Directors
Kathleen Carter
Kathleen Carter, born in Houston, Texas, began her dance training at the age of three. Kathleen is a Newman Smith graduate, class of 2007. She received her B.S. in Dance and English from Stephen F. Austin State University.
During her time at Smith, she was a four year member and officer of Gallery in Motion Dance Company, a four year cheerleader and performed in all NSHS musicals.
While at SFA, enrolled in advanced levels of dance technique and was a member of the SFA Repertory Dance Company. She attended several American College Dance Association conferences (ACDA), and her senior choreographic piece was selected to perform and be adjudicated at the American College Dance Festival in 2011. She also attended the TAHPERD conference with the SFA Dance Repertory Company.
She spent her first year of teaching as an Assistant Director in Houston where she received a choreography award and assisted her dance team to win a grand champion title. Carter was a member of Elledanceworks, a professional modern dance company. She has been one of the Artistic Directors of The Dance Gallery and Gallery in Motion at Newman Smith since 2013.
Stephanie Laranjeira
Stephanie Laranjeira was born in São Paulo, Brazil, and began her dance training at the Arte Fenix Dance Studio at the age of three. She received her B.S. in Dance with a minor in General Business from Stephen F. Austin State University in 2015.
As a student at SFA, Stephanie was enrolled in advanced levels of dance technique and the SFA Repertory Dance Company. She attended several American College Dance Association conferences (ACDA), in the South Central and Central regions, where she presented work for adjudication. She also attended the TAHPERD conference with the SFA Dance Repertory Company. She has worked with former Minnesota Ballet dancer, Katie Parr-Smith, at the Gobel School of Dance. She danced with Dimensions Contemporary Ballet, a professional company from East Texas, and had the opportunity to perform at the Houston Fringe Festival.
Following graduation, Stephanie worked as a dance instructor and choreographer for White Rock Dance and as a Sourcing Manager for Suffolk Dance. She also performed professionally with Full Circle Dance, a Modern Dance company in North Dallas. She has been one of the Artistic Directors of The Dance Gallery and Gallery in Motion at Newman Smith since 2016.