Kira Roberts, a Florida native, trained at Florida School for Dance Education until 2017 under the direction of Michele Zehner. After high school, she was awarded scholarship to Colorado Ballet’s Pre-Professional Division. In Denver, she performed in Colorado Ballet’s The Nutcracker, Septime Webre’s The Wizard of Oz, and Lemon Sponge Cake Ballet’s production of Vertical Migration Experiment, choreographed by Robert Sher-Mecherndl. Kira’s professional career started off in 2020 with Columbia City Ballet in Columbia, SC under the direction of William Starett. She joined Ballet Quad Cities in 2021 and has performed in original works choreographed by Courtney Lyon, Emily Kate Long, Lynn Bowman, Domingo Rubio, and Deepali Phanse Bhagwat. Since joining BQC, Kira has had the opportunity to perform the roles Clara, Ballerina Doll, and both the Spanish and Mirliton divertissement in Courtney Lyon’s The Nutcracker. Other memorable performances include Lyon’s Romeo + Juliet (2022), Le Boeuf sur le Toit (2022), Rite of Spring (2023), and classical works set by Emily Kate Long including Petipa’s Pas de Trois from Swan Lake (2022), sections of Bournonville’s Napoli (2023), and Vainoen’s Flames of Paris (2024). This past year, Kira was Dorothy in Emily Kate Long’s production of Dorothy Goes to Oz. Kira values the amount of community engagement BQC provides through outreach programs, and is excited to return for a fourth year, both onstage and in the community!