Dori Santarsiere started training in all forms of dance at the age of eight with Joan Golden in her small desert community of California.  At age eleven she began to study at Inland Pacific Ballet of Montclair, California.  Under the direction of Victoria Koenig, she benefited from master teachers Janek Schergen, Maria Veigh and Rebecca Wright.  Dori has also studied on scholarship with the Joffrey Ballet, Ben Stevenson’s Houston Ballet Academy, the Edge Performing Arts Center, Ballet Austin and Lou Conte Dance Center.  Some of her favorite rolls include Choo San Goh’s Beginnings, Balanchine’s Who Cares, Clara and Dew Drop Fairy in The Nutcracker, Peasant Pas in Giselle and The Dying Swan.  Dori danced professionally with Houston Ballet and Ballet Austin before joining Hubbard Street 2 in January of 2003.  There she performed works by Robert Battle, Katarzyna Skarpetowska and Harrison McEldowney as well as the opportunity to work with choreographers Alex Ketley and Azure Barton.  In 2004 she was accepted into Harrington College of Design where she graduated with high honors in August 2006 with a BFA in Interior Design and a minor in Architecture.  Dori is a Power Pilates Certified instructor and also teaches all forms of dance throughout Chicago as well as for the youth dance program at the Menomonee Club for Boys and Girls.  She returns for her third season with Thodos Dance Chicago.