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Introducing Cultivate Dance Academy's Artistic Directors Ms. Amy and Ms. Bethanny, the heart and soul behind dance at CYT’S new Cultivate Performing Arts Academy! With nearly 40 years of combined teaching experience, they've guided hundreds of dancers to achieve success on and off the dance floor. Now, they're thrilled to cultivate a new space in Colorado Springs where technical, artistic and character excellence flourish as they seek to nurture students, honor families and support faculty members.

Ms. Amy Schaefer
As Co-Artistic Director, Amy Schaefer brings 20 years of experience teaching ballet and dance to all ages. She is passionate that training dancers is a collaborative effort between faculty, students and their families and believes all dancers deserve to have the highest quality training. 

Ms. Schaefer grew up in Wichita, KS where she began dancing just before her 3rd birthday. Her early training included ballet, tap and jazz at the Kansas Dance Academy. As a competitive dancer she was awarded several scholarships, including one to study in Los Angeles with the EDGE Performing Arts Center, and twice awarded Top All American from the National Dance Alliance. In high school Ms. Schaefer left competitive dance and began studying classical ballet intensively with Ms. Sharon Rogers at Rogers Ballet, Inc. Relearning ballet technique as an older student was challenging both physically and emotionally. The experience not only gave her the gift of perseverance but also a deep appreciation for the difference quality training can make. As a senior in high school, she was accepted into the classical ballet apprenticeship program at Friends University to begin her collegiate ballet studies early. 

Ms. Schaefer later graduated from Friends University with a B.F.A. in Ballet. During her time at Friends, she was honored to have roles created for her by Dominic Walsh, formerly with Houston Ballet and Dominic Walsh Dance Theatre, and Shawn Stevens, formerly with New York City Ballet. In addition to performing many original works, she was a soloist in The Nutcracker, Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco, and performed the principal role in Les Sylphides. She also taught evening classes for children and adults. After graduation, she began her professional ballet career with Wichita Ballet Theatre and was an adjunct professor at Friends University teaching tap and ballet for Music Theater.
In 2009, Ms. Schaefer joined Ballet Emmanuel, a full-time Christian ballet company based in Colorado Springs. With the company she helped choreographed full length ballets, taught master classes and workshops, and performed nationwide. 

In 2012, Ms. Schaefer shifted her focus from performing to teaching and has been pursuing excellence in dance education ever since.  She is certified in the Vaganova method of Pre-Ballet through the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and is currently training in Level 1. She is also an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. Amy has a special passion for dancers with additional needs and is also training to become a Recreation Inclusion Specialist with the National Inclusion Project. 

Ms. Schaefer’s students have gone on to dance with many companies, full-time pre-professional schools, and collegiate programs such as Boulder Ballet, Ballet Magnificat!, Oregon Ballet Theatre, School of American Ballet, North Carolina School of the Arts, Butler University and more. In 2025, she was a presenter at the Colorado Dance Education Organization annual conference. 
Amy and her husband, Jared, have been married for 17 years and have four beautiful children. She is a homeschooling mom and enjoys sharing her love of dance with her family. 

Ms. Bethanny Jorenby-Shea
As Co-Artistic Director of Dance at Cultivate Performing Arts Academy, Ms. Bethanny Jorenby-Shea possesses nearly two decades of expertise teaching ballet, tap, jazz, and musical theater to the next generation of serious dancers and performing artists. She is committed to delivering the highest quality training and believes in fostering an environment where every student can achieve their fullest potential, providing the essential foundation for their artistic journey.

Ms. Bethanny holds certifications in Pre-Ballet and Level 1 Vaganova technique under Ekaterina Trunina of the renowned Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Bethanny is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. This combination of globally recognized methodologies ensures students receive a structured and comprehensive classical foundation, forming the crucial basis for advanced pre-professional studies. Ms. Bethanny has also trained in Progressive Ballet Technique (PBT) and is actively completing her certification as a Recreation Inclusion Specialist through the National Inclusion Project.

Bethanny was significantly shaped during her pivotal tenure as an instructor under Patricia Hoffman, a widely recognized expert in the field of classical ballet. While under Ms. Hoffman’s direct guidance and mentorship, she was entrusted with spearheading the development of an innovative preschool dance curriculum. She is passionate about the value of early childhood dance education and is the creator of the Blossoms curriculum used by Cultivate’s Greenhouse Program. 

Beyond her role as a dance educator, Bethanny has a background as a professional actor, director, and choreographer whose award-winning work has been seen on high school, community, and professional stages since 2006. Some of her favorite credits throughout the years include Anne of Green Gables- The Musical; Annie; Bye-Bye Birdie; Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Dinner Detective, Les Miserables- School Edition; Little Women; Matilda, Meredith Wilson’s The Music Man (winner of a 2017 Pikes Peak Arts Council Award for choreography), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and The Sound of Music. Ms. Bethanny also had the privilege of assisting in casting for American Girl “Isabella” dance promotions in 2014 and has created various concert works, both in workshop and for performance. This rich, multifaceted artistic background ensures students receive a well-rounded performing arts education, crucial for today's versatile artists.

Ms. Bethanny finds immense joy in watching her students flourish. Her unwavering commitment is to cultivate not just technically strong dancers, but resilient, disciplined, and confident individuals prepared for advanced training and successful careers. She provides a dynamically joyful, challenging, and supportive environment where students are inspired to explore their fullest artistic potential and build skills that extend far beyond the studio. Parents consistently see their students successfully progress to higher levels of dance study and receive career opportunities, a testament to the comprehensive foundation she provides.