our story
Keystone Contemporary Ballet was officially formed in February 2021. The formation of this company was a long-time vision of our Artistic Director, Toni Bazala. Toni founded Pazaz Christian Dance Academy in Greensburg PA in 2003, with the intention of creating a professional opportunity for dancers of faith in our community.
Our vision and purpose is to create a safe space for artists of faith to express their full vision, and to provide our community with high-level entertainment, quality education, supportive outreach, and humble service.
Our Artistic Director has assembled a staff of high-quality professionals who are proficient in dance education, choreography, technical development, production, and administration. They each also have an appointed mission to serve in the community.
Our company will produce works that are not only entertaining but also emotionally and spiritually relevant while maintaining the highest standards for Classical and Contemporary Ballet.
KCB sets itself apart by being a true reflection of who God is and His love for us all.
Company Staff
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Keystone Contemporary Ballet Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer is originally from Enola, Pa. Toni began her dance training with Holly (Loutzenhiser) Mora and went on to study with many renowned instructors from the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and San Fransisco Ballet.
Toni danced professionally with Harrisburg Ballet for two seasons before moving to the
Pittsburgh area. She has always had a heart to combine two of her passions, her faith and
her love for dance. In July 2003, Toni followed her calling to teach and founded Pazaz Christian Dance Academy in Greensburg, PA. PCDA fosters technical and spiritual dance training and strives to uphold excellence in the arts. Many of her students have been awarded contracts, scholarships, and placement with colleges and professional companies in the United States and Europe. PCDA is the official training school of Keystone Contemporary Ballet.
When Toni founded PCDA, she knew that God wanted her to start a professional performance company, a place where dancers of faith could continue using their gifts and talents to further His kingdom on a professional level. In 2021, Toni took that leap of faith and trusted God to guide her steps, and Keystone Contemporary Ballet was formed. She is looking forward to all that God has planned for KCB and prays that their audience is able to experience God’s love and goodness through each movement that is presented.
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Michelle is originally from Binghamton, New York where she began studying dance at the age of 8. She has studied classical ballet, tap, jazz, musical theater, voice, and drama. She later added pointe, hip-hop, ballroom, modern, contact improvisation, and contemporary dance. As a student member of Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway, in New York City, she has studied with renowned teachers Jeff Shade, Frank Hatchett, Suzi Taylor, Mimi Quinlin, Leslie Browne and many others. She is certified for Zumba B1/Gold and Group Exercise and is currently pursuing certifications for Pilates and PiYo training.
From 2004 to 2010 she owned and operated her own studio in Binghamton, New York. Her students attended many competitions on both the regional and national levels. Michelle’s choreography and original costume designs have received many high score, special recognition, and superior achievement awards. She has choreographed over 300 original pieces of choreography, including 3 original full-length ballets. Several of her former students have moved on to careers in dance as teachers, studio owners and performers.
More recently, she joined the staff at PCDA in 2014 as a teacher, and over the years she has been given the opportunity to expand her role to fundraising supervisor and administrative assistant. Michelle was the Administrative Director and Co-Event Producer for Project Dance Pittsburgh 2019 and 2021. She considers it a great honor to be a founding board member for KCB and is excited to continue in the role of Administrative Director. While Michelle is still teaching and choreographing for PCDA and KCB, she is grateful to stretch herself by getting more involved in “the business of dance”.
Michelle lives in Greensburg with her husband Joe, their 2 sons Nick and Brandon, and their silly dog Humphrey. They are members of Word of Life Church in Greensburg where she is active in the dance ministry.
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Aimée began her dance training when she was seven and has taught dance for more than twenty-five years. She received her early training and teaching experiences at Anderson Young Ballet Theatre (AYBT)
Academy. As an AYBT company member she performed lead roles in such ballets as Cinderella, Coppelia, Giselle, Nutcracker, The Red Shoes, and Sleeping Beauty as well as in many original works.
She attended multiple Regional Dance America Festivals, was a trainee with the Indianapolis Ballet Theatre, performed in the 10th Pan American Games Opening Ceremonies as a professional dancer, performed in community theater productions, and competed in several ballet competitions including the Association of Arts and Letters National Competition in Dance. She also studied dance at Ohio State University.
After moving with her husband and sons into Pennsylvania she resumed teaching once more at the Harrisburg Dance Conservatory while performing with the Harrisburg Dance Ensemble. She served on the faculty of the Arts Conservatory of Central Pennsylvania for six years and performed with the Ballet Theatre of Central Pennsylvania. Aimée also taught at Premiere Performing Arts and served for a semester as an adjunct professor of ballet at Seton Hill University. Aimée has extensive training in ballet, modern, tap, jazz, and musical theater dance.
