The dance program within Creighton University’s Fine and Performing Arts Department recently welcomed Juliette Henning, Deborah Carr and Liz Reiter as the program’s newest faculty members.

Henning, a mother of two, has been dancing since the age of nine. A classic case of sibling rivalry motivated her to begin – and continue – dancing.

“I had an older sister who started taking ballet because she was clumsy,” Henning explained. “She was my motivation because I wanted to be better than her.”

Henning attended the Cleveland Ballet School, North Carolina School of the Arts and the Cincinnati Ballet. She danced professionally for a number of companies including the Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet Omaha and the Cincinnati Ballet, where she held both soloist and principal roles.

“Dancing is now a huge part of who I am because I’ve done it for so long,” she said.

Now in her 15th year of teaching, Henning stays busy with several studios throughout Omaha. Besides teaching advanced ballet at Creighton, Henning also teaches at Nebraska Dance and the Omaha Academy of Ballet.

Henning believes getting to know each student on an individual basis is critical to his or her success.

“You have to learn the students individually and go from there,” Henning said. “I teach them the best technique they can have, and then eventually add artistry to that technique.”

Arts & Sciences junior Becky Haworth can attest to Henning’s teaching philosophy, though it is only a few weeks into the semester.

“You can tell that she wants us to grow to our potential as dancers,” Haworth said. “Her classes are challenging mentally and physically, and I can already tell that I’m going to improve as a dancer because of her classes.”

Much like Henning, Carr also became involved with dance at an early age.

“When a friend started taking classes, so did I, and I never stopped,” she said.

Carr, a native of Waymouth, Mass., has danced with a number of companies including the Boston Festival Ballet, Connecticut Ballet and Ballet Omaha. She then moved on to teach for schools including the St. Louis Conservatory of Ballet, Ballet Midwest and the Omaha Theater Ballet Company.

Carr believes a number of factors have motivated her to keep dancing over the years.

“I just always loved it – the hard work, the people, the feeling of the movement to the music,” she said. “I always felt connected to something really special.”

Now that Carr is teaching at Creighton, she hopes to assist her students in reaching their fullest potentials as dancers.

“Not every student will become a professional dancer, but all of them are there in class because of their love of the art,” Carr said. “So I teach each and every one of them with the same enthusiasm and passion.”

Along with Carr and Henning, Reiter also joined the university’s dance program. She currently teaches modern jazz classes.

Dance coordinator Patrick Roddy believes these three new faculty members will be strong additions to the university’s dance program.

“All three of the new faculty have diverse and extensive experience in teaching dance, as well as performing,” Roddy said.

The dance program, which focuses on several dance styles, prides itself on catering to both experienced and beginning dancers.

“Creighton’s dance program is going strong, and we like to offer people who have danced a haven where they can continue doing it, or beginners a place to start,” Roddy said.

Henning, Carr, and Reiter are expected to assist the dance program in doing just that.