Karla D. Tyson began dancing at the age of five at Ballethnic Academy of Dance in East Point, GA under the direction of Nena and Waverly Lucas. She specializes in classical ballet, pointe, and partnering but is also trained in jazz, tap, modern, lyrical, African, and hip hop. Ms. Tyson has performed in Ballethnic’s two main productions: The Urban Nutcracker and The Leopard Tale. In March 2009, she was featured as the first-ever Quick Gem in Ballethnic’s premiere of Jazzy Sleeping Beauty.

Before becoming a professional, she was an apprentice at Ballethnic Dance Company for two years, performing such roles as Brown Sugar (also known as the Sugar Plum Fairy) in The Urban Nutcracker, at just 16 years old, and other various company roles. She was selected for the Governor’s Honors Program in the summer of 2005 as a dance major and later earned her college degree in Accounting from The University of West Georgia. Ms. Tyson was once a back-up dancer for Cymia Telleria, a young artist with Cash Money Records, where she traveled to New Orleans and Miami to perform. She has also traveled to Barbados to teach ballet master classes. Ms. Tyson was chosen to go to Las Vegas, NV to participate on the hit TV show, “So You Think You Can Dance” in season 8. She was also featured in VOGUE online as one of the ballerinas at rapper Cardi B’s baby shower. For 5 years, she lived in Long Beach, CA, where she was a member of the prestigious Los Angeles Laker Girls for three seasons. Upon her return, Ms. Tyson is now a choreographer, assistant director, and teacher at Gift of Dance Studio and has returned as a professional ballerina, currently in her fourth season, while also assisting with rehearsals at Ballethnic Dance Company.