Summer 2025 Guest Teachers

GUEST TEACHER - Nicki (Reehorst) Young started dancing at Ballet Etc. in Traverse City, Michigan and continued as a dance major at Interlochen Arts Academy. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in ballet performance from The University of Oklahoma and a Master of Fine Arts in dance from the University of Michigan. She received additional training during the summers at Joffrey Chicago & Midwest, Ballet West, NCSA, Charlotte Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, New Dialect, and the Gaga/dancers workshop. During her performance career, Nicki worked with Nashville Ballet, Arkansas Festival Ballet, Dance in the Annex, Chavasse Dance + Performance, and Grand Rapids Ballet. She recently taught on faculty at Grand Rapids Ballet School, served as an adjunct professor in the Grand Valley State University dance program, and as a rehearsal director, lecturer, and choreographer in the University of Michigan Department of Dance. In addition to her dance background, Nicki is a RYT-200 yoga instructor and recently started a career as a non-profit audit professional. She currently resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan with her husband Nathan.

GUEST TEACHER - Amber Bailey began dancing in Traverse City, Michigan under the direction of Thomas Morrell at age three. She was a member of Northwest Michigan Ballet Theatre for seven seasons. While training at Ballet Etc. Dance Institute Amber also worked as a teaching assistant and instructor. Amber continued her training at the University of Oklahoma and graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics.

Amber has been with Fort Wayne Ballet for seven seasons, as one of their Principal dancers. During her time at Fort Wayne Ballet, she has had the opportunity to perform as Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Helena in A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream, Lucy in Tracy Tritz’s Dracula and Christine in Darren McIntyre’s The Phantom of the Opera. Amber has also been featured in works by Val Caniparoli, Gerald Arpino, Robert Joffrey and Edward Stierle. She has performed abroad in Taizhou, China with Fort Wayne Ballet and in Barcelona, Spain with Centre de Dansa de Catalunya. She also performed in Chicago as part of the Gerald Arpino Centennial Celebration and has been a demonstrator for the Robert Joffrey Methodology master classes since they began in 2020.

Amber has presented original choreography at both the University of Oklahoma and Fort Wayne Ballet. When she isn’t dancing, Amber enjoys sharing her passion with the next generation of growing artists. She has become a fully certified, ABT® Fellow Instructor and has successfully presented students for ABT Examinations for the past three seasons.

GUEST TEACHER - Nathan Young is currently in his seventh season as a company dancer with Grand Rapids Ballet, under the direction of James Sofranko. He previously danced with Nashville Ballet for four seasons under the direction of Paul Vasterling and has also performed with Kansas City Dance Festival, Traverse City Dance Project, and Dance Theatre of Tennessee. During his ten year career as a professional dancer, Nathan has performed works by a wide range of choreographers including Jennifer Archibald, Penny Saunders, Danielle Rowe, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Jiri Kyilan, and Christopher Wheeldon. As a choreographer, Nathan has created several works for Grand Rapids Ballet’s annual Jumpstart Series. Nathan holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Ballet Performance from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied on full scholarship.