Ballethnic Dance Company is a classically trained, culturally diverse ballet company that blends traditional ballet with the artistic influences of other ethnic cultures – especially African American – to produce unique and exciting dance performances. Nena and Waverly, Ballethnic Co-founders, are both former members of the Dance Theater of Harlem and the Atlanta Ballet. They continue to work with the Ballethnic Dance Company to feature original ballet performances.
Ballethnic’s energetic and entertaining repertoire includes tailor-made unique choreography from co-founder Waverly Lucas, David Dorfman, Robert Logan Mayo, Salia and Sedou and others. Ballethnic Dance Company performs nationally and internationally and has performed for major festivals such as Lincoln Center, Out of Doors, and the 1996 Olympic Arts Festival.
Ballethnic Company Dancers
KARLA D. TYSON
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. 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 to 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. In March 2009, she was featured as the first ever Quick Gem in Ballethnic’s premiere of Jazzy Sleeping Beauty. She has performed in numerous cities throughout America and 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 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, now in her eighth season, while also assisting rehearsals at Ballethnic Dance Company. In 2022, Ms. Tyson performed six shows at the renowned Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. as part of “Reframing the Narrative” that showcased black ballerinas and danseurs from the three professional black ballet companies in all of America. During the International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD) Conference, she represented Ballethnic by performing a pas de deux en pointe in Toronto, Canada (choreographed by Mr. Christopher L. Huggins) in January 2023. The following year, Ms. Tyson, along with Ballethnic Dance Company members, had the opportunity to travel to The Netherlands to participate at the Holland Dance Festival, collaborating with the National Ballet School of Canada.
CALVIN GENTRY
Calvin Gentry is an Atlanta native began his dance training at Atlanta DanceWorks in Stone Mountain Ga. He furthered his studies on full scholarship at Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education, School of American Ballet in Nyc and Houston Ballet Academy. Calvin began his professional career with Atlanta Ballet where he danced for two seasons. In 2002, Calvin joined Ballethnic Dance Co. in East Point, Ga. dancing and bringing ballet to diverse audiences through out the metro area and the Us. In 2006 he joined Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo traveling through The states and abroad. In 2010 he returned to Ballethnic and embarked on teaching young dancers through out the metro area. He has taught at Ballethnic, DanceMakers of Atlanta, Georgia Dance Conservatory, Phusion, and British Academy of Performing arts. In 2013 his choreography was chosen for the South East Regional Ballet Association gala performances. His choreography and teachings have reached dancers and audiences in NYC, Washington DC, and Akron Ohio.
Njema Williams
Njema Williams, a native of Stone Mountain, Georgia, began taking dance lessons at the age of 3. She started dancing at Academy of the Arts, then Susan’s Dance Studio, under the direction of Susan McGhee. Here, she took classes in a variety of styles, including ballet, tap, jazz, and modern. By age 12, Williams began her serious ballet training at the City Gate School under the direction of Robert Mason and Jennifer Davis. It was with the City Gate School that Williams competed in the Youth America Grand Prix in 2015. By age 15, she furthered her ballet training at Ballet Institute of Atlanta under the direction of Jaime Robtison. Williams has received summer training at Ballet Austin in Austin, Texas, Next Generation Ballet in Tampa, Florida, and Nashville Ballet in Nashville, Tennessee. Williams was a member of Gwinnett Ballet Theatre’s Professional Ensemble for its inaugural season in 2019-2020, where she danced the role of Snow Queen in The Nutcracker. Williams graduated from Agnes Scott College in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in Dance and History. From 2019 to 2022, Williams was a member of Agnes Scott’s dance company, Studio Dance Theatre, under the direction of Professor Bridget Roosa. It was at Agnes Scott where Williams was awarded the Dance Department Award for Creative Excellence in 2022. In 2023, Williams joined Ballethnic Dance Company in East Point, Georgia, where she is currently a company member. With Ballethnic, Williams has performed in The Leopard Tale and The Urban Nutcracker, among other works. In 2024, she performed Waltz TanGall with Ballethnic in collaboration with the National Ballet School of Canada at the Holland Dance Festival. Williams earned her master’s degree in Public History at the University of West Georgia in 2024.
