Celeste Hartsook
Celeste Hartsook (she/her) has been teaching ballet with Opus since 2015. She strives to cultivate encouraging environments in which students can learn about themselves through the technique, artistry, and unique expression of dance.
Celeste’s love for ballet started very young, and she began training more seriously when she was 11. She spent her most formative, teenage years studying at Ballet Arts Academy in Spokane, WA under Dodie Askegard, Sarah Donally, and Peggy Goodner-Tan. Her training was further developed through experiences attending summer programs with Summer Dance Lab, American Ballet Theater, and Paul Taylor Dance Company and annual master classes with Charles Askegard, Emily Grizzell, and Kirsten Cooper.
Celeste continued dancing at Western Washington University where she earned a BA in Sociology and minor in Spanish. In her time at Western, Celeste participated in a residency with the Martha Graham Dance Company and continued dancing recreationally. After college she served as an AmeriCorps VISTA in WWU’s Center for Service-Learning, worked locally as a paraeducator, and later returned to Western with the opportunity to teach ballet in 2020-2021. Celeste performed with Bellingham Repertory Dance (BRD) from 2017-2019, performing in works by notable choreographers including Kevin Jenkins, Mark Haim, Joshua Beamish, Marlo Ariz, and Eliza Larson. She also coordinated BRD's summer intensives for local middle and high school students.
Celeste is honored to be among the faculty at Opus, where she is committed to making space for every student to be themselves, explore, take risks, and express themselves through movement.
Celeste’s love for ballet started very young, and she began training more seriously when she was 11. She spent her most formative, teenage years studying at Ballet Arts Academy in Spokane, WA under Dodie Askegard, Sarah Donally, and Peggy Goodner-Tan. Her training was further developed through experiences attending summer programs with Summer Dance Lab, American Ballet Theater, and Paul Taylor Dance Company and annual master classes with Charles Askegard, Emily Grizzell, and Kirsten Cooper.
Celeste continued dancing at Western Washington University where she earned a BA in Sociology and minor in Spanish. In her time at Western, Celeste participated in a residency with the Martha Graham Dance Company and continued dancing recreationally. After college she served as an AmeriCorps VISTA in WWU’s Center for Service-Learning, worked locally as a paraeducator, and later returned to Western with the opportunity to teach ballet in 2020-2021. Celeste performed with Bellingham Repertory Dance (BRD) from 2017-2019, performing in works by notable choreographers including Kevin Jenkins, Mark Haim, Joshua Beamish, Marlo Ariz, and Eliza Larson. She also coordinated BRD's summer intensives for local middle and high school students.
Celeste is honored to be among the faculty at Opus, where she is committed to making space for every student to be themselves, explore, take risks, and express themselves through movement.
