Macey Mayfield grew up taking dance classes in Mansfield, Texas and graduated with a BFA in Acting from Texas State University. She performed in professional theatre productions while living in Austin and New York City, and more recently with Unadilla Theatre and Plainfield Little Theatre since moving to Vermont with her husband, Erik. She enjoys an artistic life full of cats and is the designer of the jewelry brand, Lonerü. She's happy to be dancing again and to have found such a talented and supportive community with Ballet Vermont.

Maddie Burke began dancing as a toddler in her hometown studio, the North Andover School of Dance. There, she trained in ballet under Angela Vaughn. As a student at the University of Vermont, Maddie studied contemporary dance under Paula Higa and Millie Heckler. She danced in, and choreographed for, one of UVM’s student-run dance companies, Orchesis. Maddie first joined Ballet Vermont in 2021, as a corps member in Bees and Friends, then as a demi soloist in Love is a Many Varied Thing.

Sadie MacKinnon, originally from Boston, MA, is a Champlain College graduate who now calls Vermont home. She grew up training at the Tony Williams Dance Center under Tony Williams, Janelle Gilchrist, Gianni Di Marco and others and attended American Academy of Ballet summer intensives for many years. Previously with Ballet Vermont, she has danced soloist roles in Farm to Ballet, Love is a Many Varied Thing and Bees and Friends. Her other performance credits include 10 years in BalletRox’s Urban Nutcracker, BalletRox’s Ben’s Trumpet, various festival and charity shows in Boston with TWDC’s youth company. Sadie is also Ballet Vermont's Communications Coordinator and is excited to be even more involved in the VT dance community.

Katie Cunningham began classical ballet training as an adult, in 2014. She quickly fell in love with the art, and with an athletic background, found tranquility in the physical demands of ballet. After a short hiatus, she has returned this year to reconnect with the dance community and to continue developing her ballet technique. Currently, she resides in Colchester, VT, working as a School Director for a local independent, therapeutic school.

Sara Ziegler began ballet as a young child studying at the Vermont Conservatory of Ballet, now Vermont Ballet Theater School. As a student at UVM she explored more modern and contemporary styles and tried her hand at choreography but was constantly drawn back to the practice of ballet technique. After a few years away from ballet focusing on her career as an Extension educator and agricultural researcher, Sara discovered the wonderful community of Ballet Vermont. She was excited to meet new friends who were also seeking a supportive and encouraging community to train in as an adult. Since joining the company in 2016 she has performed corps, demi-soloist, and soloist roles in Farm to Ballet as well as corps roles in Bees & Friends. Sara looks forward to continuing her training and performing with Ballet Vermont and is grateful for these unique opportunities.

Fiona Garufi started dancing as a young child and has been in the studio ever since! She started at One Studio which later became Green Mountain Performing Arts (GMPA). She grew up taking pretty much any class she could and in 2015, Fiona made the exciting leap from student to teacher. She now teaches a variety of ballet, modern, and tap classes at GMPA as well as being one of the teachers for their performance/competition troupe. Passing on the love of dancing to children of all ages is her favorite part of her job. Her students are her inspiration; watching them grow, learn, and perform brings Fiona so much joy! Performing has always been the most fun and uplifting part about dancing for Fiona. Being on stage and seeing the audience smiling back at her is an incredible feeling that makes her enjoy performing so much.

Margaret Vizzard is originally from Philadelphia, PA but has now lived in Vermont for the past 25+ years. She is a Professor of Neurological Sciences at The Larner College of Medicine at The University of Vermont. A physiologist by training, Margaret’s research focuses on urinary bladder dysfunction including bladder overactivity and incontinence. She is also an educator who teaches Neuroscience and Biomedical ethics to graduate students and residents. Twelve years ago, she returned to ballet after a very long hiatus, wanting to use different parts of her brain. She is grateful to Chatch for his encouraging and inclusive teaching methods. She is thankful for all the ballet instructors and the adult ballet community at Ballet Vermont, Lines Vermont and Spotlight Vermont. She and her husband, Declan McCabe, live in South Burlington and have 3 children, Heather, Ethan, and Lauren.

Anna Olsen she grew up dancing at several studios in VT, then went on to study Dance at Hope College in Holland, MI. There, she was immersed in a wide variety of movement styles, from ballet, modern, and liturgical to improvisation, site-specific choreography, and historical dance. She has showcased her own choreography at multiple dance concerts both in college and beyond. On returning to VT in 2016, Anna joined Ballet Vermont, and now performs as a soloist with the company. In addition, Anna has danced with VT dance artists Christine Harris, Elizabeth Kurylo, Avi Waring, Hannah Dennison, and others, and has participated in performances hosted by Moving Light Dance and the Vermont Dance Alliance. When she’s not in the studio, Anna spends her time at her family’s sheep farm, where she likes to work outdoors, write, and photograph.

Tai Nixa Peterson joined Ballet Vermont in 2019. She started dancing at age 3 and has participated in several professional theatre and dance productions throughout the US and internationally. After taking a long hiatus from ballet, she is grateful to have found and be welcomed into the Ballet Vermont community. Dance is what she needs to keep her mind, body and soul balanced and filled with joy. Originally from NH, Tai studied at Kimball Union Academy and St. Lawrence University, and has a degree in Anthropology. For the past decade, she worked as a fundraising professional in the local and global nonprofit sector, and now works at Ballet Vermont focusing on many initiatives to support the company. Tai lives in Central Vermont with her husband, their daughter, chocolate lab and calico cat.

A native of Milton, VT, Keely attended UVM and studied dietetics, nutrition, and food science and minored in dance. Keely is the Early Childhood Nutrition Manager at Hunger Free Vermont. Keely has been dancing since the age of 4, and was a founding member of Ballet Viridis, UVM’s first ballet club. She has danced multiple seasons with Ballet Vermont in Farm to Ballet Project and Bees and Friends. Keely has also been the choreographer for the Milton High School Theatre Department for 4 years. Keely is jazzed to be a company member; she always says that BVT feels like home, and the dancers all feel like family.

Katie has been interested in dance and performance since a very young age. She studied Jazz at David DeMarie in Buffalo, NY throughout her childhood and performed in a variety of local theater and musical productions. As an adult, she returned to dance and found an incredible adult dance community that she didn’t even know existed right here in Vermont! She fell in love with ballet, studying intensely multiple times a week, which soon led to the development of the Farm to Ballet Project, which she co-created with Chatch Pregger and a group of committed adult ballet dancers. In 2018, Katie incorporated Ballet Vermont. Other interests include: spending time with her family and friends, being outside, listening to music (and singing it loudly), watching hysterical cat videos and eating tacos.

Sierra Norford grew up doing ballet, starting when she was very young and continuing all through high school. She returned to it earlier this year after several years off. In addition to ballet, Sierra enjoys various types of social and partner dancing. When not dancing, she is either teaching math at Montpelier High School, knitting, or reading.