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North Carolina Dance Theatre’s Education and Outreach Program serves more than 50,000 students annually and is recognized as one of the leading programs in the United States. Extensive curriculum-based education programs and special performances for schools supplement residencies, master classes and library programs. The program supports classroom teachers by developing curriculum resources, educator guides and by offering in-service training. The Education and Outreach Program collaborates with UNC Charlotte, the Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and other non-profit arts organizations and community partners.
Department Staff
Teaching Artists
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April Berry
director of education and outreach
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 April Berry assumed the position of director of education and outreach for North Carolina Dance Theatre in August 2006. Berry also serves as an instructor at the North Carolina Dance Theatre School of Dance.
For the past five years Berry has served as the director of education and community programs for BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio, implementing numerous dance education and outreach programs. She founded and directed YouthMet!, a multicultural teen dance ensemble and the official student performance ensemble for BalletMet’s school and directed the BalletMet Community Outreach Scholarship Program.
Berry was previously an artist-in-residence at Denison University in Ohio and a guest instructor at numerous universities such as UNC Charlotte, The Ohio State University, Indiana State University at Bloomington and the University of Kentucky.
She has served as a board member for the Greater Columbus Arts Council, OhioDance and the Edler G. Hawkins Foundation in New York and as a dance panelist for the Ohio Arts Council, Cuyahoga Arts and Economic Development, Arts and Science Council and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
Berry’s professional training began at the National Academy of Ballet and Theatre Arts in New York and she was a scholarship student at the Dance Theatre of Harlem and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center in New York. She received Master Teacher certification by Katherine Dunham to teach Dunham Technique and was recognized by the International Association for Blacks in Dance for her Outstanding Achievements in the Field of Dance.
Berry is a former principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater or eleven years and performed all around the world with the company. She danced on two Kennedy Center television specials, was a featured dancer on three Ailey Company videos and was featured on two Ailey Company season posters.
Berry feels blessed to have worked with so many world renowned artists/choreographers including Alvin Ailey, Judith Jamison, Hans Van Manen, Donald McKayle, John Butler, Katherine Dunham, Bill T. Jones and danced in works by legendary modern choreographer, Lester Horton. Berry originated roles in Talley Beatty’s jazz ballet, The Stack-Up and in Alvin Ailey’s last choreographic work, Opus McShann.
Pamela Sofras
curriculum consultant
 Pamela Sofras, Professor of Dance at UNC Charlotte, is recognized on the national level as an expert in dance education. She holds a BFA from the Julliard School and a M.Ed. from Lehigh University. As one of the developers of the N.C. dance licensure program, she has been called upon by several states to assist in establishing their frameworks and standards in dance for the public schools. In 1978 - 1990 she maintained an affiliation with the American Dance Festival that included serving as assistant, then associate dean, and founding director of its Young Dancer’s School. In 1995, with colleagues around the country, she assisted editing the National Standards in Dance Education currently in use throughout the USA.
Recently, she has presented pedagogical papers at the Congress on Research in Dance, Dance History Scholars, Focus on Dance Education, National Dance Education Organization, and other notable professional organizations. Published curriculum materials have been created for New Jersey (with the Alvin Ailey Company) South Carolina (with the Southeast Center for Dance in Education), Tennessee (with the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts) and North Carolina (with North Carolina Dance Theatre). The American Dance Legacy Institute engaged her to create the first educational materials for the innovative Repertory Etude Project.
Sofras has presented her work in education conferences in South Africa, Portugal and Egypt. Successful grant awards have included 4 UNC Charlotte CID grants used specifically to develop and broaden curriculum offerings at UNC Charlotte with professional dance works. Most recently, she has formed an innovative partnership with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools and North Carolina Dance Theatre.
This partnership provides an opportunity to implement the lesson materials though professional development workshops in Charlotte Mecklenburg, to assess and evaluate the work and to create CD Rom materials for teachers. Awards have included the North Carolina Dance Alliance Award for Outstanding Service in Dance Education (1994); the College and University Dance Educator of the Year, 1998 – 1999, Southern District American Alliance for Health; Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and the Annual Faculty Award for Sustained Service to Public Schools 2001-2002 from UNC Charlotte.
Alissa Mroz
education and outreach coordinator
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 Alissa Mroz is a recent cum laude graduate of the College of Charleston where she earned a B.A. degree in Arts Management with a minor in Theatre. Last spring she completed an internship with the Education Department of the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, SC.
She has also been an intern with the Piccolo Spoleto Festival and a volunteer at the Charleston Museum and the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry. Growing up in Charlotte, Alissa was active in the arts scene as a Junior Ambassador for the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. Alissa is very excited to be the Education and Outreach Coordinator for North Carolina Dance Theatre!
