Michelle Hankins

Member since February 26, 2025

Michelle Hankins has over 30 years of award-winning experience in the cultural arts as a student, performer, educator and executive. She holds a BFA in Dance Performance and a BS in Child and Adolescent Development from UNC-Greensboro. Her mission to build strong dancers, strong citizens and strong communities is recognized throughout the community with programs that focus on often underserved populations such as seniors, foster children and those with minimal resources and access to the arts. In 2016, Arts Inspired was the recipient of the Arts and Humanities award from the North Carolina Recreation and Parks Association and in 2017 was recipient of the United Arts Council of Wake County Arts For Municipalities grant. In addition to her work in the community, Ms. Hankins has worked in both recreational and competitive fields of dance, gymnastics, music, and the creative arts. She has choreographed and produced two ballets, “The Littlest Angel” (2002), recipient of the United Arts Council Emerging Artist Award, and “The Toy Shoppe” (2016) along with numerous annual productions featuring students of all ages and abilities. While the accolades from a lifetime in the performing arts are a symbol of her personal and professional accomplishments, the real reward is the joy on the faces of her students and families as Arts Inspired Dance Academy and Inspired Kids offers students from expansive demographic backgrounds quality educational programming and makes a tremendous impact on the cultural enhancement of her growing community. In 2019 she completed training as a RhythmWorks Integrative Dance certification and she completes annual CEC credits in early childhood education.

In addition to her busy life impacting the community, Ms. Michelle is also the proud mom of two amazing boys, Camden, age 17and Dylan, age 15. She is also First Aid/CPR certified and is excited to share her passion for impacting communities, building strong dancers and strong citizens.