Meet the Judges

Mindy Acuna began her dance training at the age of 3, in Mobile, Alabama under the direction of Melinda Lee of Melinda Lee’s Dance Studio. She instantly fell in love with dance and knew this was her future! She continued studying dance and danced with Dance Art Center and Jacksonville Civic Ballet, both in Jacksonville, NC, then Beaufort Academy of Dance in Beaufort, SC. She also studied at several prestigious conventions, such as Carolina Dance Masters and Tremaine. She has performed lead roles in the Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and Capella Ballet. Mindy has trained in Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Jazz, Hip–hop, Lyrical, Contemporary, Musical Theatre, Pom, Cheer and Acro. She began teaching in 2004, and opened her own studio, Mindy’s Dance Attack, in 2012 in Sneads Ferry, NC. Her students have excelled under her expertise, winning numerous titles, scholarships and over all awards at both regional and national level competitions. Her students have also won multiple National Grand Champion Titles in Jazz, Lyrical, open/acro and Musical Theatre performances. She is a certified member of Carolina Dance Masters, Dance Masters of America. She also holds four judging positions, with Dance Machine Productions, Extreme Dance Challenge, Boogie Fever, and Inspire National Dance Competition and has judged multiple regional and national events since 2018. She loves sharing her love of dance with all her students.

Taylor Adams hails from the ever-twinkling valley of Las Vegas, NV. There, she began her choreographic journey at the Las Vegas Academy of Performing Arts under the guidance and direction of Jeneane Huggins. Since then, she has choreographed and presented work in numerous venues across the United States and abroad. She has worked with choreographers and dance artists such as Peter Chu, Travis Wall, and Billy Bell. In 2019, Taylor spent six months training
in Gaga and choreographic techniques at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. There, she performed works at the Suzanne Dellal Center in Tel Aviv by Ohad Naharin, Noa Zuk, and Roni Chadash. Taylor graduated with her BA in dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign and now resides in Brooklyn, NY. There, she works for Bill T. Jones’ dance theater space in Chelsea. Most recently, Taylor received funding from her alma mater to create an original work that is set to premiere in the fall. Taylor believes dance is for everyone and is thrilled to be a part of the Inspire family.

Katherine Ambrester is a Performer and Teaching Artist based in Pine Mountain, Georgia who champions the collaboration of music and movement at all levels. She holds a B.M. in Vocal Performance from the Schwob School of Music, with coursework completed in Vocal Pedagogy, Meisner Technique, and Artistic Direction, as well as training in Alexander Technique at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Prior to her time at Schwob, she was a Company Trainee at the Columbus Ballet Conservatory and completed a year of Dance Studies at Muhlenberg College.

As a performer, Katherine has originated roles in new works (The Blue Fairy in My Son Pinocchio, Jr. for Disney iTheatrics) and played the classics (Hodel in Fiddler On The Roof.) As a collaborative artist, Katherine has premiered several new works at the Nief-Norf Music Festival, often combining movement, electronics, and improvisation. Her experience as a classical chamber musician includes performances of works by Steve Reich, Maurice Ravel, and George Crumb. Katherine made her international debut with the Collective Chamber Orchestra this past December in Honduras.

An integration of body awareness techniques and her stage experience has guided her work as an educator with the Harris County School District, Springer Opera House, Salvation Army, Schwob Music Festival, and Center Stage Dance Studio. As a Director-Choreographer and Performer, Katherine’s projects can be seen in the CSU Opera Department, Georgia Repertory Theatre, Muddy Water Theatre Project, and Herschend Family Entertainment.

Adriana Binaco is a dancer, choreographer and studio owner who grew up dancing in the Charlotte, NC area. Her years of training have been in multiple genres such as Pom, Acro, Modern, Jazz and most intensely, Contemporary. Throughout her time dancing, she’s received titles such as Star Talent Miss Senior Extreme and scholarships through companies such as Force Dance Tour. She has trained and worked side by side with choreographers such as Chase Hudson, Aaron Atkins, Joe Nickel and more. She has choreographed and performed in numbers for many public performances, such as the 2022 Disney Showcase. She has lead her competition team through many victories and overall placements with her unique and innovative choreography. She is now continuing her passion within her own studio under the name of The Collective Dance Center. Her goal with her students and the dancers that grace any competition stage is to help explore their movement quality, find their expressionism and individuality, and how to enhance their performance and stand out. She looks forward to working with Inspire and Empire dancers this upcoming season.

Alyssa Bainey attained her Bachelor of Arts in K-12 Dance Education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She has taught at several local dance studios throughout the Charlotte area. She has trained in many different dance styles, and performed contemporary dance works at dance festivals across North Carolina. Alyssa currently holds a position as a Dance Director in the Rock Hill School District, directing dance at a public high school. Alyssa has established her own dance department here through teaching leveled courses, producing productions, writing grants, and assisting faculty with any dance related needs. Her goal in life is to share her passion of dance with others, so that they can experience the same joy that dance has brought to her!

Britney Bales is a dance artist choreographer, and educator. She began her training at the age of two under the direction of Britni Meadows, Nicole Thornton, and AnneMarie Wilson at 5*6*7*8 Dance Academy of Performing Arts in Buford, Georgia. She trained and performed in a variety of styles with a focus on ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, and modern dance techniques. As a member of the 5*6*7*8 Dance Performing Arts Company from 2011 to 2018, she attended and received awards at numerous competitions both at the regional and national levels. Britney graduated Suma Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance as well as obtained a teaching certificate for K-12 dance education from the University of Georgia. While at UGA, she was awarded several dance scholarships, performed, and choreographed for the Young Choreographer Series from 2019 to 2021, and had the opportunity to participate in the faculty choreographed Spring Dance Concerts of 2019 and 2020. In addition to her performance repertoire at UGA, Britney was a member of Dr. Lisa Fusillo’s contemporary ballet company, The Dance Repertory Project, from 2018 to 2020. Britney has also trained with Terminus School of Modern Ballet, Brenau University, and has interned with Joffrey Ballet School. Britney was also a member of and choreographer for Movement Expressions, a contemporary dance company located in Pendergrass, GA. Britney currently lives in Gainesville, GA and continues to perform, teach, and choreograph in the Athens, Atlanta, and Gwinnett communities. She loves sharing her passion and knowledge of the artform of dance to the next generation of young artists and is excited to be a part of the Inspire and Empire staff for her second season.

Jacqueline Baligian is a dance educator/choreographer/producer with over 30 years of experience as a teacher, dancer, choreographer, and producer. After graduating from California State University, Los Angeles with a degree in theatre arts & dance, she moved to NYC where she was hired to co-direct the children’s dance program at the famed Broadway Dance Center. Also a performer, Jacqueline has danced in live industrials for Suave shampoo with the star of Modern Family, Sofia Vergara. Jacqueline also recently performed on the Rachael Ray Halloween Special with Rachael Ray, Pee Wee Herman, and Penn & Teller and on the Regis and Kelly Show, with Kelly Ripa and Nick Lachey. She recently choreographed the opening number, starring Jerry O’Connell for the Rachael Ray show’s first episode of the 6th season and was thrilled to be asked back to choreograph Rachael Ray’s 1,000th episode. She just completed work choreographing for the “Shakespeare Forum” in NYC, having choreographed Romeo & Juliet. As a producer, Jacqueline has assisted on dance segments for Good Morning America, the Today Show, the Food Network, and many more.

Leah De Ramus Arkle grew up in Prattville, Alabama. She danced with the Montgomery Ballet, Alabama Dance theatre, and with Todd Putnam as a principal dancer in the company. She performed in many theatre and musical theatre productions in Montgomery, and she sang in and choreographed various events in the river region and beyond. She earned a degree in dance and a degree in musical theatre from the University of Alabama, and was a member of Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre company and a dancer and choreographer in the Dance Alabama! company. Each summer she worked with the American Ballet Theatre summer intensive as a dancer and head counselor. She performed in all of the musicals as well as many theatre productions at the University of Alabama. She has been selected for many SETC awards in theatre, musical theatre and dance. She has taught for Auburn Ballet, Todd Putnam, and has been a guest choreographer for several companies. After moving to Dothan, she began teaching at Dothan School of dance. She has been a teacher, choreographer, and coach for the performance team and starz programs for six years. She is a member of Dance Masters of America and taught at Dance Masters of America in 2022. She is active in Southeast Alabama Dance Company as an acting coach and a performer. She also has a business called Pitch Perfect Princess, in which she sings and acts as different princesses for many events all around the state of Alabama.

Kaylie Bee grew up in a small town in Louisiana where she began dancing at age 3 training in styles Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Contemporary, Hip-Hop, Musical Theater, Cheer, and Pom. She has been awarded many scholarships and titles including the title of Miss Starquest 2017 and Miss Dance Mania 2018 where she received a scholarship to train at Broadway Dance Center in New York. She has taken classes with many professionals including Travis Wall, Alex Wong, Matt Steffanina, “Willdabeast,” and Abby Lee Miller. In 2014, she performed in a “Rio” production in Walt Disney World. Kaylie began teaching choreography at age 14 for many studios and groups across the country. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah where she studies Sports Health Sciences and continues to dance, teach, and choreograph.

Olivia Bell comes to us from Atlanta, Georgia. She holds a B.A. in Theatre with a minor in dance and musical theatre from the University of Georgia. While at the University of Georga, Olivia was a member of the Red Hotz Dance Team where she competed nationally on the collegiate level. Additionally, she has a MFA in Performing Arts from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Olivia has also trained at the Steps on Broadway Summer Study focusing on Theatre Jazz. Olivia loves all things jazz, tap, and musical theatre! She can’t wait to watch all of the dancers shine on stage!

Ashlyn Bigly was born and raised in Clearwater, Florida. She trained in all styles of dance beginningat the age of 5. She was also part of a pre-professional tap ensemble in high school, where shehad the opportunity to open for bands likeMaroon 5 and The Counting Crows. With this ensemble, she had the privilege to be able to tap on a Broadway stage! Ashlyn has beenperforming professionally since 2015 starting at Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay as a dancer and vocalist. She moved to Orlando in 2016 to work for Universal Studios as a dancer. She has performed in numerous shows and parades on property as a dancer, actor and vocalist. Ashlyn also worked for the Walt Disney World Resort from 2018-2020. There, she was a dancer in their shows and parades at the Magic Kingdom. Some of Ashlyn’s favorite Musical Theatre Credits include: The Last Five Years (Cathy), A Chorus Line (Cassie/Val/Choreographer), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Ensemble), Anything Goes (Chastity/Dance Captain) and so much more! Break a leg to all the dancers performing! Be confident, tell a story and hold your screws!

