Anaka Weiss-Jones

Anaka Weiss-Jones was born and raised in Colorado. She began dancing in the Boulder area at age 8, most notably under Jayne Persch. In 2018, she joined the inaugural year of the Ballet Melange Training Program in Denver, CO, under the excellent instruction of Elizabeth Shipiatsky and Sergii Sydorskyi (a National Artist of Ukraine). She attended summer intensives at Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Ballet X, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Theater, Colorado Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and the Chautauqua Institution.

In 2020, Anaka competed at the International Ballet Competition in Kyiv, Ukraine, where she was awarded several Special Judges Awards and offered a job with Klaipeda State Music Theater in Lithuania for the 2021-2022 season. While in Lithuania, her repertoire included notable works by, among others, Edward Clug and Robert Bondara.

Upon moving back to the United States in 2022, Anaka joined David Taylor’s Zikr Dance Ensemble, where she continues to tour with the company throughout Colorado and New Mexico. She was promoted to Assistant Artistic Director in the spring of 2025.

As a dancer, Anaka currently enjoys a vibrant freelance career in Denver, CO, and New York City. She has performed with New Chamber Ballet, the Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s Pre-Professional Program (including a gala-night performance at the company’s 30th anniversary season at the Joyce theater), Boulder Ballet, Maureen Breeze Dance Theater, Ballet Melange, Connecticut Ballet, Ballet Taos, New York Emerging Artist’s Project, Neglia Ballet, and AVID Dance.