Artist-in-Residence
Courtney Thurston
Growing up as a competition dancer, Courtney won numerous regional and national titles. She has trained at schools such as; The Rock School, The Joffrey Ballet, ABT, The Washington Ballet, and Broadway Dance Center . Some of her childhood works include: Debbie Allen’s production of “Alex in Wonderland” and ABT’s Christmas special “The Nutcracker” both performed at the Kennedy Center. When she turned 18 she moved to New York City where she graduated from Pace University with a BFA in Commercial Dance and Pedagogy. Her industry works include: assistant choreographer for the "Sugar Bowl" halftime show. Assistant choreographer alongside Mia Michael’s for many different events and performances around the world. She has been a main dancer in ads for Canon Camera, McDonalds and Degree. Courtney was featured on the hit TV show “So You Think You Can Dance” season 10. Her most recent works include body doubling Julianne Hough for an endometriosis commercial choreographed by Marinda Davis. She can also be found on the big screen, where she is a featured dancer in the newly released movie called “In The Heights”
For the past five years, Courtney has toured with one of the top Dance Conventions. She saw a disconnect in the youth and knew she wanted to get involved with positive development. She has pursued psychology and mindfulness. She has been certified in positive psychology, mindful meditation coaching, shadow integration, followed by many others. She now travels around the world consulting with teams and transforming them to peak potential. She strongly believes in the power of mind and movement and how that generates a practice to live well within. Her goal is to assist in raising wonderful humans, not just great dancers.
A fun fact about Courtney is that she held the world record for 37 consecutive back handsprings from 2013-2016.