Sarah began her ballet training at the age of six in her hometown of Sacramento, California, with Pamela Hayes. She continued her dance studies at Butler University where she had the opportunity to perform principal and soloist roles including the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, and in George Balanchine’s Valse-Fantaisie. While at Butler, she toured Eastern Europe with Butler Chamber Dance and performed with the National Schools of Ballet in Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. Sarah graduated from Butler University in May of 2016 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and a minor in Business. Since joining Eugene Ballet Sarah has had the opportunity to perform soloist and principal roles in many of Toni Pimble’s ballets including Aurora and Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, Clara and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Wendy in Peter Pan, and Bianca in Taming of the Shrew. Sarah has also enjoyed working with guest choreographers and had the privilege to perform Maria in Penny Saunders’ Ghost Light, as well as danced pas de deux’s in both Nicole Haskin’s Illuminations and Gerald Arpino’s Reflections. In addition to dancing Sarah has also been on faculty with Eugene Ballet Academy since 2019 and enjoys teaching and coaching young dancers. Sarah joined Eugene Ballet as an aspirant in 2016, was promoted to company dancer in 2018, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2022. Sarah enjoys rehearsing and sharing the stage with her husband and fellow principal dancer Joshua Downard.
