Who We Are
Artistic Leadership
Julia Wilkinson Manley
Founder | Director | Faculty
Ballet pedagogue, history nerd, and healthy body image advocate. Passionate about anatomy, kinesiology, and injury risk management. Adamant that dance can be taught in a body-safe, healthy environment where vulnerability and authenticity are core values.
After her career as a professional dancer with Ballet Ireland, David Taylor Dance Theater, and Ballet Nouveau Colorado, Julia Wilkinson Manley became the School Director for Broomfield-based Ballet Nouveau Colorado from 2003-2013. In 2013 she founded a new non-profit organization, Colorado Conservatory of Dance (CCD), becoming CEO and Artistic Director. As a leader of CCD for 10 years, she developed community education programming for over 60,000 individuals, a nationally-respected syllabus for dance training, and produced and choreographed over 25 ballets.
Julia earned her BFA in ballet pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma, where she trained under the directorship of Mary Margaret Holt. In 2009, she served on the committee to rewrite the Colorado Academic Standards for Dance for the Colorado Department of Education and completed the Community Arts Education Leadership Institute (CAELI) under the mentorship of John McCann in 2015. Julia was honored in 2023 as a Legend of Dance by the Dance Archive at the University of Denver.
Many of Julia’s students have gone on to enjoy professional careers with dance companies such as Atlanta Ballet, Ballett Zürich, Colorado Ballet, Eugene Ballet, Houston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Oklahoma City Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theater, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Wonderbound, and Verb Ballets. Similarly, many of her students have developed illustrious careers as brain surgeons, architects, scientists, teachers, engineers, visual artists, writers, physical therapists, and more – all with the love for dance bolstering their success. Julia is committed to using her experiences with injury and body dysmorphia to positively impact the way dance can and should be taught. Julia is passionate about providing an environment for learning where dancers can feel vulnerable and authentic. Colorado Movement Lab is a place where dance technique is taught kinesthetically and without judgment, and the community is emboldened with curiosity, artistic sensibility, and tolerance.
Chris Harris
Founder | Director | Faculty
Choreographer, visual artist, dancer, pedagogue, and movement and body nerd. Fascinated with how we understand art, dance, motion, and the psychology of performance and training. Focuses on self-knowledge, questioning, and exploration as a central tenet of learning.
Chris Harris has been choreographing and dancing in Denver for over three decades. She is a choreographer, artistic director, visual artist, dancer, pedagogue, and teacher with interests in math, science, data visualization, and has a fascination with how we understand art, dance, motion, and the psychology of performance. Chris holds a BFA in Dance and Choreography from the University of Colorado, Boulder and an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College.
Continually returning to Colorado during her training, she has been part of the Colorado dance scene for over 30 years. While working at various dance studios she was a faculty member, a program advisor for Modern, Jazz, Contemporary and Composition programs, and a project manager/director for many teen and adult performances. She has loved the role of festival creative director, choreographed for local theaters and dance companies, been a guest lecturer at The Arts Institute of Colorado and CSU, and been adjunct faculty at and choreographed for the University of Denver and the University of Colorado.
Previously she was artist in residence for the Denver School of the Arts for 17 years, Co-Director of the Boulder Jazz Dance Workshop, and Assistant Artistic Director of Interweave Dance Theatre. In 2005, she founded and became Artistic Director/Choreographer for Louder Than Words Dancetheater & the Colorado Youth Dance Theater. Both projects performed until 2018 in Denver. After completing graduate school in 2019, Chris has been privileged to share her multi-disciplinary artworks and lectures with so many amazing students on the Front Range.
Colorado Movement Lab brings Chris’ love for dance, Colorado, and exploration full circle. She plans to continually ask all the complicated and wonderful questions about creativity, health, grounding in self, and performativity that have guided her love of dance as an art form for all of her life.
Faculty
Gillian Beauchamp
Faculty
Dance educator and artist.
