Faculty

Brianna Cooper was raised in Durham, NC. She holds a BFA in Dance Performance from East Carolina University. Her training also includes time at the American Dance Festival, Giordano Dance

Erika Marschke graduated with her BA in Dance from Stephen F. Austin State University, where she was a member of the SFA Repertory Dance Company. Through being a part of the

Terry Lehman was born “on the road”…and stayed there. Her father, John R. Lehman, was the founder & artistic director of the first state-chartered ballet company in the US –

Mariya “Masha” Dashkina Maddux is a professional concert dance performer and a dance educator. A native of Kiev, Ukraine she was first introduced to dance through the classical Vaganova ballet

Shimon Ito began his dance training at the age of 4 at his mother’s dance academy, Asako Ballet New York. At 8 years old he was accepted into the School

Carrie Mostoller holds a B.A. in Dance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro along with a B.A. in Biology. Before transferring to UNCG, Carrie studied at Point Park

Kerry Dallin has a Bachelors of Arts in Theatre from DeSales University. Her career in musical theatre consisted of national and international touring companies, dancing and singing on a cruise

Tama Guerra began her ballet training in Brazil with Mrs. Aracy Evans, who is best known in Brazil as the teacher of the teachers. Mrs. Tama received a scholarship to

Sarah Learned has been teaching Jazz/Contemporary, Ballet and pre-dance for 20 years. Growing up, Sarah studied and competed in ballet, tap, jazz and lyrical, and attended conventions annually such as

Kayla Grinnell is a 2013 graduate of Meredith College with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Studies. She will performed Eleanor Smith’s choreography in the North Carolina Dance Festival Tour.

Rachel Edwards – Hip-hop, Jazz/Contemporary instructor. Rachel has 15 years teaching experience. She studied at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA during her teenage years. Later, Rachel studied ballet with Ruth

Lauren Lockhart began her dance training at age four at En Pointe School of Dance under the direction of Kathy Thomas-Law. Throughout her years at En Pointe, she trained in

Lisa Larson holds a BS in Elementary Education with a minor in Dance from Brigham Young University-Idaho. While a student at Brigham Young University, Lisa trained in modern dance and

Alyssa “Skye” Tapp has been dancing for as long as she can remember. At age 10 she started to take dance very seriously after falling in love with musical theater.

Jennifer Kirby began her dance journey as a young child in southern Virginia. She trained with Denise Wall in Virginia Beach during middle and high school. She then went on

Ashley Gorczynski grew up dancing with Destiny Dance Institute, beginning when she was only 2! She started assisting Ms. Patty when she was 10 years old. She has performed as

Jeanette Whalen is a retired nurse with a passion for tap dancing! She started out dabbling in dance classes to help her with her figure skating. But when she started

Sofia Colvin started dancing at Destiny Dance Institute when she was six years old. She has been a member of DDI’s Hip-Hop and Jazz Companies as well as the Wake