Whitney Edwards
Dance Theatre of Harlem Dancing Through Barriers Ensemble (2003-2007)
Nashville Ballet (2007-2009)
Nevada Ballet Theatre (2009-2010)
The Georgia Ballet (2010-2014)
City Ballet of San Diego (2014)
California Ballet (2015-2020)
Whitney Edwards began her dance training in Duluth, Georgia with Peter Garrick formerly from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. She then trained at North Atlanta Dance Academy focusing on ballet and attended North Springs High School’s performing arts high school studying modern, jazz and contemporary. At 18, Ms. Edwards was accepted into the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s summer program and auditioned for the Dancing Through Barriers Ensemble at the end of the summer. Dancing with the Dance Theatre of Harlem was her dream company and she loved dancing along side some amazing black ballet dancers for 4 years. After DTH, Ms. Edwards joined Nashville Ballet’s second company and originated some roles for their Nutcracker and performed many programs in Nashville. During an open class taught by James Canfield, Mr. Canfield noticed Ms. Edwards and asked her to join and be the first black woman hired by Nevada Ballet Theatre as a company member. Ms. Edwards then decided to return to her home state of Georgia and pursue a degree in accounting. While taking classes at The Georgia Ballet, Gina Hyatt-Mazon asked if Ms. Edwards would like to join The Georgia Ballet while she was completing her degree. She danced for The Georgia Ballet until she had an ACL tear in 2013. After graduating with a degree in accounting from Kennesaw State University, Ms. Edwards moved to San Diego, California. Since being in California, Ms. Edwards has danced with City Ballet of San Diego, California Ballet and the Ballet Collective of San Diego. Ms. Edwards teaches at the Coronado School for the Arts and joined a mentorship programs for black ballet dancers. Ms. Edwards also has a podcast focused on the lives of ballet dancers after they leave the stage featuring several artists currently on the MOBBallet website.
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See also:
Year in review: Looking back at local dance in 2023, The San Diego Tribune
Ballet Collective SD choreographers collaborate on ‘Heartbeats’ concerts Saturday in La Jolla, The San Diego Tribune
Social media:
Instagram @whitastic8