Heather Nelson
Ballet, VPA Chair

heather.nelson@sarasotacountyschools.net

Heather Nelson began her ballet training at the age of eight. In 2002 she was awarded a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ballet, with an emphasis on Instruction and Performance from the University of Utah. She performed professionally for eight years. She danced for four seasons as a member of the San Diego Ballet, where she was privileged to be cast in numerous created and repertoire soloist roles, and another four years as a Featured Dancer and Principal Swing in Donn Arden’s Jubilee! at Bally’s Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. 

 

Mrs. Nelson is a Florida Department of Education Certified teacher, an Associate of the Royal Academy of Dance, and a RAD Registered Teacher, a Certified Teacher of Progressing Ballet Technique, and a Member of the Florida Dance Education Organization. Heather Nelson is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 7 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. 

 

Mrs. Nelson aspires to be a lifelong learner and to pass on the love and joy of ballet that has been so generously shared with her. She has had the opportunity to instruct at numerous public and private institutions, conservatories, and studios for the past 22 years and is currently continuing her studies with the Royal Academy of Dance and University of Bath as a part of the 2020 cohort for the Master of Arts Education (Dance Teaching). She is proud to be a part of the North Port High School faculty as the Visual and Performing Arts Department Chair, Sarasota county’s newest Visual and Performing Arts Magnet and 2020 Florida Arts Model School award recipient from Florida Alliance for Arts Education.

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