Ann Conrad began dancing at the age of 6 at Du Fresne Dance Arts under the direction of Diane Contreras, who was trained by Madame Du Fresne herself. Ann continued studying Ballet and Jazz at Du Fresne Dance Arts for 6 years before she was introduced to Cindy Trueblood at Civic Dance Center. At Civic Dance Center she resumed her Ballet and Jazz training and earned her first role in the annual performance of The Nutcracker. Four years later she was accepted to Contra Costa Ballet under the direction of Richard Cammack and Zola Dishong. It was there that she was chosen to dance with many well known choreographers such as Michael Smuin and Schorer. The next 2 years, Ann stayed in the Bay Area to dance at both Contra Costa Ballet and San Francisco Ballet Company and was chosen once again to perform in The Nutcracker with Contra Costa Ballet.

Ann returned to Bakersfield in 1993 with the intention of returning to the local production of The Nutcracker. Cindy then asked her to start teaching ballet at Civic Dance Center in 1994 and has been teaching ever since. While teaching at Civic Dance Center she was given the opportunity to set award winning choreography for Troupe Civic and Mad Dance Krew. At this time she also served as Ballet Mistress for Imagine Ballet Company for several years. Ann recently celebrated her 30th year of either directing, performing or both, with Civic Dance Center’s Nutcracker. Ann also has a very strong Basque heritage and continued her dance and music training while attending many Basque music camps from 1980-1993. Along with her involvement with Civic Dance Center, Ann is currently serving as Ballet Mistress for Bakersfield City Ballet.