JUSTINE SHEEDY-KRAMER

Justine Sheedy-Kramer teaches Character Dance, Ballet, Pointe, and Music courses for the University of Utah School of Dance. She has also taught at Utah Valley University and Ballet West Academy, served as Operations Director and faculty member for Salt Lake City Ballet, and was Co-Director of the Middle/Upper School Dance Program at Saint Mary's Hall. Justine is a sought-after guest instructor and has greatly enjoyed teaching for a variety of schools and programs including artÉmotion, Brigham Young University, Emerald Ballet Theatre, Murray School District, New Haven Ballet, Olympia Dance Center, Utah Dance Institute, and the University of Utah Ballet Summer Intensive. 

Justine received her BFA and MFA degrees from the University of Utah Ballet Department, with emphases in Teaching, Choreography, Performance, and Character Dance. She also studied and performed with Pacific Northwest Ballet School, Washington Academy of Performing Arts, Burklyn Ballet Theatre, Utah Contemporary Ballet, Exit 12 Dance Company, Dimensional Dance, and CONNetic Dance. Justine has toured nationally and internationally with Character Dance Ensemble and Eastern Arts, and continues to be involved with these organizations as advisor, choreographer, dancer, production coordinator, and repetiteur. 

Justine's variety of teaching, research, and choreographic experience includes: staging full-length productions of Coppélia and Don Quixote; partnering with the Turnaround Arts initiative as part of the President's Committee on the Arts & the Humanities; establishing collaborative projects for ArtsBridge, the School of Dance, and the School of Music at the University of Utah; publishing her research on Tchaikovsky's compositions as educational tools for collaboration between music and ballet; creating Ebb & Flow, Intermission, and Threshold for the University of Utah School of Dance; and developing the world premiere choreography for Sugar Plum on the Run with the Salt Lake Symphony. Her research interests draw from these opportunities and include the analysis of best practices for collaborative projects in the arts, as well as the use of ballet and character dance as a foundation for community partnerships and cross-cultural communication. Justine is a violinist in the Wasatch Symphony, where she also serves on the board of directors.