Natalie began her dancing career at Sharon Maness Dance Center in Jamestown, NC at the age of 3. She competed in all areas of dance including jazz, tap and lyrical. She was a member of the Tot Troop which competed nationally. In addition to dance, Natalie was also heavily involved in gymnastics at Tumblebees Gymnastics in Greensboro, NC. At the age of 12, she had to decide between dance and gymnastics as her schedule was becoming too busy and she needed to focus in one specific area. After much thought, she chose to pursue her career in gymnastics and competed through the 10th grade as a level 9 competitive gymnast. After suffering a very serious injury in 1994, Natalie decided to stop her gymnastics career and become a member of the varsity cheerleading team at Southwest Guilford High School.

Natalie joined the NC State Dance Team her sophomore year of college and was excited to get back into dance. She danced through her senior year, becoming Treasurer during her last year on the team. Natalie made many lifelong friends while dancing for the Wolfpack and representing her school at Nationals in Daytona Beach, Florida.

After graduation, Natalie became an assistant coach to the NC State Dance Team (2000-2004) and then took on the Head Coach position for one year (2004-2005). While coaching the Dance Team, she also worked for Central Carolina Bank, now known as SunTrust Bank, where she still works as a Team Lead Training Specialist.

Natalie’s second passion to dance has always been interior decoration and home décor. In 2010, Natalie and her Mom (Donna Richardson) launched an eCommerce website, featuring online decorative tassels, www.classictasselsandmore.com. The online site carries unique ceramic and resin based accents that make wonderful gifts and unique accessories for a lamp, a cabinet knob, plate stand and much more. Natalie is passionate about helping her Mom with this business and assisting our many customers in adding pizzazz and whimsy to their everyday home décor. She is very excited to see what the future holds for Classic Tassels and More and appreciates the support she receives from her parents, husband (Ray Hagemann)and two children (Nolan and HaleighMaire)!