Laura Daugherty: A Profile

After three years in Fort Collins, CO, Laura recently moved back to the Stillwater area with her family to begin her role as the Owner and Director of St. Croix Ballet. Laura has a long history with St. Croix Ballet going back to 1991 when she danced in Karla Sweeney’s Stillwater basement studio and was one of the first student Sugar Plum Fairy in the early years of the Stillwater Nutcracker. She taught at St. Croix Ballet in 1998 and then again from 2012-2019. In addition to her training at St. Croix Ballet with Karla Sweeney, Laura studied at Dancers’ Workshop in Jackson Hole, Andaházy School of Classical Ballet, North Carolina School of the Arts, Classical Ballet Ensemble with Carol Roderick, the University of Utah, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, and the Kirov and Harid summer programs.

She has performed works by George Balanchine, Rudy Van Danzig, Galina Yordanova and Marius Petipa with Colorado Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Manitoba Opera, Dance Theatre of Wilmington, St. Paul Ballet, and Metropolitan Ballet.

With over 20 years of teaching experience, Laura has been on the faculty of many well-known schools in Colorado and the Twin Cities, including Canyon Concert Ballet and Minnesota Dance Theatre. Along with teaching ballet technique, pointe, repertoire, creative movement, and Progressing Ballet Technique, Laura has designed costumes and choreographed numerous variations and ensemble works for school performances and competitions.

Laura has studied ballet pedagogy and continues to attend ballet workshops and dance medicine conferences. She is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique and completed the National Dance Education Organization’s Early Childhood Education course. She most recently studied Moving Through Parkinson’s with Lisa Morgan from Colorado State University.

She has coached students for Youth American Grand Prix and the Youth International Ballet Competition, and many students have gone on to professional performance, teaching, and dancebased careers. Laura is passionate about teaching classical ballet and providing a well-rounded education that students can take with them in any endeavor they pursue.