About Us > Instructors

Andalee is a belly dance performer and instructor who has studied Middle Eastern dance for six years. Andalee's style is rooted in Egyptian Oriental dance with traces of Modern Egyptian and American Cabaret thrown in for good measure. Andalee has studied with many instructors in the Triangle and she also takes workshops with nationally-renowned master instructors at every opportunity.

Ayodele Gomih Alakija began dancing at an early age and later developed a great love and appreciation for hip-hop. She performed with, and choreographed for, dance groups at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and taught dance to both children and adults in the Chicago area. She continues to teach and dance while finishing her PhD in Epidemiology at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Sharon Ashe has been teaching partner dancing since 1995. Specializing in Swing Dancing, she has taught Lindy Hop all over the world including Herrang Dance Camp in Sweden and Catalina Swing Camp in California. She is known for her fun, laid back teaching style and her emphasis on partnership skills for social dancing.

Renay Aumiller holds a BA in Dance Performance and Technique from UNC-Greensboro and an MFA in Dance from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She has taught on the dance faculties of Elon University, NC State University, Beloit College and UNC-G. Renay has also performed and choreographed extensively.

Alison Berg has trained in ballet since childhood and graduated from Skidmore College in New York with a concentration in English and dance. She earned her MFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where she received considerable training and experience in teaching dance.

Haven Carter is a certified Blue and Green Belt Nia Technique^® instructor and is also a certified 5 Stages instructor and Reiki Jin Kei Do Master. Wildly enthusiastic about Nia since her first class, Haven dances every day to promote a healthy body, calm mind, and joyful spirit.

ShaLeigh Comerford holds a Masters degree in Visual and Performing Arts and toured with the Roanoke Ballet Theatre of Virginia. She lived for several years in New York City, where she danced with Tina Croll and Company and apprenticed with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane. In 2005, she formed ShaLeigh Dance Works, a dance-theatre company dedicated to creating socially conscious works. ShaLeigh has just returned from Israel, where she studied Gaga technique with Ohad Naharin and the Batsheva Dance Company

Mair Culbreth is currently working on her PhD in Dance Studies from Ohio State University and has danced professionally in San Francisco and elsewhere since 1999. She now guest teaches at local universities and is co-director of between the lines, a multi-media dance and art laboratory and company. Mair’s movement investigation is highly physical, often inverted and motion-filled.

Erica Dixon is a full-time professor in the Dept. of Physical Education and Recreation at NCCU. In addition to her Zumba certification, she is a certified AFAA Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor, and also holds five gold medals as a member of the Skipsations! Jump Rope Team. After addressing her own weight problem, Erica pursued a career in fitness and wellness and devotes herself to helping others lead healthy, active lifestyles.

Darlene Downing is a White and Green Belt Nia instructor who teaches in the Triangle area.

Michelle "LaRubia" Draughon has trained with Latino professionals from all over the country and has been teaching since 1993; she has appeared in hundreds of events and on local television.

Dr. Jay Dunbar (Ph.D.) has studied Taijiquan and Qigong since 1975, and has taught in the Triangle since 1979. He is director of the Magic Tortoise Taijiquan School, and also offers private sessions in Qigong Therapy.

Alexis Dunkle hails from the San Francisco Bay Area, where she studied a variety of dance styles from a young age. Originally devoted to swing dance and lindy hop, she has since turned to tap and has been performing with Footnotes Tap Ensemble since 2006.

Sakina Flint hails from Boston, MA where she studied a variety of dance styles, including ballet, modern, jazz, African, lyrical and hip-hop. She majored in dance in college and danced professionally with several hip-hop and Afro-Haitian companies in the Boston area.

Santos Flores studied capoeira Angola for several years in Chicago with Mestre Cobra Mansa and in Miami with Mestre Caboquinho. He has taught capoeira Angola for the past three years.

Kat Folckomer is an independent dance and visual artist from Eden, NC. She recently graduated from Hollins University and holds a BFA with honors in Dance. Her recent choreographic work has been shown at The American Dance Festival (Durham, NC), The American College Dance Festival (Allentown, PA) and Hollins University (Roanoke, VA). Kat has taught modern and jazz dance to adults and young people and worked in an administrative capacity for the American Dance Festival.

Alexia Forte began her study of dance at age nine. While a student at Hillside High, she performed with the school"s dance company and, as a college student, with the dance team at Tennessee State University. She has taught children aged two through teens for several years.

Whitney Goodman grew up dancing, and spent ten years performing nationally and abroad with the North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble under the direction of Gene Medler. She currently teaches high school in Durham and dances with Footnotes Tap Ensemble. She loves to teach and spread her passion for tap - a beautiful and expressive American art form!