A Colorado native, Gillian Beauchamp grew up with a passion for dance, beginning her training with Julia Wilkinson Manley. Prior to college, she performed works by Trey McIntyre, Dominic Walsh, Dawn Fay, and Mary Margaret Holt. Notably, she performances roles as Snow Queen and Arabian Soloist in The Nutcracker, the pas de deux in Wave by Try McIntyre, and the Firebird in Camcie Foster’s Firebird. Throughout her training, Gillian attended summer intensives at Peridance Capezio Center in New York where she trained with Igal Perry, Rachel Hettinger, and Mike Esperanza, as well as attending BalletX for two summers, working with Christine Cox, Caili Quan, Tommie Waheed Evans, and Matthew Neenan. She continued her dance training at the University of Arizona where she graduated this past May. Gillian had the wonderful opportunity to work with prestigious faculty, including Christopher Compton, Michael Willians, Sean Watson, and Tammy Dyke-Compton.
Gillian’s love and passion for dance are fueled by extraordinary dance education, and Colorado Movement Lad does just that. She is thrilled to be a part of CML and is excited to watch dancers blossom in this program.
Jacqueline Campos
Faculty
Professional dancer, dance educator and Pilates instructor.
Jacqueline Campos is a certified Pilates instructor, professional dancer, and dance educator. She began her training at Ballet Nouveau Colorado under the direction of Julia Wilkinson Manley. She received additional training during summer intensives at Alonzo King LINES Ballet and L.A. Contemporary Dance Company. Jacqueline graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a BFA in Dance Performance and a BA in Business Economics with a minor in Management. While at UC Irvine, she had the opportunity of working with artists such as Chad Michael Hall, Charlotte Griffin, Molly Lynch, Tong Wang, S. Ama Wray, Kate Skarpetowska, and Lar Lubovitch. Jacqueline is currently a company member with Industrial Dance Alliance. She received her Comprehensive Teacher Training Certificate from Body Arts Science International (BASI) Pilates and now teaches in the Denver area. She holds a certificate in Pilates for Injuries and Pathologies from BASI. Through dance and Pilates, Jacqueline strives to help her students and clients gain a greater understanding and appreciation of their bodies through movement.
Kerry Healy
Faculty | Marketing & Social Media
Dancer, teacher, choreographer, learner, form & function fanatic, hip health devotee. Creating opportunities for expression, exploration, and artistic voice development.
Kerry Healy began her dance training under Julia Wilkinson Manley at the age of 5 at Ballet Nouveau Colorado and continued at Colorado Conservatory of Dance. She attended the Alonzo King LINES Ballet BFA Program under Alonzo King with Dominican University of California, where she earned a BFA in Dance. While in San Francisco, Kerry worked with artists such as Gregory Dawson, Maurya Kerr, Christian Burns, Arturo Fernandez, Alice Klock, Alex Ketley, and Sidra Bell. Throughout her career and training, Kerry attended intensives at San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Henny Jurriëns Dance in Amsterdam, Compass Coaching Project with Dominic Walsh, Gaga Lab, Sidra Bell Dance New York Module, Salt Dance LINK Festival, Whim W’Him Winter Intensive, and Carmel Dance Festival. She has danced with Wonderbound, Nosilla Dance Project, T2 Dance Company, and Wild Heart Dance, in addition to performing as a Guest Artist in Dominic Walsh’s Cinderella and the Evil Stepmother.
Kerry has been teaching dance for over 4 years and loves to create a collaborative space where we can support and learn from one another. Kerry’s goal as a teacher and choreographer is to create opportunities for expression and allow her students to make choices throughout class. Whether her students work to become professional dancers themselves or to pursue other careers, this improvisational way of thinking allows the dancers to adapt in class, performances, and life. Kerry believes that form follows function. There is a physiological reason that we position our form in specific ways. She encourages her students to ask why and how in their movement investigations.
Kerry is thrilled to be a part of Colorado Movement Lab, which brings her love for exploration, learning, and movement together in a supportive, passionate environment. CML allows Kerry to be excited for the future of dance and thankful for the support it will give to the dancers of today and tomorrow.
