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.

Blayke Adkinson is a native of Montgomery, Alabama. She grew up training at Centre for Performing Arts under the direction of Karen Jordan as a competitive dancer and teacher. Blayke was accepted into Troy University’s dance department on a dance and academic scholarship. She went on to earn her BFA in dance training under Dominique Angel, James Boyd, Thang Dao, Dante Puleio, and Adrienne Hicks. Blayke also trained under Teddy Forance through his mentorship program with CLI studios. Blayke has spent her post graduate years teaching and choreographing full time, as well as dancing professionally with Fuerta Contemporary Dance Company and Sideways Contemporary Dance Company. Blayke has won numerous choreography awards for the various competitive studios she has choreographed for. Blayke is very passionate about the art of dance and loves to share her passion with her students!

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.

Kaelyn Arndt grew up In Denver, North Carolina where she trained for over 16 years. At the age of 16, Kaelyn moved to South Carolina and started training at Dance Productions- The Remix in Harrisburg, North Carolina. Throughout her years of being a competitive dancer, she won several regional and national level competitions all over the East Coast. During her senior year of high school, she traveled the United States with Revel Dance Convention as a pro reveler. She assisted some of the most well-known choreographers in the dance industry: Frank Musso, Duncan Cooper, Josh Bergasse, Brea Perdue, Derek Mitchell, Aaron Parkhurt, Marissa & Justin Milele, Trevor Sones, Rumer Noel, Courtney Ortiz, and Randi Strong. After graduation, Kaelyn continued her education and dancing at Utah Valley University. Kaelyn has just completed her fourth year of being on The Utah Valley Dance Team while also serving as The President of the team. In her four years, she has accomplished to win 6 national titles on the collegiate level. She hopes to challenge her students and inspire them to chase their dreams.

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!

Brooke Banks is very excited to start her first season as a competition judge! Starting dancing at the age of 16, the former level five competitive cheerleader went on to graduate through the Orlando Ballet Academy. Brooke was very passionate about dance and went on to be a trainee at BaletMet and Louisville Ballet. She ahs been a teacher for the past 5 years and adores her students. Brooke loves to spend her time with her two beautiful daughters and amazing husband!

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!

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.

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.

Connor Britt-Tripp has been teaching and performing professionally since the age of 18. He has been teaching and choreographing for competitive dance studios for 8 seasons. During his formative dance years, he trained under many world-renowned teachers and choreographers. These master teachers include: Blake McGrath, Liz Imperio, 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. Connor performs professionally as a dancer, aerialist and acrobat. Outside of performing he teaches and choreograph for competitive dance studios. He currently teaches at Nxt Lvl Dance Experience where he is on the competition company management team. He also travels the country educating dancers and setting choreography for many studios. 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. Connor has been a competitive dance judge for 3 seasons. He most recently signed with One Beat Dance Brands as a Convention Jazz Teacher. Aside from competitive dance, Connors choreography can be seen on High School dance teams, theatre productions, and Music Videos for the band “Oracle Blue”. @Connorschoreo1 @Ctbt13

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 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. Her work has been featured at Emory University. After teaching for over 12 years her love for all 160 of her students is still going strong helping them to reach their fullest potential.

Hope is currently an adjudicator for multiple competitions and is excited to help move the sport of Dance forward.

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.

Jade “Danni” Clark is an independent Teaching Artist from Atlanta, GA. Danni has dedicated her life to the study, training, and advocacy of dance and dance education. She received her Bachelor’s of Arts degree in dance from Kennesaw State University, and P-12 Teaching Certification in Dance from the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. As an artist, Danni has performed and collaborated with many different companies and artists across the nation. In 2017, she became the Director of Dance at M. D. Roberts School of the Arts. Continuing her pursuit to advocate for dance education, Danni became an independent dance consultant in 2023. Danni has endeavors to utilize dance education to build a community of artists for the next generation of artists around Atlanta and the metro-surrounding areas. Danni also serves as the Head Coach for the VPAC Atlanta Dance Team, Victory N Motion.

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.