Eleanor Hancock has been a certified Zumba instructor for four years, with many years experience teaching martial arts and Qigong as well. She discovered her love of movement in high school and went on to study a wide variety of movement styles, including yoga, African and Latin dance, both in the US and abroad. Eleanor brings enthusiasm and technique to her Zumba classes, tailoring a vigorous workout to the specific needs and abilities of the class participants.

Beth Hoke has studied and taught a variety of partner dances for many years and is never happier than when she is dancing.

Melanie Hope has studied ballet, jazz, tap and other dance styles for many years. She has taught students age three to adult; her performing experiences include stints as a dancer/showgirl in Miami, Las Vegas, Puerto Rico, Cancun and at sea with the Carnival Cruise Lines!

LeBrandi Johnson began dancing at age 5 and continued through high school and college. She performed African and multi-cultural dance with DanceVisions and La Raza de mil Colores at NCSU, and guest performed with the Duke University Dance Ensemble and with Ron K. Brown at the Kennedy Center. LeBrandi teaches hip-hop, AfroFusion and preschool dance.

Camila Karam has extensive experience performing and teaching both North African belly dance and Brazilian dance. She was the founder and Artistic Director of Nyansa North African Dancers and Sarava Dance Companies, and toured Europe, Africa and Japan dancing the samba. Camila was also a member of Batucaje Afro-Brazilian Dance Company, Roots of Brazil, and Pe De Boi Samba Group in New York City.

Margaret Kay ("Aziza Fadwa") has studied for over twenty-five years with many renowned belly dancers and has performed and taught throughout the Southeast.

Leena Koshy studied classical Indian dance from 1996 to 2003, after which time she began integrating less formal styles of Indian dance into her repertoire. She was a member of UNC's renowned Bhangra Elite dance team for four years and especially enjoys choreographing and performing Bollywood dances.

Tanja Kwiatkista studied movement therapy in Germany, where she also taught creative movement and multi-arts classes. She is currently a preschool teacher and a flamenco dancer.

Amy Levine has enjoyed dancing since childhood and studied at Washington University in St. Louis and University College in London. She has taught children and adults for 11 years.

Danielle Oldziey holds a BA in dance and is an ACE-certified group fitness instructor.

Lauren Proctor has pursued a love of dance for over twenty years. Recently certified as a Pilates Mat instructor, she has been studying the Pilates method for nearly a decade and feels that its many benefits are ideal for the well-being of both dancers and non-dancers.

Raina Racki earned a BFA in Dance from the University of Wisconsin in 1998 and furthered her studies in New York City, San Francisco and Japan. She has taught and performed both ballet and modern dance for over 15 years and has recently relocated to Durham from Hawaii.

Aaron Ratcliffe began his clogging career as a youth in western NC and now dances and teaches with the Cane Creek Cloggers.

Carol Ryner taught movement arts for seventeen years. She says that dance is her passion and that she teaches with the belief that "if you can walk, you can dance.

Joe Saponaro began dancing while a student at Rutgers University and continued his studies at the Pennsylvania Ballet School. As a professional dancer he studied in New York City with Maggie Black, Larry Rhodes and Luigi, and was a principal dancer with the Princeton Ballet from 1978 until 1983. Since 1984 Joe has performed as guest artist throughout the eastern United States; he was co-director of Dance Theatre South in Pelham, Georgia from 2003 until 2007 and currently teaches ballet in the Triangle.

Diego Carrasco Schoch danced with the Milwaukee Ballet for twelve years as a Principal Dancer and was a soloist with the North Carolina Dance Theater for four. He was a member of the contemporary dance faculty at the UNC School of the Arts from 2008-2011 and was also Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Diego hold an MFA in Dance/Choreography from the University of Iowa and a BFA in Dance from the University of Wisconsin. Photo: Steve Clarke

Jules Szabo is a classical ballet graduate from the NC School of the Arts and actively continues her dance training in jazz, modern, hip-hop, and ballet. She has taught ballet, hip-hop, jazzy fitness and Pilates-based classes, and recently wrote and choreographed a musical theatre piece being filmed for DVD.

Jose Velasquez grew up dancing and has performed hip-hop and break dance on stage, both locally and around the Southeast.

Leah Wilks is a Durham-based dancer, teacher and choreographer. Her release-technique based classes move upside-down and in and out of the ground, but, most importantly, are based on her belief that experimentation and making mistakes in a supportive environment are the best ways to learn.

Becca Wilusz began dancing at age three in Hamilton, NJ and grew up competing in NJ and New York City. As a student at Duke, she choreographed and performed with two dance groups and currently dances with nosi dance theater here in Durham. She holds a B.S.E. in biomedical and mechanical engineering and is pursuing a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at Duke.

Eric Ziegler has taught martial arts and fitness for over twenty-two years. He is and IFTA certified personal trainer, kickboxing instructor, tai chi chuan player and Shaolin Kung Fu martial artist, as well as a Zumba certified instructor.