Andrea Cooper (Ballet, Tap, Musical Theater) – Andrea began dancing at the age of three and hasn’t stopped. She has received training in tap, ballet and jazz. As a dance student she traveled to Atlantic City each summer to perform in Tony Grant’s Stars of Tomorrow on the Steel Pier. While majoring in textiles and design at the University of Maryland, she continued her dance studies with the University and participated in several variety performances. Upon graduating, and becoming an Air Force wife, she danced and performed with a local performing arts company in Texas. She had the opportunity to assist with the choreography as well as perform in the musical production Brigadoon. After traveling around the United States and Europe, Mrs. Cooper returned to the Washington D.C. area and has resumed her dance studies on a continuing basis, training in both NYC and Washington D.C. each summer. In April 2007, she attended the Dance Open Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Heather Oakley (Ballet, Stretch) – Heather has been studying dance for over 30 years. She has studied with Abigail Francisco, Irena Prochotsky (Washington Ballet Center), Adrienne Dellas (Kirov Academy), and many others. Heather also majored in Ballet with an emphasis on performance at Point Park College in Pittsburgh, PA (Susan Stowe, Nicholas Petrov, Ron Hutson, and others). She has studied at the College of Southern Maryland pursuing a degree in dance. Heather has performed throughout Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania in such ballets as Les Sylphides and La Bayadere as a soloist and in The Nutcracker as Snow Queen and Arabian. In 2009, Heather joined the D.A.R.E. after school program to teach high risk students the joy of dance. She continues to dance and teach throughout the area.
Cati Kingsbury (Fusion/Street Jazz) – Cati started dancing in 1998, taking Brazilian samba/axe classes for fun, before being invited to join a dance show team. As part of the show team, she participated in Dance Festivals throughout South America. She then studied to become a street dance teacher, starting her own dance crew and participating in various local, regional and national tournaments throughout Brazil. Soon after, she began teaching and choregraphing Street Dance in schools in her hometown and helped bring Street Dance as a required class to help teach creativity and movement. In 2014, she traveled to France to represent Brazil in the Just-Debout Competition, performing in commercial campaigns, Brazilian dance shows and had the opportunity to work with the Brazil Ragga Jam team. It was also in 2014 that she was invited to attend the Broadway Dance Center in New York City. Since coming to the United States, she has danced in New York and California before settling in Maryland, where she has been teaching for the past few years.
Julia Walden (Contemporary) – Julia grew up in Apex, North Carolina, where she began dancing at three years old. At Infinity Ballet Conservatory under the direction of Debra Sayles Senchak, Julia trained in every style of dance and was an assistant teacher and substitute teachers for creative movement through adult. She became well versed in the Peggy Willis-Aarnio teaching of the Vaganova method through Debra Sayles Senchat and Horton technique through Cari Lenn Orr (now Cari Lenn Youngkin). After high school, Julia completed the trainee program at the Sarasota Ballet where she performed many classical and neoclassical works. She then joined Ballet Theatre of Maryland as an apprentice in 2022 and was promoted to Corps de Ballet in 2023.
Julia is so happy to continue spreading the love of dance through teaching at the North Beach School of Dance.
Fiona Green (Contemporary) – Fiona has been studying the performing arts for more than 30 years. She has trained in a variety of disciplines of dance including ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, contemporary dance, musical theatre and ethnic dance. Fiona grew up studying at studios throughout New Jersey and New York City with choreographers such as Ann Reinking, Wade Robson, David Howard and Ray Leeper. Fiona’s performance credits include dancing for the Neil Young/Crazy Horse Tour, the Jazz Dance America Invitational at Pace University in New York City, Madison Square Garden for the New York City Knicks and for the movie “Step Up 2.” Most recently, she was on faculty at The Washington Ballet, Joy of Motion Dance Center, and Ballet NOVA teaching jazz dance. In 2013, Fiona graduated with her Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications from West Virginia University. Fiona is currently leading brand content marketing for Amazon Advertising and continues to teach dance in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
Caroline Anderson (Musical Theater, Ballet) – Caroline, a Maryland native, began her ballet training at the age of 3 and studied the Vaganova method under the direction of Anya Ivanova-Bojko, Pasha Kambalov, Kristina Kambalov, and Joan Beatson. She graduated from the School of First State Ballet Theatre in 2018. Caroline had the honor of performing in Viktor Plotnikov’s Hope, which earned 1st place at the 2018 World Ballet Competition in Orlando, Florida and placed in the top 12 at the 2018 Youth America Grand Prix Finals in New York. Caroline also has extensive training in musical theatre under the direction of Richard Mahoney, Chris Rose, and Kathy Cammett. Caroline joined Ballet Theatre of Maryland in 2018; this will be her 6th season with the company. Some of her favorite roles she has performed with the company include Cupid in Don Quixote, Spanish Girl in The Nutcracker, and Blue Trio in American Ballads. In 2022 she had the opportunity to perform at the Kennedy Center for Christmas in Ukraine with the Ukrainian musical ensemble Gerdan.
Elizabeth Lawton (Yoga) – Elizabeth is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and Yoga Teacher. Her personal health and wellness journey began in 1993 with a meditation practice which soon progressed to a Yoga Asana practice. In 2007, Elizabeth certified as a Holistic Health Practitioner and she continued pursuing a variety of wellness certifications. Today, Elizabeth specializes in Yoga and Mindfulness for Youth Athletes, and combines a variety of restorative modalities to complement youth and adult yoga classes and holistic longevity programs.