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Street Address

Rocklin, Ca

916-824-2044

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Home
2024/2025 Class Schedule
Nativity Tickets
School for the Arts
Locations
- Rocklin Location
- Roseville Location
The Company
- The Company
- Auditions
Nativity Performer Information
Register

2024/2025 Faculty

Tessa White, School Director

Tessa is the founder of both Ballet Rejoice Company and School for the Arts as well as Fairytale Ballet. Over the past 20 years Tessa has had the privilege of coming along side of hundreds of dancers and helping them to reach their goals and inspiring them in their training and beyond. She enjoys all aspects of this mission from technical training, to choreography, and performance. She has staged classical ballets as well as creating and choreographing many full length original ballets for Ballet Rejoice Company. Many of her students have gone on to pursue dance as a career. She enjoys working with all ages and levels of ballet from beginning through pre-professional.
Tessa found her passion for ballet at a very young age and dance has always been a part of her life. Previously, Tessa was also the founder and director of The Conservatory of Dance for 5 years, and was a teacher and performer with Ballet Hawaii, and Assistant Director and Principal Dancer with Placer Theater Ballet for 7 years.
Through her many years of working with dancers Tessa value's most the relationships she has formed with her dancers along their dance journey.

Samantha Rasi

Samantha is excited to be a part of Ballet Rejoice. Samantha began dancing ballet at the age of 7. At the age of 13 she received a full scholarship to the Harid Conservatory where she trained for one year. The following year she went to study ballet with Pacific Northwest ballet on full scholarship for three years. She went on to dance professionally with Fort Worth Dallas Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet, Long Beach Ballet and Inland Pacific ballet as a principle dancer. Throughout her professional career she danced leading roles such as Myrtha in Gisselle, Dark Angel in Balanchine’s Serenade, Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes, Balanchine’s Who Cares, Romantic girl in Graduation Ball, Prayer in Coppelia, Sugar Plum Fairy, Dew Drop Fairy, Snow Queen, and Arabian in the Nutcracker and many more leading roles in varies ballets. Samantha became certified in Pilates in 1998 through Long Beach dance conditioning with Marie Jose Blom. After working many years rehabbing injured patients at Rehab Technical Works Physical Therapy she decided to open her own Pilates studio in 2001, State Street Pilates in Redlands California. After her retirement from her ballet career she began to fall in love with yoga. She is now also a certified yoga instructor and teaches yoga daily in Roseville and El Dorado Hills. Samantha is excited to work with the dancers and bring her knowledge of the body and injury prevention to Ballet Rejoice. She lives in Loomis with her husband and three boys.

Isha Covington

Isha was born and raised in Helena, MT and studied ballet privately under Sallyann Mulcahy. She attended summer programs at the San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and Pacific Northwest Ballet on scholarships. She performed with Artisan Dance (now Ballet Montana) for seven years, and was a trainee with PNB under Peter Boal before joining the Sacramento Ballet for seven years. Isha has had many career highlights performing principal roles in Ron Cunningham’s The Nutcracker, Bolero, Carmina Burana and creating the role of Jordan in Cunningham’s world premiere of The Great Gatsby, Kent Stowell’s Swan Lake, and Mulcahy’s Carmen. As well as performing other acclaimed pieces by George Balanchine, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Edwaard Liang, Trey McIntyre, Septime Webre, Amy Seiwert, Matthew Neenan, and Twyla Tharp. After her professional career, Isha spent years training to become a professional Firefighter/Paramedic with Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District. She is returning to teaching after becoming a Mom. Outside of dance, Isha enjoys being a Pilates instructor, an adjunct professor at American River College, rock climbing, and enjoying time with family and friends.

Cristina Cardoso

Cristina Cardoso found her love for dance in the San Francisco Bay Area. Growing up, she was trained in a plethora of styles including, Jazz, Contemporary, Ballet, Tap, Hip-Hop, and Musical Theater. Cristina began her career as a competition dancer and dance teacher as a teenager. By the time she graduated high school, Cristina had won both regional and national dance competition awards. She was named “Dancer of the Decade” at her home studio. Cristina attended UC Berkeley for her undergraduate degree, and there her love for dance only grew. She served as choreographer and co-president of the oldest student-run dance organization on campus. She also lead the Christian Hip-Hop/ Urban team for two years as both spiritual and then artistic director. After graduating, Cristina returned to her childhood studio where she had the honor of serving as head competition coach for three years. Most recently, Cristina has moved to Sacramento after getting married, and she is thrilled to be a part of the Ballet Rejoice family.

