Faculty

Jennifer Kay
Director, Classic City Bellydance

Jennifer Kay (Rajni) had not attended formal dance classes since middle school, when she found a local Raqs Sharqi, or “Belly Dance” class in Fredericksburg, Virginia in 2003. She studied under Anthea Poole, aka Kawakib, a professional Oriental Dancer and co-founder of Tribal Odyssey Belly Dance in Virginia. Rajni was fortunate to study and perform with Kawakib for six years, and continues to learn from her beloved teacher, mentor, and friend.

Rajni has studied several styles of dance including Egyptian, Tribal Odyssey, Folkloric, and Turkish in classes with Kawakib, Aziza Nawal (Atlanta), Alima (Georgia), Amani Jabril (Atlanta), and MariaHamer (Pennsylvania). She has sought out opportunities for continued dance education through workshops and lessons with dancers such as Princess Farhana (Los Angeles), Tempest, Majda Anwar (Atlanta), Ziah (Atlanta), Jenny Nichols (Atlanta), Evadne Medina (Augusta, GA), Alia Thabit, Aegela (Ohio), and Carla Monnich.

Rajni incorporates several props into her dances, including sword and veil, but zils and cane remain her favorites. She has a passion for the history of the dance and the people and cultures who developed what we call modern “belly dance.” Rajni strongly encourages her students to learn about the cultures and history of the dance as well, and to learn about and appreciate the music and musicians that are integral to this dance. In that vein, Rajni has taken classes and workshops with Kazuki Kozuru-Salifoska, Kawakib, Philip Mayer, and Wayne Byers.

Rajni is a certified Level 1 Tribal Odyssey instructor, and founded Qamar, a Belly Dance troupe based in Athens, GA, in 2013 to provide performance opportunities for students and share this beautiful dance with others. She seeks to promote collaboration and support for dancers, classes, and events within the local and regional belly dance community, and is an administrator of the Athens Bellydance Community on Facebook. She has also served for 11 years as Team Leader for the Athens Shimmy Mob, a belly dance flash mob held annually to raise awareness of domestic abuse.

Destiny Loyd
Director, Boulevard Burlesque Company

Destiny Loyd grew up in McDonough, Georgia where she started her journey with dance. For Destiny, dance isn’t just a hobby—it’s a lifelong devotion and her first love. She trained and competed with the Paris School of Performing Arts beginning at the age of five. She’s performed ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical and Irish dances. Although she took a break from dance in high school, she continued movement through various roles in one act and musical theater. Her passion for dance persisted through college, where she enriched her skills by participating in dance classes and becoming a member of The Modern Pin-Ups in 2014. She’s excited to continue her journey with dance and share the joy of movement with others!

WAVERLY NOBLE
Music Director, Triple Threat Musical Theater Company
Director, Shining Starz

Waverly Noble grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. She began performing as a competitive Scottish highland dancer at 5 years old and found her love for musical theatre and solo voice in high school. She graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.M. in Music Therapy with a concentration in voice. Waverly is a board-certified music therapist (MT-BC) and the owner of Classic City Music Therapy, LLC. She also teaches youth voice lessons in the Athens area.

At the Studio, you can find her directing Triple Threat Musical Theater Company, teaching parent-child music classes at Allegro, welcoming you at the front desk, and performing in The Modern Pin-Ups!

Liz Osborn
Director, Workshop Shift

Liz Osborn is a dance educator, dance maker, and dance researcher originally from Rochester, NY. She has trained in Contemporary Modern, Rhythm Tap, Jazz, Ballet, and other styles. Liz has a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and History from the University at Buffalo, and a Master of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography from SUNY Brockport. She has taught on dance faculties at SUNY Brockport, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Georgia. Liz is currently a PhD Candidate in the UGA College of Education, researching the future of dance education. She is also the Director of Dance at the Barrow Arts and Sciences Academy. 

TABITHA ROBBINS
Director, Speakeasy

Tabitha Robbins has over twenty years of dance training, assisting, teaching, and choreography across a variety of styles, including tap, ballet, jazz, hip hop, and more. She has taught students ranging in age from two through adult and at all levels, from beginner to advanced. Tabitha has been a loyal and dedicated instructor and studio administrator, she spent much of her early career at her childhood studios in Winder and Loganville, Georgia. Over the years, she has participated in numerous dance camps, conventions, competitions, continuing education programs, and costume shows. In 2005, she toured the U.S., assisting and demonstrating at leading industry dance camps. These experiences sparked a lifelong commitment to dance education, mentoring, and studio development—the foundation of her career. In 2024, Tabitha completed the iTap Teacher Certificate Program (Level 1) under the mentorship of Hillary-Marie at iTapOnline.com, and she completed Level 2 in the spring of 2025. Currently, Tabitha teaches tap for Athens Dance Collective, Triple Threat Musical Theatre Company, and adult drop-in classes. She also directs Speakeasy, an adult movement company based at The Studio.