Carissa Bishop trained competitively under Charlene Topor, Cristina Topor, as well as her mother, Leah Bishop, at Empire Center of Dance in her hometown located in Upstate New York. Graduating from The College at Brockport, SUNY, receiving a BFA in Dance, Carissa had the opportunity to perform works by prominent contemporary choreographers: James Hansen, Laura Peterson, Jordan Lloyd, Cameron Mckinney, and continuously performs works by Madeline Kurtz of MKRep. Throughout her collegiate career, she performed and represented her college at the Rochester Fringe Festival and the American College Dance Association. She continues to perform in New York City and Tampa Bay Area. Carissa is also noted for her national title-winning choreography as a captain and choreographer of the Brockport Dance Team. Currently, she teaches and choreographs for numerous dance studios across the country, from New York to Florida. Carissa is a current company member of projectALCHEMY where she continues to invigorate and transform spaces in and around Saint Petersburg, Florida while coaching the dancers of the West Florida Dance Company!

Tracey Boon is a Cum Laude graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. She is originally from Saint Louis, Missouri and started dancing at the age of nine when her family moved to Huntsville, Alabama. She trained at North Alabama Dance Center in the disciplines of classical ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, and lyrical/modern. Tracey also danced and performed as a Senior Company Member of the pre–professional ballet company Pointe Station,Inc. During college,Tracey continued to pursue her career as a dancer and teacher. After receiving her certification as a dance instructor, she worked for several of Birmingham’s notable dance studios and began making her mark as a choreographer working with Birmingham schools and theatre companies to include Birmingham’s historic Virginia Samford Theatre. Upon graduation, she moved back home to Huntsville to teach and choreograph for several of North Alabama’s finest dance schools where her choreography consistently won top awards. Tracey is now the Owner and Director of Progressive Academy of Dance, a dance school in the North Alabama area. She also travels as a dance teacher, choreographer, and judge inspiring young people to pursue their passions through dance.

Hope Burt was born in Detroit Michigan but raised in Southern California and Central Florida. She began dancing at the age of 10 and immediately discovered her passion! Hope quickly developed a love for all dance styles but through intensive training and hard work reached a high level of accomplishment in Contemporary, Ballet, Hip Hop, Jazz and Lyrical. She later added ballroom and heels to her repertoire.

Hope has won numerous awards and scholarships including a full scholarship to Dance Educators of America’s Ballet Seminar where she trained under nationally renowned ballet instructors. Her achievements include; Being the first African American to receive the dancer of the year at her childhood studio. Winning the Leap Contest and being featured on the front page of the competition website. Hope has performed annually as one of the featured soloist in the Nutcracker Ballet, Held at the Maxwell C. King Center. She has also gone on to perform at the Mercedes Benz Stadium for the “Beloved” benefit, The Kennedy Space Center, Morgan State University, Disneyland and toured around the country performing.

She is a passionate, Detailed, Lyrical, Artist. Her every step has to have an intention, a focus and energy flowing through it. Whether it’s dramatic or subtle her movement is driven by raw emotion that captures the true essence of the human experience. She uses her technical background, lines and musicality to communicate this work to the audience.

In addition to performance, Hope is a choreographer/Instructor known throughout Atlanta for creating innovative and unique choreography. After teaching for over 10 years her love for all 160 of her students is still going strong helping them to reach their fullest potential.  

Hope is currently a judging official for GHSA (Georgia High School Association) and is excited to help move the sport of Dance forward.

She is quickly become the one to watch with her ambition to become one of the most influential entrepreneurs in America.

Caroline Cates is the High School Dance teacher at Greater Atlanta Christian School (GAC), Head Dance Team Coach, Ballet, Tap, and Jazz Instructor/Choreographer at GAC School of Ballet. She has been dancing for 25 years and has studied with master teachers including Aldawna Morrison, Ramazan Bapov, Deneen Graham-Kerns, and Janet Lilly to name a few. Caroline was trained at Carol Walker Dance Academy. Throughout her dancing career she has won various awards and scholarships for her excellent technique and training and is part of the esteemed Nu Delta Alpha Dance Honors Society. From 2012-2013 she was a member of the DanceFX Concert Dance Company located in Athens, GA that performs locally as well as state-wide where she performed the role of Tweedle Dee in their presentation of “Alice, Lessons in Wonderland.” While in college, Caroline also became certified through Dance Masters of America Chapter 33, in both ballet and jazz. In 2018, her choreography was nominated for best choreography through the Shuler Musical Awards. She currently is on the GHSA Dance Committee that has been working the last three years to sanction dance as a sport under the Georgia High School Association. She has been teaching and coaching dance for nine years and has a passion for pouring her knowledge and love of dance into young performers.

Aubrey Clark is a Georgia native, born and raised. She grew up dancing in studios and competing primarily in the Atlanta area. She has won awards such as national titles during her competitive years, and she has trained with renowned choreographers, performing in music videos and benefit galas. Aubrey began choreographing in college and pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Dance from Kennesaw State University. She was recently cast as a company member of Movement, The Company for its inaugural season and she looks forward to the opportunity to grow with the company. For Aubrey, dance is an art form but is also an extension of the soul. Aubrey celebrates dancers who are able to express their individuality through movement and loves to empower others to be able to do the same. 

Kate Collins is the owner and artistic director of Art of Dance Studio and the non-profit organization Art of Dance, Inc, and the dance director for West Henderson High School in Hendersonville, NC. She is originally from Raleigh, North Carolina where she started dancing at the age of two. Kate found her passion for dance with Classical Ballet and Pointe training as a member of the company at the Triangle Academy of Ballet, taking classes under instructors from the Carolina Ballet Company. Such technical education influenced her to have a strong focus on technique and conditioning for performance-based arts. At the Academy for Performing Arts and throughout college, she studied Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Contemporary, Choreography, Acrobatics, Pilates, Hip-Hop, Musical Theatre and was a member of the UNCW dance team. Most of her time was spent traveling to conventions, performances, and competitions where she was awarded countless awards and scholarships through: New York City Dance Alliance, Showstoppers, SHOCK the Intensive, JUMP and many others. She was awarded a scholarship to attend Broadway Dance Center in New York under tap enthusiast Mike Minery. This memorable experience help mold the choreographer, educator, and philanthropist she is today. In 2016, she created a non-profit company, Art of Dance, Inc that provides scholarships for children’s dance education and college dance education. Kate has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology (child development emphasis), Philosophy and Religion and feels that dance unites different types of cultures in a fundamental way. Kate truly loves teaching, performing and inspiring others to be their best. She believes that dance is an enlightening form of expression that every child can learn and grow creatively from.

Makenzie Collier, a native of Georgia, began dancing at the age of 13. She first started training and competing in a variety of styles such as jazz, contemporary, hip hop, tap, ballet, and pointe. Makenzie is signed to 411 South Talent Agency and has been given the opportunity to perform with a variety of artists such as Kanye West, Kelly Clarkson, Janet Jackson, Ashanti, Lil Mama, Tevin Campbell, Zedd and many others. She can also be seen dancing on several hit television shows and movies such as “Insatiable”, “The Vampire Diaries”, “Legacies”, and the newest Netflix hit movie, “Senior Year”. Makenzie has obtained her B.A. in Clinical Psychology and her Masters in Criminal Justice.

A native of Dothan, Alabama, Rapha Conrad received her training at Dothan School of Dance along with many dance conventions (Tremaine Dance, Hollywood Vibe Dance, and Monsters of Hip Hop). She has worked with and assisted many choreographers in dance industry (Kevin Maher, Brooke Lipton, Matt Steffanina, etc.). Plus, has made appearances in movies, tv shows, and YouTube (like “Marvel’s Captain America”, “Dynasty” on the CW, “Good Mythical Morning with Rhett and Link”). Along with teaching and working with dancers in The Southeast and the West Coast, Rapha is currently producing, co-directing, and choreographing her first feature length documentary film (soon to premiere late 2022). Her goal as a teacher/choreographer is to motivate and inspire dancers to understand and be confident in their own abilities and artistry.

Stephanie Crane grew up dancing in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she trained in everything from ballet, tap, and jazz, to pom, kick, and musical theater. She studied at Ballet Arts Minnesota and danced with Out on A Limb Dance Company while teaching at dance studios and coaching high school dance team. She then spent five years performing in parades and shows at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, where she lives now. Stephanie currently works at Windermere Preparatory School, teaching dance, choreographing for musicals, and coaching the varsity dance team, a program she helped create. She looks forward to joining the Inspire Dance family!

Kelsie Crowley is a professional dancer from Boston, Massachusetts, currently dancing on Unyted Stylez Hip Hop crew based out of Boston MA. Having trained and studied in numerous forms of dance since an early age, she graduated from the Dean College Joanne Palladio School Of Dance with her B.A. in Dance, B.S. in Business, and A.A. in Early Childhood Education. Though not limited to, she is known for her Hip Hop and Jazz choreography and performances. Kelsie has worked with many artists such as Flo Rider, New Kids On The Block, and Demi Lovato. Kelsie is also a Competition Adjudicator, judging for multiple competitions all over the US and in Europe for the past 5 years. She also knows the role as a studio owner, and is invested in her students’ growth and development as pre professional dancers. She has been teaching numerous styles of dance including Hip Hop, Jazz, Jazz Funk, Heels, Contemporary, Lyrical, Tap, Musical Theater, Technique Leaps Jumps and Turns, Stretch and Strengthening for the past 10 years. As well, Kelsie is a Certified Degreed Member of Dance Masters of America and Dance Masters of New England Chapter 5. Kelsie has a love and passion for teaching, and strives in advancing dancers not only physically but also with the history, knowledge, and love of dance.

