Stephane has been involved in the dance community for sixteen
years beginning when her children, Elizabeth and Quinton, took
their
first lessons at the age of 4. Moving around the Southeast with her husband's
job, her children have had the opportunity to attend several different
dance academies. From this experience, she is able to combine what she
feels to be the best of these, along with the perspective of a parent
to provide a positive, nurturing environment for your children to grow
as dancers.
Heather Hogan began her career in dance after retiring from competitive gymnastics. She received her B.S. Ed in Dance Education in 2001 from the University of Georgia, where she was a member of the CORE Concert Dance Company under the direction of Bala Sarasvati. She has performed throughout the United States, China and Europe and has taught for many places in Georgia and South Carolina.
Heather has studied with such artists as Bala Sarasvati, Matt and Emily Kent of Pilobolus, Molissa Fenley, Sean Curran, Kent DeSpain, Bebe Miller, The Gemini Twins of Cirque du Soleil and many more. She lives in Athens with her husband and two small children and is excited to join the Freedom of Movement Dance Academy team.
Meredith Slayden Dillard has taught dance for over 10 years, beginning at Victoria Bolen’s Dance Station West, in Knoxville, Tennessee. She was in charge of the preschoolers, beginner and intermediate jazz and developed the middle and high school dance team programs. Meredith earned her Associate of Science, Commercial Performance Certificate and Dance Studio Management Certificate at Columbia State in Nashville. After graduation she taught for Ann Carroll School of Dance in Franklin, Tennessee, where she was head of the Ballet Department for almost 900 students. She also taught levels 1-4 in jazz, tap, ballet and modern. While teaching at ACSD Meredith had the privilege of traveling to New York with her company students and training at the Broadway Dance Center. Meredith also served as the coach for the Franklin High School Dance Team for 3 years.
Meredith’s students have received numerous awards during her years of instruction. Among others, her students received 1st place overall at Show Stoppers in 2003 with a ballet routine, 1st place overall and in Jazz at UDA University Alabama summer camp in 2005. Her students received a 2nd place overall and in Jazz at UDA University of Tennessee summer camp in 2004.
Meredith’s training is extensive in the ballet, jazz, modern and musical theatre genres. Some of Meredith’s past instructors include Victoria Bolen, Gaylee Greene, Nancee Bailes, Jerry Noone, and Frank Hatchett. Meredith performed with the Knoxville City Ballet, in association with the Cincinnati, Ohio Ballet, for 3 years. During her training at Dance Station West she performed in the Perspective of Modern Dance Show for 3 years and the Dogwood Arts Festival Dance Showcase as a principle ballet dancer. Also while living in Knoxville Meredith had the pleasure of working with Ballet Gloria School of Arts for a few years. While with Columbia State’s dance department, she performed several Broadway numbers such as Fame (Iris Kelly) and From Vaudeville to Rock. She was the principle dancer and ensemble singer in most of these performances. With countless years of recitals, Christmas performances, Fantasy of Trees performances, and many other dancing experiences Meredith has been able to do what she loves best – teaching and inspiring others to dance.
Founder of Freedom of Movement, Dawn has over
29 years of dance experience in tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, contemporary,
modern,
and ballroom dancing. Dawn was a member of Atlanta Dance Unlimited and
The Susan Chambers Dance Company. She has received many first place and
scholarship awards at various dance workshops and dance competitions
around the country. Dawn has been fortunate enough to have outstanding
training
from many talented teachers including Nick Lazarini, Mia Michaels, Mandy
Moore, Mike Minery, Bala Sarasvati, and Kenneth Green. Dawn holds a Bachelor
of Science in Dance Education degree from the University of Georgia.
She also obtained a minor in Drama.
Dawn was a five year member of the pre-professional CORE Dance Company
and the 1998 Southeastern Ballroom Dance Champion. After college Dawn
founded the Freedom
of Movement Dance Academy and was the proud owner for 8 years. Upon growth
of the studio, Dawn chose a new studio
owner so the
school could accommodate the growing dancer population. Dawn also spent three
years as the jazz dance adjunct professor for the University of Georgia Dance
Department. Dawn has most recently been recognized for her choreographic talents
from Nextar dance Competition, Showbiz Dance Competition, and she was selected
Best Choreographer at the Access Broadway Dance Competition. Dawn’s dancers
have been awarded the award of Technical Excellence at the Nexstar Dance Competition
two years in a row. Several of her dancers have gone on to professional dance
careers and/or college dance programs. The past several years, Dawn has traveled
around the southeast creating choreography for several dance companies such
as the Chattanooga Ballet, Central Florida Ballet, and the World Ballet Competition,
as well as judging at various dance competitions. Her credits include musicals,
dramas, ballets, and choreography for regional, national, and international
events.
