Claire Peoples

        Claire Peoples began her training under the direction Charlotte Foster Williamson at Atlanta Dance Central in Roswell, Georgia. She was a founding member of Atlanta Rising Talent Dance Company and an apprentice for SIDEWAYS Contemporary Dance Company. As a young student, she attended the Joffrey South Ballet Summer Intensive and the Nashville Ballet Summer Intensive. She also performed variations from The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker as well as demi-soloist roles from Swan Lake and Don Quixote.

         A dedicated student of the University of Georgia Department of Dance, Peoples performed in the annual productions of the Young Choreographers Series and Spring Dance Concert 2016-2020. In addition, she was a company member of Tamara Thomas’s contemporary African ensemble CADE:NCE (2017-2018) and Dr. Lisa Fusillo’s ballet company Dance Repertory Project (2018-2020). These companies performed at numerous conferences across the east coast of the United States, including the American College Dance Association Southeast Conference. In 2018, she attended the American Dance Festival on the Cynthia Jarvis Memorial Scholarship and the Young Choreographers Series Summer Study Scholarship. While at ADF she choreographed and performed in both student showcases. During the summer of 2019, Peoples served as Head Resident Advisor for the Joffrey Ballet School's South Georgia and Colorado Springs summer intensives under Artistic Director Colleen Barnes.

        In 2020 she graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and was one of only thirty graduates chosen for a UGA Presidential Award of Excellence. Peoples returned for a second summer with the Joffrey Ballet School, working as Resident Advisor and Intern for the summer program in Denton, TX amongst the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2020, she moved to Boston, Massachusetts to begin a position as a Trainee with Boston Dance Theater, under Artistic Directors Itzik Galili and Jessie Jeanne Stinnett, understudying roles in pieces choreographed by notable artists such as Marco Goecke, Yin Yue, and Micaela Taylor. She then moved to Pittsburgh, PA to dance as Trainee with Confluence Ballet Co. in their inaugural season and worked additionally CBC's Marketing and Social Media Director. In addition to performance and arts administration, Peoples was an instructor at LDI Danceworks, working with both the recreational students and competitive team. She currently dances professionally with New Mexico Ballet Company, also teaching at the NMBC School and working alongside the marketing team as Social Media Manager. Peoples is also a proud Ambassador of Jessica Spinner's dance nutrition coaching program The Whole Dancer. Most recently, she was thrilled to be featured in the May 2023 Dance Magazine in the article '8 Questions to Ask When Considering a Pre-Pro or Trainee Program' by Rachel Rizzuto.