Aimée joined the teaching staff at Pazaz Christian Dance Academy in 2013 where she enjoys being able to really connect her faith with her dance knowledge and share that with her students. She is excited to be a part of Keystone Contemporary Ballet’s creative team and on its board of directors.
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Michelle started her dance career as a student at Pazaz Christian Dance
Academy under the tutelage of Toni Bazala. At PCDA she studied ballet,
tap, jazz, and pointe. She has a true passion for dance and how it can
be used as a tool for ministry. In 2009 Michelle began teaching for
PCDA. Through her teaching she continues to study and grow in her
knowledge of dance. She has attended workshops and intensives at Central
Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Project Dance New York, Vertical Movement,
Ballet Magnificat, and Ballet 5:8. She has also taken on the role of
Stage and Music Director for Project Dance Pittsburgh.
Michelle is a member of Word of Life Church in Greensburg where she
volunteers with the preschool program, sings in the choir, and is a part
of the dance ministry. Her greatest joy is ministering to others, young
and old, and telling them how much God loves them. When not dancing,
teaching or ministering, Michelle also loves spending time with her
husband and her son.
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Rachael has studied dance for over 20 years. Exploring, many different styles, what she loves above all is dance’s ability to communicate story & emotion and form connections.
Along with years of jazz, tap, ballet, pointe, & hip hop, she has also taught & explored swing, modern, salsa, tango, Bollywood, & African.
principal artists
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Kaitlyn Bazala started dancing at the age of two when her mother, Toni Bazala, founded Pazaz Christian Dance Academy. Her biggest inspiration is her mom because of the example of a Godly woman leader she has portrayed her whole life. Kaitlyn trained at Pazaz Christian Dance Academy until 2019 where she started at Point Park University with a major in dance. She studied at Point Park for two years and transferred to Mercyhurst University where she attained her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Ballet. Kaitlyn then attended the Ballet Theatre of Maryland from 2023-2024. In this company she performed in Firebird, the Nutcracker, and Sleeping Beauty along with Momentum: A Mixed Bill. Along with this training, Kaitlyn attended summer dance intensives at Cincinnati Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Point Park University and Pazaz Christian Dance Academy.
Kaitlyn’s favorite styles of dance to perform are ballet and improvisation. Her favorite role to perform was The White Witch, in PCDA’s The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, but she also loved being the Snow Queen in PCDA’s The Christmas Gift. Kaitlyn loved performing the role of monsters in Firebird at The Ballet Theatre of Maryland.
Kaitlyn attends Word of Life Church in Greensburg and loves her church family. At her home church, Kaitlyn danced on the dance team, sang on the worship team, and was a leader in the youth department. She also did an internship at the church in 2018-2019. Her main goal in dance is to lead others to the Lord through her movement.
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Kaitlyn is fully sponsored by Joseph Marsala.
https://donorbox.org/keystone-contemporary-ballet
Please note dancer's name to be sponsored.
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Holly A Burke, age 21, started dancing as soon as she could walk, but did not begin formally training until she was eleven years old. She also began recognizing her faith at an early age, growing up as a Roman Catholic attending church every Sunday with her family. Through church youth organizations and programs on her college campus, Holly was able to grow her love and connection with God and support her community. She is excited to continue to grow her connection to faith and dance through her second season with Keystone Contemporary Ballet.
Holly recently graduated from Point Park University with a BFA in dance, concentrating her training in ballet and contemporary. At Point Park she had the opportunity to work with Craig Salstein as an understudy for Justin Peck’s work In Creases, Jae Man Joo, former Complexions Contemporary Ballet associate artistic director, ballet master, and resident choreographer and was a soloist in La Bayadere and Sleeping Beauty.
This past season Holly had the opportunity to perform as Suffering/Peace and Bearing the Cost in KCB’s original ballet, “The Seeker’s Journey,” as well as enjoyed dancing in “Awesome Possumbilities,” and was grateful for the opportunity to choreograph “Epilogue” (a ballet, jazz fusion piece) on fellow company members.
She formerly trained near her hometown in Cleveland, Ohio where she has been invited to perform in the 2020 and 2024 Annual Gala at Cleveland City Dance as a guest artist. She also had the opportunity to train at summer intensives with Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, The Rock School for Dance Education, and Joffrey New York City.
