Blake Coheley
Executive Director
Blake started dancing at the age of three and has been in the studio ever since. He has toured internationally with The United States Air Force Tops in Blue, as well as toured nationally/internationally with Oliver, West Side Story, Gypsy, Fiddler on the Roof, Bye-Bye Birdie, 42 Street and Annie. He is an award winning director/choreographer of musical theatre, industrials, and National competition winners. He has had the opportunity to inspire many young dancers/singers/artists along the way. He has directed and choreographed shows like Side Show, Working, Floyd Collins, Anything Goes, Godspell, Nunsense, The Fantastiks, Steelpier, 110 in the Shade, West Side Story, Godspell, The Who’s Tommy, Singing in the Rain, Jane Eyre, Bat Boy, Secret Garden, Carnival, Heathers, Pippin, Swing (the Musical), Hairspray, 13, All is Calm (the story of the Christmas truce of 1914), Noises Off, Curtains (plus many more). He was selected to create, direct and choreograph a new original show at a brand-new venue at The National World War II Museum, entitled “Let Freedom Swing” and a new outdoor multi sensory experience entitled “Expressions of America”. Blake now serves as the President of Dance Teachers United, a national dance teacher organization that serves dance teachers and dance educators throughout the country. Blake also sits on the Board of New Orleans Arts Education Alliance and serves as the Secretary for The Board of Crescent City Stages Theatre Company. As his scope of work increases you can find Blake on the practice field or in the indoor gym with DCI and WGI as his passion for writing drill and working with color guards take him on the road across the country. Blake has the honor of winning best Choreography/Theatre and the best Choreography/Classical Arts in the same year and he recently won the Best Direction of a Musical Award for his thoughtful and inspiring direction of Southern Repertory Theatre’s production of Next to Normal and recently, Fun Home. Blake has ventured into creating an original work and is producing his own show entitled The Retreat, which has had critical acclaim to its latest readings. He is hoping to stage this next fall. Blake was awarded Dance Teacher of the Year in 1998 and 2020. Blake was recently awarded the International NETWORK of Schools for the Advancement of Arts Education, Teacher of the Year. Blake’s latest stage credits put him on the boards in shows like The Diary of Anne Frank, To Kill a Mockingbird, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Trip to Bountiful. Blake continues to develop and work his passion for musical theatre by working for the internationally acclaimed Broadway Theatre Project, founded by Anne Reinking and Debra McWaters. He is a multi-talented-award winning actor, director and choreographer who loves to demand excellence from his cast, his ensemble and his students. Blake Coheley was the Chair of both Dance and Musical Theatre at the prestigious New Orleans Center for Creative Arts for 15 years. And for the last seven years now, he has served as the Director of Admissions and Student Services at NOCCA.