Roxi Victorian – People to Watch 2016

Owner, Ballet Victorian
Hometown: Washington, D.C.
Age: 34

Roxi Victorian was never the kind of kid to ask “Are we there yet?”

As a teenager, she’d drive four hours each way from her home in Washington, D.C., to New York City for breakdancing classes taught by her idol, Ana “Rokafella” Garcia. Eight hours in a car was worth it if it meant she’d get to spend an hour with a hip-hop dance master.

She also traveled to France to train at The International School of Ballet, New York to study at The Juilliard School, and Oxford to earn a certificate in Shakespeare—all before her 20th birthday.

Now, she’s sharing everything she’s learned with students in Baton Rouge. In September, she founded Ballet Victorian, teaching students of all ages and experience levels ballet, hip hop, jazz and contemporary dance.

Her unique approach to dance is 100% about learning—not training for performances or competitions. Instead, her students use dance as a form of expression, as a tool to build self-esteem.

“We’re inspiring [students] to love themselves … you can still be comfortable being your kooky self,” she says. “You don’t have to leave wanting to be a pro dancer, but I want you to leave with an appreciation for dance and an appreciation for yourself.”

• She is also a ballet teacher at McKinley Middle Magnet School and a Manship Theatre teaching artist.

• She serves as the experience chair of the 2016 Baton Rouge Blues Festival. In 2011, she also created the BR Hops (Baton Rouge Hip Hop Festival). Although the last event was in 2013, she is considering reviving the festival this year or next year.

• In D.C., she worked as a choreographer at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre. She has a degree from Howard University.

• Despite her impressive resume, she beams the most when talking about her 8-year-old son, Michael Dukes. “He’s probably what I’m most proud of in my life,” she says, adding with a laugh, “On the days I can get him to wear deodorant.”

Looking ahead to 2016:
“This time is about enrollment. … I’d like more young dancers to know there is a place where they can come and just take a class.”

“Dance has always been a huge part of my life, but it wasn’t until she started teaching me that it really became a passion. She is so much more than just a dance teacher to me. She’s really like a second mother to me.”
—Madison Underwood, Victorian’s dance student