ABOUT
Crescendo Conservatory is a non-competition studio that focuses on artistic growth through performing opportunities. Our annual dance recital is held at the beautiful KU Lied Center. Additional performing opportunities are available for dancers who join our dance company – Crescendo in Motion.
What Sets Us Apart
• All aspects of dance education at Crescendo Conservatory are age appropriate from costumes to music and choreography.
• Classes not only build their technical dance skills, but also nurture students’ physical and emotional well-being.
• We have a large 7000 square foot state of the art facility, consisting of three large studios all with sprung Marley dance floors.
• Our instructors all are degreed and/or former professional dancers with a solid foundation in dance as an art form.
About Us
Step into the world of dance and discover our studio! We invite you to join us to explore our vibrant dance space. Watch our video to get a sneak peek into the rhythm, grace, and energy that defines our dance community. Whether you're a seasoned dancer or simply curious, we offer a place where movement, music, and art come together in perfect harmony. Click the video to start the adventure.
Artistic Director / Owner
Christina Valdez
After receiving her degree in Dance from Texas Woman’s University, Christina danced with the Denton Civic Ballet and the Festival Ballet of North Texas. She established her first dance studio in Dallas, Texas in 1996 and was an Adjunct Dance Faculty at Collin County Community College for seven years where she was the artistic director for the Repertory Company.
Christina Valdez has been a dance educator for the past 32 years.
Faculty
Katie Shea
A native to Kansas City, Katie started training at DanceWorks Conservatory at the age of six. In high school, she trained at American Dance Center. While there, she performed with the American Youth Ballet. She went on to study ballet, modern and choreography at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance. While there, she studied modern under Sabrina Madison-Cannon, DeeAnna Hiett and Gary Abbott. She studied ballet under and performed choreography by Paula Weber, Mary Pat Henry and Ronald Tice.
Katie graduated from the Conservatory with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance with an emphasis in ballet. She is thrilled to be teaching at Crescendo Conservatory!
Lexi James
Lexi is originally from Olathe, Kansas and trained at Legacy School of the Arts where she studied on scholarship. In addition, Lexi spent summers at the Glenda Brown Choreography Project, Giordano Dance Chicago, and Hubbard Street. After studying for two and a half years at the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Conservatory of Dance, she transferred to the University of Missouri-St. Louis to finish her dance degree and began dancing professionally with Common Thread Contemporary Dance Company. Lexi graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Theatre and Dance in 2015 and has since performed works by Jennifer Medina, Jennifer Huffman-Olivas, R. Vance Baldwin, Lindsey Hawkins, and more. In 2017, Lexi relocated back to Kansas City to continue her professional career as a company artist with KC Contemporary Dance Company and is excited to continue sharing her passion for dance at Crescendo Conservatory.
Christine Frisbie
Christine Kraus began her dance training at Dimensions Dance Center in Saint Louis. She went on to study at UMKC receiving her BFA Dance Performance and Choreography along with a BA in Psychology. During her time at UMKC she had the immense privilege to perform in works by faculty members including Paula Weber, Sabrina Madison-Cannon, DeeAnna Hiett, Gary Abbott, Ronn Tice, and David Justin. She has also worked with guest choreographers such as Gregory Dawson, Kirven Douthit-Boyd, Kevin Iega Jeff, Cleo Parker Robinson, and Christopher Huggins. She has performed alongside Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company, and currently works freelance with Tristian Griffin and Haley Kostas.
Carolyn Radke
Carolyn originally from Overland Park, Kansas, began her formal ballet training with the Kansas City Ballet School and Kansas City Youth Ballet under the direction of Grace Holmes and Kimberly Cowen. She had the opportunity to perform many contemporary and classical ballets as a member of the pre-professional company, including a featured role in La Bayadère. Carolyn continued her training at Mercyhurst University under the direction of Tauna Hunter and received her B.A. in Dance and a B.A. in Psychology. As a member of The Mercyhurst Dancers, she performed modern, contemporary, and classical works, most notably George Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco. Carolyn currently dances with KC Contemporary Dance and is thrilled to join the faculty at Crescendo Conservatory.
Roma Catania
Roma Catania grew up in Edmond, Oklahoma where she attended The Dance Center of Oklahoma City Ballet and trained with the youth company while performing lead children roles, including the role of Clara in the Nutcracker. She also studied on full-scholarship at The School of American Ballet in NYC, Chicago Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Miami City Ballet and Houston Ballet Academy throughout her early years. At the age of 15, Roma was invited into the pre-professional program of the American Ballet Theater’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Academy in New York City. She had the privilege of dancing and performing as a full-scholarship student with the American Ballet Theater (ABT) at the Lincoln Center. Upon graduation at age 17 in 2016, Roma danced various roles and as a soloist with Ballet Palm Beach, Kansas City and Joffrey studio companies. She was selected to perform with Joffery Chicago’s professional company for their tour in Paris, France in 2018. During the pandemic years, Roma relocated to perform principle roles with Zion Dance Project in Dallas, Texas. She is a freelance dancer throughout the Kansas City area, and during her professional dance career, she gives back to the communities she has been a part of by inspiring the next generation through her work as a ballet dance director or guest dance teacher for prominent dance studios and studio companies.
Elizabeth Gibson
Elizabeth began ballet training at the age of 12 at Boni's Dance and Performing Arts Studio in Houston, TX, where she performed regularly at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. While pursuing ballet, she also trained in gymnastics for several years and competed in many local and state competitions, being awarded the Ricky Deci Award for the highest individual apparatus score in 2017. That same year, she moved to Kansas City and discovered Crescendo Conservatory. She had the opportunity to teach Creative Movement for 3-5-year-olds at Crescendo Conservatory and to substitute regularly for ballet, jazz, contemporary, and tap classes, teaching all ages from 3 to adult. Excited about the opportunity to learn more about the arts through teaching, she is passionate about passing on her great love of dance and desires to inspire the next generation of dancers.
Past performances include the Nutcracker Tea Party in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, the Fringe Festival in 2019, and the Future Stages festival in 2019, 2020, and 2021, as well as many local performances around the Kansas City area, along with numerous YouTube performances. In 2022, she married the love of her life and moved to Colorado, where she continued her teaching and training at Concert Dance Conservatory in Colorado Springs. Now living in Kansas City, she is absolutely thrilled to rejoin Crescendo Conservatory. She has a high appreciation and great love for the arts that she has cherished for the past 10+ years.