Cynthia Dewar RAD Teaching Certificate, Founder & Director of SCCDT

Cynthia grew up in the dance studio watching her mother teach dance.  She quickly developed a love of ballet and the rewards of teaching. Opening a dance school with an emphasis on honoring God combined with the highest possible teaching standards is a dream Cynthia has had for some time.  She is very pleased to direct SC Christian Dance Theater and looks forward to another great year.  Each of our five years we have grown beyond our expectations.  What an exciting adventure it has been!     As a student, Cynthia was fortunate to study with the Miami Conservatory and Greenville Concert Ballet.  She attended the North Carolina School of the Arts on scholarship for part of her High School years until she noticed a tug on her heart to make God more of a priority in her life.  Cynthia began teaching dance in Hickory, NC. while completing high school.  She discovered singing as another gift from God and traveled regionally as a guest singer and speaker.  She earned a BS in Business from Oral Roberts University, taught ballet  for Eagle Wing, started the ORU ballet club, and danced with the Tulsa Symphonia and ORU as a guest artist.  She also danced in the regional stock theater production of  "Oklahoma” for a summer season.        After college, she taught for 2 years in Raleigh, NC as Assistant Director for Lehman Studios.  She was fortunate to teach with the talented faculty of Arlington Center for Dance, Arlington, VA for 7 years.  Many of her students have gone to dance in summer programs with Houston Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Ohio Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Virginia School of the Arts, and Boston Ballet.  She moved to Atlanta and taught with the Atlanta Ballet Center for Dance Education, the Gainesville School of Ballet and the Buford School of Ballet.  She was asked to develop a ballet syllabus and train teachers in many of these schools.  Here in South Carolina, she served as adjunct faculty with the University of South Carolina School of Theater and Dance instructing ballet for 3 years.  Cynthia holds a teaching certificate with the Royal Academy of Dance, London, England.  She is an affiliate of the American Academy of Ballet, New York.  Also, she frequently attends teachers courses to be inspired and updated with the latest in training dancers. Cynthia is married to David and has two great sons!

Patty Graham, Faculty SCCDT

Patty has completed 25 years as a Professor of Dance at Columbia College. Graham holds both BA and MA degrees in Dance from Butler University.  Her professional training includes The School of American Ballet and The American Ballet Theatre School. Ms. Graham performed professionally for several years with the Eglevsky Ballet Company in New York

Ms. Graham has served on the artistic staff for both the Carolina Ballet and the Columbia Classical Ballet companies.  She was co-founder of Reclaimed: Dancing For Christ, a Christian Dance Ministry and she has served on the board of directors for The Doxology Institute  from 2005 – 2008.  Patty is presently enjoying a new career as an Integrative Health Coach.  She has her own business called Stay The Course – Integrative Health Coaching.  She will complete her health coaching certification from the Duke Integrative Health Coaching Certification Program in July, 2010.  She teaches fitness and yoga classes at the YMCA and at Lexington Medical Center - Health Directions.  She has been a faculty member at the South Carolina Christian Dance Theater for 3 years.  Patty is married to David Graham and they have three boys ages 22, 20 & 15.  She is a member of East Lake Community Church, Irmo, SC.  Patty volunteers as a Faith Coach at East Lake.

Shirley Crew, Faculty SCCDT

Shirley was born in South Africa and started ballet at the age of 7. In her high school years she attended a highly acclaimed arts school in Pretoria, South Africa where she was trained in Cecchetti  & Royal Academy of Dance.   In 1996-2000 she danced professionally with the State Theatre Ballet Company of South Africa where she got to perform various soloist roles. Upon closure of the company in 2000 Shirley went on to become  the ballet mistress for the Original Arts Company & School of Creative communication from 2001-2004 where she was very involved with Dance Ministry.  In 2004 she obtained her teaching certificate with the Royal Academy of Dance.  In 2005-2010 she joined the World Mission Centre alongside her husband where she served in the financial office.  During this time she also free-lanced a s a ballet teacher & also rehearsal assistant & choreographer for the Youth Dance Company of Tshwane.  She has two wonderful kids who keep her on her toes…excuse the pun!

I have such a passion for Dance Ministry!  Dance is an expression of Joy & I love to share God’s Joy & His abounding love with the students.  To see them grow not only in dance technique but also in confidence & maturity of knowing who they are in Christ is so important to me. Using our bodies and talent to worship Jesus & to bring joy & encouragement to others through dancing is the ultimate pleasure.  “ I was made to Praise Him!”



Lindsey Shatzer, Faculty SCCDT

Lindsey Shatzer says, "I have been dancing since the age of six, and it has continued to be my life long passion ever since. I trained at the Charleston County School of the Arts for two years before moving to Greenville, SC to attend the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities for my high school education. I attended the University of South Carolina where I graduated in December '09 with a BA in Dance Education. Teaching dance as a form of art is an enriching and powerful experience and I am very proud to be on the faculty at the SCCDT. I love the talented students and their willingness to let me learn through them. I believe that the Lord has taught me about the kind of teacher I want to be and the goals I should achieve in my future career. I have faith in the Lord because He constantly showers me with unconditional love and proves how great He is with the wonderful and beautiful people He brings to us everyday.

Kelley Connell, Faculty SCCDT

Kelley Connell, is a Columbia, SC native. She has been studying dance since the age of four at various studios around South Carolina in areas of ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and musical theater. Miss Connell also trained for a summer in Torrington, Connecticut at the ballet school of Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts where she was offered a partial scholarship. Miss Connell has continued her dance training throughout the years by competing at various dance competitions around the United States and taking master classes from choreographers such as Wade Robson, Dan Karaty, Bobby Newberry, and Sonya Tayeh. She has also performed at Disney World's Magic Kingdom and taken classes at Steps on Broadway in New York City. Her ballet repertoire includes roles such as Snow Queen and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Myrta in Giselle, and Bluebird in Sleeping Beauty. Miss Connell graduated from The University of South Carolina in 2008, summa cum laude, with a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education and now teaches four-year-old kindergarten in Richland School District One. This is Miss Connell’s first full year of teaching at South Carolina Christian Dance Theater and she enjoys teaching children of all ages; tap, ballet, and jazz. She feels blessed to work in a Christian atmosphere where the focus is always and forever, God. Working with the SCCDT faculty, families, and students has already made such a positive impact on Miss Connell’s life and she is excited to see where the rest of the year takes her spiritually. 

Nadine Conte, Faculty SCCDT

Dini was born in Romania and grew up in Ontario Canada. She began her training with Canadian Children’s Dance Theatre then continued at Nutmeg Conservatory for the arts. She later studied as a trainee on a full scholarship at The Joffrey Ballet School in New York City. Her professional career began with The Sarasota Ballet in 2008. Her repertoire includes ballets by renown chorographers Mathew Bourne, Andre Prokovsky, George Balanchine, John Cranko, Sir Frederick Ashton, Dame Alicia Markova, Dame Ninette de Valois, Marius Petipa, Sir Peter Wright, Yuri Possokhov,  and Will Tuckett among others. Dini has appeared as a guest artist for The Joffrey Ballet School and will be starting her first season with Columbia City Ballet this year. Dini started her teaching career while dancing for The Sarasota Ballet and fell in love with passing on her knowledge and the tradition.

I am so looking forward to teaching at SCCDT, there is something really special about what Cynthia has created here. I really hope to set a good example for the dancers as a Christian and a professional ballet dancer. I am so passionate about our Lord and I look forward to leading our students in worship through ballet.

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