Sara Lawrence-Sucato, from Columbus, OH, graduated with honors from Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania, with a degree in dance and is currently working in Cleveland, OH. She is the Dancing Wheels Company and School’s director of outreach and community engagement, rehearsal director, a 10-year-plus company member, and served as the company’s tour manager for over a decade. During her professional performance career with the Dancing Wheels Company, Sara has performed works by noted choreographers Marc Brew, Nai Ni Chen, David Dorfman, Christopher Fleming, Catherine Meredith, Stuart Pimsler, David Rousseve, Ginger Thatcher, Michael Uthoff, and Robert Wesner, as well as by internationally renowned choreographers Donald McKayle and Dianne McIntyre. Sara was named rehearsal director to the company in September of 2019.

In her capacity as the Dancing Wheels Company and School’s director of outreach and community engagement, she teaches integrated dance technique in residencies, workshops, and masterclasses. Her most recent teaching jobs have included developing and teaching as a Master Teacher for Dancing Wheels Teacher Certification program; Dancing Wheels’ 2020 Adult Summer Dance Intensive and 2019 Youth Arts Camp; masterclasses at VSA Intersections (Atlanta, GA, and Columbus, OH), “Counter Balance” Inclusive Dance Festival (Chicago, IL), and ACT Conference (Columbus, OH); workshops at Ohio Dance Festival (Columbus, OH), Oglebay Institute (Wheeling, WV), and Mercyhurst University; and residencies for Cleveland and Northeast Ohio-based organizations including the Center for Arts-Inspired Learning, Cleveland Play House, City of Cleveland’s Neighborhood Resource and Recreation Centers (NRRCs), Old Trail School, Laurel School, Clark Elementary, and Julie Billiart School, as well as MOMENTA’s “Chance to Dance” (Columbus, OH) and Arts Partnership (Findlay, OH). Sara is also a class instructor for Dancing Wheels’ professional dance company.

As a teaching artist for the Dancing Wheels Company and School, the classes that Sara teaches range from recreational to professional, and she works with students ages three to adult of all different experience levels in dance and often with a population of mixed abilities (with and without disabilities). Sara loves that she can share her art within an educational setting by performing as a professional dancer, advocating for dance and other arts within schools, and teaching dance in settings where young students may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience it.

As a teaching artist, Sara works alongside educators to enhance the learning process through the arts. She knows that the arts in learning provide benefits such as academic achievement, critical thinking skills, and social and emotional development. Sara’s own passion for dance is what draws her to encourage others to experience and build an appreciation for it.

Availability

I and the Dancing Wheels Company are available for teaching engagements in-person or virtually upon request.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Images courtesy of the teaching artist.