Bio Coming Soon…

Konner Cooke is a seasoned entertainment professional with over 15 years of experience in the industry. Starting his dance journey at the age of 12, Konner immersed himself in various styles, including jazz, ballet, tap, modern, musical theatre, contemporary, and hip-hop. His passion for performance led him to the world’s biggest stages including various theme parks, theaters, and cruise lines where he was a Dancer, Aerialist, and Dance Captain. In his dance career, Konner also taught at numerous studios and dance teams across the Midwest, sharing his expertise and love for dance with the next generation of performers. Now based in Atlanta, he combines his flair for storytelling and entertainment as an Unscripted Casting Producer, contributing to hit shows like American Idol, MasterChef, Hometown Takeover, and LEGO Masters. Thrilled to be part of the Inspire family, Konner aims to empower and uplift dancers, helping them reach their highest potential in artistry, performance, and technique. Konner’s extensive background and passion make him a fun and engaging judge who brings both warmth and wisdom to every competition!

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.

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.

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.

Savannah Schoenborn-Gimon is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher from North Carolina. She is a graduate from Winthrop University with a B.A. in Dance Performance and an alumni of the American Dance Festival. She has been recognized for her outstanding talent and dedication on and off the stage. During her career, she has had many opportunities to perform at Carowinds Theme Park. She performed in six shows and two parades and had other roles such as a dance captain, choreographer, assistant choreographer, parade assistant, and Show Quality Supervisor. She was a Company Dancer at Charleston Performing Arts, and she performed in nine original shows and one written (Sweet Charity). When not performing, Savannah’s passion is teaching and building confidence in the future generation. In 2023, she was awarded “Most Outstanding Teacher” at Dance Revolution Convention for her dedication with her students. 

Lucy Harding 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!

Chloe Haslett grew up dancing in Florida, where she competed from the age of 6 to 18 she trained in ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, contemporary, clogging, and modern. She started teaching and assisting at the age of 13 and then from there started teaching on her own at age 18. after she graduated high school she joined a contemporary company for 2 1/2 years where she trained in mainly contemporary and ballet from there, she joined a hip-hop crew called Motivcrew where she started heavily training in hip-hop and commercial dance under Marlee Hightower as well as well-known choreographers in today’s industry. With being a part of the crew she traveled all over the United States headlining world of dance, working professional jobs, as well as training in different states. She has guest choreographed multiple pieces all over Florida as well as taught master classes and workshops. She is super excited to now be a part of the Inspire competition as a judge and looks forward to sharing her passion for dance and knowledge with the younger generation

Addie Higgins began her dance training at the age of 3 in Jacksonville, Florida. She has trained in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Modern, Hip-Hop, Musical Theatre, Pom, and Acro. Addie was named Tremaine Junior Dancer of the Year in 2012 and continued to assist them as a member of their national performance company for six years. In 2016, Addie was a Merit Award recipient from the National Young Arts Foundation. She graduated from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in 2017 and immediately began teaching. Addie attended The University of South Florida and was on their dance team, The Sundolls. She then went on to dance professionally for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines in 2022. Addie graduated from the University of North Florida in 2023 with a Master of Science. She is so excited to be a part of the Inspire family.

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 of 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 bachelor’s 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.

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.

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.

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 for dance, choreography, and adjudication.

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!

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.

Bio Coming Soon… 

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.

Bio Coming Soon…

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 art form.

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 Tupelo, 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 selves 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.

Sarah McBride began dancing at the age of 5. She was formally trained in jazz, lyrical, contemporary, acro, tap, hip-hop, ballet, pointe, and circus. She has performed for Disney and the Sailor Circus in addition to competing in dance competitions. Sarah began choreographing a wide variety of genres of dance for children ages 2-18 when she was just 15 years old. In 2008, she graduated from the University of South Florida in Tampa with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and has years of experience in the public and private school system. She currently teaches all styles of dance and is an award-winning choreographer. Sarah also travels as a dance competition judge to bring inspiration through education to dancers all over the country. Inspiring dancers through education is her passion. She is the owner and artistic director at a dance studio in Southwest Florida where she helps students recognize their potential and reach it while building self-confidence and promoting character so they may leave a lasting impression on others.

