Artistic Director

For the past 25 years Deborah Jorritsma has served at the Artistic Director for Chico Creek Dance Centre and Chico Community Ballet. She was trained in classical ballet performance and pedagogy at the University of Oklahoma under Miguel Terechov and Yvonne Chateau, in France with Rosella Hightower, with the National Ballet of Washington, D.C., and most recently with the American Ballet Theatre Dance Teacher program. She has danced professionally with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and with the Fort Wayne Ballet. She has directed and choreographed over 25 full-length ballets.

Associate Director

Catherine Sullivan is one of the founding members of Chico Community Ballet where she has been Associate Director for the past 25 years. Her extensive ballet training includes working with Eileen Smith of the San Francisco Ballet, Nolan T’Sani of American Ballet Theatre, Harold Lang of Ballet Russe, Rebecca Wright of Joffrey Ballet, Jilliana Mitchell of New York City Ballet, and Arthur Mitchell of Dance Theatre of Harlem. Catherine has also trained in modern dance and body therapy.

Assistant Director

Jarrah Myles received a B.A. in Musical Theatre and a B.S. in Business Administration from Chico State University and her Master’s in Dance Education from New York University. In addition to teaching at Chico Creek Dance Centre, Jarrah is the Assistant Director of Chico Community Ballet where she directs the Pre-Company Divisions, and a dance teacher and choreographer for Inspire School of Arts & Sciences.

Production Director

Sheree Henning has been involved with Chico Creek Dance Centre and the Chico Community Ballet for the last 24 years. She graduated from CSU, Chico in Physical Education with an emphasis in Dance. She is the Director for the Junior II Company dancers. She teaches ballet, tap, jazz, musical theatre dance and choreography for the Theatre Department at CSU, Chico.

Vanessa Kinney has been dancing since the age of two and trained at Chico Creek Dance while also performing with Chico Community Ballet for 10 years. She is the choreographer and director of the brand-new full-length ballet production The Land of Oz presented by Chico Community Ballet and is also a ballet instructor at Chico Creek Dance. Vanessa has danced lead roles including Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, and Carabosse in The Sleeping Beauty. She has trained in pre-professional ballet programs across the United States including Sacramento Ballet, Anaheim Ballet, Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Orlando Ballet, and Nashville Ballet. Vanessa is passionate about preserving the art of classical ballet while introducing it to new generations in an exciting, imaginative, and relatable manner through storytelling, performance, and community engagement.