

Vanessa Watters
Dance for Children


About Me
The art of dance inspires and challenges me every day. As a dance teacher, I am dedicated to enriching children’s lives through dance and developing the relationship between the body and the mind. Working with young children demands patience, creativity, dependability and organization. I believe every child’s life can be positively affected by music and movement, and the chance to find their own means of artistic expression.
I began my dance training at a very early age with Persis Forster in my home town of Arlington, Texas, and also studied with Jackie Troup Miller, Victor Moreno, Gus Giordano, Jerry Bywaters Cochran, and Fernando and Nancy Schaffenberg. Graduating from the University of Southern California with a Masters Degree in Vocal Arts, I danced and sang professionally in musical theatre productions throughout Southern California. I studied for many years in Los Angeles with Stanley Holden, former principal of the Royal Ballet Company and with Charles Edmondson, formerly a dancer with the Bella Lewitzky company.
In 2018, my husband Mark and I moved from Los Angeles to Rochester, New York, as Mark is now teaching at the Eastman School of Music. We love Rochester!
TEACHING
Dance Instructor and Choreographer,
City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks
Westwood Recreation Center, Los Angeles,
Dance Program for Children 1991-2018
Woodland Hills Recreation Center, 2010-2018, L.A. KIDS Program 2016-2018
Mar Vista, Penmar, Oakwood, Winnetka, and
Mason Park Recreation Centers,
City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks
Disciplines taught: Ballet, Tap, Musical Theatre, Creative Dance
Shows Choreographed: Cinderella, The Enchanted Toy Shop, The Invitation,
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Nutcracker, Coppelia, The Secret Garden,
The Perfect Gift, Broadway Lights, Peter Pan, Snow White, and The Wizard of Oz
Ballet Instructor and Choreographer - Goleta Valley Community Center School of
Ballet, Goleta, California – 1995 to 2010
PERFORMING
Performed professionally in musical theatre and light opera productions in
Southern California.
Union Affiliations: Actors Equity Association, American Guild of Variety Artists,
and SAG/AFTRA
EDUCATION
University of Southern California, Bachelors in Music, Vocal Arts,
Masters in Music, Vocal Arts
Dance and Musical Theatre Training:
Stanley Holden, of the Royal Ballet, Charles Edmondson,
of the Bella Lewitzsky Company
Los Angeles Civic Light Opera Musical Theatre Workshop
Currently studying Dance Movement Therapy, Danielle Fraenkel
Kinections Studio, Rochester, New York