2007-2008 NC Dance Theatre Teaching Artists:
Skyla Caldwell, A.R.A.D (Associate of the Royal Academy of Dance), trained at the Charlotte School of Ballet under Gay Porter Speer and The Point Park Conservatory in Pittsburgh, Pa., as a scholarship student under the direction of Roberto Munoz. She has danced for the North Carolina Dance Theatre as an apprentice under Salvatore Aiello and Jerry Kumery. Caldwell has also danced at the National Ballet of Cuba under Laura Alonzo in Havana, Cuba, and is associated with the Royal Academy of Dance in London. Caldwell has also danced with the Moving Poets Theater of Dance for the last eight years and is currently Ballet Mistress for The Union County Youth Ballet in Monroe, N.C.
Caroline Calouche has been a Teaching Artist for NC Dance Theatre since 2005, which has given her the opportunity to share her love of dance with several elementary students in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Outside of being a Teaching Artist, she is the artistic and executive director of Caroline Calouche & Co., as well as the director of the Charlotte Dance Festival. She is a native of North Carolina and holds B.F.A. degrees in ballet and modern dance from Texas Christian University. Along with creating new works for Caroline Calouche & Co., she has choreographed for the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance, Gaston Dance Theatre and Contemporary Ballet Dallas. Her work has been performed in the U.S., Austria and Germany in festivals such as the American Dance Festival, Fort Worth Contemporary Dance Festival, North Carolina Dance Festival and the Greensboro Fringe Festival. She has performed with Martha Connerton/Kinetic Works (N.C.), Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth (Texas) and Contemporary Ballet Dallas (Texas) as well as her choreography in festivals. Calouche is a dance and Pilates instructor at North Carolina Dance Theatre School of Dance and The School of Gaston Dance Theatre. She also is a GYROKINESIS® trainer.
Candice Dimmette began her training at the age 6 with Dance with Mitzi Studio in Boonville, NC. She went on to dance with the Appalachian Dance Ensemble at Appalachian State University, performed in small productions while studying at Appalachian State, and performed in the Off-Broadway tap show “Break the Floor” in New York City. She holds a B.S. in health promotion with a minor in dance from Appalachian State and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in teaching with a concentration in dance education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Candice has been teaching for 14 years in private studios, summer camps, fitness centers and pre-schools.
Alexis Ingram is originally from Miami, Fla., and began her dance training at Ballet Etudes of South Florida. She furthered her early training with Marielena Mencia and Rosario Suarez, and continued at New World School of the Arts. She has recently performed with Dance Kaleidoscope, The Indianapolis Opera, Moving Collective and Empujón. In 2003, Alexis graduated from Butler University (Indianapolis) with a degree in Dance Pedagogy, and has since taught at Jordan College Academy of Dance (Indianapolis) and the Louisville Ballet School (Ky.). Ingram is also a trained Pilates instructor and a Licensed Instructor of Nurturing Pathways® Early Childhood Creative Dance.
Gretchen Jax began her studies in Greenville, S.C. She graduated magna cum laude from Winthrop University with a BA in Dance Performance. She performed in Meredith Monk’s Obie Award winning Quarry at the 2003 Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. She has also studied and performed the works of Sandra Neels, David Parsons, Marjorie Palmer Perry and Mary Beth Thompson Duke Young. She was the recipient of the 2000, 2001 and 2002 Alpha Psi Omega Best Choreography Award from Winthrop University. In 2006 she was one of eight selected to study at the School of Jacob’s Pillow Choreographer’s Lab. Gretchen is the co-founder of Sinergismo, a group of dancers, artists, poets, and musicians using collaboration as a means to produce choreographic works. Sinergismo has performed at venues throughout the southeast including the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, Sumter Museum of Art, North Carolina Dance Festival Saturday Series, Friends of North Carolina Dance Theatre and the Charlotte Dance Festival. Gretchen has been a faculty member since 2003.
Kyle Shawell, a native of Philadelphia, studied the art of dance under the direction of renowned teachers such as Pat Thomas, Ruth Adrien, Ronen Koresh and Milton Myers, and was a member of the Philadanco II Dance Company. His education background comes from The Philadelphia School of Dance Arts, Theatre West Virginia, University of the Arts and Winthrop University. Shawell enjoys bringing his knowledge, education and experience in diverse styles of movement to the community.
Lesli Todd began her training at a very early age in her hometown of Mobile, Alabama with her mother Pamela Herndon. After discovering her love of dance she expanded her studies locally, dancing with Mobile Ballet and the Joe Jefferson Players. Todd was also awarded scholarships and studied at Joffrey Ballet, Martha Graham Studio, Steps and the Broadway Dance Center. While living in Chicago she performed with Gus Giorodano Jazz Dance Chicago, Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre and the Of Light and Temptation Project. Her career as a choreographer and teacher began to blossom after returning to her hometown, and in 1999 she began another adventure in the sport of Disc Golf, taking home top honors at the World Championships. Currently in Charlotte, Todd teaches and choreographs for several local studios.
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