Carter Alexander

Carter Alexander began dance training with his mother Amanda Stone in Cheyenne, WY, and continued his training at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas as well as with the Dallas Ballet Academy. After graduating from high school, Alexander danced with the Hartford Ballet, where he studied with internationally renowned teacher Truman Finney and met his wife Jeanne Elser. He continued his career with the Kansas City Ballet and Pennsylvania Ballet and taught on the school faculties of both companies. After retiring from dancing, Alexander was the principal teacher at Ballet Workshop New England and artistic associate for the Massachusetts Youth Ballet. Alexander then reunited with Finney at the School of Ballet Arizona in Phoenix, where he served as assistant school director. He also served as a senior faculty member/school principal for seven years at Miami City Ballet School (MCBS).

While at MCBS, Alexander’s work in the pre-professional division was instrumental in helping over 70 students gain professional work. Since returning to Dallas, Alexander has been associate artistic director of Chamberlain Performing Arts, as well as artistic director of Dallas DanceFest/Dallas Dances (’16, ’17, ’18) and Ballet Dallas (2018-2020), where he choreographed four premieres for the company. Alexander has been a guest teacher at Ballet Austin, Indiana University, CPYB and The Portland Ballet, to name a few. He has also served as a ballet consultant for Booker T. Washington HSPVA. In 2018, Alexander organized the aka:ballet choreography project with Hailey von Schlehenried and Albert Drake. This project created five world premiere ballets in three weeks, which culminated in a successful public performance at the Latino Cultural Center.

Alexander is currently an Artist-in-Residence at SMU Meadows School of the Arts (Division of Dance) and served as Chair, ad interim, in Fall 2022. He has choreographed two works for the Meadows Dance Ensemble: Luisant (2019) and Syvällinen (2020). Alexander holds a B.F.A. in Dance Performance from SMU and is currently pursuing an M.F.A. in choreography from Jacksonville University. (photo credit: Brian Guilliaux)