The former owner of Boulder’s only competitive dance studio has been indicted by a grand jury on 21 felony charges, including theft, fraud, forgery and attempting to influence a public servant.
The charges against Cindy Burdine, 50, were filed March 27 and follow a Boulder Reporting Lab investigation into the collapse of Frequency Dance, which documented unpaid bills, fraud allegations and complaints from parents who said they were billed for services and competitions that never occurred.
Prosecutors also appear to link the charges to a reported break-in at the South Boulder studio in July 2023.
Security footage from July 28, 2023, appeared to show two people entering the studio. The next morning, Burdine told police that spray paint covered nearly every surface, furniture had been destroyed, and large mirrors were shattered.
Boulder police issued a press release at the time describing a “dance studio burglary” and vandalism possibly by male teenagers. Local news outlets quickly disseminated the story. Burdine later told Boulder Reporting Lab she filed an insurance claim.
“Absolutely, we did,” she said. “It was quite extensive, unfortunately.”
“We did pretty well,” she added. “I felt like they took care of us until we could almost reopen fully again.”
No one was arrested in connection with the break-in. Investigators later shifted their focus to Burdine. Some parents questioned whether the incident had been staged, an allegation Burdine has denied.
Eighteen of the charges stem from July 29, 2023, the day after the reported break-in, including multiple counts related to insurance fraud.
The most serious charge is theft of an amount between $100,000 and $1 million, which carries a minimum sentence of four years in prison, a $3,000 fine, or both. At the time of the alleged burglary, Boulder police estimated “more than $100,000 worth of damage.”
The other charges are Class 4 to 6 felonies.
In January, multiple sources told Boulder Reporting Lab that the Colorado Attorney General’s Office was investigating Burdine and asking questions related to the 2023 break-in.
Read: How a Boulder youth dance studio unraveled amid fraud allegations and unpaid bills
Burdine now has an active warrant for her arrest in Thornton, according to the Thornton Police Department. Former employees say she lives there, though the charges were filed in Boulder County.
“Seeing the indictment come through was a relief,” said Carly Knudson, a former employee. “There’s not much more to say about it except that it’s a silver lining around a very dark period of my life. It feels freeing that maybe there will be accountability for all of the damage that has been done to so many people.”
As of Friday, April 3, Burdine had not been arrested. Her bond has been set at $10,000.
Burdine’s indictment follows years of fraud allegations and complaints from dance studio clients.
Last fall, parents contacted both the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office and Boulder police, alleging they were overbilled for services that were never provided and dance competitions their children did not attend. Police closed that case but referred parents to the Attorney General’s Office, which is handling the fraud investigation.
A former employee filed a wage theft lawsuit after she stopped receiving pay. Around the same time, roughly a dozen families withdrew their children from the studio over billing concerns.
Soon after, the studio’s landlord sued for more than $48,000 in unpaid rent. The business was evicted in January.
Boulder Reporting Lab previously reported that, over five years, Burdine defaulted on $60,000 in loans, received more Paycheck Protection Program loans than allowed under federal rules, and failed to pay thousands of dollars owed to local businesses and government entities.
She has communicated with her former business partner, Kirsten Leslie, only through attorneys. A parent familiar with the situation alleged Burdine opened a credit card in Leslie’s name without her knowledge, which Burdine has denied.
The studio, originally called Kinesis Dance, was rebranded as Frequency Dance in March 2025 under a new LLC in her daughter’s name.
On Dec. 8, 2025, the studio — by then operating as Frequency Dance — abruptly closed.
In February, Burdine appeared to take steps to open another studio, JC Dance & Company, in Wheat Ridge. At the time, FrequencyDance.com redirected to the new business.
Burdine did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
This was triggering for me because I was falsely accused of having stollen from my company and faced charges. My case was dismissed after prosecutors found out it was a mistake by the media. When I read the initial story you produced, I wasn’t able to formulate an opinion for myself on what was happening and I was worried something might have spun out of control for the owner in thinking she was being attacked unfairly by others in the community….and I wondered if she was having difficulty defending herself like I was. This latest story allowed to me come to an opinion that this is all really bad, there are too many charges of different types for so many different things. In retrospect, I appreciate that I wasn’t able to formulate an opinion early on, it shows you were investigating and reporting without trying to prosecute by media.