Raven Barkley

Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble
Charlotte Ballet (2015 – present)

Raven, from Bronx, NY, began dancing at age 10 at Ballet Tech, the New York City Public School for Dance. She furthered her training at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia Arts High School for Music and Art and Performing Arts, where she graduated with honors. While at LaGuardia, Raven also attended the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s (DTH) Pre-Professional Program as a scholarship student. While at DTH, Raven was selected as a featured dancer for the Scholastic Children’s book, Beautiful Ballerina by Marilyn Nelson. During the summer of 2013 and 2014, Raven performed choreography by Tony Award winner George Faison for the NYC SummerStage Performance Series. In 2015, Raven graduated summa cum laude with a BFA in Dance with a concentration in ballet from SUNY Purchase. In 2018, Raven was recognized as one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” and The Charlotte Observer’s “1 to Watch.” The following year she received the Delta Sigma Theta (Charlotte Alumnae Chapter) Outstanding Achievement in the Arts award (2019). In June 2022, Raven returned to Ballet Tech as an alumna guest artist performing the principal role in an excerpt of Marius Petipa’s Raymonda for their Kids Dance performances at the Joyce Theater (New York City). She has performed work by Bryan Arias, George Balanchine, Aszure Barton, Rena Butler, Val Caniparoli, Eliot Feld, Robert Garland, Ja’ Malik, Sasha Janes, Jiří Kylián, Jessica Lang, Arthur Mitchell, Matthew Neenan, Helen Pickett, Dwight Rhoden, and Christopher Stuart.