ABBY SCHULZE
Director, Studio Swerve

Abby Schulze is an Atlanta-based dancer and choreographer with a passion for increasing the accessibility of dance through arts administration and dance education. With just under a decade instructing in tap, jazz, ballet, contemporary, hip hop, and children’s dance at studios across the Atlanta and Athens, Georgia areas, she boasts published interviews in the Journal of Dance Education on mindfulness and creative exploration in dance scholarship. 

Abby graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance, where she is also currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Nonprofit Management and Leadership. From 2021-2023, she was the Marketing Coordinator and a company member for the Atlanta Contemporary Dance Company under direction of Lauren Overstreet. She is now in her second season with Kitmodus, directed by Jillian Mitchell. Most notably, she opened for the Martha Graham Dance Company in 2021 at the Athens, Georgia Performing Arts Center, and recently performed with staibdance in Sorrento and Sant’Agata, Italy in 2024 and 2025. 

Maryn Whitmore
Director, The Venn

Maryn Whitmore is a movement artist, choreographer, and teacher who delights in the intersections of dance, improvisation, storytelling, and play. A 2001 graduate of the University of Georgia’s Department of Dance, Maryn has spent the last two decades crafting a creative life through performance, teaching, and community-rooted artmaking.

Her choreographic work often brings curiosity and collaboration to the forefront, notably through Skwhirlhaus, a backyard performance space she founded in Atlanta that hosted site-specific works, dance experiments, and creative gatherings under the trees. Currently, she is collaborating with faculty and students at UGA on an evolving interdisciplinary project that explores the dynamic ways art and science inform, inspire, and benefit one another. 

Maryn is also a comprehensively certified Pilates instructor, which deepens her understanding of movement, alignment, and embodied awareness — all of which find their way into her classes. Whether guiding technique, composition, or improvisation, she cultivates spaces where students can move with wonder, artistry, and a sense of belonging.

She is also the proud mom of two expressive humans who keep her creativity lively, her dance parties frequent, and her improvisational skills well-practiced.

Bethany Barner

Bethany Barner is a sophomore at the University of Georgia currently pursuing a double major in Dance and Advertising. She began dancing at the age of 4 and hasn’t stopped since. At the age of 11, she began dancing at Studio D School of Dance in Griffin, Georgia. She trained in numerous styles such as ballet, pointe, jazz, contemporary, hip-hop, and tap. That same year, she joined Griffin Ballet Theatre, a pre-professional company group under the direction of Mitch Flanders and Ashley Barnes. She had amazing opportunities to perform three different shows with GBT each year including “The Nutcracker”, “Cinderella”, “Coppélia”, “Ghosts”, “Peter Pan”, and many more. Bethany began assisting in dance classes in 9th grade and started teaching during her junior year of high school. She fell in love with teaching kids and knew that she wanted to continue teaching in college. Bethany is so excited to be able to continue her work with The Studio Athens for her second year!

Sarah Blanks

Sarah was born in Lagrange, GA where she began dancing and training at Jenny Gordey’s dance studio at the age of two. She then moved to Techniques School of Dance & Gymnastics where she continued training in all styles, but specialized in acrobatics. While training at Techniques, she was also a competitive gymnast at Newnan School of Gymnastics where she placed 4th in the state of Georgia and top 10 in the southeast region of the US. Sarah is currently a UGA student, and she is a member of her sorority’s dance team. She loves being a part of The Studio Athens!

Kayla Bond

Kayla is a sophomore at the University of Georgia pursuing a major in computer science and a minor in dance. At nine years old, she began her dance career at Classical Ballet Theater in Reston, Virginia, and she switched to Skye Ballet Center after two years. At SBC, she had the opportunity to perform in numerous productions including The Nutcracker, Cinderella, and Paquita.

Additionally, Kayla danced in various competitions and was honored to receive a YAGP finals invitation, second place at the Étolie Dance Competition, and top 24 in the contemporary category at YAGP. She began teaching classes at SBC in 2021 as a substitute for young dancers’ ballet classes. Simultaneously, Kayla choreographed numerous pieces for YAGP and performances.

During her freshman year at UGA, she joined the UGA Club Dance Team, which has enabled her to expand outside her comfort zone and learn many group dances of all different styles. Kayla loves to share her passion with others and she is so excited to join the staff at The Studio!

Amelia Cassidy

Amelia Cassidy is a junior at the University of Georgia, pursuing a BBA in Marketing with a minor in Dance, as well as a Master’s degree in Emerging Media. Her passion for ballet began at a young age, leading her to train at Sugarloaf Performing Arts under the direction of Lori Zamzow-Wire starting at age six. At sixteen, she joined Gwinnett Ballet Theatre—Gwinnett County’s only professional ballet company—as a trainee company member, performing with the company throughout her junior and senior years of high school.