Ashlyn Daniel started her dance training at a young age in Sitka, Alaska at Sitka Studio of Dance. Since beginning her training, she has trained at a few different studios across the country over the course of her childhood including, Melinda Leigh Performing Arts Center in Mobile, Alabama, and Denise Wall’s Dance Energy in Virginia Beach, Virginia. At these studios, Daniel trained in several different styles including ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, modern, hip hop,and musical theater. After taking a two–year hiatus from the art form, Daniel left home for her senior year of high school to attend the contemporary dance program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA). Ashlyn graduated from the high school program in 2018 and decided to stay at UNCSA for college to pursue her BFA. While in training at school, she was given opportunities to perform several works such as Roaratorio by Merce Cunningham, A Choreographic Offeringby José Limón, Chronicle by Martha Graham, and Battlefield by Robert Battle. Ashlyn was able to take part in some dance films while attendingschool including Larry Kegwin’s Waiting in the Wings. Along with performing, she had the opportunity to explore choreographing. Ashlyn’s solo choreography, A Deal with Chaos, has been awarded the “Outstanding Choreographer Award” at the 2019 YAGP semi–finals in Winston–Salem. Since graduating in May of 2021, Ashlyn has been spreading her love and passion for the art of dance with the next generation in both North Carolina and Virginia. Ashlyn is now beyond thrilled to be joining Todd Rosenlieb Dance for her second season!

Abby Potts grew up in a small town in South Georgia where she began dancing at age 3 trainingwith Young Attitudes Dance Centerin Jazz, Tap, Hip–Hop, Lyrical, Contemporaryand Ballet. She won a scholarship at age 16 to attend The Hollywood Summer Tour in Los Angeles, Californiawhere she was a backup dancer for the music video“The Party Follows Me”by Lexee Smith.While on the tour She also got to takec lasses with professionals including G Madison, JoJo Gomez, Jersey (Michelle Maniscalco), Adam Sevani, Matt Steffanina,and more. Abby then wenton to train professionally with Kevin“Tokyo”Inouye as a member of his academy, Tokyo theAcademy, and his company, Tokyo the Company, training and takingclassesfrom professionalssuch as Krista Miller, Autumn Miller, Brian Friedman, Tessandra Chavez,Hannah Gallagher, AdeObayomi, DJ Smart, DeniseDicharry,Alisha Captain, Dejan Tubicand MarkVillaver. Being in Louisiana to attend academy, Abby was afforded with the opportunity to be a backup dancer for Lil Wayne’s Genesis Halftime Commercial for his song“Uproar”. Abby continues to share her passion for teaching and creating at her home studio YADC and surrounding studios in the SE Georgia area.

Sarah Davis is from Wilmingtron, North Carolina and holds a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from East Carolina University. For four years, Sarah danced professionally during her summers at the Tony Award winning The Lost Colony in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. There, she played the role of Elizabeth Glane in 2016 and from 2017-2019 she was the dance captain. Sarah has performed in the Cucalorus Film Festival and Fall for Fall Dance Festival. Sarah danced for three seasons with SIDEWAYS Contemporary Dance Company. She has taught a variety of dance styles for 4 years in both Wilmington and Atlanta. Sarah recently opened up Davis Dance Company with her sister Kaitlin in Durham, NC.

With over 30 years of dance experience, Jamey Dilley has traveled the world as a professional dancer and choreographer. He studied dance at Virginia Intermont College on a full scholarship and trained at Broadway Dance Center, Nevada Ballet and Tampa Ballet. Some of Jamey’s extensive performing credits include his role in the original cast of the Broadway hit “Mamma Mia” in Las Vegas. Jamey’s choreographer credits include Cedar Point Live Entertainment main stage show, Real Vegas Show Girls, Holland America Cruise Christmas Show, the Las Vegas Legend Girls professional soccer cheerleaders Las Vegas’ Goddess arena football cheerleaders, University of South Florida dance team the Sun Dolls, and was the director and choreographer for the Mrs. U.S.A. pageant. His choreography also has appeared on ESPN, Fox and ABC. Jamey was the Head of Performing Arts Department at SLAM Charter School in Tampa Florida and was the competition director for a few dance studios in the Las Vegas and Florida area. Jamey also works as judge and master class teacher for Groove, Believe and DanceXplosion.

Luke Dockery is a professional dancer and choreographer living in Atlanta, Ga. He has been working professionally for the past 6 years with artists such as Usher, Enrique Iglesias, Lil Baby, and more. He was a competitive dancer before he worked professionally and wants to bring what he’s learned from the industry to judging competitive dance.

Marisa Dolan started dancing in Jacksonville, Florida training in ballet, contemporary, lyrical, jazz, modern, and hip-hop. Marisa studied dance at Jacksonville University and was a part of a contemporary/hip-hop company called A Rhythm Nation. As a freshman, she traveled with Jacksonville University students to perform a show on the ABC Island, Curacao. Marisa attended the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet Summer Intensive in New York City and got to work with Gelsey Kirkland herself. She was then accepted to the Broadway Dance Center’s Professional Semester Program and moved to New York City. She has been on Good Morning America and danced with the Broadway cast of Spiderman: Turn off the Dark in their final Gypsy of the Year performance. Also in New York, she was a part of JT Lotus Dance Company and performed in many shows throughout New York and surrounding areas. Marisa has since then moved to Orlando, FL. She is currently dancing at Universal Studios Orlando in The Marilyn Monroe show and other seasonal events. Marisa is continuing to teach and work as a freelance dancer.

Bailee Eurey is a Carolina native and currently resides in the Charlotte, NC area. She is a graduate of Appalachian State University where she was a member of the Appalachian State Dance Team for 4 years and an active sister of Alpha Delta Pi. During her time at Appalachian State she was featured on College Football News as a dance team member. With over 20 years of experience, Bailee currently assists others with dance choreography and acrobatics training. She is trained in tap, jazz, musical theatre, hip-hop, contemporary, lyrical, and ballet. She has been an instructor and choreographer for 7 years and has won numerous national and regional choreography awards. Bailee is a judge for multiple national dance companies and has been a master class instructor for several organizations. Aside from her involvement in the professional dance world, Bailee is a licensed real estate agent, owns her own pageantry and photography business (Queen City Productions), enjoys being heavily present in both the fashion and film industries, and loves to travel when she is able. She is thrilled to be a part of the Inspire dance family and is looking forward to a fabulous competition season. 

Angel Fish is a performer and entertainer from Central Orlando Florida. Her dance training started at the age of three and she grew up dancing at some of the most competitive dance studios along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Angel continued her dance training in Las Vegas, Nevada with the Dance Educators of America program, where she was instructed by some of the best professors from around the country. She began teaching at her home studio, Island School of Performing Arts in 2011, where she still drops in to teach specialty classes and choreograph for the Island Dance Company. Her unique, award-winning choreography has taken home multiple Regional and National titles and Judges choice. Angel has performed across Central Florida in various comedic Dinner Theater shows as well as various entertainment promotional work. Currently, she is  full time at Universal Studios where  she is a part of the Universal SuperStar Parade, as well as Universal’s Holiday  Parade as a Dance Captain. She performs various gigs within Universal Studios City Walk. You can also find Angel at SeaWorld’s Howl-O-Scream where she is the Stage Manager for shows, streets, and third party crews such as Odd-O-T’s Longshoreman comedy show. If she’s not performing, she is teaching yoga and pilates around Orlando. Angel credits her success to her lifelong passion to dance, entertainment and performing as a whole.

Brittney Fitzgerald, born in Toronto, Canada, began her training at Joanna Chapman School of Dance, under the direction of Joanna Chapman and Barbara Chonin, National Ballet of Canada. She graduated in 2014, with honors, from Point Park University with a Bachelor of Arts and a concentation in Ballet and Jazz, under the direction of Susan Stowe. In 2013, Brittney attended Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s summer intensive. In the summer of 2014, Brittney performed at Jacob’s Pillow with the premiere of Simerson and Company, performing works by Briam Simerson. Brittney has had the pleasure of teaching numerous Canadian and American dance studios. She has performed for three seasons with Theatre West Virginia, as dance captain, performing in “Footloose”, “Addams Family”, “Hatfield’s and McCoy’s” and choreographing “The Jungle Book” and “Pippi Longstocking”. Brittney completed six seasons with the West Virginia Dance Company as a principal dancer and opened her own dance studio, Legacy Dance Co. in 2020.

Carlos Garland was born on July 4, 1988 and was raised in Jacksonville Florida. He started dance at the age of 13 at Lavilla School of the Arts. Then graduated from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, where he received a Merit Award in the NFAA (National Foundation of Advancement of the Arts) in hip hop. Carlos attended Jacksonville University, double majoring in dance and computer science. Also, during this time, he performed in the First Coast Nutcracker as lead the Russian Doll and has consistently over the years since then. Carlos has been the winner of the Mille Lewis America’s Models and Talent Competition in dance. He and his dance crew, “Systematic”, has won BET’s 106th and Park dance competition twice in a row and has been in national and international commercials. Carlos is a member of and has danced with Rasta Thomas’ Bad Boys of Dance and has performed in their hit show “Rock the Ballet”. With the company he has toured Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. Carlos was also a top 20 finalist on the Fox TV dance show “So You Think You Can Dance” Season 10. He has also danced with the cast of “Spider-man Turn Off the Dark” in their final Gypsy of The Year performance. He is a member of iLuminate (as seen on America’s Got Talent) and has performed as the main character in their hit off-broadway show, “iLuminate, Artists of Light”. He has been on instructor faculty at Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway in NYC and still teaches there when in the area. He is currently a traveling instructor/choreographer for many schools and companies as well as a performer in Universal Studios and Walt Disney World.

Leia Giddens is the owner of Nurturing Lactation Care, LLC, a private lactation support practice based in Central Georgia. Prior to her work as a Certified Breastfeeding Specialist, she spent a decade as the Director of Dance and Fine Arts Chair for the Washington County Public Schools in Georgia, where she created enriching programs for students that continue today. She is a 2009 graduate of Oklahoma City University where she earned a B.S. in Dance Management. Her work has been published in Dance Teacher magazine twice.

Samuel Holley, native to Virginia Beach, VA has been a dance educator for over 15 years and has trainedin all styles, tap being his passion. As a former studio owner, experienced adjudicator, and dance team director, he has been recognized and awarded for outstanding choreography and most entertaining numbers. Throughout his career, he has trained with well renowned instructors and choreographers. He frequently serves as guest choreographer to many award winning studios across the country andcollegiate dance teams. Samuel began adjudicating 10 years ago to inspire students to strive forexcellence and reach their full potential in a fun, positive, and constructive way. Samuel is excited to share his knowledge and experience with all of you.

