Ellie Potts Barrett is an internationally recognized choreographer, dance educator, and former professional dancer renowned for blending the narrative drive and theatricality of musical theatre with the technical depth and expressive power of modern dance.
Raised with a passion for performance that began in early childhood community theatre, she started formal dance training at age eight in jazz (with ballet in spurts). Her time at the Boston Conservatory proved transformative; there she discovered modern dance and trained intensively in the Graham technique with Ina Hahn (a former member of the Doris Humphrey/Charles Weidman company). She also studied with other luminaries including Lar Lubovitch, Ray Harrison, Renata Schotellius, Ruth Ambrose and Rudy Perez, absorbing a rich foundation in modern and ballet that continues to shape her work.
She performed professionally with the Ina Hahn Modern Dance Company in Boston, the Boston Dance Company, Mary Anthony’s company in New York, national tours, and regional theatrical productions. Barrett later earned a B.A. cum laude in Dance from the University of South Florida (after also studying theatre at the University of Miami) where she found her love of the Merce Cunningham technique. She studied with Chase Robinson and Sandra Neels at USF.
Today she is first and foremost a choreographer—having created movement for well over 250 musical theatre productions alongside numerous concert modern works—while remaining a dedicated teaching artist. She currently teaches Modern Dance, Musical Theatre Dance, and Composition at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, a magnet public high school for the arts in Jacksonville, Florida, and has also served as a teaching artist with the Orlando Ballet. Her students regularly gain acceptance to top college dance and theatre programs and go on to careers on Broadway, national tours, and professional companies.
Her choreography has earned consecutive Applause Awards for Outstanding Choreography for productions including A Chorus Line (2022), Chicago (2023), Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (2024), Hadestown (2025), and On the Town (2026). Drawing on Cunningham, Graham, and Humphrey/Limón techniques, she creates work marked by emotional resonance, clear storytelling, striking spatial design, and a collaborative spirit that encourages dancers to bring their own artistry to the movement.
Barrett currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Florida Dance Education Organization as President. She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Based in the St. Augustine/Jacksonville area, she continues to choreograph, adjudicate, teach, and collaborate across musical theatre, concert dance, opera, and educational settings.
Applause Awards....Outstanding Choreography
2022 - A CHORUS LINE
2023 - CHICAGO
2024 - NATASHA, PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812
2025 - HADESTOWN
2026 - ON THE TOWN
https://www.playbill.com/article/even-teachers-need-to-go-back-to-school-inside-the-2023-broadway-teachers-workshop
Watch my Interview with the Fabulous Dawn Branch on her YouTube Channel
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THE FLORIDA DANCE EDUCATION ORGANIZATION
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