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Natalie Calvano

Ballet-Pointe-PBT

Natalie Mizell Calvano has been the owner and artistic director of the Ballet & Performing Arts Centre for 27 years. Natalie is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ballet & Modern Dance. She attended Meredith College for two years and was also a member of the Meredith Dance Theater. She studied at the Raleigh School of Ballet, Greensboro Ballet & UNCSA. She has had the honor of working with Rick McCullough, Jan Van Dyke, John Gamble, Carol Richard, Liz Lerman and Jack Arnold to name a few. Along with her degree in dance, Natalie has also taught in various studios throughout NC. In 1997, she received a grant through Smart Start with which she developed a creative movement program for preschoolers called "Storybook Dancing". She has also been the director of dance at Forsyth Country Day School Summer Quest program. In 1998, she was the Owner & Artistic director at Sandhills Dance and Performing Arts where she staged full productions such as "The Nutcracker,” “Sleeping Beauty” and "Cinderella". She produces the full length ballet, The Nutcracker annually at Reynolds Auditorium. She recently became certified to instruct Progressing Ballet Technique classes with Marie Walton-Mahon, and has also developed a preschool dance program called “Little Leapers” at St. Paul’s Preschool.

Faculty

Our faculty possesses a shared passion for the performing arts and is fully committed to the development and training of our students. Our instructors come from various training backgrounds with an impressive list of credentials including dance degrees, professional dance careers, and countless years of teaching experience.  Having worked in various aspects of their field, they each bring their expertise and knowledge into the classroom. BPAC's faculty members place a strong emphasis on technique, proper placement achieved through anatomical awareness, and overall performance quality. Our instructors strive to develop strong, versatile dancers who will be recognized for excellence. 

BPAC has created a carefully structured program designed to produce technically proficient dancers within each class level. Our friendly, motivating staff members use positive reinforcement to help inspire and challenge BPAC students as they advance through our progression of class levels. BPAC is dedicated to offering each student a solid technical foundation within a safe, nurturing learning environment. BPAC promotes a positive learning atmosphere in which dancers are encouraged to excel and challenged to reach their full potential. Our goal is to cultivate young dancers into well-rounded individuals who have not only an appreciation for dance but who reach for high achievement in academic and community service, as well. We are deeply committed to helping create and nurture lifelong values in each of our students. 

Whether your child dreams of pursuing a dance career or simply attends class just for fun, BPAC's amazing staff is sure to instill strong character qualities and inspire a passion for dancing that will last a lifetime.

 

Meghan Wham

Jazz-Contemporary-Hip Hop

Meghan was born and raised in Winston-Salem. She began dancing at the age of three at the Ballet and Performing Arts Centre under Natalie Mizell-Calvano. While studying at Queens University of Charlotte, Meghan joined the Queens Dance Club. She became the ballet and lyrical choreographer and choreographed pieces for multiple shows at Queens. She graduated with a degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Spanish. Meghan is currently teaching second grade at Vienna Elementary School. Due to her love of BPAC, Meghan couldn't stay away and became one of the instructors and a lead coach for the competition teams. Meghan loves sharing the gift of dance with her students and watching them grow into beautiful dancers.

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Dee Dee Rosner

Guest Artist

Ballet-Pointe

Deborah, “Dee Dee” is a graduate of North Carolina School of the Arts, and considers North Carolina her home. After working as a soloist with The Romanian National Opera and Ballet Oleg Danovski, she has returned home (Winston-Salem). During her time previously in the USA, she was teaching at Artistic Motion School of Arts in Greensboro, using the Vaganova Method. She also taught at the UNCSA prep program summer intensive and guest taught in several other schools in North Carolina and West Virginia.

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Erik Floor

Tap & Musical Theatre

A native of Cary, Il, Erik started tapping with his older sisters at age 6. After graduating from Cary Grove High School, he attended Millikin University and earned a BA in Theatre. While at Millikin, he was a member of their Dance Ensemble and also sang with the award winning vocal jazz group, “One Voice”.

In association with the Entertainment Design Group, Erik was a featured Dancer in many industrials across the country including Ceasar’s Palace, the Indianapolis Pacers, and Atlanta’s 4th of July Parade.

After college, Erik moved to New York and has performed in over 25 regional productions including: Singing in the Rain, The Producers, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Avenue Q, The Drowsy Chaperone, West Side Story, Evita, The Will Rogers Follies, Dames at Sea, I Do! I Do!, Backwards in High Heels, and Jesus Christ Superstar. His commercial and television credits include: Shoe Carnival, Target, Samsung, Gossip Girl, Kings, Cupid, HBO's Boardwalk Empire. Erik is a proud member of Actor's Equity and the Screen Actors Guild.

Erik and his talented wife Annie left NY in 2011 to pursue a different career path, and raise their 3 beautiful girls. More recently, Erik has focused on being a Musical Theatre clinician, dance teacher and Dad. He is focused on helping young dancers broaden their skill sets and become more complete people, students, and performers.




Madeline Douglas

Madeline Douglas is a North Carolina based dancer, teacher, and choreographer. She started dancing at the age of 7. She graduated from East Carolina University in May of 2022 with a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography as well as a Certificate of Entrepreneurship. While at ECU, Madeline performed in numerous student and faculty works. She was selected as the Student Choreographer in 2021 to present her work in a faculty show. She also received an Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Award where she created a stunning 21 minute long piece. Madeline received additional training from the UNCSA Choreographic Residency Summer Intensive in 2019, Virtual Urbanity Summer Dance Intensive in 2021, and Visceral Dance Company Summer Intensive in 2022. Additionally, Madeline owns and runs her own dancewear business, Alinement Dancewear. Madeline received an Accelerate Rural NC summer grant, an ECU I-Corps summer grant, and an Innovation Design Lab Fellows summer Grant in 2021 for her business. She was also a finalist at ECU’s Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge. Madeline plans to passionately pursue her business, continuing to make custom and ready-to-ship dancewear, as well as custom costumes, alongside her dance career. Madeline is so excited to work with BPAC!

SHERRIE SMITH

TUMBLING

Hi my name is Sherrie Smith, a native of Davie County. I have been coaching tumbling and competitive cheer for 18 seasons. I have coached little tots, and ages 3 to adults. I am certified level 1 through 5 with the USASF.

While I work as a full time dental hygienist during the day, my true passion is watching athletes reach their tumbling goals. The confidence it brings is unmatchable. In 2020, just before the pandemic began, several dancers reached out and wanted to learn tumbling skills. I explained I knew nothing about dance, but would be honored to coach them. I was elated to give them tumbling skills that they could perform on the dance floor. I started researching and took a few "acro" instructor classes to understand the differences between dance and cheer. I found the sessions fascinating and have loved stepping into the dance world.