ALLISON HAYN Jazz, Contemporary, Ballet
Executive Director, Dancefx, Inc.
Director of Dancefx Concert Dance Company, FX2 and FX3 Dance Companies
After four years working at world renouned Broadway Dance Center in New York City and The PULSE on Tour featuring SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE celebrity choreographers, Hayn takes over as Executive Director of Dancefx Athens in August of 2009.
Atlanta native Hayn has taught for Broadway Dance Center's (BDC) Children and Teen Program in New York City, currently serves as Producer of The PULSE On Tour, and Retail Director and Merchandiser for BDC in addition to appearing in and choreographing photo shoots for Capezio and Frontline Dancewear and working as a freelance instructor, dancer and choreographer throughout New York City and Atlanta. Working closely with Mia Michaels, Brian Friedman, Dave Scott, Wade Robson, Cris Judd, Tyce Diorio, Desmond Richardson, Gil Duldulao, Brooke Lipton, Robert Hoffman, Shane Sparks and Laurie Ann Gibson, Hayn brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, cutting-edge innovation and opportunity to the Athens dance community and Dancefx family.
Before moving to New York, Allison spent five years with Dancefx, as a dancer, instructor and choreographer in addition to serving as Assistant Director of Dancefx, Inc. Hayn was instrumental in the opening of Dancestyle Dancewear and establishing the Dancefx Studio Youth Program. As a Dancefx Concert Dance Company Member, she's performed at the Jazz Dance World Congress in 2002 and 2004, Jazz on Tap (2001-2004), DanceAthens Dance Festival (2000-2004) and Dancefx's FX Spring Concert (2001-2005). With over 25 years dance experience, Hayn has studied with Luigi in New York City and the Jump Rhythm Jazz Project in Chicago in addition to her work in New York City. Hayn is a 2004 graduate of the University of Georgia's Honors Program with a degree in Public Relations. Email Allison

GRACE BAGWELL, Hip-Hop, Tap, Modern, Strip Aerobics
Director of Modern Pin Ups and Dancefx's NEW Tap Company
Dancing for 21 of her 25 years on the planet, dancing is just as important as breathing, eating, or any other necessary daily activity for Grace.  With Dancefx for the past three years, Grace enjoys teaching Tap, Hip Hop, Modern, Strip Aerobics, and the new MTV Hip Hop class.  She loves Dancefx and the creative energy that flows in and around Athens through the performing arts culture.  Grace hails from Spartanburg, South Carolina, where she grew up dancing at a local studio there in tap, jazz, ballet, and lyrical.  When she was 16, she started her own elementary dance program in her home town and has been teaching ever since.  Like many others, Grace grew up in a competition studio but discovered choreography for the sake of itself when attending Converse College, a small liberal arts womens college in Spartanburg.  There, she performed as a principal dancer and choreographer for the Converse College Dance Ensemble.  Moving to Athens in 2007 for graduate school, Grace soon discovered Dancefx when she stumbled into the dance store to buy a pair of tap shoes for the Miss South Carolina pageant.  She's been hooked on dance in Athens ever since.  In her other non-dance life, Grace is a doctoral student in Public Administration and Policy and works as a doctoral fellow at the Fanning Institute in community and economic development

STEPHANIE CANTER Leaps and Turns, Intermediate Ballet, Int/Adv Tap
Stephanie Canter was born and raised in south Florida and is currently a member of Project 7 Contemporary Dance Company under the direction of Cherrise Wakeham, based out of Roswell, GA. Stephanie began dancing at the age of four and from then, her passion for the art grew exponentially.  She has been classically trained in tap, jazz, ballet, modern, contemporary, and musical theater from some of the leading teachers in south Florida, mainly at Dynasty Academy of Dance and Performance Edge 2 School of Dance.  She now works at Dance Theatre of Parkland in Florida as a guest choreographer and teacher and instructs all ages and all styles.  Stephanie was a competitive dancer for ten years and won numerous high scores and special judges awards, including two of her favorites: a “Choreographer’s Dream” award and a “Total Performance” award.  Attending several conventions, including the Pulse, and winning multiple scholarships, she continues to search for the best training available.  She has studied from leading dancers in the industry and is excited to learn new ways to connect with others through dance.  In the summer of 2010, Stephanie trained for three weeks in New York City with David Parsons and his professional modern company, Parsons Dance. In addition to being a part of Project 7, Stephanie also assists her director and choreographer, Cherrise in master classes around Georgia and Florida. Recently, Stephanie judged regional dance competitions with Fire and Ice Talent. She is currently a student at the University of Georgia and a member of Alpha Gamma Delta.

