Haylie Berning- Executive Director and Director of Dance

Haylie has served in many roles at BCAPA, starting as a Dance Instructor in 2011. She took the role of Dance Director in 2017 and is eager to serve in the Executive Director position in addition to leading the Dance Department. Haylie started teaching at the age of 14 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Dance as well as a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Wichita State University. In college Haylie performed with WSU's Wichita Contemporary Dance Theater, which included performances throughout Northeastern Italy. At WSU Haylie was awarded the Perry Endowment Scholarship, and her dance studies were under the direction of Nicholas C. Johnson along with Denise Celestin, Cheyla Clawson, and Sabrina Vasquez. As a child dancer, she was fortunate to have had extensive training and performance opportunities.  A two-time recipient of the Kansas Cultural Trust, she studied at Texas Ballet Theater in Dallas and Ballet Met in Columbus, Ohio. For eight seasons Haylie performed as a company member of Ballet Wichita (BW) under the direction of Jill Landrith, where she performed ensemble, corps, pas de trios, pas de deux and solo roles. With BW she participated in annual performances of "The Nutcracker" and "Ballet In The Park". She was cast in the 2003 production of "Old, New & Blue" in conjunction with BW, WSU Jazz Ensemble and acclaimed musician Rudy Love. She was selected through audition by the Miss America Organization to perform an opening number lyrical solo at the 2004 Miss Kanas Pageant. In 2005 she performed "Conversations" in Swing choreographed by Kara Davis of the San Francisco Ballet. As a competitive dancer, she received awards in regional and national competitions.  She utilized her talents in community service for the American Cancer Society, Children's Miracle Network and Miss America Organization as well as her own "Spiritual Gifts" presentation to religious audiences across Kansas. Haylie has a passion for teaching children and is dedicated to creating a warm and welcoming space for students to grow their talents in the arts.

Christina Liu- Music Coordinator

Dr. Christina Liu has given numerous performances as a soloist, collaborative pianist, and chamber musician in the United States and internationally. As a soloist and chamber musician, she was the prize winner in numerous competitions, including MusicFest Northwest and Michigan State MTNA Chamber Music Performance competition. She made her first orchestral debut at the age of 17. Her appearances include broadcast performances on Spokane Public Radio and Kansas Public Radio. Dr. Liu is active as a collaborative pianist and has served as music director for many non-profit opera organizations including Lawrence Opera Theatre, Music On-Site Inc., and Opera Seme. In addition to her performance career, Dr. Liu is a passionate educator. She currently serves as the Assistant Professor of Music at Bethel College, teaching courses in music theory, aural skills, music history, class piano, piano pedagogy, and applied piano instruction. Dr. Liu is also the Director of the Bethel College Summer Music Day Camp. She is in demand as an adjudicator and has presented her research at various local, state, and national conferences. She is also a founding member of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Collegiate Chapters Piano Pedagogy Symposium. Dr. Liu has been a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music with MTNA since 2010. Dr. Liu received her Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) degree from the University of Kansas. She received her dual-Master's degree in Solo Piano Performance and Chamber Music Performance from the University of Michigan, and her undergraduate degree in Piano Performance with Pedagogy emphasis from Washington State University. Her teachers include Gerald Berthiaume, John Ellis, Christopher Harding, and Steven Spooner.

Mimi Leo- Bookkeeper

Emily Blaine- Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Acro, Modern, Kaleidoscope Dance Company Choreographer, BCAPA Office Assistant

Emily received her BFA in Dance Performance from Wichita State University (WSU) in 2021. With WSU she has had the opportunity to travel to the American College Dance Association and perform in the regional gala. She was a member of Ballet Wichita for six years and was promoted to soloist after her first two years.  Emily has also performed with The Wichita Grand Opera. As well as dancing in the Wichita area, Emily has traveled within the United States to further her studies. She has traveled to St. Louis to partake in The Big Muddy Dance Company’s Summer Intensive, as well as traveling to Salt Lake City to study with local companies there. Emily was a teacher’s assistant at BCAPA starting her 8th grade year through her senior year of high school. Emily enjoys  teaching  because she loves watching the growth of her students and spreading the joy of dance! She is excited to take a new role as instruct in the BCAPA family.   