Charlotte Turner -Music

“Music has the power of producing a certain effect on the moral character of the soul, and if it has the power to do this, it is clear that the young must be directed to music and must be educated in it.” - Aristotle
Charlotte loves to help students flourish in all areas of their lives as they actively participate in the creation of music. Singing in a group teaches students they must be responsible not only to learn their part, but also to blend with others, a skill they will utilize in all areas of their lives. They will exercise the ability to listen, learn and adjust on the spot. The instant feedback they receive from hearing good tone and harmony is an immediate reward. Earning a Summa cum Laude in her Music Education degree at Bethany College, Charlotte has gone on to teach a variety of classes to many age levels. She enjoys giving students a safe place to learn, try, fail, and ultimately succeed by helping kids gain excitement about learning, and gain confidence in their musical skills. She currently teaches music in both groups and in individual lessons. Although she has high expectations for her students to achieve, students find her to be generous and understanding.

Hannah Mitchell

Hannah Mitchell has had a deep love for dance for as long as she can remember. Hannah danced for about 12 years and she grew up being trained in Ballet, Tap, and Contemporary. It wasn’t until she began dancing at the Conservatory of Dance that she began to fall in love with both Ballet and Contemporary. She then joined Ballet Rejoice and her love for dance shifted. She began to train mostly in ballet, pointe, contemporary, and jazz. Hannah began to love the intentionality behind being able to combine both worship and dance and began to value the expression that is required for worshiping through dance. Hannah recalls being truly moved by the ministry that Ballet Rejoice strives to offer and she still is to this day! Hannah now has a deep desire to teach and train others. She says, “The Lord has placed a desire on my heart to be able to help others appreciate and understand the gravity of being able to worship through the art of dance. I’m so excited to to encourage and inspire others to explore and develop a greater love for the gift and art that is, dance.” Hannah will also be fulfilling the role of administrative assistant this year for Tessa and the studio.

Madalynn Williams

Madalynn has been dancing since the young age of three. Ever since she could remember, Madalynn has had a passion for dance. Madalynn was fortunate enough to start dancing at Ballet Rejoice in 8th grade and continued until she graduated high school. Ballet Rejoice gave her such an amazing space to grow both as dancer and a young woman.The studio created such a sweet community and she feels so blessed to be a part of it as a dancer and now full circle as an instructor!

Emily Covello

Emily has been dancing since the age of 2. Dance has been a consistent way for her to build confidence, character, and creativity. She danced competitively throughout her childhood in styles including tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, clogging, and hip hop.
Emily began assisting her dance teacher at age 7 and started teaching on her own at age 12. Since then, she’s taught hundreds of students ages 18 months to 80 years old all about the art of dance! It has been such an honor for her to impact and inspire the next generation of dancers.
From dancing and assistant teaching at The Dance Studio of Fresno, to continuing training and teaching in both Orange County, CA and Seattle, WA, Emily has an understanding of many different styles of dance and styles of teaching. She strives to help each student be the best version of themselves and is looking forward to doing just that at Ballet Rejoice.

Brittany Cody-Bays

Brittany grew up in San Jose Ca where she learned how to dance at age 10 in her local church. She trained in various genres of movement but became most passionate about dance with purpose. From there, she got her BA from Jessup University in Music and Worship and further developed her dance artistry in the theatre department. She became a principal dancer and dance captain for most notable shows such as, White Christmas, Oklahoma, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast. She now teaches music and dance in the community and at Jessup University. She is thrilled at the opportunity to serve the students at Ballet Rejoice and teach them about the idea of dance with purpose.

Madison Huntington

Growing up in the Rocklin area, Madison trained in ballet and contemporary dance for over ten years with Northern California Dance Conservatory (NCDC). She attended several summer programs in the San Francisco Bay Area, including that of the San Francisco Ballet School. Performing with Placer Theatre Ballet, Madison danced soloist and principal roles in ballets such as Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia, and The Nutcracker. While completing a Bachelor’s in Business & Economics and History with a music minor at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA, Madison was simultaneously a trainee with the State Street Ballet, where she performed classical repertoire as well as contemporary works. At Westmont, she had the opportunity to choreograph original works for the Westmont Fringe Festival and Spring Sing performances. Outside of the dance studio, Madison enjoys playing the piano and producing music, especially compositions well-suited for dance.

