Born and raised in the coastal redwood mountains of Northern CA, Carlie received her formative ballet training at Trinity Ballet Academy under the tutelage of former ABT soloist Greta Leverett. There she completed the teacher's assistant program and started teaching her own classes as well. When she was 19, Carlie also had the honor of dancing the lead roll of Princess Auroura in The Sleeping Beauty. After receiving her AA in Behavorial Sciences in from College of the Redwoods, Carlie went on to dance with YWAM’s dance ministry team in South Africa, Mexico, NYC, and Hawaii. This is where she had her first introduction to modern movement (which comically was not her favorite).
Carlie then went on to receive her BA in Dance from Belhaven University where she became well versed in Vaganova ballet technique and had the honor of being approved by the Royal Ballet to dance an excerpt from Elliete Syncopations. She also learned to love modern dance (which would come in handy later on). During her time at Balhaven, Carlie spent 4 summers at Central Pensylvania Youth Ballet’s summer intensive, where she learned from a variety of renowned teaches from all over the world.
Carlie then danced a year with Ad Deum 2 in Houston, TX, where she thrived in Horton and Graham modern technique (see how it came in handy there?) before she moved to Minneapolis in 2019 to dance the with contemporary company Vivid Artistry. After 4 years with the company, and after marrying the love of her life, Carlie and her Husband moved to Germany, where she was able to take ballet class and learn from teachers in the Vaganova and Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) method. Her husband’s work then moved them to Phoenix, AZ, where Carlie was able to take class with Ballet Theater of Phoenix.
Throughout all her travels, Carlie has also gained experience teaching ballet, beginning tap, jazz, musical theater, and modern to a variety of ages. She has found that it’s vital to always be learning and adding to your toolbelt no matter where you are. Now that Colorado Springs is finally home (which as you can see from above, the Lord had fun taking His time getting her here), Carlie is so excited to be teaching at Turning Pointe to see what the Lord has in store!