Natalie Moffett Smith
Faculty, Dance
nmsdancesmith@aol.com

Natalie Moffett Smith, Artistic Director of DanceSmith, is a native Washingtonian.  She holds a BA degree with a Major in Ballet from Virginia Intermont College in Bristol, Virginia and an MFA in Dance from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

Moffett Smith founded DanceSmith in 2002, building on her extensive experience as a dancer, teacher and choreographer.   She was previously a leading dancer of the Duluth Ballet (now the Minnesota Ballet), Eric Hampton Dance and Dana Tai Soon Burgess and Company, and also appeared as a guest artist with several dance companies.  She trained at the Washington School of Ballet under the direction of Mary Day and Choo San Goh, and as a student she was also a recipient of scholarships to attend intensive training at the Pennsylvania Ballet, Skidmore College and the Joffrey Ballet.

Moffett Smith taught extensively prior to founding DanceSmith, including as an adjunct professor at The George Washington University, at her own studio in Rockville, Maryland, as Ballet Mistress of the Duluth Ballet, and as faculty at George Mason University in Virginia and Joy of Motion in Washington, DC.   Her teaching has included outreach to underprivileged youth, including as a dance teacher to children in the low-income mining community of Grundy, Virginia, and in Duluth and smaller mining towns in Minnesota.

Moffett Smith’s choreography has been performed by Theater Bristol, the Duluth Ballet, and at Georgetown University (commissioned work), The George Washington University, George Mason University, The Kennedy Center, the Atlas Performing Arts Center and in Santiago, Cuba as part of an educational cultural exchange.

“The debut of Natalie Moffett Smith’s DanceSmith  . . . proved the company’s moniker:  Smith is indeed a dance smith.”  Pamela Squires, The Washington Post, January 20, 2003.