Abi Boese- Creative Movement, Pre-Ballet

Abi is a former BCAPA dance student who now attends Bethel College as an Elementary Education Major.  She has assisted our young child dance classes for many years and started teaching dance classes independently for BCAPA in the summer of 2023.  Her favorite part of teaching is watching the students grow, gain confidence, and make friends through dance. Abi is also BCAPA’s front desk receptionist and she looks forward to being a friendly and familiar face for both students and parents! 

Resa-Marie Davenport- Ballet, Tap

Resa-Marie earned her BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography at Wichita State University. While attending WSU she was a member of the Wichita Contemporary Dance Theatre. With the company, she performed in local shows as well as both Italy and Mexico. Resa-Marie began her dance training at Wichita Children’s Theatre and Dance Center at the age of four. She has attended Summer Intensive Programs with Ballet Austin, BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio, The Rock School of Dance in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and American Ballet Theatre in Austin, Texas. She has also had the privilege of dancing in Ballet Wichita’s productions such as the Nutcracker and Ballet in the Park. Resa-Marie is a graduate of the Early Childhood Unified program at Wichita State University and teaches at Cooper Early Education Center here in Newton, KS. She continues to teach dance at WCT&DC and is excited to be teaching at BCAPA.  

Eliza Epp- Pre Ballet, Tap and Tumble

Eliza is a former BCAPA dance student who is now attending Bethel College. Along with being a part of BCAPA’s Kaleidoscope Dance Company, she has assisted dance classes for many years as well! Eliza is excited to teach dance classes at BCAPA and continue to watch students learn and grow through dance! Her favorite aspect of BCAPA is the sense of community and long-lasting friendships it provides for every student! Along with teaching, Eliza is one of BCAPA’s front desk receptionists and is ready to answer any questions students and parents may have!

Molly Flavin- Jazz, Modern, Irish, Melt Method, Kaleidoscope Dance Company Choreographer

Molly is starting her second year teaching dance at BCAPA but has been with the Academy as a student since it was founded. She is now starting her senior year at Wichita State University, working towards a BFA in Dance, and is a member of the Wichita Contemporary Dance Theatre and Mid-America Dance Theatre. Molly teaches mainly Jazz classes and uses a variety of influences in her teaching to help students get the most out of their classes. She works to create a fun, creative, and positive environment in her classes while helping her students grow as performers and as people.

Brennon Madrid- Modern, Acro, Tap, Hip Hop

Brennon is originally from Colorado Springs, CO, began his career at a young age in acrobatics, eventually adding in other forms of movement training including: tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, contemporary and hip hop. He moved to Lawrence, Kansas to continue his training in dance at the University of Kansas, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. He has had the privilege of working with Thodos Dance Chicago, Lindsay Hawkins from MADCO in St. Louis, LaneCoArts, Justin Giles from Soulescape. He is excited to join the BCAPA family and looks forward to working with everyone that is a part of it.

Emily Schulze- Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Kaleidoscope Dance Company Choreographer

Emily is a Wichita State University graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Dance through the College of Fine Arts program. She danced as a part of WSU’s Wichita Contemporary Dance Theater, traveling to places like Mexico to perform numerous works. Throughout her time as an undergraduate, Emily had the honor of working with many different choreographers such as Charlotte Boye-Christensen, Nathan Trice, and Bennyroyce Royon. After graduating she joined the Regina Klenjoski Dance Company for their 2017-18 season. Although she still loves to perform, Emily’s greatest passion is teaching and seeing her students grow and excel in their art form.