Lauren is a sophomore at the University of Georgia, where she is a Furnishings
and Interiors major. She has studied ballet, tap, lyrical, and jazz for
sixteen years with eight years of experience in ballet en pointe. She was
crowned Miss Georgia’s Outstanding Teen 2006 and consequently performed
her talent, ballet en pointe, when she competed in Miss America’s
Outstanding Teen in Orlando, Florida. Lauren also received 1st Runner-Up
and won the swimsuit preliminary award in Miss Georgia 2008. For two seasons,
Lauren danced with the Moscow Ballet of Russia in The Nutcracker and performed
with Dance Alive! of Gainesville, Florida in The Nutcracker for three
seasons as well.
Doug is a 3rd year student at the University of Georgia majoring
in Biology/Pre-Dentistry. His passion for hiphop dancing started at
the age
of 10 after watching
his older brother dance. Since then, he has entered numerous local
talent shows, dance contests, and freestyle dance battles. Although he
has experience in break dancing, he specializes in Pop & Lock, which
influences his hiphop routines. Doug's first experience in choreography
began in the 5th
grade when he choreographed a 3-minute team routine for a local dance
contest in which they received a silver medal. In 2005, while attending
Statesboro High School as a junior, Angelo and Doug formed and led the
first hiphop dance team in school history. He choreographed and taught
hiphop routines for two years, performing for various school events including
pep rallies, halftimes, and pageants. Now enrolled in college, he continues
to enter dance competitions around campus. In fall of 2007, Angelo and
Doug had the privilege of performing at the Freedom of Movement Spring
recital as a cameo for the break dancers.
Gelo's interest in dancing started out in middle school with hip hop
and break dancing. Eventually he began to focus more exclusively on hip
hop style dancing
which included mostly freestyling. After middle school he started
doing choreographed dance routines. His high school did not have a hip
hop dance
team, so he started one with his friend Doug Yoon. They ran
that for the last two years of high school before coming to UGA together.
At UGA Gelo
started out doing small on-campus competitions as well as performing
with
the
break dancers at the Freedom of Movement Showcase in Spring 2007. He also
joined the GDX dance company, one of the smaller teams on campus,
and participated in the growth of that team.
Fall of 2007 he joined the bigger campus dance company, Pamoja, and participated
in a number of routines for their production. In Spring of 2007 he choreographed
several pieces for both Pamoja and GDX. He is completely self taught,
which allows him to have his own more unique style and bring something new
to wherever he is dancing.
Sara is a student at the University of Georgia, majoring Education and
Sociology. She began dancing at the age of 6 and tumbling at the age of
8. Sara is trained in Tumbling, Strength Training, Ballet, Pointe, Tap,
Jazz, Hip Hop, and Modern. She has performed in many dance productions
in Gwinnett and has also trained at UGA. Sara has been instructing and
choreographing Tumbling and Dance in Gwinnett, Clarke, Jackson, and Oconee
counties for 8 years.
Jamie started dancing in 2000 at Dan and Company Studios of Atlanta when her best friend asked her to take a jazz class. What started as an after school activity became her passion very quickly. She auditioned for the Atlanta Jazz Theatre Company the next year and got accepted into the Intermediate Company. Along with becoming a company member, Jamie added more jazz classes and started taking a few ballet classes a week. She was in Intermediate Company for two years, and when she was in 9th grade, she was accepted into the Senior Company as one of the youngest members. Jamie continued to work hard throughout the next few years. She broadened her focus and was accepted into Atlanta Jazz Theatre’s Ballet Ensemble and went to conventions including Monsters of Hip Hop that brought famous choreographers from all over. Jamie also studied at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia at a summer intensive program. Along with dancing for herself, Jamie became passionate about teaching dance to the younger students at her studio. She became a dance teacher as she continued to dance in the company. Her senior year of high school, Jamie was asked to a part of the Professional Ensemble of the Atlanta Jazz Theatre Company. In college she decided to study education at the University of Georgia, but certainly did not give up her dancing. She joined a student run dance company called Pamoja, and took some dance classes as electives. Now Jamie is taking dance classes at various studios in Athens and is a dance teacher at Freedom of Movement Dance Academy where she can work on her career and passion at the same time.
