Adjunct Instructor of Theatre Arts

[Musical Theatre – Dance]

Acclaimed in ballet, modern, and jazz styles, Ms. Parkinson began her career as a principle ballerina with the Joffrey Ballet. She went on to perform worldwide with the Feld Ballet, Donald Byrd/The Group, and Twyla Tharp Dance. She appeared as a soloist in the National Tours of Singin’ In The Rain, The Harlem Nutcracker, and the Lincoln Center production of Carousel. In 1999,  she segued to Broadway and received tremendous praise as a lead in Fosse (Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk nominations for Best Featured Actress in a Musical) and later in the hit Twyla Tharp/Billy Joel musical, Movin’ Out, where she earned the 2003 Tony-award nomination and the highly coveted Astaire Award for best female dancer on Broadway. She has appeared in the films Stay, Romance and Cigarettes, and Every Little Step. After a performance career on Broadway, Elizabeth appeared as a concert soloist at Carnegie Hall with Clint Holmes and at the American Dance Festival with Martha Clarke. She teaches master classes and workshops nationwide most recently at North Carolina School of the Arts, The Joffrey Summer Intensives, and West Coast Dance Explosion.  In 2011 Elizabeth founded Artists In Motion , a not for profit pre-professional training company for aspiring young dancers. She is the co-owner and co-director of Fineline Theatre Arts, a full spectrum theatre arts school in New Milford, CT. Elizabeth and her husband Broadway performer Scott Wise developed and direct the Musical Theatre Lab at The Vineyard Arts Project, a pre-professional summer intensive for students from ages 14 to 19. Elizabeth is honored to be an adjunct professor at Western Connecticut State University and hopes to pass on her passion, love and strong work ethic to her students.