Teaching Artists
Safietou Goudiaby "Dallo"
African Dance
I was born in the village of Thionk Essyl in the southern Casamance region of Senegal, West Africa. I grew up there living a traditional Diola life, fishing in the river, growing rice, gathering fruit, and wild food in the forest. Dance is a central part of my culture. Every major event in the lives of our people is celebrated with dance.
In early 2010 I began teaching weekly classes at the Casa Verde Common House near downtown Colorado Springs, and I offer monthly dance workshops at the Marmalade studio at the Smokebrush. I have performed at several events on the Colorado College campus, for the Imagination Celebration and the “What If” festival.
I love teaching African dance because it allows me to share the beauty of my culture with others.
is a short film about my class that highlights my approach to teaching dance. I not only teach my students how to move their bodies, but by teaching them to drum and sing, I also teach them how to survive.
Ron Jules
Hip Hop 
Hip Hop Teacher Ron "Future" Jules was born in West Palm Beach Florida. In 2008 he graduated from Penn State University. While he was at Penn State he was on the Track Team and as well studied dance. Ron is an all-style dancer, freestyle, and choreographer. He specializes in hip-hop, popping, locking, breakdance, krump, and house. He was the co-founder/Vice president of R.A.M SQUAD, Penn State Hip-Hop Club. Ron worked as a Hip Hop instructor for Penn State, Woodward Camp, and Local Colleges in Colorado Springs. He's also part of the Rennie Harris Grassroots Hip-Hop Theatre company in Colorado. His influences are Mr. Wiggles, Electric Boogaloos, The Lockers, Tight Eyez, Elite Force, Monsters of Hip-Hop, World of Dance, R.A.M Squad, and many more. Ron is excited to be sharing his knowledge and talents with all the dancers in Colorado. His mission for dance is to teach people the foundation and history of the hip-hop culture. He has danced with the best of the best and has taught and taken master workshops all across the United States. His goal is to motivate his students and help them become more innovative in all aspects of their life.
Sue Lauther
Contact Improv Dance
Sue Lauther (MFA U of Illinois) has served as a teacher, performer, and choreographer for projects around the world: Argentina, Taiwan, New Zealand, Ecuador, Mexico, Australia, Jordan, Costa Rica, and all over the US. She believes that technique is being able to demonstrate physical intention clearly, so she approaches teaching as a vehicle to help her students explore, expand, and clarify their options. She encourages her dancers to be part of the artistic process. Sue's choreography encompasses a broad range of styles and perspectives-from playful to pensive, zany to formal. Currently teaching Contact Improvisation at Colorado College, she finds her joy in the metaphors, accuracy, and sensation of riding that dance form.
Aoi Koenig
Contemporary and Ballet
Aoi Koenig (née Funakoshi) originally hails from Chiba, Japan, where she started her classical ballet study. She furthered her craft at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, where she graduated Cum Laude with a BFA in Dance in 2000. She has toured nationally and internationally with classical ballet and contemporary dance companies from around the world. Her favorite memories of intensive performing years were with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (USA), Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company (USA), Compañía de Danza Tania Perez-Salas, Ballet Nacional de Mexico (Mexico City), Cas Public Production, and Les Sortileges (Montreal). Aoi came to Colorado Springs with her husband and their baby daughter in the early spring of 2011 and is enjoying a busy life as an artist, wife, and mother while performing with Ormao. She deeply enjoys teaching dance at the Ormao School as well as Colorado College, and Pikes Peak Community College.
Kate Aronson
Voice Training
Kate Aronson has been a theater professional for over 25 years as an actor, director, producer, writer, and theater teacher. She taught acting, voice & speech, improvisation, and theater history for many years in the professional actors' training program at Point Park University. She has directed numerous plays in all theater genres, from Greek comedy to Shakespeare to contemporary musicals. She has worked and studied with Robert Wilson, Cicely Berry, Meredith Monk, and Peter Brosius, among others, and has performed all over the U.S., in London and Bulgaria. She has written, designed & produced several solo theater pieces; she co-founded, performed & toured with Squonk Opera, an experimental performance group as well as founding, producing & performing in the annual Women's Work Festival in Pittsburgh for several years. She is also a musician and is currently in a local band called Burn the Maps.
Adam Dickerson
Contemporary and Ballet
Adam Dickerson is a Colorado native and 品色堂 alum (Art Studio, ‘13). After training under Patrizia Herminjard and Debbie Mercer at 品色堂, Adam moved to NYC to perform with Graham 2, H.T. Chen & Dancer’s, Amy Marshall Dance Company, and Paul Taylor Dance Company. Adam founded Fooju Dance Collaborative in 2014 as an experimental performance art group that sought to subvert the expectations of classical dance by dancing anywhere but on stage. While performing and touring as a dancer, Adam turned to the world of group fitness for additional strength and conditioning training. In 2015 he began teaching at Physique 57 and in 2018 at Obé Fitness, which would lead to his certification Personal Trainer (NASM) and Mobility Specialist (FRC). Group fitness instruction opportunities led Adam to teach in boutique fitness studios in Manhattan, Brooklyn, LA, the Hamptons, and highlighting self-care and motivation techniques on ABC News. In 2024, Adam moved back to Colorado Springs to combine his passion for dance, music, and healthy movement with a mobility joint-training class called Up&Adam. In the Spring of 2025, Adam was a guest teacher at 品色堂 for the Body in Motion 8th Block, and he is thrilled to continue coaching dancers and pedestrians alike to learn how to move pain-free in their bodies by fortifying the mind.
Sean Verdu
Stage Combat
Sean Verdu is a Colorado Springs based performing artist, educator, and fight choreographer. He holds his Master of Fine Arts from East 15 Acting School in London, England. He has graced stages all over the world, but favorites include Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Bridewell Theatre in the West End, and, right here at home, in the Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theatre at Theatreworks. As well as being an actor, he is also an experienced fight choreographer having been choreographing for over seventeen years. Favorite fight scenes have included Never Swim Alone (Colorado College), On Clover Road (Springs Ensemble Theatre), and The Boys in the Band (Springs Ensemble Theatre). Sean's passion for seeing the next generation of storytellers succeed exudes from his bright smile and enthusiastic response in seeing his students take big risks and the big results that follow.