About Tacoma City Ballet

Executive Staff | Artistic Staff | School Faculty

• Miss Erin M. Ceragioli: Executive Director, Artistic Director, Director of Tacoma City Ballet School, School Faculty
  Miss Ceragioli serves as the Executive and Artistic Director of Tacoma City Ballet, and the Director of Tacoma City Ballet School. For almost four decades, she has forged a reputation as a master teacher and choreographer. Miss Ceragioli has staged many full-length ballets in the classical repertoire, as well as choreographing numerous full-length original ballets. Miss Ceragioli began her primary study of classical ballet under Miss Archalee Correll, and continued her advanced study under the tutelage of such stellar teachers as Harold Christensen, Lew Christensen, Willam Christensen, Benjamin Harkarvy, Robert Joffrey, Janet Reed, and Maria Tallchief. After injury ended her professional career, Miss Ceragioli studied the teaching syllabi of the Danish, English, French, Italian, and Russian Schools of Ballet earning her teaching certifications. She joined the Faculty of The Jan Collum School of Classical Ballet in 1987. After four years of serving as a member of the School Faculty, as Ballet Mistress, and as Assistant Artistic Director of the Company, Miss Jan Collum appointed Miss Ceragioli as Co-Artistic Director of BALLETACOMA. In 1995, BALLETACOMA was re-christened Tacoma City Ballet, and Miss Jan Collum assumed the title of Artistic Director Emeritus and formally passed her legacy to Miss Ceragioli. Miss Ceragioli has spent her lifetime studying and teaching the art of classical ballet instruction and performance, and she is honored to preserve and perpetuate Miss Jan Collum’s Legacy of Dance.

• Ms. Kara O’Toole: Director of Development, Director of Adult Open Classes Division (Ballet, Pilates Mat, Yoga), School Faculty
  Ms. O’Toole has served on the dance department faculties of the University of Washington, University of Memphis, George Mason University, and Cornish College of the Arts. She has served as Executive/Artistic Director for Velocity Dance Center in Seattle, and as Executive/Artistic Director for Orcas Center on Orcas Island. As a performer, Ms. O’Toole danced professionally in the works of many notable choreographers including Jose Limon, Bebe Miller, Mark Morris, Vaslav Nijinsky, Paul Taylor, and Pat Graney. Ms. O’Toole holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Washington, a BA from Mount Holyoke College, and has earned her Yoga Teacher Certification (RYT 500) from the Colorado School of Yoga. Ms. O’Toole has been living in Tacoma with her family since 2018, and serves on the faculties of Pacific Lutheran University and Seattle Theater Group’s Dance for Parkinson’s Program. Ms. O’Toole serves as Director of Development, Director of Adult Open Classes Division (Ballet, Pilates Mat, Yoga), and Faculty Member of Tacoma City Ballet School.

• Miss Nora Kelley: Assistant to the Artistic Director, School Faculty
  While Miss Kelley began studying ballet at the age of seven, her formal classical ballet training began under the tutelage of Miss Erin Ceragioli at Tacoma City Ballet School in 2009. Miss Kelley joined Tacoma City Ballet Company as an Apprentice at a very young age, and became a Senior Company Dancer who performed numerous corps de ballet roles, as well as many principal roles. In 2023, Miss Kelley graduated from Washington State University with double degrees in Psychology and Biology. After graduation, she returned to Tacoma and serves the community as a Mental Health Technician at Tacoma General Hospital. While her love of classical ballet brought her back to perform in the Professional Division of Tacoma City Ballet Company, Miss Kelley also serves as Assistant to the Artistic Director, and Faculty Member of Tacoma City Ballet School.

• Miss Melissa Lovejoy-Goldman: Ballet Mistress, School Faculty
  Miss Lovejoy-Goldman received her classical ballet training at Tacoma City Ballet School under the tutelage of Miss Jan Collum and Miss Erin Ceragioli. While continuing toperform with Tacoma City Ballet Company, Miss Lovejoy-Goldman attended the University of Washington and received her Bachelor of Arts. In 2001, she joined the Faculty of Tacoma City Ballet School and also served as General Manager of Tacoma City Ballet. Miss Lovejoy-Goldman is Vice President of Enterprise Engagement Resources at Northwest Credit Union Association, and continues to serve as Ballet Mistress of Tacoma City Ballet Company, and Faculty Member of Tacoma City Ballet School.

• Mr. John DeLoma: Ballet Master, School Faculty
  Mr. DeLoma began studying classical ballet under the tutelage of Miss Jan Collum at the age of 4. He has studied under master teachers from San Francisco Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and New York City Ballet. After a performing career in which he danced leading roles in major classical and neoclassical ballets, Mr. DeLoma pursued a degree in architecture, and has been the principal owner of his own firm since 2003. Mr. DeLoma serves as Ballet Master of Tacoma City Ballet Company, and Faculty Member of Tacoma City Ballet School specializing in Men’s Technique and Pas de Deux.

