Jen grew up in Paradise, California and started dancing at Northern California Ballet when she was 7 years old.  She immediately fell in love with the art form and from age 11 onward she started going to summer intensive programs around the country.  She attended intensives through Boston Ballet and San Francisco Ballet.  She also spent a summer training with George Balanchine's protégé Suzanne Farrell on her private island in upstate New York.

​

Jen got accepted on scholarship to Walnut Hill School of the Arts (now Boston Ballet School), a boarding school for ballet dancers and other aspiring artists in Natick, Massachusetts where she attended high school.  She had the opportunity to perform at the Wang Center in Boston and the Kennedy Center in New York City.  

​

She then went on to pursue a college education and received her Bachelor of Science in Exercise and Sports Science with a minor in Gerontology from University of San Francisco.  After graduating, Jen moved north to pursue her doctorate in physical therapy from Pacific University outside of Portland, OR.  After working as a physical therapist for 5 years she founded PTB in 2019.  

Jen balances work with lots of family time - enjoying her husband and two kids.

Anna Tallarico is a student at Northwest University. She has danced ballet and contemporary for 16 years, and has received training from a number of schools around the state, including Ling Hui's Dance, InMotion Performing Arts, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Galletta's School of Dance, where she performed as Clara in their 2018 Nutcracker and represented them at the Youth America Grand Prix. Then she transitioned to teaching and coaching at Kirkland Dance Center. She is very excited to be a part of Port Townsend Ballet. 

Krystal grew up dancing in upstate New York. During college, she got a minor in dance from Ithaca College and a major in Therapeutic Recreation. She has continued dancing with local ballet schools, like the Pacific Northwest Ballet, depending on where she lived. Outside of dancing she has worked as a Recreation Therapist with both kids and adults and is the current Parent Educator for the Port Townsend Cooperative Playschool. When not dancing, Krystal is busy being Mom to her 3 boys! She transitioned into teaching once here in Port Townsend and loves sharing her passion for ballet with youth and adult alike.

Lauren fell in love with ballet when cross-training for competitive gymnastics in 1989. She danced professionally in ballet as a teenager, performing as a soloist in a small Northern California company.  In 1999 she discovered modern dance while studying at The Juilliard School in NYC.  Lauren danced with a variety of small concert dance companies (mostly modern) out of Seattle and abroad while getting her BFA and then Masters in Architecture from the University of Washington and working for design firms.  In 2011 she moved to Port Townsend to start a family.  Lauren has her own residential design business and dances whenever she has the chance.  She loves supporting PTB's mission and sharing her passion for dance with others.

Hi, my name is Jazmin Van Lelyveld. I was born and raised in Port Townsend and have been passionate about dancing for 18 years. I started taking classes at O’Meara Performing Arts Academy when I was 4 and fell in love with the art, the studio and the family. I started teaching tap when I was 16, then later on, contemporary, hip hop, and ballet. I’ve coached and brought students to competition in 2018. My favorite style of dance is contemporary because of how different each choreographer interprets the meaning of the genre, and how much emotion is poured into each dance. Dancing is a practice of vulnerability, and strength and it is where I have found the most healing in my life.  

Rachel Levin is from El Cerrito, CA and received her training at The Ballet Studio in San Francisco and various other studios in the area, as well as summer intensives across the country. She has danced with several small companies in California, including Bay Pointe Ballet, Santa Clara Ballet and Peninsula Ballet Theatre, and spent the last season at Columbia Classical Ballet in South Carolina. Rachel has
taught or assisted with classes and private lessons for students ages 4-adult. When she isn’t dancing, she works as an administrative assistant for a math tutoring center and enjoys baking, reading and going for
long walks.

Peter is a pianist, composer, choir director and hype man in south Jefferson County. After growing up in Seattle playing trumpet in big bands and classical piano, he studied composition at Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio. He moved to the peninsula to spend several seasons farming before resuming performing and teaching music.

Tessie started ballet in 2006 with Hanneke & Co. in Davis, California. She was in biannual shows including the Nutcracker, A Midsummer's Night Dream, La Sylphide, and Coppelia. She stopped dancing in 2015 after a knee injury. These days, she practices yoga and even teaches occasionally.  She still adores dance and the performing arts and is so honored to be a part of the board of directors.

Sarah Dimon has over 25 years of teaching Early Childhood Education in the public schools, and many years as a ballet parent. Sarah’s interest in classical music and art forms has been nurtured through her lifelong love of cello, string ensembles and orchestral repertoire.

Born in Seattle, William, fell in love with the Pacific Northwest from the moment he could start exploring the mountains and coastlines. Besides hiking and outdoor exploration, William is an electronic musician with a knack for digital audio production. He does his best to blend the two by recording sounds from nature and including them in his productions. He has performed his own music around Port Townsend.

​

As a founder of the Ravenswood art community and homestead in 2017, William is interested in bringing together the people of Port Townsend and in cultivating the creativity of groups. He is honored to be a member of Port Townsend Ballet and will be contributing his musical engineering and community-building talents towards the success of this project.