Anna Scott- Jazz

Anna has been a dancer since she was five years old, beginning competition dance at age 8. She later joined Midwest Dance Mechanix’ competition team to compete locally and out-of-state, and also joined their En Avant Ballet company, performing in shows like The Nutcracker and Midsummer Night’s Dream. She was awarded a Ballet Scholarship for Outstanding Performance from Nuvo dance convention in 2017. Anna Scott began teaching dance at the young age of twelve to young dancers. Years later, after having to leave dancing due to an injury, she strives to share her years of experience and love for dance with younger dancers. Her goal is to create a healthy and fun environment for dancers to grow in confidence and in technique!

Daniel Colwell- Violin, Viola, Fiddle, Suzuki

Daniel has taught at BCAPA since 2010. As a student of Alice Joy Lewis in the Ottawa Suzuki Program, he has performed in concert tours in Australia, Ireland, England, and Puerto Rico. He has performed with notable musicians such as Tracy Silverman, Jim Brickman, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. During the school year, he also teaches Junior High Histry, and directs the orchestra programs at Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire. Daniel holds a BME from Baker University and a MME from Wichita State University. 

Phillip Balzer- Piano

Phillip is a student at Bethel College and will graduate with a bachelors in piano performance in May 2024. He has skills in a variety of styles in both classical and jazz genres and plays both solo repertoire and collaboratively, in the Bethel jazz ensembles. A multi-instrumentalist and singer, Phillip also plays trumpet in the Bethel wind ensemble, sings in the concert choir, and studied oboe in high school, which he has put away for now, opting to focus on piano instead. Planning on going into composition, he is working on pieces for his senior recital in April. In his free time, Phillip enjoys drawing landscapes and portraits, and he also dabbles in cooking when he's at home.

Emil Benavides- Voice, Clarinet

Emil is a music education major at Bethel College and she’s currently teaching voice and clarinet lessons at BCAPA.  She’s also one of the admins for BCAPA’s social media accounts! Emil has been playing the clarinet since 5th grade and has been singing since grade school. She has been in several honor choirs in high school and is involved in music ensembles at Bethel College including wind ensemble, concert choir, chamber singers, and pep band. She is currently studying voice under Soyoun Chun and clarinet under Joel Boettger. Emil is excited to teach lessons and help inspire a love of music in some kiddos!

Abigail Chappell Deckert - Cello
Abigail is a third-year student at Bethel College. A 2021 graduate of Newton High School, she began taking violin lessons as a child through BCAPA and transitioned to the cello in 5th grade, playing in the Newton School District's orchestras. She was heavily involved in BCAPA orchestras and events throughout her childhood and is excited to join BCAPA as a teacher. She also was a member of the Wichita Youth Symphony and attended the Midwestern Music Camp, earning the award of "best low strings player." She continues to play cello with the Newton Mid-Kansas Symphony Orchestra and the Bethel College Chamber Orchestra. 

Sophia Chindamo- Voice

Sophia is a Junior Natural Sciences Major at Bethel College with a passion for the environment and conservation. She also is pursuing a Music minor where her main focus is in voice, but also spends her time studying the piano, guitar, and violin. Sophia has been studying voice techniques in Jazz, and Classical for 3 years, as well as singing in choirs since 4th grade. She sings with the Bethel College Jazz Ensembles, the soprano alto group Woven and the Concert Choir. 

Josué Coy Dick- Violin

Josué is a student at Bethel College and a 2021 graduate of Newton High School. He started studying classical piano at the age of 5 and continued taking lessons until high school. He started with Suzuki violin at BCAPA at the age of 7, taking lessons from Daniel Colwell. He continued to take lessons at BCAPA for 8 years. In high school, he transitioned to taking lessons from Nancy Johnson. He continues to study with her today. He has won the Hutchinson Symphony Anderson Concerto Competition and the NMKSO Dwight Beckham Young Soloists Competition. He is currently the concertmaster of the Bethel College Chamber Orchestra and a member of the Newton Mid Kansas Symphony Orchestra. He looks forward to working creatively with his students to develop their musical interests and talents.

