Growing up in the Saint Paul area, Anna Betz (she/her) studied ballet from the age of 3 and graduated from Classical Ballet Academy of Minnesota in 2010. She performed soloist, demi-soloist, and corps de ballet roles with Ballet Minnesota and performed as an apprentice with Ballet Minnesota in 2011. She has performed in Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, The Classic Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and La Bayadere, among others - including original works of choreography. During this time, Anna received additional coaching from Gelsey Kirkland, Oksana Konobeyeva (of The Bolshoi), Ted Kivitt (of American Ballet Theatre), Karen Burns, Kiril Bak, and Svetlana Gavrilova (Mikhailovsky State Opera and Ballet Theatre).

Upon moving to Wisconsin to complete her Bachelor’s and Master’s of Art History at UW-Madison, Anna joined Kanopy Dance Company, and was featured in Martha Graham’s Steps in the Street and danced in other original works of choreography by Lisa Thurrell, Robert Cleary and guest choreographers such as Pascal Rioult, Steven Wasson & Corinne Soum. Following a lumbar spine injury, Anna pursued a career in teaching and completed her Vaganova Teacher Training Certification in Denver, CO with mentor Elizabeth Shipiatsky of Mariinsky Ballet in 2015. Anna began teaching at Kanopy Dance Academy and continued to teach at various schools around the Twin Cities upon moving back to Minnesota.

Anna is excited to be joining Ballet Co. Laboratory for their 5th season as School Manager and Teaching Artist. Her mission as an educator is to bring each dancer individualized training that allows them to reach their full potential as artists, while also generating a studio environment that contributes to a brighter and more mindful future of ballet and the dance industry at large that prioritizes diversity, equity, access, and inclusion.