Natasha Nast

Natasha Nast, a Baltimore, Maryland native, began her training in ballet, jazz, and tap at the age of 2 and went on to dance competitively in both regional and national competitions. She began her formal training in ballet and modern in high school at the Baltimore School for the Arts under the direction of Norma Pera, Bat Udval, Evgenia Singur, Anton Wilson, and Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell as well as at the Russian Ballet Academy of Maryland under Svetlana Kravtsova and Vadim Pijicov. Upon graduation, Natasha joined the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre as a graduate student under full scholarship where she trained under the direction of Terrence Orr, Marianna Tcherkassky, Janet Popeleski, Andre Reyes, Marjorie Grundvig, and Dennis Marshall. There, she was one of the few dancers selected from the program to perform company roles in several classics including Swan Lake, La Bayadere, Le Corsaire, Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker, as well as other works by notable choreographers such as George Balanchine’s Western Symphony, Lew Christensen’s Beauty and the Beast, and Derek Deane’s Alice in Wonderland and Romeo and Juliet. Alongside her work with the company, Natasha performed principal roles in Graduate Program productions such as the Dark Angel in George Balanchine’s Serenade, Gamzatti in La Bayadere, the title role as well as Henriette in Raymonda, the Lilac Fairy in the Sleeping Beauty, and the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. In 2016, she performed in a series of performances alongside Grammy Award winning recording artist, Daya, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Natasha spent four years dancing in Pittsburgh prior to moving to Charleston in 2017 where she is currently dancing as a company member with the Palmetto City Ballet. Her repertoire with the company includes The Ringmaster in Carnival of the Animals, The Lounge Singer in French Twist, The Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, and The Red-Winged Blackbird in The Snow Queen, as well as principal roles in neo-classical works such as Why Our Walls and Accumulation. Outside of her work with the Palmetto City Ballet, Natasha has danced with Moranz Entertainment and Unbound Ballet Project and can also be seen as a featured dancer throughout season 2 of HBO’s hit television series, The Righteous Gemstones.

Natasha has been teaching students of the Charleston and surrounding communities in ballet, jazz, musical theatre, and more since 2018. Alongside teaching daily classes, she specializes in setting classical and contemporary repertoire, choreographing original pieces, and coaching students for competitions as well as summer intensive, company, and college auditions. Natasha is currently on faculty at the Palmetto City Ballet School, Ballet Academy of Charleston, Charleston Academy of Musical Theatre, and Just Dance/Charleston Dance Center.