Directors
- Terri Kayser, Artistic Director, has been studying and performing classical ballet, modern, tap and jazz dance since the age of seven in both Atlanta and New York. She graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Dance from Georgia State University. Her performing credits include principal roles with the City Center Dance Theatre and the Carl Ratcliff Dance Theatre. She has appeared in “Damn Yankees” with Dick Van Dyke and “My Fair Lady” with Victoria Mallory, as well as the musicals “Brigadoon” and “Mame” at the Alliance Theatre. She has also worked with Red Clay and Et al. Dance of Atlanta. Her choreography has been seen on the stages of the Alliance Theatre, Theatre Gael, the Academy Theatre of Atlanta, the Gainsville Theatre, and the Grand Theatre of Cartersville. She serves as the director and resident choreographer for the Cartersville City Ballet. Mrs. Kayser has served as the chairman of the Dance Division of the Governor’s Honors Program at Valdosta State College. She has taught at Georgia State University, North Side School for the Performing Arts and at the Dekalb School for the Performing Arts. In 1992, she served as the Dance Consultant for the Art Start project for the Georgia Council for the Arts and the Department of Education. Mrs. Kayser co-authored a Quality Core Curriculum Guide in Dance for grades K-12 for the State of Georgia Department of Education as well as a Dance Resource Guide for grades six, seven, and eight. Mrs. Kayser served as the dance educator for Woodland High School of the Arts in Cartersville, Georgia for 23 years.
Karen Grantham, Artistic Director, has been with the Cartersville School of Ballet, Ltd. as a teacher and choreographer for over 20 years. Karen was a member of the International Ballet Rotaru. As a dancer she toured Romania as well as danced at the Tbilisi Opera House in Soviet Georgia. She has been a guest performer with Atlanta Dance Unlimited, Kennesaw Dance Troupe and numerous companies in the South. Karen has also appeared as a dancer on TBS and CNN. Karen shares her expertise in ballet, jazz, and tap with the students of the Cartersville School of Ballet, Ltd. and the dancers of the Cartersville City Ballet.
Katie Stull, Associate Director, received her early training at the Academy of Ballet Arts in Marietta. She attended Texas Christian University as a scholarship student, where she graduated summa cum laude with a BFA in Ballet and News-Editorial Journalism. Upon graduation she danced with The Georgia Ballet professional company for seven seasons. Her repertoire with the company includes “Giselle,” “Paquita,” "La Sylphide," "The Nutcracker" and George Balanchine’s “Valse-Fantaisie” and “Serenade,” among other works. While performing she began to teach and choreograph. Katie worked extensively with The Georgia Ballet’s Arts in Education program to provide instruction in Marietta City Schools and created the curriculum for an advanced ballet class at Marietta High School. She has set pieces for The Georgia Ballet Professional Company, Dance Canvas, Cartersville City Ballet, Dance Stop Company and Elite Dance Academy. Katie is entering her 13th year teaching at the Cartersville School of Ballet, and she sponsors the school's National Dance Honor Society through the National Dance Education Association. Katie also has a combined twelve years of experience working for local newspapers and news websites.
Instructors
Margot Harris received the majority of her dance training from Cartersville School of Ballet. She graduated from Kennesaw State University with a BA in Dance and a BA in Business Administration. She is also a certified yoga instructor. She has performed with KSU Dance Company and with Cartersville City Ballet. Margot is a member of Cartersville City Ballet’s Professional Ensemble. She is a guest artist with Addereth Contemporary Ballet for its first season. Her passion is sharing her love of dance.
Christen Knight, Office Manager and Instructor, began dancing at the age of three in Cartersville, Ga. She has trained in ballet, tap, jazz and contemporary. In her years with the Cartersville City Ballet she has performed in many classical ballets, including "The Nutcracker," "Sleeping Beauty" and "Coppelia," as well as the company’s spring variety show "A Dance Kaleidoscope." While in high school she also had the opportunity to perform in many school musicals, including "Once Upon A Mattress," "All Shook Up," "FAME," and "In The Heights." Christen graduated from Kennesaw State University with a BS in Psychology and a minor in Applied Statistics. While in her junior year at KSU she was a research assistant to Dr. Sarah Holmes in KSU’s dance department, where she got to study the physical and mental effect of pilates reformer training on university level modern and ballet dancers. She is currently dancing with the Cartersville City Ballet’s Professional Ensemble and is looking forward to her fifth year teaching at the Cartersville School of Ballet.
Katie-Ruth Lowe has been an instructor at Cartersville School of Ballet since 2009. After graduating from Cartersville City Ballet and Woodland High School in 2008, she obtained her BA in Dance with a concentration in contemporary dance from Kennesaw State University. While at Kennesaw State she performed with the KSU Dance Team, where she competed nationally, and with the KSU Dance Company. While performing with the KSU Dance Company she had the opportunity to work with gloATL. Katie-Ruth also trained at two winter American Dance Festival intensives held in New York City. As a founding member of an Atlanta-based contemporary dance company, Emily Cargill and Dancers, she had the opportunity to tour and perform in New York City, Detroit, Jacksonville and Virginia as well as perform in the Atlanta M.A.D Festival and several local Dance Canvas productions. Today, along with teaching, Katie-Ruth is a Dietetic intern and graduate student in pursuit of becoming a registered dietitian. She is excited to blend her passion of dance and nutrition to help guide future generations of dancers.
Leslie Parker began her dance training at the age of three at Cartersville School of Ballet. She was a member of the Cartersville City Ballet for eight years. In 2009 she went on to further her education at Kennesaw State University, where she graduated with a B.A. in Dance. During her time at KSU she was a member of the Dance Company for four years. She performed works by Ivan Pulinkala as well as several other choreographers. Leslie was a member of the KSU’s dance honor society NDA. In 2014 Leslie’s choreographic work was selected to be presented at the American College Dance Festival. She was also invited to perform in a nationally recognized work that was showcased at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Upon graduation she went on to receive a license in massage therapy, and she is currently a practicing therapist. For the last four years Leslie has been a member of Cartersville City Ballet's Professional Ensemble. Leslie is excited to begin her fifth year on the teaching staff at CSB.
Mary Wiley has been dancing since the age of two; she began with ballet and tap and has since branched to many different styles. Mary dedicated many summers to dance and attended summer intensives at Kennesaw State University and The Georgia Ballet. In her years of dancing at the Cartersville City Ballet, Mary had the opportunity to perform in many ballets, including “The Nutcracker,” “Coppelia,” “Cinderella” and “Snow White.” She also had the opportunity to perform in many great musicals, including “Cats,” “Pippin” and “How to Succeed in Business.” Mary is currently studying dance with a concentration in ballet at Kennesaw State University, and she will be graduating with her B.A. this December. Through KSU she has had the opportunity to take many master classes, as well as learn all aspects of performance outside of just being the dancer or choreographer. Mary is excited to come back to Cartersville School of Ballet for another year of teaching and choreographing!
