Karl (he/him) is a multi-racial Belgian-American ballet dancer now in his senior year at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA). He began his dance training at age 16 with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School’s Student and Pre-Professional Division. Karl was later invited to join the ballet program at UNCSA through the support of The Gillian Murphy Endowed Scholarship, The Tom Kenan Merit Scholarship, The Ashley Edward Dance Scholarship, and the Dance Dean’s Merit Scholarship. He will graduate from UNCSA in May of 2024 with a BFA in Classical Ballet and a minor in Arts Entrepreneurship.  

 

Throughout his training, Karl has worked under the direction of world-renowned dance faculty and guest artists. He has performed a variety of classical repertoire and original contemporary works for both stage and film. These include Ilya Kozadayev’s The Nutcracker; Garen Scribner and Danielle Rowe’s Swan Lake: Cancelled; Susan Jaffe’s Boléro; Gina Patterson’s Seven Deadly Sins; Tom Gold’s The Next Stop is…; and Claudia Schreier’s First Impulse.

 

Karl has developed an interest in choreography, movement exploration, and the preservation of dance. He first served as a rehearsal assistant for UNCSA’s productions of The Nutcracker and Napoli where he documented and organized over 200 pages of choreographic notations. In the Spring of 2023, Karl was invited to assist Atlanta Ballet’s choreographer-in-residence, Claudia Schreier, for one month as she set her world premiere of Carnivale. Building upon this experience, Karl will be setting his own work in UNCSA’s Emerging Choreographers in the Spring of 2024.

 

At UNCSA, Karl is a dynamic member of Student Engagement and has led the @uncsadance Social Media Team for over two years. He is also a member of UNCSA’s Student Ambassadors Program, having provided over fifty on-campus tours for prospective students and parents. He is a certified Pilates Mat instructor and teaches classes at the UNCSA Fitness Center. 

 

In addition, Karl has a Certification as a Racial Equity Consciousness Facilitator through the University of Pittsburgh. He plans to use his voice and ability to build an enthusiasm for the arts, foster inclusivity, and promote dance as an accessible art form that speaks to all. Karl is excited at the opportunity to join a ballet company that shares his love for the art form, values creativity, and connects deeply with its local community.