Charisse Ponder is a teacher, choreographer, and dancer working for over 40 years in the Twin Cities and Northfield communities. She is a classically trained ballet dancer who carries this instruction into all her works. She has studied at the Joffrey Ballet and a variety of schools in New York City. She has performed with St. Paul Classical Ballet, Minnesota Dance Theater, Prairie Home Companion, Joe Chvala's Flying Foot Forum Residency, Four Seasons Dance, and the Young Dance All Abilities Classes. Charisse has been teaching with Young Dance All Abilities Classes in the classroom and outreach programs. She is currently teaching Young Dance's online All Abilities Class and has been teaching this online class since 2022 and has contributed to developing the Young Dance curriculum. She has attended training for working with dancers with disabilities through Spark Inclusive Arts and Young Dance.