Amber Dahlén Peterson- Traditional and Suzuki Strings

Dr. Amber Dahlén Peterson has been teaching strings for over 25 years. Most recently, she was the Mazie Barnett Kilmer Endowed Chair for Strings Education at Southwestern College and conductor of the South Kansas Symphony. Dr. Peterson completed her Ph.D. in Music Education at Case Western Reserve University. She also holds music education degrees from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and completed her Suzuki Violin Teacher Training for all 10 books at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Dr. Peterson currently performs with the Delano Chamber Orchestra, the Newton Mid-Kansas Symphony, and the Hutchinson Symphony. Prior to beginning her doctorate, she taught elementary, middle, and high school orchestra in Moline, Illinois. She has also served on the staffs of the Delano Summer Youth Orchestras, Cole Family Summer Music Festival, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Illinois Summer Youth Music, Illinois Ambassadors of Music, and the Cleveland Music School Settlement.

Rachel Esch- Piano

After receiving her Associate of General Studies from Hesston College in 2016, Rachel graduated from Tabor College in 2020 where she earned her Bachelor’s degrees in Piano Pedagogy and Elementary Education. Rachel began piano lessons at the age of 6 and soon discovered the joy of expressing emotions through music. In college, Rachel enjoyed studying music including taking piano and voice lessons, singing in choirs, playing piano and percussion in orchestra, studying music theory, and teaching piano lessons. A few musical highlights from her college career include singing in Carnegie Hall with the Tabor College Concert Choir and serving as a church pianist. In addition to teaching at BCAPA, Rachel works at Newton Public Library and provides caregiving for several families. During her free time, Rachel loves reading, playing games with friends, and being in nature.

Kenna Graber- Flute

Kenna received her bachelors in music at Bethel College and her masters of education from Wichita State University. She studied flute with Caroline Eastburn Camp and Julianna Moore at the University of Iowa as well as Lorraine Carlson Miller and Kristen Shaffer at Bethel College. While at Bethel, Kenna also had the privilege of performing with the Bethel College Concert choir in Europe and Russia. Kenna has performed with various groups and has been second flute/piccolo with the Newton Mid-KS Symphony Orchestra since 1991. She currently works full time as a mentor teacher for Newton USD 373 and teaches flute at BCAPA as well as privately. Kenna lives on a 6 acre “farm” outside of Peabody with her husband Kelson, two teenage sons, and two lab dogs.

Kristopher Hilding- Viola, Violin

Kristopher Hilding received his Bachelor of Music from the University of Kansas, where he studied with violists Philip Kramp and Boris Vayner, composer Bryan “Kip” Haaheim, and conductors David Neely and Raffaele Cipriano. Kristopher then went on to complete his Masters of Music degree in Orchestral Conducting at Wichita State University with Dr. Mark Laycock. Kristopher is an active conductor, and has worked with several ensembles across the state of Kansas, and his original compositions have been featured on various programs. Kristopher currently serves as the orchestra director at Bethel College in Newton, Kansas. He was the founder and director of the Bravura Chamber Orchestra, a student-run ensemble at the University of Kansas. For several years, Kristopher taught beginning string players in the Lawrence, Kansas, area; he served as an orchestra assistant in the Lawrence Public Schools for five years.

