Mary Elizabeth is from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina where she was trained by Karena Brock-Carlyle, a named principal dancer of the American Ballet Theatre, and her husband John Carlyle. 

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During her training, she was fortunate to attend select summer intensive programs at José Mateo Ballet Theatre, Cambridge, MA; American Ballet Theatre, New York, NY and Orange County, CA; ConfiDance Academy, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; The Juilliard School, New York, NY; Orlando Ballet Theatre Company, Orlando, FL; Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Company, Pittsburgh, PA; The North Carolina School of The Arts, Winston-Salem, NC; and Columbia City Ballet, Columbia, SC. 

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Mary Elizabeth graduated with a B.A. in Dance Performance, Magna Cum Laude, from Dean College, and a M.A. in Dance Education with Honors from New York University Steinhardt to include the ABT Curriculum with certification from levels Pre-Primary through Level 7.  She danced professionally in Europe, Boston and New York City before deciding to focus her career on teaching dance at the collegiate level at Austin Peay State University, Dean College, and Vanderbilt University.

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Mary Elizabeth has been inspired to share her knowledge and passion for ballet at well-known dance studios throughout Massachusetts and currently is the Co-Owner, Artistic Director, and Ballet Mistress at MEM Dance Theatre in Sterling Massachusetts. Her goal is to enlighten and help prepare students to better perfect their ballet technique with the tools they already possess; which becomes the common foundation to enjoy a beautiful art form and build additional learning in all forms of dance!