Tracy Julias Shields
Guest Choreographer & Faculty
Teaches Ballet and Pointe
Teaches Ballet and Pointe
Tracy Julias Shields is an acclaimed ballet artist, educator, and certified Pilates instructor whose
career bridges classical tradition, contemporary performance, and somatic pedagogy. Born in
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, she began her training at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB)
under the direction of Marcia Dale Weary, developing a foundation in technical precision,
musicality, and expressive artistry. She further refined her artistry with distinguished teachers and
choreographers throughout her formative years.
Her professional performing career includes work as a principal artist with The Joffrey Ballet of
Chicago (Joffrey Ballet), Chicago City Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre (Oregon Ballet Theatre),
Nashville Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre (Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre), and the Carlisle
Project, as well as guest appearances with Santa Barbara Ballet. She has collaborated with an
exceptional roster of artists and choreographers, including Gerald Arpino (Founder of The
Joffrey Ballet), Adam Sklute (Artistic Director of Ballet West), Donald Byrd (Spectrum Dance
Theater), the legendary Maria Tallchief and Patricia Wilde, Paul Mejia, Karole Armitage, Paul
Vasterling, Victoria Morgan, Charthel Arthur, Cameron Basden, Val Caniparoli, Mark
Goldweber, Vicky Simon, Gemza de Lappe, and Barbara Weisberger (Founder of Pennsylvania
Ballet and the Carlisle Project). Her stage credits also include performances with San Francisco
Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Among her notable roles are:
• Balanchine ballets: Square Dance, Concerto Barroco; Who Cares? (“Embraceable You”),
Tarantella, Valse Fantasie, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux
• Giselle in Giselle
• Swanhilda in Coppélia
• Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew
• Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker
• Aurora in Sleeping Beauty
• Featured roles in Lilac Garden
• Gerald Arpino ballets: Birthday Variations, Footnotes, Suite Saint-Saëns, Viva Vivaldi, Trinity
Tracy is especially recognized for her performances in George Balanchine’s Square Dance and
Tarantella at the Balanchine Festival at the Kennedy Center, which received praise in and
Washington Post, In 2000, she was named by The New York Times as one of the “up-and-coming
artists to watch,” affirming her reputation as a dancer of exceptional artistry and promise.
Her portrayal of Louise in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel remains preserved as the
principal historical reference performance in the Lincoln Library archives, reflecting her capacity
to combine technical excellence with emotional depth and dramatic nuance.
Following her performing career, Tracy devoted herself to education. She has taught ballet for
over 25 years, beginning while still a student at CPYB. Her teaching career has included work
throughout the Bay Area, where she also founded Northern Arizona Youth Ballet in Sedona,
Arizona, sharing her deep knowledge of technique and performance with young dancers.
Additional faculty appointments include The Portland Ballet, Steps PDX, Sultanov Ballet
Academy (Sultanov Ballet Academy), Haiyan International Dance Academy
(haiyanballet.net), and Northwest Dance Project, where she reconstructed the ballet program.
She later joined Nashville Ballet, teaching Levels 3 through Intermediate Level 6, while also
working with the pre-professional division (ages 18–24).
Currently, Tracy serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida School of Theatre
and Dance, where she teaches Somatics for Dancers (Pilates Principles) and Contemporary
Ballet Practices. Her pedagogy integrates Pilates, breath mechanics, alignment, injury-
preventive strategies, and somatic awareness to support sustainable technique, dynamic artistry,
and embodied intelligence. Her work emphasizes not only technical growth, but also discipline,
resilience, self-esteem, artistic integrity, and a lifelong appreciation for movement.
Tracy’s holistic approach to teaching—rooted in a lifetime of professional performance and
refined through decades of education—empowers students to move with confidence, strength,
musicality, and presence, whether pursuing professional careers, collegiate dance pathways, or
personal artistic fulfillment. Through her guidance, students discover not only how to perform
steps, but how to understand movement, connect to breath, and embody artistry in every gesture.
