Tracie Monroe began her ballet training at the age of six in Houston, TX before moving to Bakersfield with her family. At the age of 12, she began training in ballet and jazz under Cindy Trueblood and danced in many Gala and Nutcracker performances. Her favorite Nutcracker role was “Waltz of the Flowers” because the music is some of the most recognized and beautiful music in all of ballet. She then attended UC Davis where she danced and choreographed for fun and stress relief as part of their newly-formed recreational dance program. When Tracie and her husband then moved to Los Angeles, she performed as part of the Citrus College Performing Arts group. Dance has always been part of Tracie’s life. Once Tracie and her husband settled back into Bakersfield, their two daughters became part of the “second generation” Civic Dance family. Tracie began teaching ballet 10 years ago. Dance has become a family affair, as Tracie’s physical therapist husband helps backstage at all of the productions to prevent and treat injuries of the dancers. Among many things, dance develops discipline, hard work, confidence, goal-setting, and poise. Tracie’s philosophy of teaching is to give each individual student encouragement and inspiration to reach their full potential and to develop a life-long love for the art. In addition to teaching at Civic, Tracie substitute teaches in the Panama-Buena Vista district part time, volunteers in her church and her children’s schools, and enjoys running, cycling, reading, and planning the next family adventure! She is married to Brian, and they have two daughters, Lindsay and Megan.