Teresa Eckart
Miss Teresa began her ballet training at Southern Ballet Theater in Jacksonville, FL under the direction of Marta Jackson. Upon moving to Tampa, she continued her training with Carmen Morales at the School of Ballet and Spanish Dance and with Haydee Gutiérrez at the Classical Ballet Center of Tampa. In high school, Teresa was a member of the Tampa Concert Ballet Company. During her college years, she studied under Sarah Stravinska and Helen McGhee, was a member of her college dance company, and taught ballet at a local studio.
In 1983, Teresa received a BA from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College with a double major in economics and political science. Two and a half years later, she received a JD from Stetson University College of Law and began working in Pinellas County as assistant state attorney.
After relocating to Alpharetta in 1994, Teresa’s passion for dance brought her to Atlanta Ballet as she began taking classes with Carol Szkutek. She has focused on intense Vaganova training in her classes with Marina Levasheva. In addition, she also takes classes in the metro Atlanta area from various other instructors.
In the summer of 2015, Teresa enrolled at Kennesaw State University to pursue a degree in dance with a concentration in ballet. It goes without saying that she enjoys her Pedagogy class, but has found Kinesiology to intriguing as well, especially since she has a strong interest in the cross training of ballet dancers for increased strength and flexibility and injury prevention. Miss Teresa graduated summa cum laude with her B.A. in Dance in May 2019.
Teresa loves teaching ballet technique. “It is important to me to teach ballet technique,” she says “so that each dancer can reach their full potential whether they are taking classes for personal enjoyment or if they want to be a professional dancer.”
Teresa is also a classically trained pianist, training from age 9 to 18.
Sawnee School of the Arts is delighted for Miss Teresa’s eighth season. She will be instructing our Ballet dancers from the babies on up on Mondays and Wednesdays as well as assisting with Sawnee Ballet Theatre’s production rehearsals.