Page Jenkins
Faculty
Page Jenkins graduated from the University of Colorado with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance. After graduating she danced for 3rd Law Dance/Theater, Interweave Dance Theatre, Louder Than Words Dancetheatre, and New Breed Dance Company. Page has taught for Colorado Conservatory of Dance, Colorado Ballet, National Ballet Academy Denver, and the Denver School of the Arts as well as teaching master classes and workshops throughout the region. She was also the Assistant Artistic Director of Colorado Youth Dance Theatre. Page spent several years in Beijing designing and running the dance program at Beijing National Day School as well as teaching master classes and workshops in Beijing and Wuhan. She is currently dancing with 3rd Law Dance/Theater, Wild Heart Dance and New Breed Dance Company. Page also teaches for 3rd Law Dance/Theater and is a licensed Gyrotonic® instructor at Gyrotonic Bodhi.
Rebeca Ramirez-Vargas
Faculty
Dance teacher, committed to community and personal enrichment through both rigorous physical training and artistic development.
Rebeca Ramirez-Vargas, originally from Mexico, began her classical professional ballet training at the National Ballet School of La Havana Cuba “Fernando Alonso” at the age of 15. There, she graduated as a professional ballet dancer and teacher. During this time she had the opportunity to dance classical ballets such as Don Quijote, La Bayadere, Raymonda, and more.
After graduating, Rebeca moved to New York City where she joined the Joffrey Concert Group. There she had the opportunity to dance ballets such as Valse Fantaisie and Serenade by George Balanchine, as well as Suite Saint-Saëns and Light Rain by Gerald Arpino. There she learned different styles and techniques the ballet world has to offer.
After two years, Rebeca and her husband Carson decided to join Cleveland Ballet. In her two years at Cleveland Ballet she performed ballets like Alice in Wonderland by Margo Sappington and Coppelia by Ramon Oller as well as other original pieces by the artistic director Gladisa Guadalupe.
After moving to Colorado, Rebeca shifted her focus to teaching full time as well as working at the dance wear store, Boulder Body Wear, where she became a pointe shoe fitter. Rebeca currently also teaches at Boulder Ballet.
Rebeca is happy to be a founding faculty member at Colorado Movement Lab this year.
Leadership Team
Adrienne Adams
Founder | Director | CFO
Passionate about building a happy community for dancers. Extensive experience in small business accounting and best practices. Loving and supportive dance mom.
Adrienne Adams received her BBA in Accounting from Eastern Michigan University. Over the years Adrienne has used her accounting skills to help businesses thrive and manage their portfolio more efficiently.
Adrienne has extensive knowledge of management of the financial process, from budgeting to cash forecasting, and how to engage the entire staff in understanding. She accomplishes this by learning the business from the ground up, and helps the team find better and more cost-efficient ways to get their job done, the way they need it done. This can be seen over the twenty-five years of experience where she has helped to reduce inventory, grow a bottom line, or as CFO of a prior organization, helped to acquire several companies and expand the company from a $18MIL to $45MIL revenue in just 4 years. She now works as a fractional CFO and helps smaller companies reach their full potential. As part of the Colorado Movement Lab team, she oversees the financial management and processes of the organization. She guides CML in implementing strong procedures to make the financial reporting and cash forecast understandable and manageable. It takes a unique individual to not have the staff groan when accounting walks into the room. Adrienne is excited to be that person for the Colorado Movement Lab.
Marnie Rundiks
Founder | Director | Ambassador
Dance enthusiast. Your guide through the world of dance education. Attention on the dancer, the community, and the art form with a primary focus on the individual and the experience.
Marnie Rundiks received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Classical Studies from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She has over 16 years experience in the dance industry, navigating as a dance parent to two young professional dancers (daughter with Ballett Zürich and son with Nacho Duato Trainee Program in Madrid, Spain).
Marnie has worked closely with hundreds of students and families, focusing on the physical, emotional and mental health of all the dancers in the community. She supports and guides each dancer and family, believing that dance and movement can enhance lives, and she is devoted to the cause, envisioning CML as an international dance destination and training school. As Marnie says, “A healthy dancer is a happy dancer.” She is excited to be the Ambassador for your family’s journey with Colorado Movement Lab.
Colorado Movement Lab
dance education | movement exploration | wellness
720.336.1508
9910 Wadsworth Pkwy #100
Westminster, CO 80021