Claire Thompson

As a young girl, Claire began ballet and tap at the Conservatory of Dance. After taking a break and studying musical theater for a few years, Claire reconnected with dance and followed her desire to train at Ballet Rejoice. Since age 11 she has dedicated her time to studying and learning classical ballet, contemporary, tap and jazz. Claire is grateful to now be part of Ballet Rejoice’s Christian Company and perform at local churches and communities. Claire’s passion is to share her love for dance with others, whether it be on the stage or in the studio. She is delighted to teach at Ballet Rejoice and is excited to have this opportunity.

Cameron Chavez

Cameron has been dancing classical ballet since she was 6 years old. Since then she has also studied contemporary, lyrical, jazz and tap. Cameron danced at various studios before finding a home in Ballet Rejoice at the age of 12. A year later she was was blessed to join the Christian company. She continues to train at the studio and loves the friendly and supportive atmosphere there. In addition to performing in yearly studio recitals, Cameron has also performed in the Placer Theatre Ballet's productions of Sleeping Beauty and the Nutcracker. In the Nutcracker she has danced in Waltz of the Flowers, Waltz of the Snowflakes, the Mirliton Corps, and as Chinese Tea Lead. Cameron is thrilled to be teaching at Ballet Rejoice and can't wait to teach students her passion for dance!

Chloe Gluck

Chloe began dancing at 2 years old and has loved it ever since. She trained at various studios but fell in love with Ballet Rejoice's Christian atmosphere. She has received the most training in ballet and enjoys other genres including contemporary and tap. She has been in many Ballet Rejoice productions and was honored to dance the role of Clara in Placer Theatre Ballet's Nutcracker. Chloe has a love for teaching and loves connecting with kids of all ages. She is excited to share her passion of dance with other students at Ballet Rejoice!

Hope Heitman

Hope has loved dance for as far back as she can remember. She began taking dance lessons at the age of 3 while living in New Zealand. When her family moved to Roseville, she enrolled in ballet and jazz classes at NCDC where she danced from 2015-2020. In 2020, Hope discovered Ballet Rejoice and has enjoyed learning a variety of styles of dance. She has loved being a part of a Christian ballet company and learning from exceptional teachers. Hope is excited to share her passion for dance with others while preforming and as a teacher.

Audrey Dueck

Audrey has been dancing at Ballet Rejoice for 8 years and she has been in many important roles in Ballet Rejoice presentations. She has training in Ballet, Contemporary, Tap, Hip Hop, and Jazz. Audrey has a love for teaching kids and is grateful to have this opportunity to teach at Ballet Rejoice!

Briannah Brewer

Briannah has always loved ballet and began taking lessons in ballet and tap when she was two years old. At the age of nine, she discovered Ballet Rejoice and hasn’t looked back since. She delights in the friendly Christian community and in sharing her faith through the art form she loves. Briannah joined the Ballet Rejoice Company when she was twelve and treasures the opportunity to live out her passion for following Jesus and ballet! In addition to performing in many wonderful Ballet Rejoice performances, she has also enjoyed performing various roles in the PTB production of The Nutcracker. Although ballet remains her favorite style of dance, she has grown to love training in other genres such as contemporary, tap, and jazz. She cannot wait to pass on the joy of dance to the next generation of young dancers!

Kharis Waldman

Kharis has been dancing at Ballet Rejoice for the past 3 years. She’s grateful to have been able to learn so much and has enjoyed being a part of this studio. She loves the Christian atmosphere and that she gets to dance for the Lord. She worked as a teacher aide for a year and is so happy to be able to teach this year!

Naomi Waldman

Naomi has been dancing at Ballet Rejoice for 3 years now and has loved it. She has been studying ballet, contemporary, hip-hop, and tap. She loves the community and is grateful to be a part of this company, and is so happy to be teaching here this year.

Ballet Rejoice Studio Rocklin Location:

4810 Granite Dr Ste A10

Rocklin CA 95677

(916) 824-2044

Roseville Location: Ballet Rejoice classes hosted at Bridgeway Church

8150 Industrial Ave Building A, Roseville, CA 95678

(916) 824-2044