Valerie Rockey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana where her love for dance was fostered under the mentorship of Kathy Simpson, director of Tippy Toes School of Dance. She moved out to California in 2013 as a Dancers Bridge L.A. Member under the artistic direction of Darryl & Linda Retter, and soon began her professional career. After moving to Los Angeles she auditioned for Season 11 of So You Think You Can Dance as a tap dancer, where she finished runner-up and the last girl standing. Following Season 11, she travelled with SYTYCD on a 77-city tour across the United States and Canada.

Some of her television appearances include shows such as Showtime’s Penny Dreadful, the Ellen Degeneres Show, Disney’s Bunk’d, Hulu’s Light as a Feather, Nickelodeon’s All That, Comedy Bang Bang and more. She was an assistant choreographer on The Masked Dancer in 2020 where she worked with Jordin Sparks, Max Chmerkovskiy, and Bill Nye the Science Guy. She’s performed at live events including an industrial in Vegas with James Cordon, Disney Channel’s Music Awards with Sabrina Carpenter, Nigel Lythgoe's Dizzy Feet Gala, the Industry Dance Awards with The Syncopated Ladies, and others.

Valerie has been a part of multiple professional tap companies in LA including Jason Janas’ Co.Mmit, Nick Young’s Rhythmatic, and Ryan Lohoff’s Rithem Dance Company. She loves sharing her passion for tap dancing all across the country at studio workshops, festivals, and various dance events. Over the past few years acting has also become a passion of hers, which has really brought the aspect of storytelling into her life and her art. Valerie has worked as a convention teacher for 6+ years and currently tours with DanceMakers as tap faculty! Valerie Rockey has taught at RAD for seven years and we look forward to another season with this incredible and inspiring dance educator.