Virtual Dart for Art: Chat with the CTAC School of Ballet

Heather founded Crooked Tree Arts Center School of Ballet in 2003 and presently directs the program, as well as instructs the upper level ballet classes of CTAC School of Ballet.

Heather has dedicated her entire life to dance. Since she was three years old, she was determined to become a ballet teacher and choreographer. Her dancing took her to The Dallas Metropolitan Ballet, Booker T. Washington HSPVA, City Ballet of Houston, Houston Ballet, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Boston Ballet, Hartford Ballet, and Texas Christian University.

In 2010, she received the Dance Teacher Award in New York City, presented by Dance Magazine.

Heather’s choreography has received multiple commissioned collaborations with the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra (2011, 2012, 2019) and was selected to be performed at Midwest RADFest 2020.

Her students have attended the finest summer and year-round programs in the country. Examples include: The Ailey School, American Ballet Theatre, Bolshoi Ballet Academy, Boston Ballet School, Chautauqua School of Dance, Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell, Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet, Houston Ballet Academy, Hubbard Street Dance, Juilliard, Kaatsbaan – Extreme Ballet, Kennedy Center Ballet Master Class Series, Kirov Academy of Ballet, Miami City Ballet School, North Carolina School of the Arts, Northwest Professional Dance Project, Pacific Northwest Ballet School, Pennsylvania Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet School, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, School of American Ballet, Suzanne Farrell’s Cedar Island Program.

Many students who have graduated from CTAC School of Ballet have pursued dance in the university/conservatory setting, become professional dancers, choreographers, dance educators, and production and light designers. Examples include: Boston Ballet Trainee Program, Carolina Ballet contract, Charlotte Ballet contract, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater contract, Dominican University, LINES Training Program, Mercyhurst University, Miami City Ballet contract, New York University, Oregon Ballet Theater contract, SUNY Purchase, Texas Christian University, University of Illinois, University of Michigan.

Heather has directed and co-choreographed over 40 full-length performances. Most notably: Alice In Wonderland, Peter Pan & Wendy, The Wizard of Oz, The Trumpet of the Swan, Cipollino, Cinderella, Fantasia Reimagined, Le Petit Prince, Sleeping Beauty, FLOW, Nutcracker (2013-2019).

In just under two decades, after successfully immersed in the dance world, some of the CTAC School of Ballet alumni have moved back to Northern Michigan and are on the CTAC School of Ballet staff, passionately perpetuating the next generations of dancers.