Lake Performing Arts Camp NY, International Arts Camp SD, Elite Dance Academy LA, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, Littleton Ballet Academy, Palos Verdes Performing Arts Academy, Venue Theatre, Los Angeles Ballet Academy, David Taylor Dance Theatre, Rocky Mountain Theatre for Kids, was a full dance scholarship student at Steps and Broadway Dance Center in NYC and danced in many dance industrials in NY. She is currently the founder of Broadway Bootcamp in Littleton. Adrianne teaches musical theatre and tap at LBA.
Sarah Linville, Teen Ballet and Pre-Ballet Summer Camps
Sarah Selden, now Linville, started dancing at the age of 9 under Ali and Bobbie Jaramillo at Littleton Ballet Academy. During her time at LBA, she had the opportunity to perform the roles of Glinda in The Wizard of Oz and the March Hare in Alice in Wonderland. She continued dancing while pursuing her BA in English and secondary education at Palm Beach Atlantic University. Sarah discovered her passion for teaching while helping with younger dancers’ classes at LBA and loves watching how much our students grow and improve each year. She recently finished her MA in English and American Studies at the University of Oxford and now teaches English at Heritage High School.
Debra Mercer, Pre-Professional Ballet, Adults
Debra has been teaching and performing in Colorado for over thirty years. She has a B.A. with honors in Dance from York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She has been a principal dancer with the Jackson Ballet, Colorado Ballet, David Taylor Dance Theatre, and other local companies around the state. She is currently teaching ballet at Colorado College and is a member and Ballet Mistress of the Ormao Contemporary Dance Company, both in Colorado Springs. She has also taught for the Boulder Ballet, Boulder Ballet School, and taught at Miller's Dance Studio for fifteen years. She is fortunate enough to have studied with some of the best ballet teachers in the world, including Antony Tudor, Enrique Martinez, Milenko Banovic, James Clouser, Marjorie Tallchief, and George Skibine to name a few. She has studied from master teachers in the Bournonville, Vaganova, Cecchetti, and Royal Academy of Dance syllabi and travels to Taos, New Mexico every summer to study the Balanchine repertory with Jillana, a former principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. Debbie teaches Ballet 5-8 and Adult students at LBA.
Karina Okoren, Pre-Ballet, Ballet, Contemporary
Karina began dancing at 3 years old under the tutelage of Irina Hamilton with Soul Motion Underground. She continued her training with Ali and Bobbie Jaramillo at Littleton Ballet Academy where she had the privilege of performing the roles of Clara in The Nutcracker, the Sprite in Cinderella, and Ozma in The Wizard of Oz. Karina continued to dance at Brigham Young University as she studied Human Development and Contemporary Dance and performed with the contemporary performance company, Dance Ensemble. A kidney transplant recipient at the age of 14, Karina believes in the power of dance to synchronize mind, body and spirit as a means of healing and expression. Karina is currently applying for Dance Therapy graduate programs to help others heal through movement.