Lindsey is currently attending Gainesville State College, where she is a sociology major. She has been dancing for 16 years. She has trained in Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Tap, Lyrical, Contemporary Technique strengthening, and Hip Hop. She has been dancing with Dance Arts Centre Performing Arts Company, which was ranked the number one studio in GA in 2009. Lindsey has been competing for twelve years and has won numerous photogenic awards and dance scholarships. She also had the pleasure of dancing with many amazing choreographers; such as Cooper Zamarano, Kyle Hill, Dennis Caspery, Jason Bietel, Mellisa Moore, Kameron Bink, Lynn Patton, Tracy Faggart, Patrice Berkat, Elizabeth Jones, Jennifer Savalli, Sarah Savalli, Jesse Beauduian, Tina Cowlin, Allison Weir, Marct Lefkoff, De’Ja Riley, Laura Dunlop, and Dres Reid. Jeff Boss and Jamie Wardrop are the choreographers of Dance Arts Centre and she has been under their guidance throughout her dancing experience. She has assisted Jeff and Jamie with many classes for the dance company as well as teaching some recreational classes at the studio.
Born and raised in Albany, Georgia, Alison has been dancing since she was 3 years old, primarily at Murphy Dance Studio. At the age of 10, she joined the local ballet company named Ballet Theatre South (formerly known as Albany Ballet Theatre), headed by choreographer Leslie Hodges and artistic director Carol Mathis. As a member of this company, she would perform in several ballets such as The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Coppelia, Alice in Wonderland, Westside Story, and Aladdin. In 2004, she performed the role of Clara in Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker and during her senior year in 2005 she would receive the lead role of Jasmine in Aladdin. After graduating from high-school, she attended the University of Georgia and during her sophomore year, 2007, she would join the Athens-bred dance company “Dance FX” headed by Danielle Mason Hosker. At Dance FX, she studied under Heather Hogan, Maryn Vance, and Danielle Mason Hosker. She would also have opportunities to take classes from exceptional choreographers like Mia Michaels, Brian Friedman, Dave Scott, Laurieann Gibson, and Cris Judd at “The Pulse” convention, and even take a master class from Bill Hastings. Now enjoying her third year as a junior at UGA, she has now joined the cast of extraordinary dancers in Project 7, headed by Cherrise Wakeham.
Elizabeth, who began her dance training 17 years ago and has been with Freedom of Movement for 10 years, has studied all types of dance including, ballet, tap, jazz, modern, break-dancing, pointe, contemporary and lyrical. She has trained with several other studios including Pofhals Dance Studio, Metropolitan Ballet Theater, and the Alvin Ailey School. Currently, Elizabeth attends the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, and is a dancer and choreographer for the dance company at F.I.T. She most recently received her Associates of Applied Sciences in Fashion Design and will continue her education in a Bachelors of Fine Arts also in Fashion Design. Elizabeth continues to study dance in the city and plans to pursue both her dance and fashion careers in the “Big Apple”. Elizabeth does choreography for the FOM Dance Company and teaches during summer dance camps.
Quinton is currently attending Troy University on a Dance Scholarship has been dancing for
fourteen years. He has received training in ballet, jazz, tap, modern,
lyrical, hip hop and break dancing. The dance schools he has attended include:
Strausbaugh
School of Dance, Pofahl's Dance Studio, Free to Dance Studios and Freedom
of Movement Dance Academy. In addition, he attended a summer dance intensive
at Metropolitan Ballet Theatre in Alpharetta, Ga. He has been a member
of Next Generation Dance Company, the Oconee County High School Show Choir and the Freedom of Movement
Dance Company. He is currently a member of the Troy Repertory Dance Ensemble at Troy University
Quinton's first performance role was at the age of six as Fritz's friend
in Dance Alive's production of "The Nutcracker." He has also
performed in "My Christmas Angel", Freedom of Movement's "Nutcracker" as
Fritz and has been cast as the Nutcracker in the 2007 production.
In addition, he has received numerous awards from dance competitions throughout
the southeast including being named Mr. Show Biz 2008.
When he is home from college he helps out wherever needed at the studio; substitute teaching, assisting at camp,working in the office and occasional manual labor.
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