Rebecca Massey Wiley
Founder & Director
Rebecca Wiley, Founder and Director of Piedmont School of Music & Dance, received her training on full scholarship at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston-Salem, N.C., School of American Ballet in New York, N.Y. and the Hungarian National Ballet Academy, Budapest, Hungary. In 1992, Ms. Wiley became a full time company member of the American Ballet Theatre, New York, N.Y. During her eight years with the company, she performed throughout the world and was frequently featured as a soloist performer. While in New York, Rebecca also appeared with The Stars of New York City Ballet.
Ms. Wiley has served as a Master Teacher for Wake Forest University, Charlotte Ballet, American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company and has served on faculty at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston-Salem, N.C. In addition to her role as Director of PSMD, Ms. Wiley also serves as the Founder and Director of Piedmont Dance Theatre (PDT), offering her students many production opportunities.
During Ms. Wiley’s 16-year career as Director of PDT, she has established a strong community following, and the company’s annual Nutcracker production has become a holiday favorite. In addition to The Nutcracker, she has created and directed multiple full-length ballets including Cinderella, Snow White, Peter Pan, A Pirates Tale and Peter and the Wolf. Through grants and community partnerships Rebecca has provided the citizens of her community an opportunity to see a ballet each summer free of charge and ensures all Kannapolis City School third graders can attend the Nutcracker free of charge.
Under Rebecca’s leadership, the students of PSMD have achieved great success and joy through dance. Whether her students have gone onto professional dance careers, attended college for dance or simply enjoyed dancing for the sake of dancing, Ms. Wiley celebrates and honors each young man and woman she teaches for their job well done.
Daniel Wiley
Associate Artistic Director
Daniel Wiley began his dance training at the Florida Ballet Training Center. At the age of 14, he continued his training at the esteemed HARID Conservatory in Boca Raton, F.L. While attending HARID, Daniel performed lead roles in The Nutcracker, La Bayadere, Raymonda, Flower Festival and Paquita. In addition to his experience at HARID, Mr. Wiley furthered his studies on scholarship at American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, and Pittsburgh Ballet. Upon graduation from HARID, Mr. Wiley began his studies in New York, N.Y. at the prestigious The Juilliard School, under the direction of the late Benjamin Harkarvy. While attending The Juilliard School, Mr. Wiley worked with world famous contemporary choreographers, such as Hans van Manen, Lar Lubovitch, Jirí Kylián, Paul Taylor and Igal Perry. Daniel spent his final year at Juilliard under the direction of Lawrence Rhodes, receiving his BFA in May of 2003. Upon graduation, Mr. Wiley joined the Charlotte Ballet where he served as principal artist for three seasons (2003-2006). While at Charlotte Ballet, Mr. Wiley performed works by George Balanchine, Alvin Ailey, Alonzo King, Nicolo Fonte, Uri Sands, Mark Godden, and Dwight Rhoden among others. In 2004, The Charlotte Observer named Mr. Wiley “Artist to Watch”, and in 2005 he was honored with the “Best Male Dancer” award in Charlotte Magazine’s “Best of the Best” edition. Mr. Wiley strives for excellence, in and out of the studio, and serves as an ideal role model for the students and faculty of Piedmont School of Music & Dance.
