Artistic Staff

Suzann DeLay

Founding Director/Executive Director

Co-Owner, Central Indiana Academy of Dance

suzannd@cidedance.org 

Suzann Siler DeLay received her early dance training in California with Deane and Barbara Crockett, founders of The Sacramento Ballet. She went on to dance a variety of contemporary and classical roles while a member of The Sacramento Ballet. She also had a brief career with Pacific Northwest Ballet until injury forced her to retire. She has been fortunate to study with some of the master teachers of our time such as Violette Verdy, Robert Barnett, Robert Joffrey, Janet Reed, and David Howard just to name a few. Suzann appeared in several musicals including Princess and the Pea and Lil’ Abner. She has also appeared in several PBS specials in the California area.

Suzann has taught, choreographed and performed throughout the United States, including the official School for Sacramento Ballet, and occasionally teaches for the Contemporary Dance Department at Indiana University. She brings with her a vast knowledge of classical ballet and has taught Ballet, Pointe, Variations and Pas de Deux to students six through adult. She also specializes in a creative dance program for children ages three through six. She has been recognized with numerous awards for choreography works in ballet and contemporary.

In 1999, Suzann founded the Central Indiana Dance Ensemble, which is successfully celebrating their 25th season. Alumni of Central Indiana Academy of Dance have gone on to professional careers with Ballet West, Dayton Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Nashville Ballet II, Nevada Ballet, Boston Ballet and North Carolina Dance Theatre. In addition many alumni have been accepted with scholarships to top level summer intensives, residencies and universities.

In 2009, she opened Central Indiana Academy of Dance to provide pre-professional training for the resident pre-professional company, Central Indiana Dance Ensemble, an honor company with Regional Dance America. In 2012 & 2014 Central Indiana Academy of Dance was awarded the Youth American Grand Prix “Outstanding School” Award.

She has been honored by being on the cover of the December 2008 issue of Indianapolis Woman and was invited and attended the National Teachers Weekend at the School of American Ballet in 2010. She is the former President for the Mid-States Board of Directors of Regional Dance America. Most recently, she was awarded the Outstanding Citizen Award from Carmel Mayor Sue Finkham, and the Distinguished Hoosier Award from Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb.

Trained in Cecchetti and Russian techniques, she was a student of the Crockett’s for many years and is dedicated to carrying on their teachings. Suzann is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 5 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.

Ashley Jacobs

Artistic Director, Central Indiana Dance Ensemble

Co-Owner, Central Indiana Academy of Dance

Ashley began her formal ballet training at the age of 10 with Suzann DeLay, and was a founding member of the Central Indiana Dance Ensemble. While with CIDE, she performed soloist roles such as the Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Queen, and Rose in The Nutcracker, Alice in Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella in Cinderella, and Wendy in Peter Pan.

While dancing Ashley attended summer programs with The Washington Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Boston Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre.

Ashley attended the University of Utah as a ballet major, and in her sophomore year transferred to Indiana University to study in the Contemporary Dance Program, where she received the Jane Fox Dance Scholarship from the Kinesiology Department. While at IU she danced with The Ben Munisteri Dance Company of New York City, Connie Denapoli from Paul Taylor Dance Company and The Liz Lerman Dance Exchange of Washington D. C.

In addition to performing, she was a featured choreographer in IU’s “Hammer and Nail 2008”. She has choreographed for the Central Indiana Dance Ensemble and was recognized at the Regional Dance America - MidStates Festival held in Indianapolis.

Ashley has taught at many local studios, including Indiana University’s Pre-College Dance Program, and was an assistant teacher for the freshman dance major’s modern class at IU. Ashley is currently a supervising teacher for Butler University’s Ballet Department Pedagogy Major.

Ashley graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Dance Performance.

Ashley is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 5 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. Ashley was also recently certified in all three levels of Progressing Ballet Technique.

paul tillman

rehearsal director and assistant to the artistic director, central indiana dance ensemble

In addition to performing, Tillman has choreographed a number of original pieces for Ballet Arkansas, “Gymnopedies” and “Chaconne” (both in collaboration with Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s Interim Artistic Director, Geoffrey Robson.), “Chimera”, “Awanyu”, “Umbra”, and “Echo”. He has also choreographed and directed an original full length “Peter Pan” ballet for Blackbird Academy of Arts. Most recently, Tillman created an entirely original full-length “Beauty and the Beast” ballet for CIDE’s 25th anniversary season.

Tillman taught dance in the Central Arkansas area for over 12 years and was the Education Director at Rock City Dance Center in Little Rock. Most recently he was the Associate Artistic Director of Tupelo Ballet in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Tillman is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique. He is very excited to join the CIDE Artistic Staff and CIAoD faculty, and looks forward to working with such dedicated staff and students!