• Mr. Travis Goldman: Ballet Master, School Faculty
  Mr. Goldman began studying classical ballet in Port Angeles at Miriam’s School of Dance. After moving to Tacoma, he continued his studies under Miss Jan Collum. Mr. Goldman has studied under such master teachers as Hugh Bigney, Willam Christensen, Robert Joffrey, and Kabby Mitchell III. Mr. Goldman has danced principal roles in classical, modern, and contemporary repertoire. Each season, he reprises his role as Herr Drosselmeyer in Tacoma City Ballet’s The Nutcracker. Mr. Goldman is an award-winning choreographer, who has received regional acclaim for his innovative choreography, and is also a talented musician who has composed music for his original choreographies. In 1998, Mr. Goldman joined the Faculty of Tacoma City Ballet School. While Mr. Goldman is Owner of North Coast Kayaks (NC Kayaks), he continues to serve as Ballet Master, Resident Choreographer of Tacoma City Ballet Company, and Faculty Member of Tacoma City Ballet School.

• Miss Kimberly Grosfeld: Administrative Assistant, School Receptionist, Barre Pilates Instructor, School Faculty
  Miss Grosfeld received her foundational classical ballet training at Northern California Dance Conservatory in El Dorado Hills, California, and continued her studies at Ballet West, Joffrey Ballet, Sacramento Ballet and Texas Ballet Theater. Miss Grosfeld is passionate about the art of classical ballet, and loves performing. She has danced in the corps de ballet, as well as performing leading roles in Don Quixote, Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Nutcracker. Miss Grosfeld is also a passionate advocate for health and well-being, which led her to earn her certification in Barre Pilates Instruction, which she will teach at Tacoma City Ballet School. Miss Grosfeld will continue to perform in the Professional Division of Tacoma City Ballet Company, as well as serving as Administrative Assistant, School Receptionist, Barre Pilates Instructor, and Faculty Member of Tacoma City Ballet School.

• Miss Anne Dowd: School Faculty
  While Miss Dowd began studying ballet at the age of eight, she began her formal classical ballet training under the tutelage of Miss Erin Ceragioli at Tacoma City Ballet School in 2015. While performing with the Tacoma City Ballet Company, Miss Dowd danced numerous corps de ballet roles, as well as principle roles. In 2019, Miss Dowd attended Boise State University in Idaho. While in Boise, she joined the Idaho Dance Theatre where she performed from 2019 to 2021, and continued her classical training under Marla Hansen, Artistic Director of Idaho Dance Theatre. Miss Dowd returned to Tacoma to begin her journey of attaining her Registered Nursing Degree, and joined the Professional Division of Tacoma City Ballet Company. In 2025, Miss Dowd received her RN and will be working in a local hospital. However, her love of dance will keep her performing in the Professional Division of Tacoma City Ballet Company, and serve as a Faculty Member of Tacoma City Ballet School.

• Miss Barbara Land, Guest Master Ballet Instructor
  Miss Barbara Land, MA, MFA, ARAD, is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a dance educator, she is known for her writings on dance history, dancer’s wellness and injury prevention. She attended Point Park College, University of Pittsburgh, and the University of British Columbia where she completed her doctoral studies in anthropology with an emphasis in Ethnochoreology. Miss Land holds a teaching diploma and certificate from the Royal Academy of Dancing, London, England. She is the founding director of ballet at the University of Nevada, Reno, and directed the dance programs for 25 years. She has choreographed for the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Nevada Opera Company. Miss Land has instructed both teachers and students at Vassar College, New York, Wagner College, Staten Island, Banff Center for the Arts, Canada, Pepperdine University Summer Dance Program, Ballet Metropolitan, Columbus, Ohio, and the Royal Academy of Dancing International Summer School. As an author, she has written and published the following: History of Dance and Culture Parts I and II. Dance Composition and Production, Methods of Teaching Movement Activities K to 12, and Selected Writings in Dance Criticism and Aesthetics. Miss Land is the recipient of the State of Nevada Governor’s Arts Award, and the Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of Nevada, Reno, College of Liberal Arts. In 2020, she was recognized by the Royal Academy of Dancing, London, England as one of the three most celebrated ballet teachers in the world. Miss Land is the Executive Director of Nevada Building Hope Foundation, a non-profit organization that works in both the US and South America. Nevada Building Hope Foundation/ USA produces free-of-charge dance concerts in Northern Nevada for those in need. For the past ten years she has produced concerts at the Marvin Picollo School, VA Hospital, and Regency Senior Center. Nevada Building Hope Foundation/Peru works on humanitarian and arts projects in the Amazon Rainforest.