Ms. Kelly Owens has been hired to lead the Cleveland High School Dance Team this fall. Coach Owens has been the head of the Cleveland Middle School dance program for the past 16 years, a program she started in 2000. During that time, the CMS Dance Team won over 100 first place awards including five state championships as well as four International Championships at the Disney World Dance Championships. This year under her direction, the CMS Dance Team was invited to and participated in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
Coach Owens has been involved in dance since the age of five, teaching ballet with the Chattanooga Ballet as well as Ballet Tennessee. Her accomplishments in the dance community include performing lead roles in both ballet houses and graduating from the performing high school, North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, NC.
Coach Owens graduated from the University of Tennessee Chattanooga with a bachelor of science in elementary education and then later earned her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from UTC. During her 25 years of teaching in Cleveland City Schools, Coach Owens has been named Teacher of the Year on four different occasions. She currently teaches eighth grade Pre-Algebra and Algebra 1 at CMS.
“I am very honored to accept the position as the head coach of the CHS Dance Team,” said Coach Owens. “I have grown up in Cleveland, and my blood runs blue. I will take all of my personal dance skills and past coaching experience to make the team the very best that they can be. I hope to make every performance of the CHS Dance Team at games, community events, and competitions the best day to be a Raider.”
CHS Athletic Director Eric Phillips feels Coach Owens will bring new energy and focus to the program. “I am extremely excited that Kelly Owens will take over the helm of our dance program. What she has done at Cleveland Middle School rivals any dance program in the country, and I am confident that she will take the CHS Dance Team to those heights. She brings a wealth of experience and passion to this sport, and we are extremely fortunate to have her as the dance coach at Cleveland High School.”