Children’s Program Director, Communications/Development Director, Instructor
Ms. Lisa started her dance training at a local dance school and quickly fell in love with ballet and jazz. At age twelve, she began serious training at the Washington School of Ballet. Summer intensives at Richmond Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Jacob’s Pillow and Joffrey Ballet rounded out her training.
After high school, Ms. McCarty attended Point Park College as a dance major. She then went on to dance with Richmond Ballet and Nevada Dance Theatre. Ms. McCarty danced in classics such as Giselle, Swan Lake, Les Sylphides and The Nutcracker as well as many contemporary works. After several years of professional ballet work, she began working in commercial dance.
For over ten years she performed in various Las Vegas casino shows including The Aladdin and Flamingo Hilton as well as tours to Italy, Japan, Mexico and Korea. Dancing also allowed her to travel around the world while performing on Royal Viking and Cunard Line cruise ships. While performing in Las Vegas shows, Ms. Lisa also attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas graduating magna cum laude with a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration.
Throughout her professional dance career, Ms. Lisa found time to share her love of dance with the next generation through teaching. She has taught in Richmond, Las Vegas, Northern Virginia and many studios in Hampton Roads. Ms. Lisa moved back to Virginia in 1998. She taught jazz and ballet at Virginia Ballet Theatre among other local studios before coming to Ballet Virginia.
In 2008, she became Ballet Virginia’s Children’s Program Director and Marketing Director. Ms. Lisa also serves on the adjunct faculty of Old Dominion University where she teaches various levels of ballet. In 2018, she travelled to Boston to earn a certification in Adaptive Dance and started a small dance program for children with special needs at Ballet Virginia.
She lives in the Riverview area of Norfolk with her husband, two boys and a naughty cat. She continues to teach ballet, pointe, conditioning and jazz to the newest generation of dancers while also overseeing the Children’s Program as well as the marketing and public relations efforts of Ballet Virginia.