Emma Capen is a native of Colorado Springs where she began dancing at the age of 4 and danced for 15 years. She studied the Vaganova technique under German and Valentina Zamuel of the Maliy Theatre of Opera and Ballet and the Royal Ballet of London, as well as character dance from Marina Oreshkevich, formerly of the Moisseyev Folk Dance Company. Emma recently graduated from the University of Oklahoma and worked closely with the OU School of Dance. Emma is bi-lingual in Spanish and proficient in Russian.

Emma has won numerous scholarships and awards through her dancing studies, including the Denver Ballet Guild, full-merit scholarship to the Houston Ballet Academy, and a scholarship to the OU School of Dance. Emma has been recognized by Youth America Grand Prix for ballet, character dance, and modern dance, including trips to the New York City Finals competition. Emma has partnered with Ivan Putrov, former principal dancer of the Royal Ballet, in leading roles for select performances such as Swan Lake, Paquita, and The Nutcracker.

With her time at OU, Emma performed as a dancer in Oklahoma Festival Ballet’s I Rise and as a dancer in Storge, choreographed by OU School of Dance Alumnus and current Oklahoma City Ballet Corps de Ballet dancer, Micah Bullard. She also premiered and performed in her new choreographic work, Chasing Joy, in May 2021. She has previously taught at Zamuel Ballet School in Colorado Springs and at Central Oklahoma Dance Company in Norman as a guest instructor for ballet, pointe, variations, and character dance.

In Fall 2019, Emma worked as the Assistant to the Young Children’s Ballet Mistress for the University of Oklahoma’s production of Willam Christensen’s The Nutcracker. Emma acted as the Administration Intern for the OU School of Dance’s Summer Intensive for two years. She graduated Summa Cum Laude in May 2021 with her B.A. in Spanish and minor in Dance History. Emma will continue to share her joy for the arts and dance as she begins her journey as School Coordinator here at the Oklahoma City Ballet Yvonne Chouteau School.