March 31, 2026
From Swan Lake Dreams to Shaping Young Artists, Kathryn Wheeler’s Passion Moves En Pointe
By Roxanne Brown
From Swan Lake Dreams to Shaping Young Artists, Kathryn Wheeler’s Passion Moves En Pointe
Kathryn Wheeler
How I became interested in ballet: When I was in kindergarten, my mom and I went to the ballet. We saw Swan Lake and that’s all I dreamt about. I kept thinking, ‘I just want to be that. I want to do whatever that is.’”
My inspiration for Mount Dora School of Ballet: Nan Keating and I moved to this area around the same time after having retired from teaching. The Orlando Ballet offered us teaching positions. We didn’t want to be driving that far at night, so we met each other by coincidence. We went to lunch and in talking, decided we were both very fortunate to have such wonderful training and teaching careers behind us that it would be exciting to have a school of that caliber here.
At my school: I teach ballet, pointe, variations, contemporary, character dance, just all that’s related to classical ballet.
A meaningful moment: About two years ago, I coached part of Swan Lake to my school. I was so driven with it, and it was moving to see things come full circle from me having gone to that ballet as a child, having practiced it as a student, personally dancing in it, then handing it on to my own students and seeing them perform an excerpt at our spring performance.
The most rewarding part: It’s exciting to have opened a school where dance is for everybody. It brings out so many things, not just in the arts, but in their personal development, their character.
I love when: I hear from my dancers that have gone on to become doctors, lawyers, teachers, homemakers, business leaders, and all say the influence of classical ballet really helped them be successful because you learn about drive, working hard and persistence. Many other students become professional dancers, but it’s nice to know I somehow made a difference to so many people in so many ways, whether they continued to dance or not.
Photos: Nicole Hamel
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Originally from Nogales, Arizona, Roxanne worked in the customer service industry while practicing freelance writing for years. She came on board with Akers Media in July 2020 as a full-time staff writer for Lake & Sumter Style Magazine and was promoted to Managing Editor in October 2023—her dream job come true. Prior to that and after just having moved to Florida in 1999, Roxanne had re-directed her prior career path to focus more on journalism and went on to become a reporter for The Daily Commercial/South Lake Press newspapers for 16 years. Additionally, Roxanne—now an award-winning journalist recognized by the Florida Press Club and the Florida chapter of The Society of Professional Journalism—continues working toward her secondary goal of becoming a published author of children’s books.