Michael McManus was born and raised in Bennettsville, South Carolina. He received his training at Crystal McInnis School of Dance in Laurinburg, NC. Michael graduated from the University of South Carolina with his Bachelor’s in History and a minor in dance. As a student, Michael received training from Thaddeus Davis, Dale Lam, and Susan Hancock. Michael also had the opportunity to perform at the American College Dance Festival at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, DC. His self-choreographed piece Recrudescence earned him recognition by the university faculty and was also selected to perform in the American College Dance Festival regional event.

Michael currently serves as the competition director at Mrs Jenkins Dance Academy in Columbia, South Carolina. He also teaches hip-hop, jazz, and contemporary at multiple studios in the area. He also takes every opportunity he can to guest choreograph at studios throughout the Southeast and West. This past summer, Michael was fortunate enough to be a mentor at the University of South Carolina Summer Dance Conservatory where he fostered the growth of over 100 children and had the opportunity to partner with Artists for Africa in training 11 dancers from Nairobi, Kenya.

Most recently, Michael toured with the Wideman-Davis Dance Company debuting “Migratuse Ataraxia” in Birmingham, Alabama. Michael has also performed with Unbound, a professional dance company under the direction of Caroline Lewis Jones and Susan Hancock and was a special guest performer with Salt Lake based company Divinity, under the direction of Krissie Edwards and Nikole Black.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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 an 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.

Nicole Perry is currently the Miami Unit Intimacy Coordinator for two new series filming in South Florida. She is on the SAG-AFTRA Intimacy Coordinator pre-registry.

Nicole has taught Movement and Dance for several South Florida institutions including the Palm Beach County School District, NYFA: Miami Beach, and the University of Miami. She teaches Intimacy and Movement for Intimacy Professionals Education Collective. She is a founding member of Intimacy Direction in Dance and Florida Intimacy Professionals and the founder of Momentum Stage, a professional development company for dance and theatre educators.

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.

Dominique Praylow is a native of Irmo, South Carolina. She has been dancing for over 15 years, starting her training at The Southern Strutt. She trained and competed in various styles, including jazz, contemporary, hip hop, ballet, musical theater, tap, and lyrical. She recently graduated from The University of South Carolina, earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. Throughout college, Dominique served as the Assistant Coach and Choreographer for her high school alma mater’s dance team. Throughout her four years, she has choreographed over 20 solos, duets, and group dances in a variety of genres, and received multiple awards and recognitions for her work. Post graduation, Dominique is a freelance artist and instructor, allowing her to teach and choreograph recreational, and competitive dance classes, at studios and schools across South Carolina. Working with all ages and levels of experience, Dominique continues to grow in her passion and love for working with young dancers. She has had the opportunity to share her knowledge of dance through private lessons, guest choreography, and intensive/convention classes. In 2023, Dominique was one of five judges for the Southern Council of Dance Masters Solo Title Competition, and in 2024, she was a Championship judge for Star Systems Charleston Nationals! She looks forward to expanding her experience as a competitive judge. Although Dominique has entered her teaching era, she still very much enjoys performing, herself!

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.

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.

Dominique Praylow is a native of Irmo, South Carolina. She has been dancing for over 15 years, starting her training at The Southern Strutt. She trained and competed in various styles, including jazz, contemporary, hip hop, ballet, musical theater, tap, and lyrical. She recently graduated from The University of South Carolina, earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. Throughout college, Dominique served as the Assistant Coach and Choreographer for her high school alma mater’s dance team. Throughout her four years, she has choreographed over 20 solos, duets, and group dances in a variety of genres, and received multiple awards and recognitions for her work. Post graduation, Dominique is a freelance artist and instructor, allowing her to teach and choreograph recreational, and competitive dance classes, at studios and schools across South Carolina. Working with all ages and levels of experience, Dominique continues to grow in her passion and love for working with young dancers. She has had the opportunity to share her knowledge of dance through private lessons, guest choreography, and intensive/convention classes. In 2023, Dominique was one of five judges for the Southern Council of Dance Masters Solo Title Competition, and in 2024, she was a Championship judge for Star Systems Charleston Nationals! She looks forward to expanding her experience as a competitive judge. Although Dominique has entered her teaching era, she still very much enjoys performing, herself!