Amelia has competed in prestigious competitions such as the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) and Universal Ballet Competition (UBC), earning numerous awards and scholarships. She has spent her summers training with renowned programs including Nashville Ballet and Next Generation Ballet. In addition to her performance experience, Amelia has a passion for teaching and has taught multiple summer camps and intensives at Sugarloaf Performing Arts.

Amelia is so excited to be back at The Studio for a second year, sharing her love of dance with students in Athens while furthering her academic and artistic pursuits.

Megan Fitzgerald

Megan Fitzgerald was born in Dunwoody, Georgia where she started dancing at age 2 and then went on to join the Atlanta Jazz Theatre at 10. She graduated from AJT in 2023 after training and competing in multiple styles and is now attending the University of Georgia pursuing degrees in both Dance and Environmental Engineering. She has been choreographing for 4 years and hopes to continue throughout the rest of her career. Megan is excited to join the teaching staff at the studio!

Heather Fletcher

Heather M. Fletcher is a Georgia native who moved to Athens in 2002 to attend UGA and never left! She began dancing Cuban-style salsa and Rueda de Casino in 2011 while completing her Master’s Degree in Latin American Literature and fell in love with timba music. That passion for Cuban music and dance led her to become a certified instructor of Energetic Salsa for soUl°sa—a style of Cuban dance created by Duane Wrenn of Energetic Soul® Studios in Detroit, Michigan. Heather has been training with Duane since 2020 and will soon complete her Level 5 instructor certification. 

During the past 5 years her training has centered on Cuban-style footwork and partnerwork, Afro-Cuban body movement, musicality, and musical timing as it relates to the clave. She also studies guaguancó with Kati Hernández (LA), as well as son cubano and chachacha with Roberto Borrell (Oakland, CA). 

Heather is a local real estate broker at H.M. Fletcher Real Estate and the director/lead instructor for the nonprofit dance organization, TIMBAthens, that hosts its classes on Sunday here at The Studio!

Ava Grau

Ava Grau started dancing at Dan and Company at 5 years old and joined the Atlanta Jazz Theatre at 9. Ava fell in love with teaching and choreographing in high school thanks to the wonderful leadership opportunities in AJT, and graduated in 2023. Now, Ava is attending the University of Georgia pursuing degrees in Dance and Marketing. She is also dancing at DanceFX Athens and choreographing at Dan and Company. Ava is so excited to be teaching at The Studio this year!

Ali Hall

Ali is the founder of Pure Balance Pilates studio here in Athens. Her love of movement started at a young age as she grew up dancing with South Georgia Ballet, where she was classically trained in ballet, tap, jazz, and contemporary. Ali discovered Pilates as a form of physical therapy in high-school and fell in love with the way Pilates connected the mind, body, and spirit, and improved her dance practice.

Ali is a graduate of Polestar Pilates Comprehensive instructor training, and was trained by Karyn Staples, P.T, Ph.D. Ali took a 10 year hiatus from the dance world before returning in 2023, and is now a member of the Speakeasy adult dance company at The Studio.

Brenna Hayes

Brenna Hayes commenced her training at the age of 3 at Southern Performing Arts Academy in Lawrenceville, Georgia. She danced with the studio’s nonprofit pre-professional ballet company, Southern Ballet Theatre, for nine years. Brenna also attended Dance Canvas’ summer dance intensive, DC NEXT, consecutively for two summers. As a company member of SBT, she annually attended the Southeastern Regional Ballet Association festivals, now known as Regional Dance America.

In spring 2019, Brenna transferred to UGA for their aerial dance program and K-12 teaching certification, joining the Core Contemporary & Aerial Dance Company. Alongside pursuing her BFA in K-12 Dance Education, she pursued a Masters in Nonprofit Management & Leadership through UGA’s DoubleDawg degree program, becoming the first graduate from the university with this dual degree in May 2023.

Outside her studies, Brenna has served as a teacher and choreographer in numerous dance studios across the metro-Atlanta area and Athens, specializing in ballet, pointe, contemporary/modern, jazz, tap, and catering to students of all ages from 3 to 60+. Embracing her role as an instructor, Brenna enjoys nurturing her students’ creativity and helping them achieve personal breakthroughs in their dance journeys. Fun fact: Brenna is certified to teach yoga trapeze, barre fitness, bungee fitness, and is on her way to adding Pilates to her list of certifications!

LILY MEDLOCK

Lily Medlock is an Elementary Education student at the University of Georgia with a minor in dance. She started dancing at the age of three and received training from the Decatur School of Ballet in ballet, modern, and jazz, later dancing in the Decatur City Dance company and BareGrounds modern dance company. She has additionally studied at Ballet Pensacola and with the UGA dance department. She is very passionate about teaching young children and students with disabilities, leading them in their expression through dance. Lily is also a member of the UGA Ballroom Performance Group and is experienced in multiple forms of ballroom dance. She finds so much joy in teaching dance and is happy to live that out at The Studio!

