Colby began his dance training in Fargo, North Dakota at age 15. He attended Queen City Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, River North Dance Chicago, and Boston Ballet summer programs on scholarship before graduating summa cum laude from the University of Arizona with a BFA in Dance Performance.
Since graduating, Colby performed and also choreographed in his seven seasons with Wonderbound (formerly Ballet Nouveau Colorado) which was included on Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch.” In 2017 he joined Charlotte Ballet, where he choreographed and spent five years performing in the company. Colby has also been a principal dancer with the Central City Opera in Colorado.
Throughout his professional career, he has danced and originated roles in the works of Garrett Ammon, Bryan Arias, Rena Butler, Peter Chu, Ma Cong, Duane Cyrus, Mark Godden, Sasha Janes, Kevin Jenkins, Alex Ketley, Maurya Kerr, Zach Morris, Helen Pickett, Danny Pelzig, Filipe Portugal, Chris Stuart, Myles Thatcher, and Robyn Mineko Williams. Colby has also been featured in the works of Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, Val Caniparoli, Javier de Frutos, Johan Inger, Ohad Naharin, Christian Spuck, and Medhi Walerski. One of Colby’s favorite roles was portraying Leonce in Christian Spuck’s Leonce and Lena (Ballett Zürich).
Beyond the concert dance stage, Colby has performed and originated a role in Sweet and Lucky with Third Rail Projects and The Denver Center for the Performing Arts; and he performed in Third Rail’s Bessie award-winning production, Then She Fell, in New York City. Colby is also a credited dancer in the feature film, ‘Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret.’
With over 20 years of dance education and choreographic experience nationwide, Colby’s work has received awards and critical acclaim including first place solos for Universal Ballet Competition and for American Dance Competition Youth International Ballet Competition.