Lauren began her child-hood ballet studies under Ann Brodie and Debbie Spivey at Calvert-Brodie.  She expanded her studies to include jazz and tap at Footnotes (Debbie Spivey, Maura Moore, Linda Busby). 

 

Lauren did the majority of her intensive dance training under Radenko Pavlovich at Pavlovich Dance Studio (additional faculty: Mikhail Ronikov, Talin Kenar, Ginny McElveen), becoming an apprentice company member in his Columbia Classical Ballet. 

 

Additional local training included classes at Palmetto Performing Arts (Laura Kirkland), Columbia Music Festival Association and Devine Street Dance as a competition dancer (Leigh Buckley), in addition to contact with guest artists from Harid, Nutmeg, Boston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre.

 

As a student of the Gifted and Talented Dance Program of Richland School District One, Lauren was the first student at AC Flora High School to complete the full eight-credit honors program.  As part of the program she was able to choreograph pieces such as True Colors, The Outside, and Love.  As related instruction Lauren was part of Rhoda Paschal’s vocal program and studied Fine Arts Appreciation (Donna McKenna-Crook).  She continued her study with a semester as a dance major at Winthrop University (Mary Beth Young, Bethany Tuffy from Orlando Ballet and Martha Connerton).

 

 Opportunities outside South Carolina include workshops at North Carolina School of the Arts, and numerous competition workshops (Showstoppers, Dance Co, Tremaine, Dance Troop, Star System).

 

 Lauren also did a five-week summer intensive with the Joffrey Ballet in New York City, New York (Pat Brown, Jiang Qi, Dorothy Lister, Eleanor D’ Antuono, Elizabeth D’Anna).

 

Lauren has danced in performances with Carolina Ballet, as a company member of both Timmerman-Spivey Ballet and Columbia Classical Youth Ballet and as an apprentice member with Columbia Classical Ballet under the direction of Radenko Pavlovich.  Performances include numerous performances of Nutcracker, Giselle, Carmen, Carmina Burana, Sleeping Beauty, Lifechance, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, La Bayadere, Copellia, Jekyll and Hyde, The Four Temptation, Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and many more. 

 

In addition to teaching dance, Lauren is currently a part-time student at Midlands Technical College.  A love in addition to dance is for animals.  Lauren recently worked at Hendrix Farms as a horse trainer’s assistant.  She will soon begin volunteering at Pets Incorporated with a hope to soon foster animals.