Holly’s mission through dance is to curate an environment where all bodies are encouraged to express and create without irrational limitation. Through her work she aims to share her passion, knowledge, and experience with her audience and other artists, establishing relationships to expand upon her understanding and develop opportunities within the dance world.
Although she has spent most of her time focusing on ballet, she enjoys dabbling in modern and jazz technique as well as choreographing. Her interests include creating and collaborating with music, and digital marketing both personally and for small businesses.
Psalms 149:3-4
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Holly is fully sponsored by Bob Ross.
https://donorbox.org/keystone-contemporary-ballet
Please note dancer's name to be sponsored.
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Yael Rothgeb, age twenty-six, is a Principal Artist with Keystone Contemporary Ballet! From an early age, Yael was inspired by her church’s dance leader, Miss Toni, to become a ballerina. When Pazaz Christian Dance Academy opened in 2003 by Artistic Director Toni Bazala, Yael immediately joined. Yael graduated through the school in 2016, under the tutelage of Miss Toni and her wonderful teaching staff. Since graduating, Yael has been teaching ballet and pointe at PCDA! Her preferred movement is classical ballet, especially any story-telling piece.
Yael has attended workshops with Ballet Magnificat!, Vertical Movement in Ohio, and for numerous years, Project Dance New York and Pittsburgh. She spent a week at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet Summer Intensive. She was blessed to have been accepted into Joffrey Ballet School, however, she could not attend.
The numerous roles Yael has performed in “The Christmas Gift” include: Katherine, Snow Queen, English Co-Lead, Throne Room Angel, Waltz of the Flowers Lead, Irish Lead, Hula Hoop Lead, Bug Lead, and her favorite, the Governess. Her favorite ballet is “The Story”, where she played “Mary, the mother of Jesus”. Yael was overjoyed to portray “Mary, the mother of Jesus”, again in KCB’s premiere production, “The Messiah Ballet” in April 2022. Her other roles in the ballet were “Simon the Zealot” and “Mary Magdalene”. For KCB’s “A Very Special Nutcracker” 2022, Yael danced many roles, but was casted as “Arabian Co-Lead”. In March 2023, she was honored to portray “Jadis, The White Witch” in KCB’s production of “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”. For KCB’s “A Very Special Nutcracker” 2023, Yael danced as the “Sugar Plum”, along with other roles like “America”. In April 2024, Yael was casted as “Much Afraid” in the spring production of “The Seeker’s Journey”. She was blessed to portray a once afraid girl, who was transformed by the Shepherd, to live unafraid. Something that helped Yael even in her own life!
In August of 2024, Yael married Michael Rothgeb; and the two are expecting their first child, a little girl this coming August!
Outside studio hours, you can find Yael spending time planning events and weddings, gardening, and reading books. She also is the Executive Assistant to her father, the senior pastor at The Way Church. Yael loves to worship before the King of Kings each day!
Yael’s favorite scripture is her life mission statement. Isaiah 61:1 says, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim the good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.”
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Yael is fully sponsored by Joseph Marsala.
https://donorbox.org/keystone-contemporary-ballet
Please note dancer's name to be sponsored.
COMPANY artists
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Katie Bleu is a passionate dancer and choreographer whose hope is to help everyone feel something through dance because she believes that it can be a positive life changing experience for people in all stages of life. Katie started her dance training at age four following in her sister’s footsteps. She grew up dancing with Laurel Ballet Performing Company and West Point Ballet. After high school, she began her journey through college to obtain a BFA in Dance at Mercyhurst University. Katie was a company member with SoMar Dance Works for four years and a Principal Company Artist with Seiche Dance Collective for two. She has also apprenticed with Texture Contemporary Ballet and expanded her horizons through summer intensives and workshops with Alonzo King Lines, Attack Theater, Diffusion Dance Company, and Nimbus Dance. Her performance experience spans a wide range of ballets, contemporary works, and modern pieces, and she has earned prominent and soloist roles in various productions.
Katie's faith journey began at a young age growing up in the Catholic faith with a supportive family and church life that helped her to grow in her faith. After falling in love with dance in her youth, she later realized that her love for Jesus and dance could join together to make a true passion for movement with a beautiful meaning behind it. She dances to celebrate and enjoy His presence and to glorify Him. Katie is excited to be joining Keystone Contemporary Ballet this year to show her thanks for the ability to move and share the joy of dance with others.
In her free time you can find Katie at home with family and friends, in the kitchen baking, outdoors enjoying nature walks, or cuddled up somewhere reading a good book.
Katie's guiding bible verse is Matthew 17:20
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Katie is fully sponsored by Bob Ross.
https://donorbox.org/keystone-contemporary-ballet
Please note dancer's name to be sponsored.