John Hollingsworth is a native to Jacksonville, FL and grew up training in dance in a variety of styles such as ballet, contemporary, lyrical, jazz, tap, modern, and hip hop! Throughout high school, John was announced one of the first apprentices of Dancelook LLC, guest taught for many studios including 1Vibe Dance, trained under Joffrey Ballet School in New York City, and received various choreography awards. John graduated from Florida State University earning his bachelors in Hospitality Management and Tourism with a minor in Business. John is the choreographer of the Jacksonville Shark’s Attack Dance Team and works with various studios, high schools, colleges, and professional dance teams across the southeast, pouring his passion and education into every student he teaches. 

Alicia Mae Holloway is from Morgantown, West Virginia and began dancing when she was three years old at her local studio. When she was thirteen years old, she left home to study at University of North Carolina School of the Arts before attending the School of American Ballet from 2011-2015. She attended the Boston Ballet Summer Dance Program, as well as Pacific Northwest Ballet. She began her professional career dancing with the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, and is now dancing her seventh season with the Dance Theatre of Harlem where she has danced with Aretha Franklin and worked with Alicia Keys. She is currently the co-chairwoman of the School of American Ballet’s Visiting Faculty program.

Fernando Ibarra was born in Houston, Tx, where he began his dance career at the age of six around various studios across the Houston area and has been teaching since the age of thirteen around Texas. Over time, he has garnered a unique style of dance that includes various elements of multiple dance techniques. Throughout high school, Fernando was given the opportunity to co-direct for his ninth-grade dance company and choreograph for his high school dance team along with other high schools amongst his school district. He has been awarded numerous times for his choreography throughout different competitions in the state of Texas. Fernando was also a founding member of De La Rosa Dance Company and was under the mentorship of Elisa De La Rosa located here in Houston, DLRDC is a non-profit organization that outreaches the youth community by emphasizing the importance of creative freedom and artistry. Fernando was also an invitational guest artist at the Waco 504 Festival in 2017 and performed at the NDEO conference in San Antonio, Tx. Fernando went on to continue his dance education by attending Stephen F. Austin State University where he was a member of the prestigious Stephen F. Austin State University Dance Teams. Fernando educates his students on healthy technique practices, muscle isolations, movement, and modern dance technique, while helping his students grow in their technique and artistry.

Born in Fort Bragg, NC to a British mother and an American father;  Naomi James is a Choreographer, Fitness Professional, Creative, Teacher  and Coach. In 2008, Naomi graduated from Bodywork Company  Dance Studios, Cambridge, UK with a Level 6 (Bachelor Degree) in  Dance. After working in London, she moved to Atlanta in 2010 to  continue her professional career in dance. Naomi is known for her  exuberant spirit and fun loving personality. With much industry  success, Naomi chooses to follow her purpose in training pre  professional level students while changing the narrative of how the  style of hip hop is viewed by delivering great training and correctional  tools for her students to move structurally and successfully. 

She is excited to be judging the 2022 season and looks forward to  meeting you all.

Connie Katsarikas is native to Massachusetts and grew up dancing under former Radio City Music Hall ballerina Paulette Harwood. Since then, she has gone on to train in New York City as well as the Broadway Dance Center Professional Semester and performed in multiple productions in New York City and Massachusetts. She is currently serves as a board member for the Massachusetts Dance Education Organization and is a member if the Dance Teacher’s Club of Boston. Connie is also the owner and Director of a dance studio in Massachusetts since 2016. She loves working with dancers to see them grow, find their passion, achieve new heights and their own unique movement through dance.

Jacquelyn Hope Keane is a dancer, choreographer, teacher and judge from Long Island, New York. Her dance training started at the age of two and she grew up dancing at some of the most competitive dance studios in New York. Jacquelyn continued her dance training in Florida, at the University of Tampa. During her four years at the University of Tampa, Jacquelyn competed in Daytona Florida at NDA College Nationals with both the Dance Team and Cheerleading Team. Jacquelyn is a well-rounded dancer, with disciplines in all major areas of dance. For the past ten years, she has taught choreography and technique at numerous of Dance Studios all throughout New York, Florida and even across seas in Ireland! Jacquelyn loves choreographing and judging around the Country and World. Her unique, award-winning choreography has taken home multiple Regional and National first place titles. Jacquelyn credits her success to her lifelong passion to dance, choreography and adjudication. 

Lindsay Lambert is a dancer from Murray, KY. From age 5, she trained in ballet, jazz, and contemporary at the Centre of Dance. Growing up in a small town, she sought additional training by participating in master classes and intensives in surrounding cities as well as Chicago and New York City. She started teaching children beginner ballet classes while in high school and has since taught numerous dance workshops in ballet, jazz and contemporary dance genres for students ages 3+ with various levels of experience. In 2017, she completed her B.A. in Dance with a minor in Performing Arts Administration from Western Kentucky University. Her favorite performance memory is traveling abroad as a member of the WKU Dance Company to participate in the 2015 production of Overseas in Civitavecchia, Italy.

Patrice Lee grew up in Maryland, where she trained as a competitive dancer for ten years. In addition to her studio competition team, Patrice was a member of her high school Pom Dance Team for three years, learning the sharp style, clean precision, and technique of Pom Jazz. After graduating high school, Patrice began her choreography journey in college, choreographing at competition studios in Maryland and creating innovative pieces that earned top scores, special awards, and scholarships. While in college, Patrice was selected to join the dance department ensemble to perform and choreograph several group pieces for the fall and winter semester showcases. Patrice transferred to Georgia Southern University, where she joined the Southern Explosion dance team, which performed at half-time basketball/football games and community events. Patrice was selected to join the competition team that competed at NDA college nationals in Daytona, Florida, in the D1 Jazz category.

In 2018, Patrice graduated from college with a degree in construction management and business administration. Patrice currently resides in Atlanta, GA, and has continued her love for teaching dance to the next generation. She judges for various dance competition organizations at the regional and national levels every season. She choreographs competition pieces at a local studio in Georgia and instructs weekly company technique classes focusing on leaps, turns, flexibility, and strength.

Patrice still trains at studios around Atlanta with major industry choreographers to stay updated on the industry’s evolving dance skill sets and pushing her artistry to remain fresh and innovative. She believes the best thing a dance instructor can do is continue to be a student, whether taking physical classes or maintaining an industry-continuing education. Continuing to perfect your craft, learning different styles and creative processes, and remaining coachable are the best ways to keep pushing your dancers to be their best.

When Patrice is not dancing, you can find her managing the building process of new construction homes, trying new Crumbl cookie flavors, or watching movies with her two cats, Hallow and Haven!

Christie Leonard began her dance training with Frankie Sherman and immediately developed a love and passion for the arts. Her early years of training included classes with Pat Jackson, Felicia Scherz, Glen Irby and Laurie McAlister. Later, she spent time in New York City taking classes from nationally acclaimed instructors at Steps, Peridance and Broadway Dance Center. She also continued her dance education by attending many dance conventions, workshops and masterclasses.

For 14 years, Christie owned and operated two studios in Upstate SC and produced, in addition to yearly recitals, the productions of The Nutcracker, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, Willy Wonka and original productions of The Enchanted Toy Shop and Storm the Stage.  Christie taught as an Integrated arts specialist with the SmartARTS program in Greenville County Schools, and was the director of Furman University’s dance team for two seasons.

Christie’s students have won local and state pageant titles, won numerous awards at regional and national competitions,  performed on cruise ships and at The Grand Ole Opry, attended the Ailey School and Joffrey summer programs, chosen as featured performers in the Teen/Miss SC pageants, attended the SC Governor’s School for the Arts, are performing as an NFL cheerleader, as well as the Greenville Fine Arts Center, and AARMES. Her students are in theater, dance and cheer programs at many local high schools and at College of Charleston, North Greenville College, Washington and Lee University, Coastal Carolina, University of Georgia, Clemson, Lander, Wofford and USC.

Christie has worked with the Lander University Dance Team, Hillcrest and Mauldin High School Dance Teams, worked as a judge for the National American Miss Pageant, Southern Council of Dance Masters, Marvonna National Dance Competition, American Dance Championships, Fusion National Dance Competition and Star Talent Productions.  She was also the choreographer for productions of A Christmas Carol and Westside Story for the theater ensemble FIRE.  Her most recent jobs took her to Michigan teaching for Energy Source Dance Experience and to New York fashion week working for The Society. Christie is currently the Co owner of AC Dance & Company in Mauldin, SC.

Tiffany Lamwatt was born and raised in Orlando, Florida where she began dancing at the age of two. She started her formal ballet training at Central Florida Ballet and was an apprentice part of their trainee program. While there, she trained in ballet, pointe, jazz, lyrical, musical theater, modern, and tap. Her aerial training began at the age of 16 with the Orlando Circus School, where she trained in various aerial apparatuses, such as silks, lyra, cube, hammock, and many more. Right out of high school, she started touring worldwide as an aerialist with New Image Line Entertainment and Life in Color. While on tour, she graduated Cum Laude with a Sports and Exercise Science with a minor in Psychology degree from the University of Central Florida. While on break from tour, she started performing for the theme parks in Orlando. Tiffany has performed at Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Florida, SeaWorld Orlando and LegoLand Florida in many shows, parades and events. Not only is she a dancer and aerialist, but also a stilt walker, stunts performer and actor! In addition to the parks, some of her favorite performance opportunities have been with the Orlando Magic, EDC, Make A Wish, Millennium Dancesport, and Headdress Ball. Tiffany still actively performs, teaches, and choreographs in Orlando, hoping to spread her passion with numerous individuals!

Mandi Little has dedicated over 35 years to dance performance and 25 years to dance education; in private studios, public schools and as the owner of two successful dance studios. During this time she has been recognized nationally and internationally for outstanding talent and choreography. In addition to choreographing for the Charlotte Civic Orchestra, regional theater productions and industrials, Mandi performed with a select group of dancers from across the U.S. in the Hula Bowl halftime, was cast as a Laker Girl dancer in the movie Eddie with Whoopi Goldberg and danced for the Charlotte Hornets NBA team. Mandi has trained extensively with renowned instructors such as Ray Leeper, Joe Tremaine, Keith Stewart, Gene Anthony Ray, Doug Caldwell, Terry Lindholm, Fanchon Cordell of UNCSA, Salvatore Aiello of NCDT, Alan Onickel and was an assistant for tap master and Tony Award winner, Henry LeTang. As a teacher, she was awarded the Artist’s Music Guild award for Outstanding Dance Education and her students have won multiple national titles and awards for outstanding technique and choreography. Having many students go on to pursue college and professional careers in dance brings her great pride. She loves to help the next generation of dancers develop confidence and a sense of identity through the love of this amazing artform.

