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Annually, Devils en Pointe performs excerpts from the holiday classic The Nutcracker every fall semester and a short excerpt from a classical ballet along with various student-choreographed contemporary works every spring semester. In our most recent years, we have performed snippets from The Sleeping Beauty (2026), Don Quixote (2025), Giselle (2024), and Swan Lake (2023).
About Us.
All dancers in DEP attend a weekly mandatory company class (a two-hour-long Intermediate/Advanced ballet technique class) taught by our Artistic Director. To prepare for our performances of The Nutcracker and our annual Spring Showcase, dancers also attend hour-long rehearsals for each piece they are casted in. DEP members are also given the opportunity to build their choreography skills through staging dances in any of our two annual productions.
Additionally, DEP members are required to enroll in one supplementary dance class a year after Freshmen Fall with the Duke Dance Department (classical ballet, modern, jazz, contemporary, etc.).
![[] DEP, Embodiment - Interlude 2026 - Amy Zhang 1020_edited.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/cfc734_07b3a810f65c44c4a88c74151a5c7390~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_600,h_397,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/%5B%5D%20DEP%2C%20Embodiment%20-%20Interlude%202026%20-%20Amy%20Zhang%201020_edited.jpg)
Our Mission.
The mission of DEP is to learn, perform, and share ballet, both by creating new works and drawing upon choreography from classical and contemporary repertory. We strive to serve as a bridge between the Duke Dance Program faculty and Duke University’s ballet students by encouraging love for ballet within Duke’s dance community and within the broader Durham community.
DEP trains and showcases dancers with a strong technical background, develops ballet dancers’ artistry so that they may grow as performers, provides community service performance and teaching opportunities, and allows students to utilize the diverse set of skills required to manage and direct a company beyond a classroom and studio setting.
Our History.
Press.
Founded in 2013 by Noelani Ho (T'17), Nicolena Farias-Eisner (T'17), Haylee Levin (T'17), and Stephanie Joe (T'16), DEP is committed to fostering a nurturing environment for all ballet dancers at Duke to learn, perform, and share ballet.
DEP Executive Board 2026-27.
Previous DEP Executive Boards
2025-2026
President: Emily Fong
Artistic Director: Shelly Han
Vice Presidents: Amare Swierc & Sara Yoon
Treasurer: Olly Yang
Costume Director: Emerson Eickholt
Marketing Directors: Sophia Boghosian & Sara Yoon
Social and Media Chairs: Emmie Urquhart, Rachel Tang, & Hannah Jiang
2024-2025
President: Eliza Miller
Company Director: Kayla Lihardo
Vice President: Emily Fong
Artistic Director: Shelly Han
Costume Director: Amare Swierc
Treasurer: Olly Yang
Social Chairs: Taylor Donovan, Sadie Sheridan, & Sasha Faison
Marketing Chairs: Georgia Lazarus, Sara Yoon, & Sophia Boghosian
2023-2024
President: Sarah Broders
Artistic Director: Kayla Lihardo
Vice President: Isa Rundell
Treasurer: Emily Gershowitz
Marketing Directors: Sophia Boghosian & Emily Fong
Costume Directors: Eliza Miller & Jacey Curd
Social Chairs: Taylor Donovan, Sadie Sheridan, & Sasha Faison
Join Us!
Recruitment is open to dancers from all backgrounds, grade-levels, expertise-levels, and more. Auditions are typically held annually within the first weeks of September and feature a two-hour ballet class along with contemporary combinations taught by our Artistic Director.
Mentorship & Community Outreach.
Peer Mentorship
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The DEP Peer Mentorship Program matches incoming DEP members with experienced upperclassmen DEP members to seamlessly integrate first-years into the DEP community and cultivate a close-knit, supportive atmosphere.
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Members share their intended major, areas of interest, and hometown and are paired accordingly to facilitate mentor matches.
Partnership with Ballet & Books
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Ballet & Books is a national non-profit organization striving to close the literacy gap through the hybrid storytelling of dancing and reading. With ten chapters across the nation, Ballet & Books has mentored over 450 children, and the Duke Chapter continues to provide free dance and literacy programming to even more Durham children each semester.
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Devils en Pointe fosters a strong partnership with Ballet & Books, as many of our members volunteer as dance mentors for the organization in the Duke Chapter. Most recently, Durham children from Ballet & Books performed in our 2025 production of Don Quixote.