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Clara Panichelle nineteen years old. Eleven years ago my mom thought dance would be a fun activity for me so she enrolled me at Pazaz Christian Dance Academy, I fell in love instantly. Since then I have received training in many styles of dance, my favorites being ballet, tap, and jazz, I have also gone to Ballet Magnificat! summer intensives. I have taken part in many 8 Christmas Gift performances, my favorite roles being anything in Waltz of the Flowers, Snow Queen, Arabien lead, and the lead Katherine. I am going into my forth season with KCB. With the company I have been a part of many outreaches and performances like “The Very Special Nutcracker”, “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe” and “The Seekers Journey” . Outside of dance you can find me in rehearsal for a homeschool theater group I have been a part of for the last 6 years and now help direct and Stage Mange. I also enjoy teaching at Pazaz Christian Dance Academy and The Staff studio in Blairsville. Being a communicant member of Providence Reformed Presbyterian Church I take part in almost all church events happening throughout the year, youth programs, helping with Sabbath School classes for toddlers, and many more.I have a very loving family who have always been my support team when it comes to dance and my faith. Three words that describe would be focused, determined, and witty. If I could be anywhere in the world I would be visiting my nieces and nephews in Northern Ireland. The motto that I live by is: The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
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Clara is fully sponored by Bob Ross.
https://donorbox.org/keystone-contemporary-ballet
Please note dancer's name to be sponsored.
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Faith Yondola is 22 years old started dancing at the age of 3. She found her home when she began dancing at Pazaz Christian Dance Academy when she was 5. Of all the styles she has received training in, contemporary is her favorite. Between PCDA and KCB Faith has performed different roles in The Christmas Gift, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and The Seeker’s Journey. Her favorite role by far was portraying Edmund Pevensie from “Narnia.” One of Faith’s favorite parts of being a part of KCB is doing outreaches. Dancing is her favorite way to worship, and she loves touching the hearts of people. Faith has a very bubbly personality that strives to put a smile on all the people she is around.
Faith attends Hempfield Church and is currently going to school to become a Lactation Consultant. If Faith could be anywhere, she would be in mountains of Colorado or boating on Rosier Creek with her family.
Although it’s hard to pick, one of her favorite scriptures is Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
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Faith is fully sponsored by Joseph Marsala.
https://donorbox.org/keystone-contemporary-ballet
Please note dancer's name to be sponsored.
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Anna Menarchek is a dancer, performer, and choreographer from the great state of West Virginia where she trained at the Mid-Ohio Ballet Academy and Company. She holds a BFA in Dance from Mercyhurst University in Erie, PA, where she was honored with receiving a Dance Scholarship, the Hermann Merit Award, and the Jane Barr Scholarship while attending from 2020-2024. She then moved to Dallas, Texas to become a trainee with the Avant Chamber Ballet Company where she participated in many professional and community performances.
Anna has trained under the direction of Matthew Christensen, Jennifer McNamara, C. Noelle Partusch, Mark Santillano, Solveig Santillano, Suzy Gunter, Danielle Keiser, and Leslie Boris-Scalise in a variety of fields including ballet, pointe, pas de deux, modern, jazz, and tap. During her time at Mercyhurst University she performed in Swan Lake (2021), Pas De Quatre (2022), Tis the Season: The Nutcracker (2022, 2023), Midsummer Night’s Dream (2023), and Sleeping Beauty: Jewels (2023) as well as many modern and contemporary works from choreographers such as Steve Rooks. She was also a proud member of the Liturgical Dance Ensemble, NHSDA, and on the leadership for dance club on Mercyhurst campus.
During the Summers, she had the great opportunity to venture to New York City in attendance of the ABT Collegiate Summer Intensive and chaperone the Mercyhurst Summer Dance Experience. These allowed for a variety of classes and great learning experiences in styles of Character, African Caribbean, Hoop dancing, Musical Theater and Hip-Hop dance. She has also attended conferences and workshops that further deepened her connection with other dancers at the American College Dance Association, National Water Dance, and the West Virginia Dance Festival. As well as traveling, she values the opportunity to perform for the community of Erie and giving back to her home state where she teaches and returns as a guest artist.
Growing up Roman Catholic, she has always appreciated faith as a deep part of her journey and through faith, has grown more in love with the arts of movement. She loves to delve deeper into her passions of choreographing and teaching but will always love returning to the stage.
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Anna is fully sponsored.
https://donorbox.org/keystone-contemporary-ballet
Please note dancer's name to be sponsored.