SADIE ROBERTS-DOUGHTEN
A Charlotte native, Sadie has been teaching dance for over 30 years. She trained at Rhythm Dance Studio in Charlotte NC and then studied freelance in New York with such dance icons as Sheila Barker, Frank Hatchett, Jason Parsons, Mia Michaels, Ray Leeper, Jermaine Brown and BT. Sadie’s professional dance credits include commercials and industrial shows for Belk, Levi and Nike. Sadie also performed as a Kiss 102 dancer, Charlotte Heat Cheerleader, and for the television show Star Search.
While Sadie enjoys dancing professionally, her true passion lies in teaching and choreography. You can find many of Sadie’s students pursuing dance as a profession. Many of her students can be found dancing for Holland American Cruise Lines, industrial shows, and theme parks to dancing in music videos with Missy Elliot to performing in Sonya Tayeh’s dance company. Sadie believes in a well rounded dance education leading to her dancers performing with American Ballet Theatre, School for American Ballet, Ballet Semperoper, Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson One Show in Vegas, and Hubbard Street Dance in Chicago.
While believing in the power of dance performance, Sadie has also created a strong program focusing on the educational challenge of dance. Many of her students are attending prestigious college dance programs at University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Marymount Manhattan, Suny Purchase, University of Alabama, University of Las Vegas Nevada, University of Greensboro and Eastern Carolina
University just to name a few.
Sadie was the artistic director for The Academy of Dance and Fine Arts for five years prior to becoming the owner. ADFA has been a staple in the Mooresville community for many years and Sadie continues the studio’s success with her commitment to the art of dance. “Dance is not just a physical activity you can have fun with but also an art form to be appreciated, nurtured, and respected”, says Roberts.
Sadie not only loves being in the classroom at ADFA but also teaches and judges for conventions and competitions across the country. As director of ADFA competition companies, Sadie has received many choreography and overall awards on a regional and national level.