Emily James Menke

Emily holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theater from the University of Georgia. She interned at Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago before moving to New York City, where she studied and performed improv comedy at Upright Citizens Brigade, the Magnet and the People’s Improv Theater. She performed as a clown and in original comedy shows with her duo James and JF and with other companies around New York City, the Canadian Fringe Circuit, the New Orleans Fringe and even street performed in Mexico. She was a regular player on the Arty Need Show in Brooklyn. She recently returned to Athens to raise her family.

Sophia Pigo

Sophia Pigo started dancing at the young age of 3 years old. She moved to CK Danceworks in Dallas, GA when she was in 4th grade and began competing shortly after. She danced at the highest level until she graduated in 2023. She is entering her sophomore year at the University of Georgia where she is studying Biology and is on the Pre-Dental track. She loves working with kids and has both taught and assisted classes for over 5 years. She is so excited to be a part of the Studio Athens team! 

Alyssa Poulos

Alyssa Poulos is a graduate at the University of Georgia with a B.A. in Theatre. She was immersed in the theater from a young age, growing up in an artistic family with a shared passion for the performing arts. She was raised in Tucker, Georgia, where she participated in many productions from childhood to high school, earning her school’s Spotlight Award for her senior year roles in Our Town. She continues to perform at UGA and with the Town and Gown Players. She is also a member of the UGA Ballroom Performance Group.

Alyssa has fallen in love with teaching and adores being a part of the Triple Threat Musical Theater team, where the faculty and children work together to create an accepting space to tell captivating stories to their audiences.

JANET ROBERTSON

Janet Robertson began formal ballet training at 11 with the Floyd Ward School of Dancing, Lynchburg, Virginia. Her mother registered her, saying, “You must hear this a lot, but, Janet has a special gift for dancing.” Before that, Robertson danced in the music room to her father’s practicing piano, and in the woods with ferns and sticks as props. By senior year high school, she performed the leading role in “Swan Lake”. Robertson then furthered her training at Sullins College with Valentina Belova of the Antwerp Ballet; after moving to Athens, she studied for ten years with Stanley Zompakos of NYCB; tap dancing with Gail May of the Mell Street Studio; and modern dance with Danna Frangione at UGA, where she also was coached by Ernestine Stodelle and Anna Sokolow for principal modern dance roles. Angela Elam (NPR’s New Letters on the Air) saw her in “Rooms” and offered her the lead in her play, ”The Last House in California”. From that performance, she was offered a fellowship at the Academy Theatre in Atlanta to study acting.

Robertson has performed with the Athens Ballet Theatre; with UGA’s Concert Dance Company; with Peggy Thrasher’s modern dance company, Wingspace; with Elle Udaykee at BAM; and has performed character roles with Joan Buttram’s UGA Ballet Ensemble. Before joining the faculty of UGA’s Department of Dance in 1985 as a temporary, part-time instructor, Robertson taught at Athens YWCO, Athens School of Ballet, Studio 441, and the University Gymnastics Center. She has shared her various talents with the Athens Community in many capacities. As Assistant Artistic Director of the Athens Ballet Theatre, she assisted in all areas of reconstructing classical ballets as well as creating new choreography. She created over 50 original works for several ballet, modern dance, and theatre companies since 1980. Robertson is coauthor of the script for the documentary film A Time to Dance as part of the Quality of Life Program under Dr. Claire Clements, which promoted dance for developmentally disabled adults and senior citizens.

Since 1993, Robertson has played lead and supporting roles, and volunteered as a set decorator and scenic painter with the Town & Gown Players. She has also acted in a series of 20 videos for the Carl Vinson Institute of Government’s research project on mediation and conflict resolution, and in Adrian Kayes’s award-winning film, “Stillwater”. Robertson has served on the Dance Panel of the Georgia Council for the Arts, and as an interviewer for the Governor’s Honors Program. She guest taught in Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung, Taiwan; she has guest taught and choreographed for the East Athens Educational Dance Center.

In 2004, Robertson was given the Dance Athens Award for Excellence, “not only for her service to the Athens Dance Community, but also for the inner beauty and grace she radiates as a teacher, mentor, artist, and friend.” Robertson holds an AFA in Dance from Sullins College, a BA in Art, and MAT from Lynchburg College (now University of Lynchburg) in Virginia. She retired as Senior Lecturer, Emerita, from the UGA Department of Dance in 2017. She has taught for DanceFx since 2002, and most recently, Center City Ballet and Movement Arts. Robertson is an active member of Emmanuel Episcopal Church, and raised a daughter with the help of this village, Athens, Georgia.