Bios
Judy Bejarano, Artistic Director
began creating work under the name of IMPACT Dance in 1995. Since that time she has received many grants and awards for her work, including funding from the Colorado Council on the Arts in each of the last several years. Judy has received the Colorado Dance Alliance “Cutting Edge” Award (2006) and the Arts Alive Fellowship (2004), both for outstanding quality and innovation in the field. Her work has been described as “...existing in the poignant space where comedy and tragedy intersect.” She has taught and set work on companies and at festivals throughout the region, including Canyon Concert Ballet, CSU, UNC, the Colorado Dance Festival, Contemporary Dance Wyoming and at the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival among many others. Judy’s work has been presented throughout the region including Vail, Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins, Alaska and Wyoming. The company has performed for the chairman of the NEA and many other regional art dignataries. She also continues a rich relationship with performances and workshops for Pathways Hospice that began in 2006.
Lisa Morgan, Assistant Director, is a founding member of IMPACT Dance. Lisa works closely with Judy on IMPACT's work, supporting the art, creating graphic design pieces and promoting the company in the community and beyond. Her choreography was seen in the IMPACT Dance project, Finding Place: Life in Ritual, a collaborative work with visual art, dance and video. This project was presented in Wyoming at the Nicolaysen Art Museum where the company was able to perform for Dana Gioia, director of the NEA at the time. She is a member of the CSU Dance Faculty, where her work focuses on integrating movement into the academic classroom. She owned and operated Creative Movement for Kids, a dance school for ages 3-15 in Fort Collins from to 2000-2009.
Amber Mazurana, dancer and Outreach Coordinator, is originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, but has been enjoying the Colorado vistas since 2001. She graduated in 1999 with a B.A. in dance pedagogy from Butler University, and in 1995 she graduated from North Carolina School of the Arts. Amber was a member of the Hannah Kahn Dance Company from 2001-2004, and before that danced as a soloist with Peter Sparling Dance Companyin Michigan. She has studied under the direction of talented dancers such as Bill Evans and Melissa Hayden, as well as with Ballet Internationale and Dance Kaleidoscope. Amber spent two summers, in 1997 and 1998, studying African drumming and dance at the University of Ghana, West Africa. She has taught as adjunct faculty in the Dance Division at Colorado State University, directed the Canyon Concert Ballet and Dance Center, as well as the Youth Ensemble. She has been dancing with IMPACT Dance Company since 2005 and is delighted to be the outreach coordinator for the company and continuing the “Belief Project” in PSD this year. When she is not dancing or teaching she is busy chasing after her two young children, Cole and Keira, or hiking in the mountains with her husband Michael.
Susie Garifi, danceris a native of Colorado and has been studying dance for over 20 years. She received her BA with a major in dance from CSU in 1998 and then moved to New York City in 2000 where she studied professionally at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. In 2004 Susie moved on to her graduate work and received her MA in Dance Education from New York University. She has traveled nationally and internationally discovering many great dance opportunities and people from around the world. Presently she is a member of High Performance Dance Theatre and an instructor at Mountain Kids in Fort Collins, CO where she has also created a dance outreach program. Susie is ecstatic about performing with Impact Dance Theatre and wants to thank all of her family and friends for their support. In the future Susie looks forward to continuing to share her knowledge and love of dance with the community through education.
Jennifer Girtell, dancer
has been singing and dancing since she was five years old. Ms. Girtell attended the Denver School of Performing Arts graduating with a performing arts degree and has completed coursework toward a dance major at Colorado State University. She has worked with artists such as David Parsons, Kim Neal Nofsinger, Katie Elliot, David Kapps, Chung-Fu Chang, Jane Slusarski-Harris and Mellisa Corr. Jennifer has a strong passion for choreography and has staged many works at Colorado State University, the Denver School of Performing Arts and the Snowy Range Summer Dance Festival. Ms. Girtell teaches dance at the Studio West Dance Center.
Sharon K. Wilson, dancer
is a native of Fort Collins Colorado & a founding member of IMPACT Dance. She has worked as a dancer in California, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Japan, and has performed in numerous Dance, Theatre & Opera productions. Her work with OpenStage Theatre in Fort Collins Colorado earned her the best supporting actress award for her portrayal of The Fool in the company's production of King Lear, & best actress for playing Ariel in The Tempest. Sharon is currently employed at Colorado State University’s College of Business.
Mallory Hochwender graduated summa cum laude from Colorado State University in 2011 with a B.A. of Liberal Arts and Environmental Affairs Certificate. During her college career, Mallory danced as a CSU Golden Pom and studied within the university's dance department, working alongside artists such as Chung-Fu Chang, Katie Elliott, Jacob Mora, and Judy Bejarano. In addition to performing in numerous student, faculty, and guest artist pieces, Mallory staged several choreographic works at CSU. Presently, Mallory teaches dance at Mountainside Dance Academy, coaches the Skyline High School Dance Team, and works at the Longmont Y."
Helene Kelly Frucci, stage manager
Helene has worked in the dance field for a number of years as a performer, teacher and choreographer. She has danced for numerous companies and taught for a variety of organizations including the CSU Dance Program. As IMPACT Dance Company entered its busy 2006 season, Helene agreed to come on as stage manager and has since done everything from lighting design, running crew, seamstress and just generally keeping us on top of things when the dancers hit the stage.