Bio Coming Soon…

Madison Shepard was raised in Brunswick, GA where she started dancing at the age of 3. As a young girl, she was a successful competitive dancers, training in all styles where she won many different local and national awards. She attended Georgia Southern University where she continued her dance training being a part of the GSU Dance Team. They danced at all basketball games and competed at NDA Nationals in Daytona Beach, Florida. Two of the four years on the team, she served as the team’s co-captain. During college, she also served as the dance head for her sorority dance team. After college, she had the privilege of being a pro for her local Dancing with the Stars competitions. She currently lives in Augusta, GA, where she is in her seventh year teaching at Pulse Dance Center. She has judged company auditions for dance studios and the Georgia Southern Dance Team, and she is entering her fifth season judging dance competition. Dance has been a part of her life for 25 years, and there is nothing she would rather do than continue teaching, learning, and sharing her knowledge and love for the art of dance. 

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.

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 a competitive 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 sweetest 4–year–old daughter, who shares her mom‘s love of dance!

Lexie Thomas is an Alabama native who currently resides in Birmingham, Alabama. She trained in dance for 15 years in Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Contemporary, Hip Hop, and Precision Dance Line before graduating high school where she was a 4-year member of the award-winning marching band and state title-holding dance team. She is a recent graduate of the University of Alabama where she studied Social Work. Lexie is currently a dance teacher at various dance studios in the Birmingham-Metro area, choreographing for and instructing preschool students up to teens in Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, and Contemporary. She is also a traveling choreographer for various dance and drill teams across the state of Alabama. Aside from dance, Lexie is also pursuing a career in children’s mental health. She is thrilled to be a part of the Inspire family and is looking forward to watching fabulous dancers 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.

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, including 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 15th 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.

Karson Vick was born and raised in Raleigh, NC where she grew up training with the Triangle Academy of Dance. While there, she focused formally on ballet/pointe while also training heavily in jazz, lyrical, musical theater, and acro.

Once graduating, Karson began working extensively with the Walt Disney Company and Universal Studios. Following her time there she joined Feld Entertainment’s, “Disney Live” and “Disney on Ice,” completing three states tours, one Japan tour, and one Africa tour.

For approximately eight years, Karson performed, choreographed, costumed, and managed work for a Performance and Production Company in North Carolina. Throughout her professional career she has performed on several film sets, music videos, and modeling opportunities.

Karson still actively performs and teaches while having also added a new role of “mom to a sweet little girl” in her resume.

Bio Coming Soon…

Alaylla Watkins has been immersed in the world of dance since the age of 2, training
under the guidance of Stephanie Watkins at Stephanie’s Dance Explosion. Throughout
her dance career, Alaylla has won numerous local and national titles, a testament to her talent and dedication. She continued her passion for dance at the collegiate level, where she further honed her skills.
Alaylla is a proud Cum Laude graduate from the University of Georgia, holding a
Bachelor of Arts in Dance and a minor in Communications. During her time at UGA, she was a member of the UGA Red Hotz, the university’s only competitive dance team, and the UGA Georgettes, the university’s football dance team. Her creative influence was evident as she helped choreograph pieces for both the UGA Red Hotz and the UGA Georgettes, including a powerful halftime performance for the “Women of Soul” show.
Now based in Atlanta, Alaylla continues to make her mark in the dance world as a
freelance choreographer. Many of her choreographed pieces have received numerous overall and choreography awards. Additionally, she is a G-League NBA dancer with the College Park Skyhawks. Alaylla has also had the privilege of performing aboard Royal Caribbean cruises and has trained with the Joffrey South Ballet during a summer intensive, further refining her craft.
Beyond her dance career, Alaylla is also the creator of " Commit to Be Fit," a program designed to encourage people of all ages to stay active and healthy. Her journey reflects a lifelong commitment to dance and fitness. Alaylla is excited to be a part of the Inspire family

