OUR MISSION
To educate children through character building activities that encourage a love of the arts and inspire them to succeed.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
We are an organization devoted to enriching the lives of youth through the power of the arts. Using the arts as a catalyst for change, we help guide our students as they seek to impact their world.
Our programs are designed to encourage every child’s creativity in a positive environment. Our hope is that each child will walk away with a stronger sense of self-worth, more confidence and a wildly creative spirit.
Students will receive excellent training in a positive and professional environment. Our classes are designed to bring out the best in each of our students. Our faculty members are all college educated and love teaching and inspiring their students.
We strongly believe ArtWorks Academy is like no other. We invite you to enroll your child in our classes with confidence!
OUR FACULTY
 | Cheryl Morris, Director of Dance
Cheryl began dancing at three and continued to study throughout high school and college. She received a B.S. in Business Management with a minor in Theatre from Oklahoma State University. She continued her studies at University of Central Missouri as a graduate student in the Theatre Program. After completing her Master of Arts she spent a semester studying with Storling Dance Theatre of Kansas City. She continually attends workshops and seminars to learn new methods and ideas for teaching. While visiting New York City she spent time taking classes at Broadway Dance Center.
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Cheryl has taught dance to students ages three to adult for eight years. She has taught predance, ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, pointe, and musical theatre. For almost seven years she was the primary ballet instructor for Center Stage Academy in Warrensburg, MO and for the last three years she was the Director of Ballet. She worked with young dancers preparing them to dance with nationally touring ballet company productions of Nutcracker and Carmen. She has also worked with a national award winning competition team choreographing ballet, lyrical, modern solo and group dances. Cheryl won a choreography award for her work with the Warrensburg High School Girls Show Choir. Some of her theatrical choreography credits include Fiddler on the Roof, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Nunsense. As a performer, Cheryl has worked professionally for Central Missouri Repertory Theatre in numerous productions, as well as many regional and educational productions.
 | Jonathan Morris, Director of Technical Theatre
Jonathan holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Technology and a minor in Computer Information Systems from University of Central Missouri. Jonathan has served as the sound and lighting designer for numerous theatrical productions. He has worked with Central Missouri Repertory Theatre, the Liberty Center in Sedalia, MO, The Barn Players in Kansas City, and Imago Dei in Kansas City. Shows he has served as sound or lighting designer for include: Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Dial M for Murder, Noises Off, Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Real Story of Little Red Riding Hood, Ruthless!, |
Godspell and Nunsense. He was the sound engineer for Kansas City Repertory Theatre. He was a technical director for the Kansas City Fringe Festival. He has also performed in numerous musical productions with Central Missouri Repertory Theatre and the Liberty Center.
 | Katie Morris, Director of Music
Katie began performing at the age of seven, and has since performed in nearly 50 plays and musicals. Her performance credits include many local, regional and university productions. Katie's passion for the theatre continued into college, where she attended Oklahoma Christian University. Katie graduated Cum Laude with a B.A. in Communication Studies with an emphasis in Theatre, as well as a minor in Youth Ministry. She has continued her education post-college, taking classes in education, child development, speech and hearing mechanisms and language development, in addition to a master class with prominent voice and diction instructor and author Gillyanne Kayes. |
Professionally, Katie has served as the musical director for numerous musicals, and has also taught musical theatre and voice lessons to children for six years. Following a strong interest in adolescent development, Katie worked with middle school and high school students for a number of years as a youth leader and intern. She served for five years as Event Coordinator at the Civic Center Music Hall in Oklahoma City.
Michael is a graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma, where he received a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts. While attending UCO, he performed in many main stage musicals, including the Oklahoma premiere of Jane Eyre. In addition to his strong educational focus in acting, music and dance, Michael has also studied music theory, oral training, theatre history and directing. Michael has performed for the past nineteen years in many local, regional and professional theatres. His performance credits include Discoveryland!, 
Michael Morris, Director of Theatre
Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park, Summerstock Productions of Edmond, Open Circle Playhouse and others. Michael's intense love for the theatre has followed him professionally, where he has taught theatre and creative dramatics for the UCO Playtime Theatre, and worked on various projects as a director, choreographer and scenic assistant.
 | Shelby McClure, Hip Hop, Pom and Combo Instructor
Shelby began dancing at the age of four and continued to study throughout high school and college. She has been a member of a National Championship pom pon squad as well as been selected as a Universal Dance Association (UDA) All-Star. She grew up competing with an Oklahoma dance studio, winning numerous group and solo awards. Shelby received a B.A. in Mass Communications with a minor in Marketing from Southwestern Oklahoma State University. She is currently working on her Masters degree at The University of Oklahoma, while working as a program analyst for the federal government. |
school and college she began teaching at studios and continued to study many styles of dance. She has coached two dance teams and one cheer squad; One of her dance teams won the ASC National Championship. She also is the Dance Director/Choreographer for the CAVS Dancers since 2007 (www.lfscavs.com).
She has been an independent choreographer for seven years; training and working with young dancers and dance teams preparing them for auditions, competitions and pageants. She currently is the President of Prairie Dance Theatre (www.prairiedanceokc.org) as well as one of their instructors. She continually attends workshops and conventions to stay educated and gain new styles of dancing. By attending conferences and training's, Shelby is able to keep her choreography fresh and exciting as well as learn methods and ideas to continue teaching and inspiring her students.
Marilyn Gaston, Ballet Instructor
Marilyn Gaston is a native of Washington, D.C., and began her early training there and in Arlington, Virginia with the Washington Ballet School and Gioconda Fillipini of the Teatro Colon and Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Following that she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Ballet/Theatre from Texas Christian University, where she had already begun dancing professionally in summer stock musicals (Casa Mañana Theatre) and with the Fort Worth Ballet. It was during this time that she became a member of Actor's Equity Association.
After several years performing as a contracted member of the Atlanta Ballet Company, and serving as an apprentice to the Pennsylvania Ballet, Ms. Gaston continued her professional career for four more years in Europe, dancing with the Ballett der Hansestadt Lubeck, and the Badishes Staatstheater Karlsruhe in Germany, and with the Ballet du Rhin, then headquartered in Strasbourg, France.
She returned to the U.S., danced with the professional company in Baltimore (then known as the Maryland Ballet), and began teaching on the faculties of several university dance departments, among them: Towson University, Goucher College, Essex College, and Loyola College in Baltimore, as well as four years spent on the dance faculty of the Baltimore School for the Arts (high school). She then founded the Ballet Academy of Baltimore and its affiliate performing company, and remained its director for 17 years. During that time she choreographed and staged over 20 original ballets and productions. She also choreographed for Towson University's resident dance company, the Goucher College performing dance company, and staged original choreography for the musical Fiddler On The Roof at Loyola. In 1997 she moved to Orlando, Florida.
In 2000-2002, Ms.Gaston took over the directorship of the Tyler Junior College Academy of Dance in Tyler, Texas, during which time she staged an original production of The Nutcracker yearly, as well as full spring "dance gala" performances. She returned to Orlando and joined the dance faculty of Rollins College, as well as serving as faculty for several private dance studios. While there, she founded the Interlachen School of Dance and created a performing company known as the Orlando Metropolitan Ballet.
She comes to Norman as a fellowship recipient in the M.F.A. in Dance program at OU, after previously completing an M.F.A. in Creative Writing in 2008 from Queens University of Charlotte. She looks forward to a wonderful opportunity to work with the students and faculty at OU, and to continue teaching children through the classes offered at ArtWorks Academy.
