Carly Vanderheyden is a contemporary dance performer and choreographer based in St. Louis, MO. Carly grew up in Green Bay, WI and graduated from the University of Iowa with a BFA in Dance-Pedagogy, BA in Health and Human Physiology, and a certificate in Arts Entrepreneurship. Carly has trained in intensive programs including Orsolina28 in Moncalvo, Italy, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, DanceWorks Chicago, the Martha Graham School, among others. Carly was a company dancer with The Big Muddy Dance Company, now Saint Louis Dance Theatre, under the artistic direction of Brian Enos from 2017-2022 and Kirven Douthit-Boyd from 2022-2024. Carly has been featured in choreography by Sidra Bell, Norbert De La Cruz III, Omar Román De Jesús, Bradley Shelver, Brendan Fernandes, among others. She has performed in collaborations with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, Jazz St. Louis, and the Bach Society of St. Louis. In July 2024, Carly was featured in a performance project at B12 in Berlin, Germany, working closely with Shannon Gillen and Jason Cianciulli of VIM VIGOR. This December 2024, Carly will travel to Schwäbisch Hall, Germany for a winter performance project with Alice Klock and Florian Lochner of FLOCK. Carly is an American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum certified ballet teacher for Pre-Primary through Level 5, and she is a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher. Additionally, Carly works as a freelance photographer and graphic designer, as well as a teaching artist, choreographer, and rehearsal director at the Center of Creative Arts (COCA). Carly has presented her own choreography at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, the Saint Louis Dance Theatre Trainees, and COCA's Ballet Eclectica Second Company. Carly is the founder of St. Louis Dance Headquarters, a platform dedicated to amplifying the work of St. Louis dancers and dance organizations. Throughout her creative pursuits, Carly has a passion for making the world a more thoughtfully connected place through the arts.