Valerie Tissue began dancing at the age of six and never stopped! She attended Western Carolina University where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Acting. During her time at WCU, Valerie appeared in many main stage productions including 1776, Barefoot in the Park, 1940’s Radio Hour, Midsummer Night’s Dream, and more. While attending WCU, Valerie began her professional musical theatre career at Theatre West Virginia. Valerie starred in many of TWV’s summer stock productions including Wizard of Oz (Dorothy twice!), Grease (Rizzo), Fiddler on the Roof (Hodel), Anything Goes (Purity) and Hatfields and McCoys (Roseanne McCoy), to name a few. After graduating from WCU, Valerie stayed on at TWV to be Road Manager/Performer in a nine-month children’s tour which traveled all over West Virginia and parts of Pennsylvania playing to elementary, middle, and high school students. Valerie’s career then took her to Fort Myers, FL, and the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre where she performed in Funny Girl and Showboat, and then she was off to Battle Creek, MI to play one of her favorite roles, Annie Oakley, in Annie Get Your Gun.
Valerie has been teaching dance and musical theatre for almost 20 years and has been Owner and Artistic Director of Triple Threat Performing Arts Academy for the last 16 years. She is also a full-time teacher with Cherokee Central Schools teaching dance and theater. Valerie has taken master classes from Luigi, Twyla Tharp, Mandy Moore, Bob Rizzo, Anthony Morigerato, Denise Wall, Mia Michaels, Wade Robson, Brian Friedman, and other amazing teachers. Ms. Valerie’s choreography, along with her wonderfully talented students, has won many awards including: “Best Choreography”, “Most Entertaining”, multiple First Place awards, and has even won a National Title! She has directed countless musicals at TTPAA. Some of which include: Anything Goes, Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr., Alice in Wonderland Jr., Seussical Jr., Into the Woods Jr., Willy Wonka, and the Chocolate Jr., and many, many more! She has attended the Dance Teacher Summit in New York City and The Acrobatic Arts Teacher Training and Certification program. This course is designed to teach dance educators how to safely and effectively instruct AcroDance in the dance studio. Triple Threat Performing Arts Academy is an Acrobatic Arts Certified program because of this training.
Ms. Valerie has three children of her own and understands how important it is to create a warm, safe, loving, and structured environment for all children. She created Triple Threat’s motto and lives by it…”Helping students be their best on and off stage!”