Tracy Julias Shields continues to inspire dancers of all ages and aspirations—whether pursuing
professional careers or simply discovering their artistic voice—through teaching that honors both
the lineage of classical ballet and the evolving understanding of the body in motion.
career bridges classical tradition, contemporary performance, and somatic pedagogy. Born in
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, she began her training at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB)
under the direction of Marcia Dale Weary, developing a foundation in technical precision,
musicality, and expressive artistry. She further refined her artistry with distinguished teachers and
choreographers throughout her formative years.
Her professional performing career includes work as a principal artist with The Joffrey Ballet of
Chicago (Joffrey Ballet), Chicago City Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre (Oregon Ballet Theatre),
Nashville Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre (Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre), and the Carlisle
Project, as well as guest appearances with Santa Barbara Ballet. She has collaborated with an
exceptional roster of artists and choreographers, including Gerald Arpino (Founder of The
Joffrey Ballet), Adam Sklute (Artistic Director of Ballet West), Donald Byrd (Spectrum Dance
Theater), the legendary Maria Tallchief and Patricia Wilde, Paul Mejia, Karole Armitage, Paul
Vasterling, Victoria Morgan, Charthel Arthur, Cameron Basden, Val Caniparoli, Mark
Goldweber, Vicky Simon, Gemza de Lappe, and Barbara Weisberger (Founder of Pennsylvania
Ballet and the Carlisle Project). Her stage credits also include performances with San Francisco
Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Among her notable roles are:
• Balanchine ballets: Square Dance, Concerto Barroco; Who Cares? (“Embraceable You”),
Tarantella, Valse Fantasie, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux
• Giselle in Giselle
• Swanhilda in Coppélia
• Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew
• Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker
• Aurora in Sleeping Beauty
• Featured roles in Lilac Garden
• Gerald Arpino ballets: Birthday Variations, Footnotes, Suite Saint-Saëns, Viva Vivaldi, Trinity
Tracy is especially recognized for her performances in George Balanchine’s Square Dance and
Tarantella at the Balanchine Festival at the Kennedy Center, which received praise in and
Washington Post, In 2000, she was named by The New York Times as one of the “up-and-coming
artists to watch,” affirming her reputation as a dancer of exceptional artistry and promise.
Her portrayal of Louise in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel remains preserved as the
principal historical reference performance in the Lincoln Library archives, reflecting her capacity
to combine technical excellence with emotional depth and dramatic nuance.
Following her performing career, Tracy devoted herself to education. She has taught ballet for
over 25 years, beginning while still a student at CPYB. Her teaching career has included work
throughout the Bay Area, where she also founded Northern Arizona Youth Ballet in Sedona,
Arizona, sharing her deep knowledge of technique and performance with young dancers.
Additional faculty appointments include The Portland Ballet, Steps PDX, Sultanov Ballet
Academy (Sultanov Ballet Academy), Haiyan International Dance Academy
(haiyanballet.net), and Northwest Dance Project, where she reconstructed the ballet program.
She later joined Nashville Ballet, teaching Levels 3 through Intermediate Level 6, while also
working with the pre-professional division (ages 18–24).
Currently, Tracy serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida School of Theatre
and Dance, where she teaches Somatics for Dancers (Pilates Principles) and Contemporary
Ballet Practices. Her pedagogy integrates Pilates, breath mechanics, alignment, injury-
preventive strategies, and somatic awareness to support sustainable technique, dynamic artistry,
and embodied intelligence. Her work emphasizes not only technical growth, but also discipline,
resilience, self-esteem, artistic integrity, and a lifelong appreciation for movement.
Tracy’s holistic approach to teaching—rooted in a lifetime of professional performance and
refined through decades of education—empowers students to move with confidence, strength,
musicality, and presence, whether pursuing professional careers, collegiate dance pathways, or
personal artistic fulfillment. Through her guidance, students discover not only how to perform
steps, but how to understand movement, connect to breath, and embody artistry in every gesture.
Tracy Julias Shields continues to inspire dancers of all ages and aspirations—whether pursuing
professional careers or simply discovering their artistic voice—through teaching that honors both
the lineage of classical ballet and the evolving understanding of the body in motion.