Monica Stephenson is originally from Fayetteville, North Carolina. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and the Professional Training Program at the Houston Ballet Academy. In 2002, she received her first professional contract with The Washington Ballet. She went on to perform with the Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble from 2003-2005. During this time, Monica also performed in The Nutcracker with Pennsylvania Ballet and Ballet New York and as a guest artist with Ballet Black in London, England. In 2006, Monica joined the Los Angeles Ballet as an inaugural season company member. She performed with the LA Ballet through 2010 and enjoyed the opportunity to dance in classical and contemporary repertory and in many of Balanchine’s ballets. In 2016, she completed her Master of Arts in Dance Education from New York University with a concentration in American Ballet Theatre Ballet Pedagogy and is certified in all levels of the ABT curriculum. Monica was previously a member of the Education Staff at American Ballet Theatre as both a Teaching Artist and the Project Coordinator for Project Plié, an initiative to increase diversity in classical ballet.
Monica joined The Washington School of Ballet SE Campus as Full-time Faculty in the Fall of 2016. Monica assumed the role of Associate Head of School SE Campus in 2018 and Head of School SE Campus from 2019-2021. She is currently a PhD Student in Dance at Texas Woman’s University and Director of Community Engagement for the Miami City Ballet. She has also written for Dance Teacher.