Roxie Thomas Clayton is a dance educator, choreographer, and creative. She believes that movement and dance should be accessible to every student who has that creative passion. After receiving her Masters in Dance, Roxie continued to make new discoveries about her craft and started connecting dance with her love of teaching. Roxie has been an adjunct faculty member at The University of Mississippi in the Theatre Art and Film department for 10 years. She is currently building an innovative dance program at Tupelo Middle School, where she offers a dance company and two dance classes.  Roxie is the artistic director for Doniphan Dance Project, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that serves youth in her surrounding communities who want to broaden their dance experiences but may not have the opportunity due to financial hardships.

Roxie believes in a creative classroom and strives to empower teachers to think outside of the traditional teacher box. Roxie’s professional background in dance and her dedication to education allow her to offer strong lesson plans that are anchored in content-based standards. Roxie feels that it is her calling to allow students and teachers to tap into their “creative selves”  so that they can be superstars in and out of the classroom. The workshops and professional development that Roxie Thomas Clayton offers are unique and original to encourage teachers to make new discoveries about their classroom and to keep all learners engaged. Roxie wants to share her gift of dance composition with other teachers by providing movement and choreography residencies. These residencies can range from building an authentic piece for a group of dancers at school to setting one of Clayton’s original works on a dance company or group of students. Roxie can also work with an organization, a group of teachers, an individual teacher, or administration as a consultant on how to establish a sustainable arts program and develop more creativity in their schools.

Roxie’s approach to learning and the arts sheds new light on places that may need extra attention in the hope that every student and teacher feels supported in their creativity and classroom.