NATALIE COX, Ballroom and Latin Dance
Director of Ballroom Dance and Contact Dance Company, Dancefx
Natalie Cox is the Director of Contact Dance Company at Dancefx, is Artistic Director of UGA's Ballroom Performance group (BPG), teaches The University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education, and performs and teaches at various other venues around Northeast Georgia. Most recently, she was a judge for Project Safe's Dancing With Athens Stars, and her accolades include 2009 and 2010 awards from DWAS where she partnered with 5 and 10 chef Hugh Acheson- check it out! Natalie received her A.B. from the University of Georgia in 2003 and her J.D. from the University of Georgia in 2006. While at UGA, she was a member of the UGA's BPG from 2002-2006 and served as president her last year. Notable annual performances include DanceAthens, the DanceFX Spring Concert at the Morton Theatre in Athens, Georgia, and the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina.

Continual training is very important to Natalie; she annually attends dance camps such as the Adult Ballroom Camp at Brigham Young University and the Independence Day Ball Camp in Washington, D.C. During her travels, she has had the great fortune of taking lessons from ballroom greats such as Ron Montez, Jean Marc Genereux & France Mousseau, Pierre Allaire & Mireille Veilleux, Karina Smirnoff, and Tomas Mielnicki & J.T. Thomas. Email Natalie

ERIKA DOUGLAS GREENE Beginning Adult Ballet, Pointe
Erika grew up dancing in at the Athens School of Ballet and performed with the Athens Ballet Theatre for over 20 years. She studied under Janet Robertson and Marianne Hale. She also participated in workshops with Ron Colton and Joan Buttram. She not only danced with the Athens Ballet Theatre but served as Assistant Artistic Director and Stage Manager. Today, Erika is a full time special education teacher, and a mother of two little boys. She continues to stay involved in the dance community by teaching ballet and stage managing. Come join her adult ballet class- a class perfect for those who have stepped away from ballet and want to return and a great opportunity for those who want to give ballet a try.

ASHLEY JENKINS Hip-Hop, Tap, Youth Combos, PreK, Hip-Hop
Ashley got her first pair of dancing shoes at the age of six and never looked back. She received her training at Carol Colson School of Dance in Augusta, Georgia, where she was also a member of the Performing Company, competing at dance conventions across the country. She was also an all-star cheerleader for six years, and in 2005 was chosen by the Universal Cheer Association to perform in the New Year's Day Parade in London. While attending the University of Georgia, Ashley performed and choreographed with Pamoja Dance Company, the Wesley Foundation Ballet Ministry, and Georgia Dymes and Extreme Dance Team, with whom she helped create UGA's Dancing with the Campus Stars. She has been dancing at Dancefx since 2009. She currently teaches several of the youth classes, but also enjoys teaching Adult Tap and Hip Hop, as well as the occasional bachelorette party. She is a proud member of the Modern Pin-Ups ensemble and Sweet Dreams hip-hop company. When she's not dancing, Ashley is finishing her Masters degree in early childhood education at UGA.

Sammy Lie Tjauw Hip-Hop
Samantha is a UGA graduate and currently works in the Center for Tropical and Global Diseases at the University. Samantha’s love for dancing started when her mom taught her to dance as a little girl. Soon she started taking Jazz classes, but didn’t pursue dance again until college. She became a member of Pamoja Dance Company her sophomore year and it was there that she was first introduced to Hip Hop. She participated as a dancer, executive board member, and choreographer. As a leader in the UGA Wesley Foundation Dance Ministry she choreographs Hip Hop pieces for the annual spring show entitled Restoration. After graduation she and eight friends embarked on an incredible adventure: forming D-COY Dance Crew in the Fall of 2010. Since its start, D-COY has seen numerous successes as Athen’s first Hip Hop crew with performances and honors such as: DanceAthens 2010, 1st place winners of Cultural Fusion Competition, UGA and GT Dance Marathon supporting Children’s Health Care of Atlanta, DanceFx Spread the Love supporting Athens Area Homeless Shelter, 1st place winners of UGA Best Dance Crew, and opening act for recording artist Big Sean. D-COY truly opened the doors to doing what she loves with those she loves. Hip Hop is one of her passions and Samantha is always learning more, whether it be from her amazingly talented crew members, internet videos, or affluent hip hop dancers and choreographers.

