Ms. Emily is so excited for the upcoming year at Not Just Dance! She comes with a strong classical Ballet background, instilled by years of training at some of the most prestigious ballet schools and companies, in the US and abroad. Her training began at the Raleigh School of Ballet, where she danced in their youth company through middle school. When Emily was in high school, she joined the Washington School of Ballet’s Pre-professional division on full-scholarship and performed with the Young Dancers of the Washington Ballet for three years; Dancing in many classical ballets including Giselle, Swan Lake, Paquita, and the Nutcracker. She was often chosen to perform with the Washington Ballet company in performances at the Kennedy Center, including the role of Melancholy from the Four Temperaments, partnering with Kevin MacKenzie. In addition, Emily auditioned for and was accepted to many summer intensive programs including Atlanta Ballet, Houston Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, School of American Ballet and Chautauqua Institute.
At the age of 16, Emily was accepted by Oleg Vinogradov at the prestigious Kirov Ballet Academy and was placed in the pre-professional (boarding) school on full scholarship, sponsored by reverend Sun Myung Moon, of the Unification Church. Here she was delighted to perform throughout the United States and abroad, and before graduation, she was featured in New York at reverend Moon’s birthday gala, in the “Russian Dance” role from Swan Lake. Not long after, Emily joined the apprentice program for the Kirov Ballet in St. Petersburg Russia. After touring for two seasons, Emily was offered a soloist position at Indianapolis ballet before ultimately deciding to go to college, due to a reoccurring hip and knee injury.
Post ballet career, Emily has been teaching ballet to all ages from toddlers to adults. She also works with gymnasts to fine tune their dance skills and has her Power Pilates and VBarre Certifications, with nearly 10 years experience in group exercise. She has taught stretch classes for both dancers and non-dancers and although she works full-time in finance, her passion is teaching and sharing the value of keeping the body healthy, strong and flexible.
Emily is married, with two daughters, Paige and Liliana. (and dog mom to Izzy, the border collie mix). In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, going to see live music, camping, hiking and baking.
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