Kimberly Swartz

Kimberly Swartz is originally from Chambersburg, PA.  Her love of movement and dance started when she was a child and a competitive, state champion gymnast.  The requirement to study ballet while on the gymnastics team turned into a passion for all things dance.  After graduation from High School, she had the great privilege of studying at the Point Park University Dance Conservatory in Pittsburgh PA, under the tutelage of Judith Leifer-Bentz, among others.  She then obtained a BA in Psychology from Pennsylvania State University, where she continued her dance studies with Patricia Hegel-Tanner and was both a performer and choreographer with the Pennsylvania State University Dance Company, Orchesis.  Wanting to expand her abilities as a performer and teacher, she pursued and was awarded her Masters in Fine Arts in Dance from George Mason University, receiving a Dance Fellowship Award for her dedication to the study of dance. While a graduate student at George Mason, she had the sincere pleasure to study with the companies of and perform in the pieces of Mark Morris, David Parsons and Alvin Ailey. 

She has appeared as a company dancer, a solo performer, and a guest artist in various companies along the East Coast, such as The Center Dance Company, Maria Watson’s Dance This, and Sister’s Trousers. As a passionate and dedicated professional, with over 35 years of dance experience and over 25+ years of dance teaching expertise, she has taught thousands of hours of classes, and workshops and has produced a plethora of original choreographed pieces for dance companies and schools.  Her teaching includes both private institutions as well as various academic settings, including; The Steward School, VA, Collegiate School, VA, Ballet Nova, VA, Episcopal High School, VA, Thomas Jefferson Middle School, VA (where she taught through a grant awarded by Arlington County, VA), and various middle and preschools in the VA/DC area. She has also enjoyed numerous appointments as an adjunct professor, including; Wilson College, PA, George Mason University, VA and Catholic University, DC.

Her dedication and passion for teaching have resulted in many of her students going on to pursue careers in dance with various companies, including, The Dresden Ballet, The San Francisco Ballet, The Washington Ballet, and The Sarasota Ballet. Kimberly completed her Masters in Elementary Education in 2021 and has been an Elementary teacher with Chesterfield County Schools for the last five years.