Megan tillman

Ballet mistress and communications coordinator, Central Indiana dance ensemble

Megan Tillman (Hustel) is from Carmel, Indiana. She began her pre-professional training with Suzann DeLay at the Central Indiana Academy of Dance and Central Indiana Dance Ensemble. She went on to earn her BFA in Ballet Performance from the Department of Ballet at the University of Utah. There, Megan was a member of Utah Ballet and Ballet Ensemble where she performed in various contemporary works and classical ballets, most notably as Russian Girl in George Balanchine’s Serenade, and Swanhilda in René Daveluy’s Coppelia.

During her eight seasons with Ballet Arkansas, Megan was featured in works by renowned choreographers Ma Cong, Yoshito Sakuraba, Mariana Olivera, Chris Stuart, and Kiyon Gaines. She appeared in featured roles in Michael Fothergill’s Chiaroscuro, Ink, Dracula, and most recently in the world premiere of Sleepy Hollow as Katrina. Megan additionally had the privilege of performing in George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Glinka Pas de Trois, Valse Fantaisie, and Donizetti Variations, and in classical favorites including as Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, Odette in Swan Lake, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Swanhilda in Coppelia, and the Sugar Plum Fairy, Dew Drop Fairy, and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker.

A dedicated educator, Megan taught ballet at multiple studios in the Central Arkansas area for seven years, serving as the Ballet Director for Blackbird Academy of Arts and Rock City Dance Center Conway and most recently the Associate Artistic Director for Tupelo Ballet in Tupelo, Mississippi. Certified in Progressing Ballet Technique, Megan is passionate about helping dancers enhance their stability, posture, and overall well-being.

After years of performing and teaching across the country, Megan is thrilled to be returning to Central Indiana Academy of Dance and Central Indiana Dance Ensemble. She looks forward to passing on the tradition and love of ballet to the next generation of dancers.

anna sierra

Youth Director, Central Indiana Dance Ensemble

Anna Sierra (Davis) began her ballet training at Maryland Youth Ballet under Hortensia Fonseca, Michelle Lees, Rhodie Jorgenson, and Ethan Brown. She continued her training on full scholarship at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C., studying under Vaganova Academy of Ballet graduates and scholars Ludmila Morkovina and Marianna Lobanova. During her time at the Kirov Academy, Anna performed roles including Cupid in Don Quixote, the Mirliton Pas de Trois in The Nutcracker, and the Jewel Fairies in The Sleeping Beauty. She also competed in Youth America Grand Prix, placing in the top three and performing as a classical soloist at the New York City Finals in 2012 and 2013.

In 2014, Anna attended the School of American Ballet's Summer Program in New York City on full scholarship and was subsequently invited to join SAB's prestigious year-round program. At SAB, Anna trained under Jonathan Stafford, Kay Mazzo, Jock Soto, Suki Schorer, Darci Kistler, Susan Pilarre, and Katrina Killian. During her time at SAB, she performed with New York City Ballet, the New York Choreographic Institute, and in the School of American Ballet Workshops. She was also selected to perform in SAB's renowned Lecture-Demonstrations.

Anna had the opportunity to perform works by George Balanchine, including La Source, Western Symphony, Theme and Variations, Jewels, and Stars and Stripes. She also had the privilege of learning choreography from and working with acclaimed choreographers Christopher Wheeldon, Justin Peck, Peter Martins, and William Forsythe. During her final two years at SAB, Anna assisted with teaching younger dancers.

While training at the School of American Ballet, Anna was dually enrolled at Liberty University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with an Associate of Arts degree. She graduated from the School of American Ballet in 2018.

Following her training, Anna began her professional career with Indianapolis Ballet, where she performed an extensive repertoire of both classical and contemporary works. Her Balanchine repertoire included Serenade, Allegro Brilliante, Jewels, The Four Temperaments, Who Cares?, Valse Fantaisie, and Raymonda Variations. She also performed numerous roles in full-length and classical productions including Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Paquita, Carmen, The Firebird, The Nutcracker, and many others.

Throughout her professional career, Anna remained passionate about education and outreach. She taught ballet at the Indianapolis School of Ballet and participated in community outreach programs, including Indy Classrooms. In 2021, Anna joined the faculty of CIAoD, where she continues to share her knowledge, experience, and love of ballet with the next generation of dancers.

Guest Faculty

• Oleg Gorboulev

• Kristin Hakala

• Svetlana Kravtova

• Eddy Ocampo

• Vadium Pijicov

• Judy Rice

• Richard Rein

• Zhanna Sinitsyna

• Price Suddarth

• Mara Vinson

• Tong Wang

Guest Choreographers

• Rachel Secrest

• Paul Tillman

• Joe Istre

• Eddie Moffat

• Richard Rein

• Ashley (Sass) Walton

• Price Suddarth

• Tong Wang

• Eddy Ocampo

• Mauro Villanueva

• Mary Geiger