Raven Lucas was born and raised in Birmingham Alabama and graduated Cum Laude from Troy University where she obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance in May 2021. She has been dancing since the age of four and has trained in various styles of dance; Some of these styles include Ballet, Contemporary, Modern, Hip-Hop, Heels, and Jazz. Post-graduation Raven created her Dance business Raven Lucas Dance as well as her Dance Healing business Soul Deep Sessions. In addition, to becoming a business owner she has also been working as a traveling Choreographer, Instructor, and Performer. Raven has been the Visual Ensemble Choreographer for Shades Valley High School in Birmingham Alabama over the last couple of years. While working with Shades Valley her team competed in many competitions and consistently placed in the top three in the dance category. Raven has also had the pleasure of setting choreography for studios such as Dance Levels in 2021 for their show entitled Journey to Africa as well as traveling to Rome Georgia, and Tueplo Mississippi to guest teach and set choreography just to name a few. Raven has a strong passion for performing and has had countless performance opportunities through Troy University. Outside of Troy she has had the opportunity to perform with Sadeck Berrabah as the opening act at Kulture City Ball in his piece entitled Murmuration as well as performing in Tatyana Webb’s music video ReBel, a local artist in Montgomery Alabama. Aside from performing and choreographing Raven is also passionate about combining the elements of dance, spirituality, and psychology which has led her to create dance healing workshops that tie in all three of these topics. Soul Deep Sessions was created to help inspire, uplift, and navigate individuals through their healing in a safe environment. Raven’s mission is to not only give back and inspire dancers through her knowledge and experience as a performer/choreographer, but to also cultivate safe spaces for dancers and everyone in between to be their most authentic self and share their vulnerabilities safely, openly, and honestly.

Kishema “Pendu” Malik is a professional dancer, choreographer, instructor and educator with over 25 years in the entertainment industry. She is very serious about training and making sure dancers have a solid strong foundation no matter what dance style is being taught. Pendu is known for her power and strength, and she makes sure every class she teaches or choreography she sets will display these elements. Her main styles of choreography or teaching are Modern (Dunhamand Horton), Jazz, West African and Afro Fusion (including her own style “Afro Sexy”, West African, Capoeira, Jazz and Burlesque fusion).

Pendu is originally from New York City and has trained with some of the best in New York City including Alvin Ailey, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Steps on Broadway, Djenba Mouflet, Youseff Kombassa, Robin Dunn and so many more. She has also lived in Florida and Los Angeles and has danced with many companies, artists and tours including Marat Daukayev, Debbie Allen, Summer Jam with Mya and Ashanit, Stevie Wonder, NIKE, WNBA/NBAAll-Star games and more. Since moving to Las Vegas some of her positions of work have included being a principal performer in Cirque Du Soleil’s Beatles LOVE, being one of the choreographers for Cirque Du Soleil’s One Drop production, “Amanzi” and choreographer at Academy at Nevada Ballet, being a dancer/aerialist on Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, being a freelancer for many corporates, dancing for artists such as Demi Lavatto, Paul McCartney and Debbie Gibson. She is also a member of Molodi Stepping Ensemble, a pole dancer/instructor and a guest choreographer at Don Mirault’s Thearte Preparatory Arts Program (TAPS). Now a resident of Atlanta, GA, she is signed with Aligned Stars Agency and is currently a Teaching Artist for the National Black Arts Festival, teaches pole and aerial at two studios and performs and choreographs for a few local artists in the city, while still growing her brand.

She is also internationally known as a choreographer/instructor and her services have been used in many conventions, circus schools, dance schools, shows and videos worldwide in countries such as Brazil, Sweden, Peru, Argentina, Australia, South Africa, Canada, Ghana and others. Pendu wants to be known for her unique style of always fusing West African dance with any style of dance including her own Afro Sexy, which has premiered seven times on the Las Vegas strip and has now expanded a branch in Atlanta and is excited to continue to grow Afro Sexy and her experience in the ATL area. Lastly, Pendu is also a kinesiology and fitness specialist who holds a BS Bio-engineering and a M.S. in Kinesiology and has presented at international conferences such as IADMS (International Association of Dance Medicine and Science) in Singapore in 2012 and applies her knowledge to all her dance classes.

Anthony de Marte (he/him) is a New York-based performing artist. After performing various musical productions, he began his formal dance training in ballet, jazz, tap, modern, contemporary, hip hop and musical theatre techniques at the age of 14. Anthony is a graduate of Muhlenberg College, where he received a Bachelors of Arts in Theatre and Dance. Favorite performance credits include LeFou in “Beauty and the Beast” with KJK Productions, and Angie in “Gypsy” with Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre, and works choreographed by Chet Walker (Jacob’s Pillow), Tiffany Mills, Shapiro & Smith, and Shelley Oliver. In addition to performing, Anthony is a passionate choreographer, director, and performing arts educator. He worked with KJK Productions for 10 years as a musical theatre teaching artist and has had work featured with Jazz Choreography Enterprises and at Triskelion Arts in Brooklyn, New York. As an educator, Anthony creates a safe, encouraging space for students that prioritizes community and collaboration. He challenge students to exceed expectations of their own physical and emotional craft, cultivates discipline and focus, and inspires joy in the celebration of our identities, artistry, and humanity. anthonydemarte.com

Heather Moffitt is a Georgia native who spent 15 years working as a performer, teacher, and choreographer in Los Angeles.  During her time in Los Angeles, she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology Exercise Science from California State University Northridge with a pre-med concentration.  She has trained in dance, singing, and acting with top industry professionals. Performance credits include Adam Parson’s Commonality Dance Company, Mandalone Project with Joseph Malone and Jackie Sleight, Jazz Dance LA with Doug Caldwell and Jackie Sleight, Medidanza Stage in Italy with Paula Morgan, The Choreographer’s Carnival at Key Club in Hollywood with Michelle Elkin, Cabrillo Music Theater’s production of The King and I, the musical iChoose, and in multiple Cabaret performances directed by Peisha McPhee.  

Heather has taught and choreographed for many studios in Los Angeles and Atlanta for over 15 years. Her students have performed in musicals, television, film, and national tours. As a versatile teacher, Heather teaches ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, lyrical, and musical theatre for all ages and levels. She is certified in Acrobatic Arts’ AcroDance Preschool Program. Heather opened her own dance studio, Integrity 360 Dance Center, in Marietta, GA in September 2021 and she looks forward to sharing her experience, knowledge, compassion, and love for the arts with all dance students and their families.

Madison Moiser is a Florida native, but grew up in Georgia. She grew up dancing at multiple studios in the Metro Atlanta area. Madison has had the opportunity to train with multiple award winning choreographers and teachers throughout her dance career. In 2022 Madison was a principal dancer in the contemporary show, Moments. Madison is proud to be the co creator of Movement, the Workshop. A workshop designed to help dancers discover multiple aspects of the dance
industry while focusing on their personal growth, confidence and individuality. Madison also holds the position of social media manager for Movement. Madison is currently a professional company member for Movement, the Company. She is thankful to be a part of a company that cherishes the individuality of their dancers. Madison loves to make dancers feel seen and appreciated, and she actively tries to create uplifting dance experiences for them.

Meredith Muller is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher from Tampa, FL. She began dancing at the age of three and trained in ballet, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, tap, acro, and hip hop at the Karl and Dimarco School of Theater and Dance under the direction of Sandy Karl. She competed as a company member for over 10 years and performed at many wide-scale events including the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Her dance career continued at the collegiate level as a member of the University of Florida’s Dazzler Dance Team. During this time, Meredith also found a passion for teaching and choreographing. She was one of the competition team directors at Momentum Dance Arts in Gainesville, FL. Meredith has won many first-place titles and choreography awards at regional and national dance competitions. Meredith was also a dancer and instructor for the Universal Dance Association (UDA). As a UDA instructor, Meredith taught routines in the styles of jazz, hip hop, pom, and high kick to middle and high school dance teams throughout the country. Meredith currently lives in Atlanta, GA, and continues to choreograph for dance studios and dance teams. She loves sharing her passion for dance with the next generation of dancers and helping them achieve their goals!

Tammy Moye began her dance training at the age of 3 in Alabama. She became an assistant teacher at 13 yrs old, while continuing her dance training in Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Tap, Jazz, and Hip Hop. Tammy was a competitive dancer at Bobbies School of Dance in Huntsville, AL. During this time she trained in the Dance Masters of America conventions in Georgia and Alabama where she received training from several tap legends. While continuing her classical dance training, she was also a member of The University of North Alabama’s Dance Team, winning awards such as Overall Star Dancer & choreography awards. She earned a Business Management and Marketing Degree from the University of North Alabama. Tammy began teaching dance in the Atlanta area in 2004. She opened Studio 4 the Arts in Powder Springs, GA in 2011 where she currently teaches and directs the Competition Team, winning numerous choreography and studio awards throughout the years. Her studio also performs The Nutcracker at the Dallas Theatre in Dallas, GA each season. Her goal as a teacher is to share her training, knowledge, and her love of dance with all of her students and to give every child their moment to shine.

