About Caroline

Caroline Rocher Barnes is an assistant professor of dance at Towson University. She trained at the Conservatoire de Montpellier in France, the Rudra Béjart Art School in Switzerland, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center in New York. In 1999, Mrs. Rocher Barnes joined The Dance Theatre of Harlem under Arthur Mitchell’s mentorship, was promoted to Soloist in 2000, and then Principal Dancer the following year. Her professional career extends to the Bavarian State Ballet in Germany, the Lyon Opera Ballet in France, and Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet in San Francisco. In 2001 Mrs. Rocher Barnes was named “25 to watch” in Dance Magazine. She has taught at several dance institutions in the DMV and she is on faculty at the Alonzo King Lines Summer Program. She is part of the Kennedy Center Dance Council, that advises on the content of the ballet series offerings, and serves as ambassadors for the Center’s dance programs to young performers, schools, and the local community.

Mrs. Rocher Barnes holds a certification in the Gyrotonic® & Gyrokinesis® expansion systems, the FA® Functional Awareness method, and the Progressing Ballet Technique®. She is an ABT® Certified teacher who has completed the ABT® Teacher training intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 5. 

Mrs. Rocher Barnes graduated Summa Cum Laude from Saint Mary’s College of California with a BA in Performing Arts. She holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Maryland, College Park.