Hey, I’m Katelyn
My name is Katelyn Chargois, a proud native of Southwest Louisiana. I have had the opportunity to travel the world and study dance. I am so honored to have the opportunity to share my knowledge and experience with the young dancers of Bayou Ballet.
I little more about me, I began training in Lake Charles at Lady Leah Lafargue School of the Dance. I later joined the Lake Charles Civic Ballet where I performed such roles as Aurora in the Sleeping Beauty. I also had the amazing opportunity to perform with Daniel Ulbricht, New York City Ballet principal dancer. I was only 17! I am forever grateful for all the opportunities I had here in Lake Charles. I also attended summer programs at Houston Ballet, School of American Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and Kansas City Ballet.
I fell in love with dance right here in Lake Charles, and as I looked toward my future, post high school, I couldn’t imagine a world where I didn’t dance! So we started looking for college dance programs. I knew I had to keep training ballet, it has always been my first love in dance. After looking at multiple schools, I found my perfect fit at The University of Oklahoma. I danced for Oklahoma Festival Ballet under the direction of Mary Margaret Holt as well as Contemporary Dance Oklahoma under the direction of Austin Hartel during my time at OU. I was able to perform so many amazing pieces and work with fantastic choreographers. La Bayadére, The Nutcracker, Raymonda, Firebird, Pulcinella, and guest performing for the School of Music’s production of Eugene Onegin. Choreographers such as Jock Soto, Sonia Dawkins, Raymondo Rebeck, Ilya Kozadayev, Jeremy Lindberg, and Francia Russel. I even studied abroad in Spain! I trained with Roser Munoz and performed Uwe Scholz on the beach for hundreds!
After graduation, I accepted a position dancing for the Tulsa Ballet. During my two seasons with the company I performed in many classical ballets: Don Quixote, Cinderella, The Nutcracker, and The Sleeping Beauty. But we also performed world-renowned pieces like Kurt Jooss’s The Green Table, the United States premier of Derek Dean’s Strictly Gershwin, Nacho Duato’s Rassemblement, and Ma Cong’s World Premier of Tchaikovsky: The Man Behind the Music. I was able to work with so many choreographers, including Andy Blankenbuehler! (the choreographer for HAMILTON)
As the pandemic struck and performances got put on pause, I turned back to my studies. I got a Masters of Science in Kinesiology from Lamar University, became a certified Pilates Instructor and opened by own ballet studio, Dance Conservatory of Louisiana. I love working with young dancers and having tons of fun in the studio. I believe in keeping dancers physically and mentally healthy! And I am so excited to help grow the arts community in Lake Charles. This year I am serving as a Board Member for the Lake Charles Symphony, becoming an adjunct dance instructor for Lamar University, and starting Bayou Ballet for our community!
