“We are passionately committed to providing each individual the opportunity to learn the art of dance in a positive, structured and inspiring environment.”

Located in Evergreen, Colorado, Evergreen Dance Center has been providing professional dance instruction to students of all ages and abilities for over 30 years. Regardless which style your child desires to learn, trust that we have an enthusiastic and experienced teacher to lead the instruction. We are passionate about our students, the art of dance and maintaining a welcoming and positive family environment.

Meet Our Staff

Shelby McKee
Director & Instructor

Shelby McKee

Shelby McKee has been active in the dance industry for over 17 years as an instructor, choreographer, professional dancer and Director.  Shelby began her dance journey at Little Theater Culture Center, Inc. in Littleton where she studied ballet, tap, jazz and lyrical for 14 years.  As a teen she participated in many dance competitions and conventions.  After graduating high school, Shelby trained for seven years under Carla Parks at the Academy of Classical Ballet in Arvada.  She taught, choreographed, and was a principal dancer in Ms. Parks’ Classical Dance Theatre.  During her time with Parks, she performed in many classical ballets, including “The Nutcracker”, “Don Quixote”, “Giselle”, “Le Corsire”, and “Swan Lake”, among others.  She then danced professionally with Denver-based Davis Contemporary Dance Company.  During four years at Davis, Shelby discovered her strong passion for lyrical and contemporary dance.  Shelby’s numerous performance, competition, and workshop opportunities have paved the way for her teaching career.  She is classically trained in Vaganova and Cecchetti methods of ballet and has studied lyrical, contemporary, modern, jazz, musical theater and tap from master teachers all over the United States.  She keeps up to date on her dance education through online teacher-training courses, attending local conventions and taking class.

Although Shelby enjoys performing, her true happiness is found in choreographing, teaching and connecting with her students.  She loves to highlight the unique skill sets of each dancer she works with while giving them new, unfamiliar movement to push them out of their comfort zone and reach new levels.  Shelby encourages her students to believe in themselves and that anything can be achieved with passion, dedication and hard work.  “Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion.” – Martha Graham

Michele Major
Instructor

Michele Major

Miss Michele has experience as a professional dancer, as a teacher for 20 years, and has written a complete training syllabus for ballet. After performing professionally, Miss Michele moved to Eugene, Oregon where she founded Ballet North West Academy. There she trained dancers for 15 years, in addition to serving as Artistic Director for non-profit dance advocacy organization, Pacific Classical Ballet. Her education includes teaching certification in the Vaganova syllabus in both upper and lower grades from Vaganova authority John White and graduating cum laude with a BFA in Dance from Southern Methodist University.

Miss Michele's performing experiences includes classical ballets Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Pas de Deux from Flower Festival in Genzano, and Grand pas Classique. She has also performed in Rober Scevers' Septet, and Jaun Valqui's Dances and Airs of Ireland. Her experience also includes diverse repertory, including modern dance, musical theatre, and contemporary ballet. She has performed for San Diego Ballet, Ballet du Soliel, Texas Musical Drama, Western Chamber Ballet, Peninsula Ballet Theatre, City Ballet, and Pacific Repertory Ballet and productions of the Southern Methodist University Dance Department. She has also appeared with Pittsburgh Ballet. Her early training includes the School of Ballet West, and the American Academy of Ballet which included an exchange program with the Vaganova Choreographic Institute in Riga, Latvia.

Over the years, Miss Michele's students have gone on to success as professional performers and many have secured scholarships to pre-professional training programs and university dance programs. Miss Michele encourages each student in individual dance goals and actively encourages every student to achieve his or her best.

Erika Coffman
Instructor

Erika Coffman

Erika Coffman has been dancing since she was about three years old. She grew up dancing in Grand Junction, Colorado at Absolute Dance and Inspire Dance. At the age of 13 she started dancing competitively, competing at competitions such as Spotlight, KAR, Nuvo, Jump, and NRG. Erika was granted the opportunity to work with Tyne Stecklain, a professional dancer, as well as many other professionals, such as Mia Michaels and Kathryn McCormick. She also competed at the regional and national level. Her favorite styles are hip hop, jazz, and lyrical.

Aside from dancing, Erika has four younger siblings and moved up to Golden, Colorado to further her education at Colorado School of Mines, and receive a degree in biochemical engineering. She loves to read, draw, and try new things.

Kaitlyn Powers
Instructor

Kaitlyn Powers

Kaitlyn Powers is in her fourth season as a company member with Kim Robards Dance and has taught ballet, modern, tap, jazz, contemporary, lyrical and improvisation at studios since 2016. She is originally from Hutchinson, Kansas, where she began her dance training at Artistree. Kaitlyn then received a BFA in Dance with a focus in Modern from Wichita State University where she performed in both the student and faculty companies. During her time in Kansas, she performed as a soloist with Metropolitan Ballet of Wichita and Ballet Wichita. Kaitlyn has toured internationally as a member of Wichita Contemporary Dance Theater and worked with Darrel Grand Moultrie, Charlotte Boye-Christensen, Cheyla Clawson Chandler, Denise Celestin, and C. Nicholas Johnson. She has also attended workshops and intensives with Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, Diavolo and River North Dance Chicago.

Interested in applying for our student teacher program?

You must be a current student to participate, taking classes in the styles you plan to teach. Email evergreendancecenter@gmail.com for more information.