Elevate Performing Arts Company
Musical Theatre Training & Performance Pathways
Sing • Act • Dance • Belong
Elevate is Balance Dance Studios’ musical theatre company for students who want an integrated training and performance experience. Rather than separating classes from productions, Elevate weaves voice, acting, and dance training directly into rehearsals and performance opportunities, allowing students to grow as artists while actively applying their skills onstage. Performers build confidence, collaboration, and artistry within a supportive, connected community.
2026-2027 Auditions
Tuesday, May 19, 2026Balance Dance Studios – Studio 7
Ages 6–7: 4:00–6:00 PM
Ages 8–10: 4:00–7:00 PM
Ages 11+: 5:00–8:00 PM
Three Pathways. One Connected Program.
Elevate offers three distinct but interconnected pathways, allowing students to enter at the level that best supports their growth and goals.
Our program includes performance-based company experiences as well as a leveled training pathway focused on developing skills in singing, acting, and movement. Each pathway is designed to provide the right balance of training, performance opportunity, and artistic development.
As students grow in skill, confidence, and readiness, they may move between pathways over time.
Training That Leads to Performance
At Elevate, training is always connected to performance. Company members apply their skills directly in rehearsals, showcases, productions, and community performances — building confidence, stage presence, teamwork, and artistic ownership through experience.
Why Families Choose Elevate
Families choose Elevate because it balances high-quality training with a deeply supportive and encouraging environment.Our programs emphasize strong foundations in singing, acting, and movement while also cultivating confidence, collaboration, responsibility, and creative risk-taking. We hold high expectations for our performers and pair them with thoughtful guidance, clear communication, and a genuine commitment to each child’s growth.
Parents often tell us that Elevate becomes more than a program — it becomes a second home and extended family where their child is known, supported, and truly cared for, while being challenged to grow with both excellence and heart.
Is Elevate the Right Fit?
Elevate is a training-based performance company, not a drop-in program. Company members commit to rehearsals and productions as a collaborative ensemble.It is a strong fit for students who love performing — or are ready to take the next step — and who come with foundational readiness so rehearsals can remain focused, creative, and supportive.
Students still building skills are encouraged to begin in Elevate Studio, with clear pathways toward future company placement.
Elevate Directors
Elevate is led by a team of experienced educators and artists who are deeply invested in youth development, artistic excellence, and community-building.
Chantel MeadElevate Artistic Director
Chantel Mead is the Artistic Director of Elevate, providing steady leadership and guiding the program’s creative vision. Now entering her fifth year with Elevate, Chantel brings both continuity and a deep understanding of how to support young performers in a training-based, performance-driven environment—holding high expectations with care and building a culture where students feel seen, safe, and inspired to grow.
Chantel holds a BFA in Musical Theatre, a minor in Classical Voice, and graduate-level training in Vocal Pedagogy, with over 20 years of experience as a performer and educator. She remains committed to ongoing professional development and regularly pursues continued training in contemporary vocal science to ensure students are learning healthy, age-appropriate, and sustainable technique.After college, Chantel spent over a decade living, performing, and directing in Boulder, Colorado, before moving to New York City, where she served as a Music Teacher and Performing Arts Director. Her professional work and leadership in NYC continue to inform her approach to training young performers with both high standards and thoughtful care.
Now based in Austin, Chantel directs multiple youth theatre programs and vocal ensembles throughout the community and runs a private voice studio specializing in healthy technique, performance confidence, and audition preparation. She is also a homeschooling parent, and her daughter has grown up making Balance Dance Studios her dance home—deepening Chantel’s personal connection to the studio community and the families it serves. At the heart of Chantel’s work is a commitment to creating a brave, supportive environment where students are challenged artistically, supported personally, and encouraged to find their voice—onstage and beyond.
Shawna HeskethElevate Choreographer
Shawna Hesketh started dancing at an early age, at her one-room studio, in her small central Texas hometown. Her love of dance continued to grow, and she went on to join her high school’s drill/dance team, and then began teaching dance at the age of 16. She attended Sam Houston State University, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, in Photography and Dance.
While at SHSU, she was in several performances, including a graduate thesis, and also worked in the costume department for their Nutcracker production. After moving to Austin, she got back into dance full-time, diving into ballroom dancing.
Shawna then joined Balance Dance Studios, in the fall of 2012, in its inaugural year. Since then, she has created a home and family with Balance, is also the Director of Ignite Dance Company, and now gets to share this journey with her two children, as she watches them dance and grow.
Kyra JacksonElevate Choreographer
Kyra Jackson is a dancer, choreographer, and performer born and raised in Austin, Texas. She joined Balance Dance Studios in 2025 and brings a dynamic blend of technical training, theatrical storytelling, and professional performance experience to her work.
Kyra has taught and choreographed for Impact Arts, Westwood High School, and the ZACH Pre-Professional Company, among others. Her performance credits include Sally in A Charlie Brown Christmas at ZACH Theatre, Jimmy 1 in Grand Hotel with The Alchemy Theatre, and Harper in Someone to Watch Over Me with Bandwagon Arts.
Deeply passionate about theatre and dance education, Kyra is committed to inspiring the next generation of young artists. She believes in creating meaningful, beautiful work grounded in passion, discipline, and pride in the process.