Ashley Taylor Cesiro
Instructor
Ashley Taylor Cesiro not only loves to dance, but also loves to share the art and love of dance through teaching the next generation of artists. She believes in the importance and power of the arts and wants to encourage her students to explore creativity to unlock their potential in all areas of life.
A native of Birmingham, AL, Ashley holds a BA in English, minor in Dance, from Samford University and an MFA in Dance from Hollins University. She has danced with the Blacksburg Ballet, Samford Dance company, Magic City Performing Arts, and Dancing with the Stars of Magic City. She has also performed self-choreographed solos in Miss Alabama Teen and Miss Alabama competitions, where she won and held preliminary titles. During her undergraduate studies, Ashley had the opportunity to attend and perform in the Alabama Dance Festival on several occasions. During her graduate studies, she studied abroad in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, where she had the opportunity to study under renowned artists and professors, including Boyon Manchev, Ani Vaseva, Jonathon Burrows, and Adrian Heathfield. While in Bulgaria, she also had the chance to take a Butoh-fu workshop from one of the few people in the world trained to teach this style of dance, Kae Ishimoto.
Ashley has taught dance for several years to students ages three to eighteen years old. She has held internships with The Orlando Ballet and The Dance Foundation in Alabama. She started teaching dance as an assistant/apprentice teacher at age 16 and has continued ever since teaching various styles across various levels. She also has experience working with High School Dance Teams. Ashley was a guest choreographer at Virginia Tech during her time living in Virginia as well. She has also traveled the US teaching Dance Camps at USAF Youth Centers as a dance instructor with We Are Camps. Ashley structures much of her classes on Anne Green Gilbert’s “Brain Compatible Dance Education” and the Bartinieff concepts. Aside from dancing, Ashley is an advocate for type 1 diabetes awareness.