Nancy Johnson - Traditional Strings

Nancy Johnson has been principal second violin of the Wichita Symphony since 2000. She is also on the faculties of Bethel College and Hesston College, teaches private violin students, and performs extensively in the greater Wichita area. With her duo, Nova Deco, she performs educational programs through Arts Partners of Wichita, performing for students in the Wichita public schools. The duo also performs regularly at Newton Medical Center as musicians in residence. Also holding positions as librarian for the Wichita Symphony, personnel manager of the Oregon Coast Music Festival, and choir director at Trinity Heights United Methodist Church, she spends what free time she has playing golf, reading, and mowing the lawn. Nancy was raised in Colorado and holds degrees in violin performance from KU and Virginia Commonwealth University with post graduate work at the University of Northern Colorado. She studied with Dr. Robert Murray, Howard Boyajian, and Harold Wippler. Attending the Aspen Music Festival, she was a student of Dorothy Delay. Before moving to Kansas, Nancy lived in Portland, Oregon, where she played with the Portland Opera Orchestra, Oregon Ballet Theatre and, on occasion, the Oregon Symphony. Nancy continues to return to Oregon every summer where she is a member of the Oregon Coast Music Festival Orchestra in Coos Bay, Oregon. Nancy lives on 5 acres outside of Newton, Kansas, and has 2 sons, one is currently working on a doctorate in physics and the other is a jazz guitarist.

Judith Mace- Piano, Harp

Judith has taught piano since 1980 to all levels and ages.  She has a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance and a Masters in Piano Pedagogy.  She has been a regular church pianist for 40 years.  Judith also teaches harp, is a Certified Harp Therapy Practitioner and has logged many hours playing harp for patients in hospitals and hospice. Judith works to make piano lessons both fun and meaningful, developing creativity and a positive emotional outlet.

Sarah Teichler- Kindermusik and Flute

Sarah is an accomplished performer and well-respected teacher of all ages. She holds a Master of Music in Church Music from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, TX, and a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance from Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, Wheaton, IL. Sarah has been teaching flute since 1997, and has also taught general music, piano, voice, and recorder. She is a licensed Kindermusik educator and has been teaching Kindermusik early childhood music & movement classes since 1999. She believes that music is for everyone and that music instruction enriches a child’s development cognitively, socially, and emotionally. Sarah loves making music together with others, whether in an ensemble of highly skilled musicians, or in a class of toddlers just starting out their musical journey. Making music brings her great joy. Sarah is the mother of four musical children and is active in their schools. She also teaches choir and Spanish for the Home Educators Association of Newton. She loves to read, craft, scrapbook, and play games. She resides with her family in Newton, KS.

Dylan Yoder- Voice

Dylan Yoder is currently studying Music Education at Bethel College. He has a primary focus in Vocal techniques and has been studying Voice for 5 years now, with many performances throughout that time. Through lessons and a positive environment, he hopes to help his students grow in performance. Dylan is excited to be working with BCAPA in their music programs. 

Tamara Zielke- Piano

Tamara Zielke is a seasoned musician, having taught elementary music for 32 years and she holds a B.M.E from Wichita State University. While her degree focus was vocal music, she began taking piano lessons at the age of 5, and is so thankful that her parents were able to give her that opportunity, as it has served her well, both for work and pleasure. In the area of vocal and choral music, Tamara has been a soprano soloist in several oratorios, countless weddings and funerals, and has sung in numerous choirs as an adult, including the Voices of Omaha and the Omaha Symphonic Chorus, both under the direction of her husband, Greg. Singing in his choirs has afforded her the opportunity to sing twice at Carnegie Hall, as well as on several tours to Germany and Australia with the Grace University Chorale. Since moving back to Kansas 4 years ago, she has been working both as an accompanist for vocal groups at Marion Middle and High Schools, and more recently also as a paraprofessional at Hillsboro Elementary School. She has held professional memberships in ACDA, KMEA, NMEA, NafME, and American Orff-Schulwerk Association/Great Plains Orff Chapter. When she is not making or teaching music, Tamara enjoys coloring books, crossword and jigsaw puzzles, baking, knitting and hosting gatherings for Tabor College music and theater students who lovingly call her Mama Z. She and Greg have two married daughters who are both very active in teaching/ directing/performing music and theater, and most importantly, they have three grandsons (with number four set to make his debut in October 2023) who have their Grammy and Grandpa’s hearts.