Dodie Pettit, at age 12, was a Charter Member of the Regional Ballet Company founded in 1962 and then became a founding member in 1978. While a member of the company, Dodie performed in The Nutcracker for approximately 20 years, including nearly 10 years in the leading role of Sugar Plum. Other leading roles included Cinderella and Coppelia. In 2004, Dodie received their prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award along with Bebe Neuwirth and Carol Estey.
Dodie was also a principal dancer with the Garden State Ballet for 3-years before moving to New York City which led to a distinguished 15-year career on Broadway as an original member of The Phantom of the Opera, as well as appearing in the Tony Awarding-winning musicals CATS and Titanic. After a 6-year run as a ballerina, she transferred to The Phantom Raoul Company U.S. National Tour as Understudy to the lead role of “Christine Daae” which she performed with her late husband Kevin Gray, Broadway’s 5th Phantom. She also did a 4-year run on Broadway in CATS and appeared in the first National Touring Company of Titanic, as well as in numerous regional productions. After being on the Dance Faculty of Rollins College in Florida and The Hartt School at the University of Hartford, Dodie currently sits on the Board of Directors of The Connecticut Dance School in Fairfield CT.
Aside from her career in dance, Dodie is a BMI songwriter and arranger whose credits include songs on the Billboard Pop and Dance charts. She underscored Shel Silverstein’s Grammy Nominated “A Light in the Attic” album and co-wrote a featured song for the film “Critters.” Over the years, Dodie has released four CDs of her original songs and co-wrote a musical with her late husband Kevin Gray entitled “Dracula, the Covenant” (Draculathecovenant.com). Dodie has been married to Aztec Two-Step’s co-founder Rex Fowler since August of 2018 and is loving singing and playing in their new 5-piece band Aztec Two Step 2.0.