Symphoni Wiggins began her dance training at the age of 7, in Augusta, GA under the direction of Ferneasa Cutno of Cutno Dance Studio. She was a natural talent that quickly excelled in her technical ability and displayed a major love for the art form. During her time at Cutno Dance, she trained under many master teachers to include Thomas and Sarah Shoemaker, Kwame Azaleas Ross, Stephanie McKee, Sharon Mayfield, and more. She was a scholarship recipient on multiple occasions at the American Dance Festival at Tulane University. She began teaching in 2003 and went on to receive her BA in Dance at the esteemed Hollins University in Roanoke, VA in 2014. She has danced professionally in several productions during her dance career both Nationally and Abroad. She opened her own studio, A Creative Symphoni Dance Studio, in 2014 in her hometown of Augusta, GA. Her students have grown tremendously under her tutelage and unique teaching style, winning numerous titles, scholarships, and overall awards at regional-level competitions. In addition, 98% of her students go on to dance at the University Level under scholarship assistance. Symphoni’s favorite dance style is Modern/Contemporary. She is trained in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern, Hip Hop, Majorette, and West African Dance. She is excited to join the Inspire Family for the 2024 season!

Roshaunta Williams has been dancing since the age of 7. Her mother was director of the Praise dance ministry at New Salem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN. Roshaunta was born in Gary, IN but she was raised in North Minneapolis where she began the journey of learning and teaching dance. Roshanta is trained in ballet, jazz, hip hop, tap, salsa, African, modern, lyrical, and some contemporary. Roshaunta was trained throughout high school and at The University of Minnesota as a dance major/ African American Studies. She received her degree in May 2009 with a BA in Liberal Arts. Throughout the years Roshaunta participated, taught, and performed in many professional and local productions, pageants, dance studios, and community events. Her biggest success so far was having the pleasure of singing with artists such as Stevie Wonder, Jordan Sparks, Paris Bennett, The Steeles, and was a member in the Grammy Award-winning group “The Sounds of Blackness” at the Image Awards in Los Angeles. Roshaunta has toured and choreographed with Project Dance (New York City), Gospel Music Workshop of America (GMWA praise dance division), The Steeles Christmas production, Donald Byrd’s “The Harlem Nutcracker”, as well as her own productions directed by her throughout college. Roshaunta continues to work as a teacher and choreographer. She is judging competitions and inspiring young dancers all over the country. She has judged for Platinum, Celebration Talent, and Inspire. She is excited to travel and encourage dancers to continue to strive for the best in their craft. She has coached, taught, and instructed at many dance studios in Minnesota, Florida, Texas, and North Carolina also winning 1st place at national and regional dance competitions. She has been awarded best teacher 2005, 2007, and 2009 at Star Systems Dance Competition as well as 1st place overall and Double Platinum at Showstoppers Dance Competition in 2014 and 2015. Roshaunta continues to receive awards and accolades with her choreography and teaching instructions for many different dance competitions today. Roshaunta is married and has four children, she is currently teaching dance around the world due to the nature of her husband’s service in the USMC. She continues to teach dance and support her husband who is a Osprey Pilot and Instructor Pilot. Roshanta loves all her students past and present, and she couldn’t see herself doing anything else.

Dr. Eiesha M. Williamson is the CEO, Owner and Director of MADE Today, Inc., “Making a Difference Everywhere,” Penelope Interiors, Micah–Lynn Productions and partner of The Contriver Group, LLC commercial 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 and choreographer for nine other US states. As a life coach, Eiesha has a passion for helping others and guiding them to achieve goals and aspirations and does so as a motivational and public speaker for several major corporations. A native of Pittsburgh, PA, Eiesha has expanded as an entrepreneur throughout Charlotte, North Carolina as a business owner, Georgia as a public figure, and Virginia as a philanthropist. She was delighted to become an NFL professional cheerleader and Captain for both the Carolina Panthers as well as the Atlanta Falcons for 8 years granting her to cheer at the NFL Superbowl 2017. 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 and dance. She is a national judge for several major dance competitions and convention instructor. During her spare time she enjoys traveling around the world, fine dining, and spending time with her love Trent and adorable daughters Micah–Lynn Penelope and Ana–Marie Genevieve.

Lazar Womble, originally from Los Angeles, California, started dancing 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 principal 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 Ensemble 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.