KATIE OTTO Hip-Hop, Sweet Dreams Style Hip-Hop
Sweet Dreams Hip-Hop Company Founder and Director

Katie Otto is currently studying Communication and Spanish at the University of Georgia. She started Sweet Dreams in 2010 and immediatly booked them as an opener for recording artist B.o.B., the 2nd place award at UGA's Best Dance Crew, a featured performer in Athens Fashion Week, and entertainment at Bad Mannor. She created the "Spread The Love" event with Grace Bagwell to benefit the Athens Area Homeless Shelter, now an annual event at the 40 Watt in February. Most of her early dance training came from Rhythm Dance Center in Marietta, GA where she was a member of the Junior Performing Company as well as a competitive cheerleader. Over the past year, Katie has been a part of a variety of professional dance events including Cici Kelly's Phases of Love,  Charleston Fashion Week's finale performance, Victor Jackson's Mirror Ball, the Georgia Lottery's Flashmobs, and an NFL charity event in Atlanta.  Hip hop dancing has served as a constant source of joy in Katie's life and she is excited to share with Dancefx students.

KAITLIN REINHARDT Kinder Company, Junior Company, PreK, Elem Combo, Adult Contemporary, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Body Sculpt, and the list goes on!
Kaitlin was born and raised in Nashville,Tn. She started dancing at age 5 at Green Hills School of Dance. There, she received extensive training in Ballet, Tap, and Jazz, and was a member of the GHSD company competing in national competitions. She has performed in the Moscow State Ballet’s Nutcracker where she was exposed not only to incredible dancing, but to a different culture’s disciplined style of dance. Kaitlin has received training in Hip-Hop and Breakdance by dancer/choreographer Chris Tyler and in Modern by dancer/choreographer/director, Brock Clawson. She has recently taken master classes from dancers/choreographers, Benji Schwimmer, winner of So You Think You Can Dance’s season 2 and Ben Susak, final 12 contestant of So You Think You Can Dance’s season 2. Kaitlin began working at Dancefx right after graduating from UGA. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and is currently applying to Physical Therapy schools in hopes of getting her DPT license. Kaitlin teaches a number of adult and youth classes at Dancefx, and she directed DFX’s first Apprentice Company from 2010-2011. She looks forward to dancing and teaching at Dancefx during 2011 and 2012 and hopes to expand upon her many years of dancing.

JANET ROBERTSON, Int/Adv Ballet

Robertson shares her many talents with the Athens community as a guest teacher and choreographer and for the East Athens Educational Dance Center; as guest choreographer for the UGA Ballet Ensemble; in collaboration with Peggy Thrasher; and as an actress and set decorator with the Town & Gown Players. She recently finished a series of 20 videos for the Carl Vinson Institute of Government's research project on mediation and conflict resolution under Peggy Herrman and Jerry Gale. Robertson was given the Dance Athens 2004 Award for Excellence by the Athens dance community. Robertson holds an A.F.A. in Dance from Sullins College, where she trained under Valentina Belova, a B.A. in Art and an M.A.T., both from Lynchburg College in Virginia. She recently served on the dance panel of the Georgia Council for the Arts.

LaDARIUS THOMAS Hip-Hop and Composition
LaDarius Michael Thomas, a.k.a. Kayez (pronounced 'Kase' or 'Kaze'), is a young Actor/Dancer/Producer/Songwriter/ Artist born and raised on the south-side of Atlanta, and other parts of the world, such as Germany and Japan. LaDarius is known to be one that is indescribable but as Unpredictable, Versatile, and an Enthusiastic Performer. LaDarius specializes in Hip-hop dance, but has explored a range of styles from ballroom to jazz to folk. He has danced and choreographed for GDX Dance Company and Pamoja Dace Company and the University of Georgia Ballroom Performance Group. His design and choreography has been featured in various student groups, film and pageants. LaDarius has been most recently seen on the dance scene with his group, D-Coy Dance Crew.

ASHLEY WATSON Hip-Hop, Contemporary
Currently, Ashley attends the University of Georgia majoring in Speech Communication with a minor in Dance. She has been dancing since the age of three with instruction from Laura Soles, former owner of Fancy Dancer, and Jane Madison, owner of The Madison Studio. Ashley has studied various styles of dance such as jazz, tap, contemporary, ballet and hip-hop. While attending dance conventions such as JUMP and LA Dance magic, Ashley has won the titles of VIP Dancer, Magic Performer and others. She was also awarded the title of Advanced-Pro Protégé at the Pulse Dance Convention. She is currently a member of Project Seven Contemporary Dance Company and the newest member of Swagger Crew from Season 5 of MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew. Dance is her life’s passion; nothing makes her happier!

ELIZABETH WILKINS PreK, Elem Combo A
Elizabeth Wilkins began dancing four years ago, and Dancefx has always been her home. She is a member of the FX2 Performance Company, and has trained extensively in teaching young dancers under Education Director Lauren Gudger. Elizabeth has had the opportunity to participate in a variety of dance events in her four years including Jazz on Tap, Piccolo Spoleto, The DanceATHENS Dance Festival, The BravO! dance competition, and The Pulse on Tour. She loves dancing and enjoys being able to spread this love to other dancers through teaching.