Carly Vanderheyden
Lecturer
Carly Vanderheyden (St. Louis, MO) is a multidisciplinary dance artist, choreographer, educator, photographer, and arts administrator whose work centers on cultivating meaningful connections between artists, audiences, and communities. Originally from Green Bay, Wisconsin, Carly earned a BFA in Dance Pedagogy, a BA in Health and Human Physiology, and a Certificate in Arts Entrepreneurship from the University of Iowa. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Dance at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where her research investigates contemporary dance artists' experiences and identities through interdisciplinary creative practice, questioning the systems of dance in training and performance and the traditional relationship between audiences and performers. Carly's choreographic work has been presented by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Saint Louis Dance Theatre Trainee Program, Modern American Dance Company, and COCA's Ballet Eclectica. Additionally, her work has been selected for festivals including the American College Dance Association, Flourish Dance Festival Indianapolis, Dare to Dance St. Louis, the St. Louis Contemporary Dance Festival, and Alluvion Dance Chicago Emergence Festival. Carly performed with Saint Louis Dance Theatre under the artistic direction of Brian Enos (2017-2022) and Kirven Douthit-Boyd (2022-2024). She has been featured in works by acclaimed choreographers including Sidra Bell, Thang Dao, Norbert De La Cruz III, Omar Román De Jesús, Bradley Shelver, among others. Additional collaborations include performances with the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Jazz St. Louis, Resilience Dance Company, among others. As an independent artist, she has trained and performed in Germany with VIM VIGOR at B12 in Berlin and FLOCK in Schwäbisch Hall. Carly is an American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum certified teacher for Pre-Primary through Level 5, a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher, and a Progressing Ballet Technique instructor. She teaches and mentors dancers as an adjunct professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as well as a pre-professional division teaching artist and rehearsal director at the Center of Creative Arts St. Louis. Committed to strengthening the regional dance ecosystem, Carly is the founder of St. Louis Dance HQ and creative director of Dancers Making Moves, two projects partially funded by the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis Individual Artist Grants in 2024 and 2025. Through all facets of her work, she strives to make the world a more thoughtfully connected place through the arts. www.carlyvanderheyden.comi.
Carly Vanderheyden (St. Louis, MO) is a multidisciplinary dance artist, choreographer, educator, photographer, and arts administrator whose work centers on cultivating meaningful connections between artists, audiences, and communities. Originally from Green Bay, Wisconsin, Carly earned a BFA in Dance Pedagogy, a BA in Health and Human Physiology, and a Certificate in Arts Entrepreneurship from the University of Iowa. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Dance at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where her research investigates contemporary dance artists' experiences and identities through interdisciplinary creative practice, questioning the systems of dance in training and performance and the traditional relationship between audiences and performers. Carly's choreographic work has been presented by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Saint Louis Dance Theatre Trainee Program, Modern American Dance Company, and COCA's Ballet Eclectica. Additionally, her work has been selected for festivals including the American College Dance Association, Flourish Dance Festival Indianapolis, Dare to Dance St. Louis, the St. Louis Contemporary Dance Festival, and Alluvion Dance Chicago Emergence Festival. Carly performed with Saint Louis Dance Theatre under the artistic direction of Brian Enos (2017-2022) and Kirven Douthit-Boyd (2022-2024). She has been featured in works by acclaimed choreographers including Sidra Bell, Thang Dao, Norbert De La Cruz III, Omar Román De Jesús, Bradley Shelver, among others. Additional collaborations include performances with the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Jazz St. Louis, Resilience Dance Company, among others. As an independent artist, she has trained and performed in Germany with VIM VIGOR at B12 in Berlin and FLOCK in Schwäbisch Hall. Carly is an American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum certified teacher for Pre-Primary through Level 5, a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher, and a Progressing Ballet Technique instructor. She teaches and mentors dancers as an adjunct professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as well as a pre-professional division teaching artist and rehearsal director at the Center of Creative Arts St. Louis. Committed to strengthening the regional dance ecosystem, Carly is the founder of St. Louis Dance HQ and creative director of Dancers Making Moves, two projects partially funded by the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis Individual Artist Grants in 2024 and 2025. Through all facets of her work, she strives to make the world a more thoughtfully connected place through the arts. www.carlyvanderheyden.comi.
