Rachel Nash

Rachel, 22, is a singer, dancer, actor, based in Richmond, VA.

Born in Pittsburgh, PA, Rachel began her dance training in the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre school, continuing later to Pittsburgh Youth Ballet and PBT’s Graduate Program. Summer studies include Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Ballet Academy East, Pacific Northwest Ballet, School of American Ballet, and the Chautauqua Institution. In 2020, Rachel joined Oregon Ballet Theatre 2. There she performed in OBT’s production of George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments and The Nutcracker as well as Ben Stevenson’s Dracula. Rachel’s repertoire also includes works by Ma Cong, Stoner Winslett, LeeWei Chao, Katarzyna Skarpetowska, Ye Li, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Jennifer Archibald, and featured roles in Balanchine’s Serenade and Who Cares?. In 2022 Rachel was invited to be a part of the Jacob’s Pillow 90th anniversary celebration performance. Rachel is also pursuing a BFA in Dance from Point Park. Rachel joined Richmond Ballet in 2022 as an RBII Apprentice and was recently promoted to Company Apprentice.

In 2014, Rachel performed Lise’s second act variation from La Fille Mal Gardée and a contemporary solo choreographed by Alan Obuzor in the regional competition of the Youth America Grand Prix, where she received the bronze medal in the pre-competitive division and advanced to the finals in New York City.

Rachel’s ballet training has included PBT’s Company Experience immersion programs and summer intensives at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Point Park University’s International Summer Dance, Ballet Academy East (NYC), Saratoga Springs Dance Institute, and the Pacific Northwest Ballet School. Last summer, Rachel received a full scholarship to attend the School of American Ballet’s summer intensive, after which, she also attended Gathered NYC, a musical theatre intensive program of The Broadway Collective.

Rachel has been studying voice privately with Dr. Shirley R. Barasch since 2014 and recently began additional vocal studies with Thespina Christulides. Rachel has a strong classical and Golden Age Broadway repertoire, which she continues to expand while adding contemporary musical theatre works.

She began acting studies with the Civic Light Opera Academy in 2019 and later joined Pittsburgh Musical Theater, where she was featured in conservatory productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Rock of Ages. She also joined the professional cast of PMT’s The Sound of Music.

Rachel attended kindergarten through 8th grade at the Waldorf School of Pittsburgh, where she studied Russian and Spanish languages and violin.