 Picture by Steve Clarke |
Heather is a dance educator who received her BFA in Dance Education from East Carolina University. While at ECU, Heather received the Outstanding Senior Award in Dance Education as well as performed in several dance productions at the ECU Loessin Playhouse including works by faculty and guest artists. While growing up in Wilmington, NC, Heather studied ballet and has attended workshops at BalletMet, Charlotte City Ballet, and North Carolina School of the Arts. Recently she has continued dancing by attending the American Dance Festival for several summers as well as taking classes and performing in the Triangle Area. Heather currently teaches at Arts Together in Raleigh and Barriskill Dance Theatre School in Durham. She is delighted to be a co-founder of Blank Slate and is excited about the opportunities that the company and it's dancers bring. |
 Picture by Steve Clarke |
Heather Rose graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Boston Conservatory receiving a B.F.A. in dance. She began her training at a young age in Durham, North Carolina where she played an active role in the Triangle Youth Ballet under the direction of Lauren Lorentz de Haas. In her junior year of high school, she ventured to the northern tip of Michigan to attend Interlochen Arts Academy for the remainder of her high school years. She supplemented her training over the summers with distinguished programs including the Joffrey Ballet School, Joffrey Midwest Workshop, North Carolina Dance Theatre, and the American Dance Festival. Upon completion of her Bachelor’s degree, she moved to Florida where she danced with Florida Dance Theatre for one season and Voci Dance for the following three seasons. While performing with Voci Dance, Heather worked diligently in the Polk County School systems as an English teacher. She has recently transitioned back to the RDU area where she works as a 7th grade Language Arts teacher at Durham School for the Arts. This is her first season with Blank Slate Dance. |
 Picture by Steve Clarke |
Erica has been studying dance for twenty-one years in the areas of ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, modern, and gymnastics as well as cross-cultural dance forms. She began her studies at the Thomas Studio of Performing Arts in Pittsburgh, PA , where she was later a member of the Thomas Dance Company. She has recently graduated with honors, earning a degree in Dance Studies and Anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. At UNCG she studied under various artists including BJ Sullivan, Bradley Parquette, Duane Cyrus, Eluza Santos and Jan Van Dyke. She also performed for artists including Lacy James and Clay Daniels. At the American Dance Festival’s Six Weeks School she studied intensively with artists including Brenda Daniels, Jeffrey Bullock, and Ishmael Houston-Jones. In addition to being a member of Blank State, Erica is a dance instructor and the Arts Integration Coordinator at Sallie B. Howard School for the Arts. |
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Carly Cusick began dancing at a young age at Neylon Dance Studio in Concord, Ohio, studying jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical, modern, and hip-hop. She studied dance and psychology at Bowling Green State University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Dance Education. During her time at BGSU, she was an officer and choreographer for the University Dance Alliance. She also had the opportunity to attend and perform at the American College Dance Festival for two years. Since graduating, she has moved to Raleigh, NC, where she began teaching at Expressions of Worship Dance Studio. She enjoys teaching jazz, tap, and ballet, and is very excited to have recently started a modern class at the studio for ages 10 and up. This is her second year dancing with Blank Slate and she is grateful for the opportunities it has provided her. |
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Bethany has over 13 years of Classical Ballet and Pointe training and has also trained in a variety of dances including: Lyrical, Jazz, Spanish, Hip Hop, and African. She began teaching in 2008, and continues furthering her education attending several workshops and conventions across the East Coast studying with notable instructors including: Finis Jhung, Cheryl Cutlip, and Jared Grimes. Currently she teaches Ballet, Pointe and Jazz classes at Dance Attitude in Raleigh North Carolina . Bethany has choreographed several pieces and continues to create new and challenging pieces today. |
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Sarah Adams Bean is a dance teacher at Durham School of the Arts. Sarah studied philosophy and dance at Duke, worked at the American Dance Festival, earned an MFA in Dance from The Ohio State University, and spent ten years in New York City as a dancer, special education teacher, grant writer, and arts education researcher. Since returning to the Triangle, Sarah has performed in dance works by Gaspard Louis and Killian Manning. Sarah is grateful for her inspiring students and for powerful support from family and friends. With love to Chris. |
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Having danced since she was three years old, Lindsay is excited to be joining Blank Slate for her first season with the company. Growing up in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Lindsay studied modern, jazz, ballet, as well as dabbling in bit of tap and acrobatics. There she performed and choreographed for the Out of His Mind Dance Repertoire Company. She went on to continue her studies in dance, focusing on modern and creating her own choreography at Duke University, receiving a minor in dance while also studying psychology and documentary studies. While at Duke she performed regularly and also produced a main stage production accompanied by original piano composition. |
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Erika began dancing at the age of ten in her hometown, Hamilton, NJ. She has studied extensively in ballet, modern, jazz, and contemporary. After moving to North Carolina, when she was fourteen, she became heavily involved in dance. Erika was a member of the Carolina Railhawks Professional Dance Team during the ’08 and ’09 seasons. During her rookie year, she received the Dancer of the Year award. She has also been featured in the Ferreira Costume Catalog. Erika has won other awards, such as a Dance Artistry Award, from her former high school dance program, and the President’s Volunteer Service Award. In high school, Erika was honored to have the title of Dance Captain in the dance company her senior year. Erika has danced all over the country, studying at the prestigious Arizona Jazz Dance Showcase and Complexions Contemporary Ballet Intensive, where she has worked with major names including, Jae Man Joo, Joe Tremaine, and Sherry Zunker. Erika currently teaches dance in the area, as well as Zumba, and is excited to be dancing with Blank Slate this year! |