Elevate was founded on the idea of bringing together talented dancers in the Raleigh area to create an exciting and entertaining atmosphere at any special event. What started out as a shared dream and passion between director/choreographer Amy Bates and performer/planner Valerie Curran has quickly become a flourishing performance company providing entertainment such as motivational dancers, club dancers, and theatrical dancers to an array of events such as corporate meetings, bar/bat mitzvahs, weddings, concerts, nightclubs, trade shows, festivals, and many other special events.

Valerie Paige Curran (Managing Owner/Event and Talent Director)

After stepping into that first dance class at the age of 6, Valerie knew that dance would be an important part of her life for a long time. Before attending NC State University to major in chemical engineering, she danced with the Land of the Sky Civic Ballet and Tap Company at Fletcher's School of Dance in Asheville, NC where she performed lead roles in the Nutcracker as well as danced competitively in tap and jazz. At NC State, Valerie was a dancer and captain of the NC State Dance Team for 4 years.

After college, she danced professionally for the Carolina Cobras Arena Football team under the direction of her business partner, Amy Bates, and then moved to Philadelphia to cheer professionally for the Philadelphia Eagles NFL team. While an Eagles cheerleader for 4 years and captain of the team for 2 years, she performed in the Super Bowl, in Bosnia and Kosovo for the troops stationed there, in Hong Kong in the Chinese New Year Parade, on tv shows such as Cold Pizza and Good Morning America, and was featured in publications such as FHM, Fantasy Football Magazine, and Sports Illustrated.

Valerie also has a knack for planning. While in Philly, she worked for Max and Me Catering at the National Constitution Center as a sales manager and wedding specialist.  There she planned weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, and corporate events for clients such as Comcast, HBO, Subaru, KPMG, GSK, and Dikembe Mutombo.

Now back in Raleigh with her husband, Eric, and 2 dogs, Tango and Nuala, Valerie is excited to combine her two passions and "Elevate" events with dance!

 Amy Graham Bates (Owner/Creative Director)

As a student of dance, Amy Bates began with a focus on ballet and jazz. She spent some time at the North Carolina School of the Arts majoring in modern dance and has taken various master classes in New York City.

From working with children in dance classes as a teen to becoming a dance coach on the university level, Amy has taken her passion for dance to a professional level. For five years she coached the East Carolina University dance team and also created and directed a junior dance team program
for ages 5-13.

After leaving Greenville, Amy started coaching and choreographing for the Arena Football League’s (part of the NFL) Carolina Cobras dance team, which was based in Raleigh. The Carolina Cobras dance team was awarded Best Dance Team in the Arena Football League in 2000, their first year in the league. Amy was also invited by the national league organization to be the choreographer and director for the All-Star Dance Team for the Arena Bowl in 2001. Under Amy’s direction, when not performing at the arena games, the Cobras’ dance team took part in many promotional, corporate, charity and social events.

When the Cobras moved the football team to Charlotte, Amy was the coach and choreographer for the Arena Football 2 League’s Fayetteville Wildcats for two years. In her role as coach for the two teams, Amy was responsible for handling sponsorship requirements for the dance team, for scheduling events, and for maintaining an excellent relationship with the team and its fan base.

Amy has taken on contract work throughout the last 15 years, choreographing for pageants, cheerleading and dance teams, back-up dancers for bands, musicals artists, and fitness competitions. Amy is also a wife and mother now living in Cary with her husband Stuart, 3-year old son Graham, and newborn baby girl, London. Her plans are for ELEVATE to bring your ventures, adventures, and events to a higher level with Raleigh’s newest performance based business.