Erin Payner
Erin began her classical ballet training in the Vaganova method with Pavel Rotaru in Atlanta, GA in 1993. She has studied, by invitation, with such renowned ballet companies as the American Ballet Theater in New York City, the San Francisco Ballet (on scholarship), Boston Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle. In 1998, Erin was selected to represent the United States as a competitor in the VI USA International Ballet
Competition, often referred to as the "Olympics of Ballet”. She has performed as a guest dancer with numerous companies throughout the Southeastern U.S. and toured the Pacific Northwest, notably in the leading roles of the Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Giselle in Giselle, and Mercedes and Kitri in Don Quixote as well as Soloist roles in Etudes, Carmen, The Four Seasons, Sleeping Beauty and Napoli.
In 2002, Erin graduated the Georgia Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering, cum laude. She was the founding director of Gifted Kids, an Atlanta-area dance outreach program, a long-standing board member of CityDance, an Atlanta-based non-profit supporting dance education and performance, and founding director of a 10-year running annual, acclaimed community Nutcracker production in Port St. Joe, Florida. In addition to her continued leadership in the dance community, Erin spent 15 years with global management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, initially as a subject matter expert and later as a leader in professional development. She currently acts as an independent executive coach and strategy consultant to business leaders, including a number of dance studio owners.
As a dance instructor for over 30 years with students ranging in age from 3 to adult, Erin is known for her caring and musical teaching style, cultivating a love of movement and music in her students.
Competition, often referred to as the "Olympics of Ballet”. She has performed as a guest dancer with numerous companies throughout the Southeastern U.S. and toured the Pacific Northwest, notably in the leading roles of the Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Giselle in Giselle, and Mercedes and Kitri in Don Quixote as well as Soloist roles in Etudes, Carmen, The Four Seasons, Sleeping Beauty and Napoli.
In 2002, Erin graduated the Georgia Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering, cum laude. She was the founding director of Gifted Kids, an Atlanta-area dance outreach program, a long-standing board member of CityDance, an Atlanta-based non-profit supporting dance education and performance, and founding director of a 10-year running annual, acclaimed community Nutcracker production in Port St. Joe, Florida. In addition to her continued leadership in the dance community, Erin spent 15 years with global management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, initially as a subject matter expert and later as a leader in professional development. She currently acts as an independent executive coach and strategy consultant to business leaders, including a number of dance studio owners.
As a dance instructor for over 30 years with students ranging in age from 3 to adult, Erin is known for her caring and musical teaching style, cultivating a love of movement and music in her students.