Taryn Martin was locally born and raised in South Carolina. As a young dancer, she competed worldwide to receive outstanding dancer awards and top scoring solos nationally ranked. To expand her training, she studied with Royal Ballet to receive her certification through Solo Seal. Each summer she attended intensives at American Academy of Ballet and NYCDA Summer Intensive in New York. At the age of 12 and 13 she was casted as Clara for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in Nashville, TN.  She recently traveled with Royal Caribbean Cruise lines for the past 5 years as a dancer/aerialist; Serenade, Freedom, and Voyager of the Seas. She has performed with Legends in Concert, The Carolina Opry, and Le Grande Cirque as dance captain. She is now choreographing for local studios as well as teaching strength/technique classes along the east coast. She is ready to see the talent this year brings in the new competition season! @tarynemartin

Cara McMahon is a young dance professional, who was born in Long Island, New York and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. She has studied and trained in various dance genres since the age of 2 years old, and has been teaching for several years. Cara attended UNC-Charlotte where she obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Dance Education, with a certification in grades K-12. During her time in college, she was named the Artistic Director of “Range of Motion Dance Ensemble” as well as a member of the UNC-Charlotte dance team. While on the dance team, she placed 3rd in the nation at NDA’s Collegiate Nationals. In 2017, Cara trained with the Paul Taylor Dance Company in a residency program. During the residency, she was chosen by members of the Paul Taylor Dance Company to be in a restagement of Paul Taylor’s famous work: Esplanade. Some of her professional credits include The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Elevate Performance Company, and dancing for “The Village People’s” Randy Jones. Cara is constantly striving to become a better teacher and dance educator. She continues to train, perform, and choreograph all throughout the United States. With her extensive dance knowledge and experience, Cara hopes to inspire the next generation of dancers and help them to achieve their full potential.

Choreographer, consultant, educator, and adjudicator, Megan Montgomery currently based in Orlando Florida, is originally from Detroit Michigan where she received her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Dance from Wayne State University. There she was a recipient of the Harriet Berg Endowed Scholarship for Choreography. Megan was a touring company member of the over 40 year-old Limon-based company, DDCdances. She enjoyed performing the works of contemporary artists Biba Bell, Sidra Bell, Harriet Berg, Stephanie Laipis, Chris Masters, Barb Selinger, Sonya Tayeh, Colleen Thomas, Ronnie Todorowski and the late Marcus White. Megan studied on scholarship in Chicago at Giordano’s Dance School, on scholarship in Detroit at Complexions Contemporary Ballet Intensive, and with Sidra Bell Dance NY.

Prior to concert dance Megan performed in the NBA on the Detroit Pistons Dance Team, being recognized for outstanding performance quality, leadership, and “Rookie of the Year.” Megan’s performance credits also include recording artists Boyz II Men, Enrique Iglesias, Jax Anderson, and classical musicians Mark Cooney,
James Cornish, and Topher Horn.

To enrich her dance training Megan became a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher (2017), leading classes inspired by contemporary dance movement. She continues to guest teach, clean and consult, choreograph for high school and college dance teams, and adjudicate for Inspire, Ignite, Imagine, and Crowd Pleasers Dance
competitions, bringing together her diverse background of concert, contemporary, and competitive dance.

Currently, Megan is continuing her education pursuing a Master of Arts. In her daily life, you can find her on a yoga mat, walking her dog Dolly, and at her neighborhood Starbucks!

Brittany Noltimier is the proud founder of Entr’acte Dance Prep, LLC; a private coaching service for the serious dancer. Her goal is to help performers find their niche and bring it to the stage. As a national judge, she gets to see many talented performers dance their hearts out but she wants to give back more than just talking to a headset. Brittany’s passion is to build connections with dancers worldwide and bring those critiques to a reality; allowing our inner artist to become vulnerable for corrections and improvement.
Brittany grew up on a farm in Devils Lake, ND where she danced and taught at her mother’s dance studio, Miki’s School of Dance. For Brittany dance was her passion so she presumed it professionally at the prestigious Oklahoma City University, specializing in Performance and Pedagogy, and graduating with a Bachelors in Fine Arts. Under the direction of Jo Rowan, she is professionally trained in ballet, tap, jazz, musical theater, contemporary, and dance pedagogy. After graduating college, Brittany worked as a dancer in NYC in productions such as West Side Story and taught for Dance Olympus. Currently, she resides in Orlando, Florida and was just seen dancing at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom for the Christmas event. She also performs at Universal Studios, Legoland FL, and Seaworld. Brittany is a proud member of JunNK; a percussion/tap/variety arts show of 4 people that will be debuting in Orlando in 2019. She also serves as both a regional and national judge for several dance competitions.

Laura Norton began her training at the age of two years old in Boston, Massachusetts, dancing under the direction of Susan Montrond, Jennifer Freeman, and Rennie Gold. For over a decade, Laura has taught at studios in Central Florida, performed for the major theme parks, and worked as a Walt Disney Imagineer on the ride development, production, and testing team. Her favorite parts of teaching are building a strong technical foundation while instilling confidence and passion in dancers of all levels and ages. Laura is a National Academy of Sports Medicine certified personal trainer, a member in good standing of Dance Educators of America, and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Dance from Wheaton College (MA). She is currently the co-director of Ready, Set, Dance in Gotha, FL!

Abba Parrott is a Georgia native. She grew up training at Sharpsburg Dance Academy, and multiple other studios in the Metro ATL area. Abba had the privilege to train with Camp Broadway out of New York City and perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Abba was later able to be an intern for Camp Broadway for a brief time. After graduating, Abba spent time learning and training from many inspiring teachers in the Atlanta and Los Angeles areas. Abba spent a summer training with LA based company, MusEffect. With them, she was able to perform at the Vans US Surf Open and was in the moving PSA, “Look At Me,” alongside actresses Monique Coleman, Mollee Gray and Rachel Melvin. Abba also had the pleasure of being in the pre-program with Gotta Dance Contemporary, which is now known as Admix. Abba is currently the artistic director of Sharpsburg Dance Academy. Abba Parrott is a national award-winning choreographer. She has taught and choreographed for studios nationwide and is a judge for multiple dance competitions. Abba recently co-produced and co-choreographed her first full length professional contemporary show, Moments. Abba is the proud creator of Movement, The Workshop which is designed to help dancers discover multiple aspects of the dance industry while focusing on their personal growth, confidence and individuality. Abba is the creative director for Movement, The Company, a professional, pre professional and apprentice program. Abba loves to help dancers develop their artistry and help them become storytellers through the art of dance.

Chelsea Pevitt is a dance instructor based in Fortson, Georgia. Growing up, she was trained under Kelli Kinsaul at Center Stage Dance Studio. She has also been an active member in the Thespian Society of Harris County. There she was able to assist not only on stage, but off as well. Chelsea has also competed at the national level of Thespian Conventions. Chelsea has performed in many productions with major roles including Anastasia, Gabriella Montez in High School Musical, Kala in Tarzan, and the most meaningful was Elphaba in Wicked. With 29 years of experience and 13 years in instructing, Chelsea has found it to be important to meet the dancer where they are. She is proficient in teaching ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, lyrical, and musical theater. Chelsea is currently a teacher and choreographer at her home dance studio, Center Stage Dance Studio, where she has received several awards for her choreography. Her favorite aspect of teaching is seeing the growth of her dancers from year to year. And she is excited to see some amazing talent on the Inspire stage! 

Elycia Phelps is an Atlanta-based dance maker, performer, and educator. While working mostly in competitive dancing, her passion for technique & artistry enriches her unique approach to storytelling. She is proud to have shared this viewpoint with many dancers at studios and competitions around the country. Throughout her youth Elycia was trained by master instructors, including Chet Walker, Kevin “Tokyo” Inouye, and Trina Parks, in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Lyrical, and Modern, performing nationally and internationally. While in college, Elycia danced for four years with UGA’s Dance Department, and dedicated volunteer hours teaching dance to underprivileged youth in the East Athens community. Having been graced with the opportunities to perform for Jennifer Holiday, MC Hammer, TLC’s Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, and Travis Tritt to name a few, Elycia was also fortunate to redefine and exhibit her talents in New York City at Broadway Dance Center. Combining her education and performance background, Elycia continues to choreograph and teach around the country, instilling artistic expression, confidence, and knowledge into aspiring dancers.

Ashley Pritchett has been dancing since she was a child and grew up training and performing in the competitive realm. Ashley has been classically trained in many different styles of dance including Cecchetti and Vaganova methods of Ballet, Pointe, Contemporary, Lyrical, Jazz, Tap, Canadian/Buck style Clogging, as well as tumbling and acrobatics. She has been the student, assistant, teacher, choreographer, studio director, and competition judge within the years of her dance career. Her experiences include but are not limited to; assisting alongside Paul Franklin during his time working for Cirque De Soleil in Master classes and Choreography, performing as entertainment for the Miss South Carolina and Miss South Carolina Teen pageants, being casted in roles for productions such as The Nutcracker and The Enchanted Toy Shop, filmed and appeared in a country music video, has experience as the director/choreographer for collegiate dance teams in South Carolina, and has worked with other well-known competitions as a judge and a tabulator.

Ashley currently works with students of all ages, teaching competitive Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, Flexibility, Strength, and Technique.

Her students have been invited to Los Angeles and attended Krista Miller’s Summer Intensive at the Brea Space, have performed in Nashville Tennessee at the Grand Ole Opry, and have won numerous overall placements and special awards and recognitions at regional and national competitions. Several of Ashley’s competitive routines have won choreography awards, cash prizes, and special judges awards. Many of her students have moved on to participate in their Collegiate dance teams, modeling careers, filming, and more. Ashley enjoys sharing her passion of dance with others and strives to bring out the best in young dancers and is excited to spread positivity and encouragement as a judge this season.

Taylor Randolph is a dance artist born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama. Randolph graduatedSumma Cum Laude from Troy University with a BFA in Dancewhereshe was a companydancer inTroy Repertory Dance Ensemble, a group of dancers chosen by audition to representthe BFA in Dance program.Randolph has worked withEdward Villela andThang Dao, andperformedworks by Takehiro Ueyama, José Limón set by Dante Puleio, James Boyd, NickiLoud, Lisa Bauford, Caitlin Parish and London Brison.As a student of the AmericanDanceFestival,she trained under Ramón Flowers (William Forsythe style), Christian Von Howard(Contemporary) and CharlesO. Anderson (KineticStorytelling), also takingmasterclasses fromPaul Taylor Dance Company, Pilobolus and Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre. In 2019, Randolphaccepted two highly competitive internships in New York City, New York, including the JoséLimón Dance Foundation as the Education Intern and RIOULT Dance NY as the DevelopmentIntern.Randolph is a successful choreographer with her original workbeingaccepted intovarious national choreographic festivals, including Body Logic Dance Festival, Catharsis SeriesIIand III, CDC Fest,DAP Festival,IWD Showcase, New Century Dance Project, New WaveDance Festival and New Works Dance Concert.She iscurrentlya Resident Artist with NashvilleDance Collectivein Nashville, TN, performing and creating original works for the company.

