Co-Director of Ballet Memphis School
Choreographer for Youth Ballet Memphis
Choreography
ARTIST STATEMENT
As the director of a ballet school, the majority of my work is created on young people during the most formative years of their lives. This privilege shapes every piece I create.
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My work is designed to instill a sense for beauty in dance, but also for beautiful living—empathy, collaboration, and investment in community. Through movement, dancers learn to see one another, to respond with sensitivity, and to understand that individual excellence serves a collective vision.
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The studio becomes a rehearsal for the world I hope these young artists will help create. My choreography shapes not only how they dance, but how they live—as community-minded, empathetic people invested in the future.
HIGHLIGHTED WORKS
MAD RUSH
2025 | Youth Ballet Memphis
11 minutes, 11 students
An alternative title to this work could have been A Beginner's Guide to Meditation. The Philip Glass score was inspired by the Dalai Llama's visit to the United States. A whirlwind meeting of cultures counterpointed by moments of deep stillness and tranquility.
CON BRIO
2024 | Youth Ballet Memphis
10 minutes, 9 students
A celebration of joy's enduring power, Con Brio captures the energy and tempo of Mozart. Like the musical marking itself, which calls for performance "with vigor and spirit," the work explores how youthful joy possesses an inexhaustible stamina, with unwavering brilliance and infectious vitality.
ONE TRICK PONY
2024 | Ballet Memphis
20 minutes, 7 professional dancers
Commissioned for Ballet Memphis' American Roots program, One Trick Pony is a celebration of rural virtues while unpacking the clichés and stereotypes of how country folks are often portrayed in popular culture.
SUNSCREEN
2024 | Youth Ballet Memphis
13 minutes, 10 students
Created for Youth Ballet Memphis' graduating class of 2024, Sunscreen, set to Baz Luhrmann's recording of Mary Schmich's viral article "Wear Sunscreen," is an emotional send-off full of practical advice, levity and deep longing.
SOMN SONGS
2023 | Youth Ballet Memphis
9 minutes, 12 students
Inspired by dreams, Somn Songs takes it's name from the latin root word for sleep. Each student contributed to the work through their own recollections of dreams which were adapted into choreographic vocabulary.
CARNAVAL, OP. 9
2023 | Youth Ballet Memphis
10 minutes, 15 students
Set to Schumann's Carnaval, Op. 9 and paired with poem's written and recorded by Shel Silverstein, this work investigates the follies of conventional wisdom and celebrates the troublemakers who disrupt the status quo.
LES BALLONS
2023 | Youth Ballet Memphis
11 minutes, 12 students
Every year brings more wrinkles, more wisdom... more candles. Les Ballons tackles the shifting sands of birthday rituals using Baden-Badener's humorous album which injects the birthday melody into famed classical staples.
KIDS THESE DAYS
2022 | Youth Ballet Memphis
10 minutes, 8 students
A folk-inspired ode to growing up with plaid couches, shag carpets and phones that connected to the wall. This work explores ideas of heritage, growing pains, and eventually, watching our own children grow up.
CAPTCHA
2022 | Ballet Memphis
16 minutes, 8 professional dancers
CAPTCHA stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. Maybe you've been asked to count the stop lights in a photo, or discern a squiggly number... it seems like sci-fi, but AI is everywhere.
