Meet Carrie | Best Dance Studio | Best Dance Studio Performance
MEET CARRIE
best dance studio | best studio performance nominee
rva dance awards
I am honored to be nominated for both Best Dance Studio and Best Studio Performance Company. As an educator, you hope to grow your students, but it is truly a privilege for that growth to be recognized. I believe that teaching children is a gift. There is no greater joy than to envelop a child into a world of creative expression, movement, and passion for the art of dance. Children are the next generation of dancers and without diversifying their training, dance would never evolve.
When I started college, as a dance and choreography major at VCU, I had never taken a modern dance class. Since most college programs are primarily modern-based, it didn’t make sense that modern was not accessible to young dancers. When I started teaching at Chesterfield Dance Center, during my sophomore year, it became my goal to bring modern into the studio. As I introduced this foreign technique, I would adjust the curriculum, and adapt my teaching in accordance to how the students and parents reacted. Over time, I found the ideal modern aesthetic for CDC, started to fill the gap in young dancers’ training, and was able to watch the studio grow into a contemporary age alongside the dance world.
In 2002, I moved to NYC to pursue a performance career, but while there, I realized that my true passion in dance was with my students. I moved back to Virginia, returned to Chesterfield Dance Center, and in 2006, bought the studio.
That same year, I founded dELIRIUM, our in-house youth company, and began competing on the East Coast. dELIRIUM has grown from 7 members to 58, winning numerous awards for their artistry, and I couldn’t have done it all on my own. Katherine Martyak, dELIRIUM’s co-director, plays a huge role in the success and growth of the company.
In 2009 I joined rva dance collective, and performed around the Richmond and D.C. area. In 2010 we were the recipients of the Theresa Pollak Excellence in Arts Award in dance. After two seasons, and an injury, I resigned from the company to focus solely on the studio.
As I aged, and the business grew, teaching became harder and harder. Today, I have passed the modern torch to other teachers, and mostly teach conditioning. Focusing on anatomy, strength, nutrition, and prolonging dancer’s careers; my passion has evolved into making sure students are able to dance well into their adult life.
Fun Fact:
I was a competitive roller skater (just like ice, but on wheels) before I found dance. My coach wanted me to to add a dance class to my training to help with my grace in my freestyle routines, and I eventually chose dance over skating.