In dance retail, Natalie has worked at two icons of the pointe shoe world. Initially, she honed her skills fitting pointe shoes under the guidance of Michelle Attfield MBE while employed at the Freed of London shop in Covent Garden, London, for 1.5 years. Later, she joined the team at the Bloch UK Flagship store, also located in Covent Garden, London, where she worked for 6 years.

Since 2010, Natalie has served as a classical ballet teacher, registered with the Royal Academy of Dance, in Southern California. In 2013, she established Whitley Ballet School in Pasadena. Alongside her teaching commitments, Natalie has remained active as a professional dancer, performing commercially and in productions with Pacific Ballet Dance Theatre (Carmen, Don Quixote, and Masquerade) and ContempoArts Productions (Romeo and Juliet, Fused). During her earlier years, she gained valuable experience as a student dancer with the Mariinsky Ballet (Sleeping Beauty) and the English National Ballet (Swan Lake).

Trained professionally for classical ballet and musical theatre at Elmhurst Ballet School in the UK, Natalie attended intensives at the Royal Ballet School and English National Ballet School, and was a member of the National Youth Ballet of Great Britain for 3 years. As a dance student, her most influential teachers included Anita Young MBE, Mercia Hetherington, Sherril Wexler, Linda Moran, Andre de Villiers, Noreen Chisholm, June Christian, Heather Fish, Janet Kinson, Wayne Sleep OBE, Frank Freeman, Dominique Franchetti, and Caroline Jenkins.

In 2017, Natalie was awarded distinction upon completion of the Royal Academy of Dance Professional Dancers’ Postgraduate Teaching Certificate in Berlin, Germany, which was delivered in collaboration with Staatsballett Berlin and mentored by Lynn Wallis OBE, Martin Puttke, Dennie Wlison, Justine Berry, and Emily Koschyk.

With a rich background encompassing performance, training, teaching expertise, and specialized knowledge in pointe shoe fitting, Natalie aspires to provide invaluable support to dancers embarking on their own pointe shoe journey.