Stephan Reynolds is already a seasoned veteran of stage performances. His dance training includes Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, Dance Theater of Harlem, Paul Taylor, and the Martha Graham School. To list but some of his credits: Celine Dion’s A New Day, Michael Jackson’ 30th Anniversary Celebration, “O” with Cirque du Soleil, Black Nativity with Penumbra Theatre and National Theater Company Dominion Entertainment. He has choreographed for Knick City Dancers, New York Liberty, Memphis State University, SUNY at Purchase College, the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, Las Vegas Gladiators, Southern Methodist University, Polish National Ballet, and has danced and taught Master Classes in over 50 major cities and all throughout Europe. Many may remember him for his work in Cirque du Soleil’s “Love” show at the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Vegas, Married to Medicine, The Braxton Family Values, Housewives of Atlanta. He is also a Principal Dancer in the HBO movie Bessie starring Queen Latifah, World’s Away Directed by James Cameron, and Bolden starring Gary Carr and Robert Ri’chard. And most recently, went back to school to earn his Ph.D. in Expressive Therapies, where he will continue to use the arts as a means of healing and understanding.

Savannah Rion was raised in Myrtle Beach, SC where she started dancing at the age of 3. She has been a part of the competitive dance world throughout her entire dance career and has trained heavily in many genres including but not limited to jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop, contemporary, and musical theatre. She holds a BA in Theatre from Coastal Carolina University where she spent her four years heavily involved in their Dance Company, where she performed, taught and choreographed many numbers for their theatre department. Since graduating, Savannah has been teaching, choreographing and directing for many theaters and companies in the area. She is a current instructor at the Academy of Dance and Fine Arts, SC. She has also choreographed multiple productions for St. James High, Green Sea Floyds High, and North Myrtle Beach High, as well as Coastal Youth Theatre and Myrtle Beach Area Children’s Theatre. Some of her accolades include choreography awards and top overall achievements at various dance competitions around the area including Encore DCS “Most Entertaining” routine of the entire competition. She loves choreographing and sharing her love of dance and musical theatre with all of her students. She is thrilled to be able to reach students across the nation with her knowledge of dance.

Christopher Robbins is an adjunct professor in the Theatre and Dance Dept at College of Charleston; he also guest teaches at several other colleges, one of which being USC. Chris has had a storied career, working with many titans of industry, dance, film, and music. He currently works for four different dance competitions as a director, judge, choreographer, MC, and master teacher. He privately trains students across the US, using his specialized Kinesiology & WSI licensed coaching. Chris currently acts as the artistic director for Star Experience, is a co-choreographer for Dream Team, and master teaches for InspireNDC, Encore Extreme, EncoreDCS, StarTalent, FusionNDC, Endless Talent & DMA touring the US. Chris is the CEO/ artistic director of E’clatez Production Co. LLC based in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Carlee Sachs-Krook moves fluidly between the roles of educator, scholar, writer, and performer within the dance field. An eclectic groover with a background in ballet, contemporary, jazz, tap, and Pilates, she holds a BFA in dance from Sam Houston State University (SHSU) and an MA in American Dance Studies from Florida State University (FSU). Drawing on her embodied experience as a mover and groover in popular and concert dance contexts, she balancés between research and practice related to dance pedagogy, dance in popular culture, and performance politics related to gender. She has shared her scholarship, writing, and performances on a variety of physical and digital platforms. Her written work has appeared in The Dancer-Citizen, Dance Informa Magazine, and The Tallahassee Democrat. She has presented original research on competitive pole dance at the Popular Culture Association’s national conference and at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, FL as an invited lecturer. Her performance credits include contemporary and ballet works by Dana Nicolay, Erin Reck, Dionne Noble, and Alexis Anderson as well as Kobe College’s and SHSU 2018 production of Dido and Aeneas in Nishinomiya, Japan. Moving forward, Carlee aims to pursue a PhD in dance and teach at university where she can continue to further weave together her passion for dance education, scholarship, writing, and performance. 

Heather Parker Schumacher began dancing at the age of two in metro Atlanta under the direction of Pamela Mitchell Lambert. As a member of a competitive dance company for 14 years, Heather won numerous awards as a dancer and student choreographer. Heather is trained and teaches in the disciplines of Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, and Hip Hop. She is a graduate of Barbizon School of Modeling, holds several pageant titles, has modeled throughout the metro Atlanta area for children’s fashion shows, and has performed on Good Day Atlanta. While a student at the University of West Georgia, Heather began her professional career in the Atlanta area dancing for promotional events, and as a dancer, singer, and show supervisor for Six Flags Over Georgia. Heather has choreographed for multiple competitive studios, dance teams, and independent groups at the University of West Georgia. Heather continues to teach and choreograph at her own studio where she has been owner and director for over ten years. In such a short time she has provided a premier dance education center where students have graduated and received scholarships at the collegiate level, won hundreds of high scoring and top honors throughout the dance competition circuit, and has been awarded numerous choreography awards. Heather loves nothing more than to teach and choreograph for dancers of all ages.

Tracy Self is the owner and director for Just Dance LKN. She is trained in tap, jazz, hip-hop, contemporary, lyrical, and ballet. She has been an instructor and choreographer for 20+ years and has won numerous national and regional choreography awards. Tracy also studied at several prestigious conventions, with very talented professional dancers including Melissa Pihos. Her students have gone on to become professional dancers for NFL, cruise ships, and leading their own dance/cheer teams. She is excited to work with Inspire and Empire dancers this coming season! Dance with your heart and your feet will follow!

Janis A. Sherwood, originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, received her early dance and theater training, performing, and teaching experience on the West Coast. She studied at East Bay music center, Richmond Ballet, Contra Costa College, and private studios. She relocated to the Southeast in the mid-1980s to further her education with the Montgomery School of Fine Arts and the University of Alabama in Birmingham. During this time, she studied Ballet, Modern, Jazz and Tap with many notable teachers and choreographers including, the renowned Stephan Grebel, Edith Barnes, Melanie Grebel, Fred Sieretta, Martin Freedman and Marcus Alford. During that time Janis was awarded a fellowship for the UAB master’s program. During that time she performed with Ballet UAB and taught the UAB youth program. She continued her training in Jazz, Hip Hop, modern and contemporary both on the west coast and east coast with notable teachers such as Tyce Diorio, Brian Freidman, Eddie Garcia, Shelia Barker,Chabar williams ,Liz Imperio, Desmond Richardson, twitch, Barry Youngblood, Gustavo Vargas, and many more. She has also taken master classes in Brazilian, African and Afro- Haitian, and Cuban salsa to her repertoire at the world dance center in the San Francisco Bay Area. Janis’s credits include a studio owner, performer, award winning choreographer, and master teacher for over 47 years. Janis has recently returned to acting and is also a visual artist. Janis and her husband currently reside outside of Birmingham, AL and have 5 children and 7
grandchildren. 

Madison Shepherd was raised in Brunswick, GA where she started dancing at the age of 3. As a young girl, she was a successful competitive dancer, training in all styles, where she won many different local and national judges awards, and many 1st place overall awards. Madison had the privileges of taking many classes from world renowned choreographers. She attended Georgia Southern University where she continued her dance training being a part of the GSU Dance Team. They danced at basketball games and competed at NDA Nationals in Daytona Beach, Florida. Two of the four years, she served as the team’s co-captain. She got the privilege to be a pro for Dancing with Augusta Stars after college. She currently lives in Augusta, GA where she is in her fifth-year teaching and choreographing at Pulse Dance Center. Dance has been a part of her life for 24 years, and there is northing she would rather do than continue teaching and sharing her knowledge and love for the art of dance.

Lucy Spring holds a B.F.A. in Dance from George Mason University. She has 26 years of dance performance experience and is trained in musical theater, contemporary, jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical, modern, hip hop, pointe and acrobatics. She has studied voice with Mario Spinetti and Jennifer Randall M.M.
Lucy’s performance credits include Disney’s Newsies at Arena Stage, breakable and Capezio A.C.E. Awards with marInspired; the Storytellers, You Spin Me ‘Round with The American Pops
Orchestra, various dance concerts with the George Mason University School of Dance, the National Cherry Blossom Festival, Triple Arts Broadway Series, and CureFest for Childhood Cancer.
Lucy has 13 years of teaching and choreography experience. Her assistant choreography credits include the pre-production for Grand Hotel at Signature Theatre and Evita at Olney Theatre
Center. She has choreographed original works for The Little Mermaid, Seussical Jr., Ethno World Orchestra, Inc., CureFest, GMU Dance Company, and various studios, schools, workshops, and film projects.
She received a 2018 Industry Dance Awards Choreography Nomination, 2017 Bette Carter Award in Dance, and 2016 Triple Arts Broadway Series Scholarship.
Lucy looks forward to judging with Inspire NDC this season!

Katie E. Tribble is the owner of an elite training program for serious dancers called Competitive Edge Coaching, LLC (CEDC).Through CEDC, she has helped studios and individual dancers grow to achieve their goals whether it being accepted onto a college dance team, overall top 3 placements in competition, or simply growing in their confidence in class. She  has a degree in Dance Performance and Dance Education from the University of South Carolina and has taught in many local studios and schools over the past decade.  She is a graduate of the residential dance program at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. There, she studied Vaganova and Graham technique with Stanislav Issaev, Irina Ushakova, and Miriam Barbosa. Four years ago, Katie began developing her love for private technique and acrobatics coaching. She is a certified Acrobatics teacher through Acrobatic Arts and works with several local dance companies and competition/convention organizations sharing her love and knowledge of dance with dancers. Katie’s biggest passion is truly coaching dancers by developing mentoring relationships that enable them to grow exponentially  through her systematic program to reach their fullest potential.

