Natalie Calvano

Natalie Calvano has been the owner and artistic director of the Ballet & Performing Arts Centre for 25 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 (Pilobolous) 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.