Sarah Kleinke,
Staff Administrator
Sarah Kleinke is originally from Hickory, North Carolina where she attended St. Stephens High School and trained in dance at the Ann Freeman Dance Academy. She later attended East Carolina University (ECU) to pursue a higher education in Dance Performance. In 2014, just before her senior year, she accepted a summer internship at Elisa Monte Dance (EMD) in New York City under the supervision of Tiffany Rea-Fisher as an Operations Office intern. With an interest in roles of leadership and administration she took on the position of Vice President for the East Carolina Dance Association and the dance program’s chapter of National Honors Society for Dance Arts. Through these programs Sarah worked with fellow officers to coordinate a long list of charitable activities increasing student engagement while providing important outreach to the local community. In May 2015, she completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance, graduated magna cum laude and received the Outstanding Senior Award in Dance Performance.
After moving to New York in 2015, Sarah held the role of Director of Administration for four years at Inception To Exhibition (ITE); an arts non-profit co-founded by Tiffany Rea-Fisher that serves the New York City community and provides grants to emerging artists in dance, theater, and music. Through working at ITE, Sarah coordinated various events and assisted in the curation and management of the Bryant Park Contemporary Dance Summer Series for five summers. While continuing to expand her work in arts administration, Sarah became the Company Manager for Elisa Monte Dance under the Artistic Direction of Tiffany Rea-Fisher in 2019. Shortly after, she joined EMD as a Company Dancer in 2020.
Sarah is a founding Company Dancer with EMERGE125 (E125) and is now in her fourth season under the Artistic Direction of Tiffany Rea-Fisher. She currently holds the role of Staff Administrator for E125 and her responsibilities are integral to the daily function of the organization. As a dance educator, Sarah has had the opportunity to be a guest teacher at the Repertory Company High School for Theatre Arts, Newcomb Central School, the Stars of Tomorrow Project, and the Emerging Artist Summer Series. She was on faculty at the Lake Placid School of Dance from 2021-2023 where she taught ballet, pointe, jazz, modern, conditioning, and adult cardio to local students in Lake Placid, NY.
Sarah is thrilled to be working with EMERGE125 and looks forward to continuing her career as a professional dancer and arts administrator.