The South Charlotte Ballet Company works with existing and emerging local talent to ensure ongoing growth and a successful legacy for our dancers.
Meet the Team

Steffi Thomas
Resident faculty
Steffi Thomas, a native of England, discovered her passion for dance at an early age. She honed her skills at The Central School of Ballet in London.Steffi has worked with renowned companies such as English National Ballet, Scottish Ballet, The National Ballet of Ireland and Peter Schaufuss Ballet. She has also worked as an extra in movies in an array of dance styles. Her performance highlights include events such as dancing for Her Majesty the Queen at the Royal Variety Show, and performing at international venues. She has guided a diverse range of students, from beginners to pre-professionals, instilling in them a love for the art form and nurturing their growth and development. Her dedication is reflected in the achievements of her students, many of whom have been accepted into prestigious ballet schools such as JKO, Houston Ballet, Cary Ballet Conservatory, San Francisco Ballet, and more. Her students have also excelled in competitions, with placements in the top 12 and 24 for the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP),

Joshua Seibel
Resident faculty
Joshua Seibel began dancing in Yuma, Az at the age of 9 under the direction of Thom Clower. After 2 summer courses in San Francisco, he was accepted into the year round academy at Houston Ballet. With a year of training, and 2 years of second company in HBII, Seibel was able to compete in the Prix de Lausanne and gain entry into Houston Ballet as a corp member at just 16. Josh has also danced with Ballet Memphis, Ballet San Jose and BalletMet doing a variety of principal and corps roles in many contemporary and classical pieces. Josh has been teaching since his early years in Houston and now teaches locally in Matthews, NC. Seibel wishes to share his experiences and technique to help dancers gain placement into schools and companies of their dreams.

Mary Reed
Resident faculty
Mary McCort Reed was raised in Kingsport, TN and began dancing at the age of five under the direction of Charles Ryburn. She continued her instruction in ballet with Karen Gibbons-Brown at the Kingsport Guild of Ballet. While attending the University of Tennessee Mary was invited to perform with the Appalachian Ballet, where she first performed in The Nutcracker.
After graduating with her bachelors degree in Architecture, Mary moved to Cleveland, TN. While there she developed a beginner adult and young dancer ballet program for the Cleveland YMCA. Mary moved to Charlotte in 2007.
Mary has been teaching and performing with the Charlotte School of Ballet and the Charlotte Youth Ballet for many years, and currently serves as the Charlotte Youth Ballet's Ballet Mistress.

Elena Gleason
Resident faculty
Elena Gleason began her ballet training at the Fort Wayne Ballet Academy in 1993 under
the artistic direction of Karen Gibbons Brown from American Ballet Theatre and Derek Reid of the Dance Theater of Harlem. Elena’s repertoire includes thirteen consecutive seasons of the Nutcracker performing lead roles including “Sugar Plum Fairy”, “Arabian Coffee” Pas de Deux and “Snow Queen”. Her repertoire also includes “Hermia” from a Midsummer Nights Dream, and “Dawn” from Coppelia.
