/Guest Educators/

Michelle Dawley


Michelle

STYLE: Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical, Improv

CLASS DESCRIPTION: I teach a technically focused class that encourages and empowers dancers to believe in themselves and push past their fears and comfort zones. My emotionally driven choreography and positive spirit creates a safe environment for young students to grow their own artistry while feeling safe enough to express themselves.

“Beyond producing brilliant choreography and high level training, my purpose as an educator and influencer is to inspire and empower my students while setting an example of what it means to be a strong, confident, yet kind human being. I believe that confidence is the most vital component to movement and can drastically change a dancer’s quality in a matter of seconds with the right mind set. Whether I am working as a choreographer on set, coaching athletes or training the next generation of young dancers, my purpose and my strength lies in unlocking this confidence and utilizing it in conjunction with a strong base of movement knowledge, taking all of my clients to the next level. 

Every day I am thankful and so fulfilled to be able to spread my message and share my purpose as well as learn more about myself through this type of work that I do.”

BIO: Originally from Calgary Alberta Canada, Michelle Dawley has been perfecting her craft for over 20 years by training in all genres of dance at prestigious institutions such as the National Ballet School of Canada, The Randolph Academy of Performing Arts, The School of Alberta Ballet and the International School Of Ballet. Michelle has also worked as an assistant to many renowned choreographers such as Ray Leeper, Dee Caspary and Sonya Tayeh on So You Think You Can Dance as well as being a proud member of Sonya Tayeh’s Dance Company.

As a highly sought after and internationally acclaimed dancer, Michelle has had the privilege to be very busy working on many different projects such as; The American Music Awards, The Voice, XFactor, MTV VMA’s, The Academy Awards, The BET Awards, 106 & Park, performing with Principal dancers from the American Ballet Theatre and San Francisco Ballet on Dancing With the Stars as well as shooting National Commercials for companies such as Toshiba and SENSA. She has also been a part of the CW television series Hellcats as well as the feature films Larry Gaye, Hotel Noir, Strings, Nickelodeon’s Jinxed, A Girl Walks into a Bar and Kirsten Stewart’s Dance Double in Twilight: Breaking Dawn. Michelle has also performed in industrials for Loreal, NIKE, Toyota, MAC Makeup, Mattel and Ford Motor Company in Istanbul, Turkey.

Working alongside many different artists such as Janelle Monae, The Wanted, Florence and the Machine, Cody Simpson, Dita Von Teese, Taye Diggs, Idina Menzel, Ashley Tisdale, Malin Akerman and Chelsea Handler is considered a highlight in Michelle’s dancing career.  She has also appeared in music videos for artists such as Capital Cities, SteedLord, Meital Dohan and Michael Buble. Michelle has also traveled the globe with Latin guitarist Roni Benise as a dancer in his “Nights Of Fire” World Tour.  Currently, Michelle can be found performing alongside Selena Gomez in performances for the MTV Video Awards, Dancing With The Stars, The Billboard Awards, The Radio Disney Music Awards as well as in her latest music video “Come and Get It”.

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