Carla Armstrong

Carla graduated from the Pinellas County Center for the Arts’ dance program before moving to New York City where she graduated from The Juilliard School with a BFA in Dance.

At Juilliard, Carla’s training included intensive study of ballet techniques (Vaganova, Cecchetti and Bournonville), modern technique (Graham, Limon and Taylor) and dance composition with several highly regarded teachers in dance, including Benjamin Harkarvy, Ethel Winter, Carolyn Adams, Linda Kent, Alfredo Corvino, Hector Zaraspe, Doris Rudko and Anna Sokolow. While there, Carla performed works by Martha Graham, Paul Taylor, Jose Limon, Alwin Nikolais, Anna Sokolow, Mark Morris and Doris Humphrey, including Diversion of Angels, Esplanade, Missa Brevis, Tensile Involvement, Rooms, Beautiful Day and the role of Mother in Day on Earth.

After graduating from Juilliard, Carla toured the country for 8 years with the Avodah Dance Ensemble and Omega Dance Company as a performer and teacher of modern dance. In 2001, she returned to Florida and started her next great adventure – motherhood. Her passion for teaching dance led her to return to the dance world where become the Modern Dance Director of New Tampa Dance Theatre. From 2005 – 2019, Carla taught modern and ballet technique to hundreds of students and choreographed more than 50 works for New Tampa Dance Theatre and Dance Theatre of Tampa.

In 2020, Carla joined the ballet faculty of Contempo Dance Studio in Lutz, FL and joined the Central Florida Choreographers Collaboration (CFCC). Carla was selected as a Project Choreographer for each of CFCC’s 2020-2023 Seasons. Her dance films have been selected to appear in several film festivals, including the Moving Currents New Grounds Dance Festival (2020), Film Fest by Rogue Dancer (2021, Lift-Off First-Time Filmmaker Showcase (2021), Accord Cine Fest (2022 – Finalist), WRPN Women’s International Film Festival

We are so thrilled to have her as a returning teacher!!