Kalista J’lyse Kafana is a professionally trained dancer, choreographer, and now teacher. She started her training at a very young age. Growing up, she has trained throughout the United States for summer and winter intensives, to name a few, BalletX, The Joffrey Ballet, Cirque du Soleil Las Vegas, American Ballet Theater… but her main training has been in Ohio, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, PA, and New York City. She has performed in many ballet’s and pieces, some of her favorites include, Balanchine’s “Western Symphony'', Gulnare from “Le Corsaire'', Rose Waltz from “Beauty and the Beast, Balanchine’s “Tarantella'', Amy Hall Garner’s, “A Jungle Swing'', Jamie Murphy’s “Here in this Room”, and Janice Rosarios, “Brink''. One of J’lyse’s biggest privileges has been dancing in Buglisi Dance Theaters, “9/11 Table of Silence '' at Lincoln Center in 2020 and 2021. J’lyse has been teaching and choreographing dance since she was 16 years old with experiences in choreographing for events such as the West Virginia Dance Festival, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive Program and Choreography Program, the event, “Global Harmony”, through Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City where only 10 dancers pieces are picked amongst hundreds, and for various dance schools ballets and productions throughout. J’lyse has also been a guest, professional teacher for multiple programs and events, such as Ballet In the City’s Summer Intensive in Saratoga, NY and was the first teacher under 25 to be asked to be an instructor for The West Virginia Dance Festival held in Charleston, WV in 2023. She has also been invited to come back to be an instructor for the festival for the 2024 program. J’lyse continues to work in outreach programs to provide dance to the community of the Ohio Valley.

J’lyse is trained through the Youth Protection Advocates in Dance (YPAD) and in Darkness to Light. J’lyse is a certified American Ballet Theatre Trained Ballet Instructor, Levels Pre Primary through Level 5. Through ABT’s National Training Curriculum, J’lyse offers her students the best practices in the ballet pedagogy with full understanding of student development and dance anatomy and psychology. She is currently working on a choreography degree through a school in Europe under the tutelage of Rick Tija. Along with her dance, choreography, and teacher training, J’lyse is a certified Yoga Instructor, Flex Instructor, and a Progressive Ballet Technique Instructor. She discovered yoga and the benefits that yoga has at a young age as a part of her dance training. She wanted to pursue a more in depth training to be able to share the benefits that yoga has to offer to others. J’lyse is a certified RYT 500 hour yoga instructor through Yoga Alliance with training through My Vinyasa Practice and Online Yoga School. She is also a registered RCYT through Yoga Alliance with training through YogaED, with specialty in Trauma Informed Yoga for Childrens, Teens, and Adults. She has taught Yoga in Pittsburgh, PA and locally. All of J’lyse’s passions stem from all of her experiences she’s got training at various, prestigious companies and schools in the United States.