Connor Britt-Tripp has been teaching and performing professionally since the age of 18. Growing up in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, he always knew professional dance was his career of choice. He danced competitively for 15 years, winning multiple 1st overall awards, titles, and judges choice awards. He is trained in Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, Acrobatics, Lyrical, Irish Step, Musical Theatre and Hip-Hop. During his formative dance years Connor was lucky enough to work and train under many world-renowned teachers and choreographers. These master teachers include: Blake McGrath, Kent Boyd, Liz Imperio, Shannon Mather, Karen Deese, Aaron Burr, Ayodele Casel, Casey Colgan, Melissa”MJ” Jackson, Mary-Anne Lamb, Claire Williams, plus more. He was accepted to numerous college dance programs, but chose to start his professional career right out of High school. Through his love for dance he found a passion in Circus. Some of his credits include Dolly Parton’s Pirates Voyage where he performed tumbling, diving, Russian swing, Aerial Work, and Chinese Poles as well as took on the role of dance captain; ONE the SHOW at The Alabama Theatre as a commercial dancer(Jean Whittaker), and he most recently worked for RWS (Jesse Rob) on MSC Cruises as a dancer and aerialist. Outside of performing, Connor loves getting to teach and choreograph for competitive dance studios. He currently teaches under the Direction of Megan Curtis at Nxt Lvl Dance Experience. His choreography has placed top 10 and has received special judges and choreography awards at numerous conventions and competitions. Some of these include Break the Floor Conventions; DMI, Velocity, Platinum, and Encore. 

Courtney Turner has had a passion for dance since the age of 6 and began her training as a competitive dancer in Charlotte, North Carolina. She developed a strong foundation in all elements of dance through her training with well-known dance choreographer, Ed Phelan, as well as training from such dance industry notables as Mike Minery, Mia Michaels, Ronen Koresh, Zane Booker, and Christopher Huggins. Courtney won many local and national awards, to include Miss Dance of North Carolina (Dance Masters of America) in 2005 and was one of the top twenty-two female finalists for season two of So You Think You Can Dance.

Courtney’s career as a dance instructor began while she still was in high school, she went on to attend Philadelphia’s University of the Arts, receiving her B.F.A. in Jazz Dance Performance. After dancing professionally, hip surgery brought her back home where she continued her career as a dance instructor winning numerous local and national awards in jazz, lyrical, acro and tap. Her students have gone to dance professionally with Alvin Ailey, Parsons Dance Company, the NFL and NBA. Courtney has also won a number of choreography awards, known for fluidity, formations, and cleanliness. For the past 5 years Courtney has been a dance educator within the Charlotte- Mecklenburg School District and she is going into her 15 th season teaching at BB Dance Productions. She enjoys judging dance competitions around the country as it presents new and unique opportunities to influence dancers of different ages, levels, and abilities.

Brandilyn Stroup is a Georgia–based teacher and choreographer. She has extensive training in ballet, pointe, jazz, lyrical, and modern. In addition to instruction under various professionally trained teachers, she attended summer dance intensives throughout high school and continued her dance training with various master classes throughout college. Brandilyn has performed lead roles in The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Peter and the Wolf, and Alice and Wonderland. As ac ompetitive dancer, Brandilyn received numerous awards and was a member of the Georgia Southern University Dance Team. Her choreography has won numerous awards, including top overalls, best choreography, and judges choice awards at regional and national dance competitions. She is a licensed, certified teacher of Progressing Ballet Technique and is also a certified Barre Fitness instructor with American Barre Technique. Brandilyn teaches and choreographs in the southeast Georgia area. She is married with the sweetes t4–year–old daughter, who shares her mom‘s love of dance!

Gabriel Terry (Augusta, GA) is a constant creator and dance educator. His training began at John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School, under the tutelage of Sharon “Skepple” Mayfield and Renee Toole. There he fell in love with the styles of Modern, Jazz, Ballet, and Hip-Hop. While in high school he also received training from the Colton Ballet School and the University of South Carolina Summer Dance Conservatory. Since graduating from high school he has continued his career in many aspects of the dance field, with choreographing for children’s theater, Augusta Jr. Players, Stagecraft Children’s Theater, collegiate theater, as Assistant Choreographer for Elon’s Once On This Island. He has had the opportunity to choreograph in music videos for L.A. based artists, J.Lately on his music video, “I’m On It.” His teaching has spanned across the Southeast, from Georgia, South Carolina, and now North Carolina. He is currently expecting to finish his B.F.A. in Dance Performance and Choreography at UNCG, May ‘20

Krysten Danielle is a Florida-based dance educator providing quality dance instruction to the St. Pete/ Tampa Bay area and surrounding communities for a collective of eighteen years. Training in styles such as ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, modern, contemporary, and hip hop. Ballet has always been at the forefront of Krysten’s teachings. Being certified in Progressing Ballet Technique, and one of the few teachers in Florida with a Tier III certification, Krysten has used this multitude of knowledge to send dancers to prominent summer programs such as School of American Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Chicago Ballet, Miami City Ballet and Francisco Gella’s Ballet+. Constantly broadening her expertise Krysten received the National Dance Educators Organization’s 2020 Professional Development Scholarship which she used to gain more knowledge within the ballet, jazz, modern, and choreography fields. In addition, Alixa Flexibility and Sugarfoot Therapy certifications have been integrated in her continuation to train and create mindful dancers. Krysten is also in her third year as an adjudicator with Starbound, and loves to share her knowledge around the country. 

Christa Rosen is a multi-genre dance artist and choreographer from Southern Illinois. Christa’s passion for challenging and blending dance genres comes from her background in commercial dance, dance team, studio dance, and classical training. She holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in dance from Lindenwood University and a Masters of Fine Arts in dance choreography and performance from Florida State University. Christa is the Owner and Artistic Director of her own choreography company, Christa Williams Choreography, which travels the country setting work on dancers of all ages for dance competitions, music videos, concerts and more. She is trained in dance anatomy, kinesiology, and conditioning and is a certified group fitness instructor. Christa has partnered with Florida State University Medical School to design and launch a Dance Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation seminar that is currently operating in Florida and Georgia, and plans to expand in 2022. For two years, she served as the Dance Program Director and Head Dance Instructor at Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts in Columbus, GA and is a Georgia certified dance educator. She is currently transitioning to collegiate instruction, and will teach Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology, Dance Pedagogy and Modern at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She is a member of the National Dance EducationOrganization, United Faculty of Florida and the Florida Educators Association and annually contributes research to the field of dance education. Christa approaches class with passion and energy, encouraging students to take risks and push their boundaries. She loves to provide students with their daily dose of “movement espresso!”

Dr. Eiesha M. Williamson is the CEO, Ownerand Director of MADE Today, Inc., “Making a DifferenceEverywhere,” Penelope Interiors, Micah–Lynn Productions and partner of The Contriver Group, LLCcommercial and residential builders. She is a PhD scholar and Professor, renowned dance choreographer,pageant consultant, life coach, volunteer, mentor, and philanthropist. Eiesha is formerly 2018 Mrs. NorthCarolina International, 2014 Mrs. Georgia America, Show Producer for Queen of the World Pageant andchoreographer for nine other US states. As a life coach, Eiesha has a passion for helping others andguiding them to achieve goals and aspirations and does so as a motivational and public speaker forseveral major corporations. A native of Pittsburgh, PA, Eiesha has expanded as an entrepreneurthroughout Charlotte, North Carolina as a business owner, Georgia as a public figure, and Virginia as aphilanthropist. She was delighted to become an NFL professional cheerleader and Captain for both theCarolina Panthers as well as the Atlanta Falcons for 8 years granting her to cheer at the NFL Superbowl2017. Affectionately known as “Coach Eiesha” she has led her former dance studio MADE Cheerleading,Dance & Gymnastics in their successes by grasping thousands of national titles in both cheerleading anddance. Sheis a national judge for several major dance competitions and convention instructor. Duringher spare time she enjoys traveling around the world, fine dining, and spending time with her love Trent,adorable daughters Micah–Lynn Penelope and Ana–Marie Genevieve.

Lazar Womble, originally from Los Angeles, California, started dance at the age of 3. He was the recipient of the National Society of the Arts Award, received an Honorable Mention Scholarship Award, and the Mary Fife Memorial Award in Classical Ballet. After graduating High School in 1997, he relocated to Atlanta where he danced with the Atlanta Ballet and performed in the Corps. Mr. Womble took on principle roles in the Nutcracker, Don Quixote, and Romeo & Juliette. At the age of 17 Lazar joined the Colorado Ballet company and became a lead soloist for 3 years. Later he joined the Boston Ballet with the Esemble and as a soloist. Mr. Womble earned his Bachelor of Art in Fashion, with a Minor in Musical Theater at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). During his studies, he performed with the Savannah Ballet and Savannah Performing Arts Ballet Company. He also utilized his talent with the Sankofa Dance Theater, specializing in Modern and African Dance. From 2001-2004 Lazar danced for Disney Theme Parks and Disney Cruise Lines in Orlando Florida. While there he performed lead roles in Tarzan and Beauty & The Beast. He also danced in musical performances featuring National Recording Artists such as Mariah Carey and Brittany Spears. He has also taught at a number of studios in Georgia & Florida, and he is known for his National Award-winning choreography.

Cameron Pace Zell began dancing at the age of 5, with training from the Northwest School of the Ars in musical theatre and dance, as well as Miss Donna’s School of Dance in all styles.

Cameron competitively danced and has performed in several musicals including Hair (NWSA), The Wedding Singer (NWSA) and Legally Blonde (NCT) as well as the ballet, Sleeping Beauty (NWSA) and films including The Strange and Unusual, The Ultimate Life, Shuffleton’s Barbershop, Inara the Jungle Girl, Goddess of War and a Mobil 1 commercial. As a dance teacher, she’s had many opportunities to choreograph for studios, teah at workshops, and was hired as one of the first pilot shows of the Disney Musical, Frozen Jr.

With her knowledge in Theatre and Dance, as well as a love of fashion, Camerson found a new passion in sewing! She has now opened her own dance costume and dance wear business, CZ Costumes.

Cameron has won awards sucha s the Star Systems Top Vocalist, Tap Soloist, and Top Teacher, the Senior Scholarship from Miss Donna’s School of Dance , The Order of the Dragon from Northwest School of the Arts and several costume awards.

She is so excited to work with the Inspire NDC family for this competitive season. Good luck, dancers!

Janel Joyner is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she performed on the dance team for 4 years and served as captain her senior year.  During her college career, she was also on the teaching staff for The National Dance Alliance.  After graduation, Janel traveled to New York where she studied at the Alvin Ailey Institute   Upon her return to Charlotte, Janel performed for the Charlotte Bobcats dance team and assisted as a second coach for the UNCC Golddusters for two seasons.  Currently, Janel is on staff at B.B. Dance Productions and Head Coach for the Johnson C. Smith University Dance Team. Other professional experience includes, performing live for a local artist, touring locally, movie appearance in the movie “Bolden” and guest choreographer for the Honey Bee’s 2023 season.