In 1998, Wildwood Church asked Robin Stuyverson to be the choreographer for their annual Christmas youth musical. Because of an interest at that time for continued dance offerings on the church campus, she taught weekly classes for several years before officially opening Wildwood Ballet in 2001.
Since 2001, Wildwood Ballet has grown to serve over 150 students weekly on the Wildwood Church campus and also in local community centers. We offer classes in multiple genres for all ages in ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, tumbling, and performance opportunities through our resident company.
If you are a new student, please click here for more information.
Meet Our Staff
Courtney Cheetham
Studio Director
Courtney Cheetham has been part of Wildwood Ballet since the age of five. Throughout her dance education, she attended the Suzanne Farrell Workshop for Young Dancers at Florida State University, the Hosanna Summer Intensive with Briarwood Ballet in Birmingham, AL, and a ballet for non-majors class at FSU during her senior year. She has also taken part in several master classes hosted by Wildwood Ballet with Ballet Magnificat. Over the years, Courtney has served in many roles at Wildwood—teacher, office manager, and now school administrator since August 2022. She is blessed with a wonderfully supportive husband, three (soon to be four) spirited children, and three playful pups. Courtney treasures the joy of dancing for the Lord each week and is grateful for the opportunity to share the same joy and ministry that shaped her growing up with Wildwood families today.
Molly Gay
Molly Gay has been dancing at Wildwood since the age of three, training in contemporary, ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, and modern. Over the years, she has performed in many productions, including roles such as Clara and Spanish in The Nutcracker. Now stepping into the role of instructor, Molly enjoys working with young dancers and helping them build strong technique and stage presence.
Eleanor Stewart
Eleanor Stewart grew up training at Mobile Ballet in Mobile, Alabama, under the instruction of Katia Garza, Israel Rodriguez, Sydney Adams, Zoe Todd, and Raley Zofko Zampieri, among others. She has studied classical ballet in the Russian and Cuban methods, with additional training in contemporary ballet and Broadway style jazz. Upon joining the Mobile Ballet company, she had the opportunity to perform many roles, including "Myrtha" in Giselle; "Clara", "Dew Drop", and "Arabian" in The Nutcracker; "Belle" in Beauty and the Beast; and "Wendy" in Peter Pan. In 2020, she had the opportunity to compete in the international ballet competition Youth America Grand Prix, where she placed in the top 24 out of more than 125 competitors. Ms. Stewart is an American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum certified teacher and has studied ballet pedagogy under Raymond Lukens and Franco de Vita. As the host of The Bookish Ballerina Podcast, she loves spreading the joy of ballet to others through discussion of ideas relevant to arts leadership, science, and their relationship. She has been a guest teacher and speaker at multiple public and private ballet and academic institutions throughout the southeast United States. She is also a corps de ballet dancer at The Tallahassee Ballet, where she has performed in multiple classical, neoclassical, and contemporary works, including Kathryn Karrh Cashin's Swan Lake, Cinderella, and The Nutcracker. She looks forward to sharing the joy of the Lord through dance at Wildwood Ballet this season.
Natalie Montoya
Natalie Montoya was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona where she learned to love dance at a young age from her mother, Julie Nichols. Natalie danced with Julie in Ballet Belles before going on to train at Ballet Rincon Academy of Dance for ten years. There, she trained primarily in ballet, jazz, and contemporary and performed many soloist and principal roles. Some of her favorites included Sugar Plum pas de deux in The Nutcracker, Wolf in Peter and the Wolf, and Kitri in Don Quixote. Natalie has trained at summer intensive programs around the nation including State Street Ballet, University of Utah Ballet, Ballet 5:8 Chicago, and Ballet West. She was also awarded scholarships to attend Long Beach Ballet, Ballet Hispanico Choreolab, and Joffrey Ballet summer programs. Natalie has been awarded a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Ballet from the University of Utah School of Dance, where she has learned from distinguished faculty and guest artists including Maggie Wright-Tesch (former Ballet West Principal), Pablo Piantino (former San Francisco Ballet company member), and Susan Jaffe (former American Ballet Theatre Principal). Currently, Natalie performs with the Tallahassee Ballet company as a corps de ballet member.
In addition to her love for performing, Natalie has a passion for teaching and choreographing. Her teaching career began in Utah in 2021, and she has loved teaching ballet, contemporary, and jazz to students of all ages since then. Natalie has been teaching at Wildwood Ballet since 2023, and she is excited to continue sharing the joys of dance and the gospel.
Ava Hardy
My name is Ava Hardy, I am a Senior in High School and I have been dancing for 14 years! This is my third year teaching and I LOVE working with kids! I serve in my church's children's ministry and I babysit almost everyday! I love Jesus, dancing, hanging out with friends, driving, and staying busy! My favorite thing about Wildwood Ballet is that it is Christ centered. We start every class with a prayer and dance to Chistian music. Jesus is the most important part of my life and I love how we can use dance as a form of worship!!
Marabelle Coggins
Marabelle Coggins, from Tampa, Florida, trained at Next Generation Ballet under Ivonne Lemus and Artistic Director Phillip Neal, and has also studied with Bolshoi Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and Boston Ballet. She joined The Tallahassee Ballet’s corps de ballet in January 2024 and is currently pursuing a neuroscience degree at Florida State University. Marabelle has performed roles including Queen of Dryads in Don Quixote, Arabian in The Nutcracker, and Fairy of Serenity in Sleeping Beauty, though her favorite experiences have been dancing in the corps of The Nutcracker and Swan Lake.
Ansley Willis
Kayleigh Willis
Sarah Stoll
Robin Stuyverson
Studio Founder
Our Facilities
