Today we’d like to introduce you to Cassandra Pappy.
Cassandra Pappy is a professional dancer, choreographer, and teacher. Originally from Charlotte, her breadth of dance experience has afforded her the opportunity to train and work with teachers, choreographers, dance teams and students across the nation. She received her early competitive dance training from Dance Productions Performing Arts Studio and pursued higher education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). There she served as a member and captain of the Spartan G’s dance team. Upon graduation in 2012, she received a B.A. in Dance with a K-12 teaching license in dance. She has trained in the genres of ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, modern, lyrical, West African, hip hop and heels technique.
As a competitive dancer, Cassandra held the title of Miss Dance of North Carolina in 2007. She also won the title of National Champion Senior Soloist at StarSystems Dance Competition in Las Vegas in 2008. After graduating from UNCG, Cassandra began teaching dance in the North Carolina Public School System and continued her performing career as a member of Techmoja Theater and Dance Company. As a member of the company, she danced and acted in productions such as “The Color Purple” and “Dreamgirls”. She has also choreographed and performed for international recording artist IYAZ, multi-platinum recording artist Ginuwine, and Grammy nominated producer/artist Imani. In 2019, Cassandra appeared as a dancer in the movie “Bolden!”.
Cassandra’s extensive background in performance, dance education, and choreography led to the creation of her professional dance company, Elite DanceWerks LLC. (EDW) in 2016. The company began as a summer project and blossomed into an effort to reach and inspire dancers in and outside of North Carolina. EDW’s services target dancers from the ages of 7 and up. The company specializes in private lessons, choreography, performance pieces, and master classes. Some of EDW’s clients include Philadelphia 76ers Dancers, Elon University Dance Team, The North Carolina Black Film Festival, and the East Carolina University Dance Team. Cassandra loves sharing her knowledge and passion for dance with students and clients hoping to inspire, motivate, and challenge them beyond what they believe they can be!
Currently, Cassandra is still growing the EDW brand. Aside from her dance company, her passion for dance continues to extend beyond the classroom as she also judges for Inspire Dance Competition and Imagines National Dance Competition.
Has it been a smooth road?
Balancing teaching in the public school system, with entrepreneurship goals, personal goals, and relationship goals as I am engaged to be married this September and planning a wedding. I’ve definitely had to learn how to trust and lean on others to help me through each of these processes in order to see them into fruition and have successful outcomes.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
What we do/Who we are – Elite DanceWerks is a professional dance company that exists to inspire young dancers through versatile + creative teaching, choreography, and consulting services. By providing top-notch choreography and dance education we’re able to truly connect with our customers, offering the exceptional, compassionate service they deserve. Our clients include dance teams, dance studios, independent dance artists, and special events.
What I am most proud of as a company – Dance has played an instrumental role in shaping the person I am today. As someone who has trained and taught dance a large majority of their life, I know very personally the power having a creative outlet can have in sustaining mental health, self-worth, and overall happiness. In addition to performing, running EDW, and teaching in the studio setting, I have worked in the public school system for 7 years as a dance teacher pouring into the lives of young high school dancers in North Carolina. I’ve witnessed the way this art form caters to them in a way their traditional courses don’t.
Aside from the technical and choreographic elements, through dance students are interact creatively with people who come from different backgrounds. They are taught leadership, critical thinking skills, time management, responsibility, and how to come out of their comfort zones. They are taught how to market themselves in an ever-changing and dynamic industry. How to make social and political commentary into art, how to make mistakes and grow through them, the importance of being a lifetime learner, and how to more willingly trust and believe in themselves. My business allows me to teach those skills by reaching and effecting a large amount of dancers across the nation.
I believe what EDW achieves is beyond teaching dance skills, it’s about teaching life skills that are transferable to any path. It’s about creating a safe space where students talent combined with our creativity and professionalism produce amazing results. It’s about motivating students and clients alike beyond what they believe they can be!
What sets me apart – EDW travels to our clients making our services highly adaptable to any environment + Breadth of teaching and performance experience I have accumulated over the course of 20+ years as I have tapped into the following areas:
– Performance experience in commercial dance industry
– Training experience as a competitive dancer
– Performance experience in Musical theater company
– Performance experience in film industry
– Choreographed for studios, high school, and professional dance teams
– Choreographed musical theater productions
– Taught in the public school system (k-12 ceritified) and studio setting
– Technically trained in various genres of dance: Jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop, lyrical and more
– Judged for highly regarded competitive dance companies
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Yes, Atlanta is home to a myriad of arts, entertainment, and cultural experiences. I am excited to grow EDW’s presence in an area so rich with opportunity for young creatives, artists, + entrepreneurs.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.elitedancewerks.com
- Phone: 7049628003
- Email: elitedancewerks@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elitedancewerks/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ELITEDANCEWERKS/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/elitedancewerks
Image Credit:
MaxRes Photography
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