GRACE BAGWELL ADAMS
Owner, Artistic Director
Grace Bagwell Adams is the founding director of The Modern Pin-Ups ,the Normaltown Tap Company and Speakeasy. She taught with Dancefx Athens for 14 years, and enjoys teaching tap, jazz, modern, and hip hop. Grace is originally from Spartanburg, South Carolina where she received her training. An alumna of Converse College, she is a proud supporter of empowering women through creative energy, dance, and performance. Grace believes in continuing education, and annually attends dance classes and workshops such as the Pulse NYC. She also contributes her talents to community engagement with organizations such as Project Safe’s Dancing With the Athens Stars event and Stomp Out Domestic Violence.
Grace is an Associate Professor at the UGA College of Public Health.
LINDSAY GIEDL
Owner, Director of Dance
Lindsay Giedl is a choreographer, teacher, and dancer located in Georgia. She was a founding member of CADE:NCE – Contemporary African Dance Ensemble: New Conscious Explorations under the direction of Tamara Thomas. A graduate of The University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance she can be seen in the indie film “The Last of Robin Hood”, “Honey 4” as well as Corey Smith’s music video “Honky Tonkin’ in My Blood”. Lindsay is also currently on faculty with Ignite Dance Competition as well as is a 200 Registered Yoga Teacher.
Lindsay is currently in her 8th season dancing with jazz company The Modern Pin Ups and resided as the Company Director for the second company for the 2017 – 2018 season. In 2017, she created the professional company Linds&co., as a branch off her undergraduate thesis project – creating works with post-modern socio-political contemporary and improvisational movement.
Lindsay’s work was the 2020 recipient for the PANDEMIC ATLANTA Choreographer search with the City of Atlanta – Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs and was selected to present new work for the Fall for Fall Dance Festival, a new socially distanced dance festival. Lindsay is also the 2020- 2021 recipient of the Kristel Rose Tedesco Residency with Mathematics-in-Motion.
Lindsay currently resides as the Dance Director at The Studio Athens, as well as is a guest teacher for Roswell Dance Theater, and Ballet Hispanico’s Professional Studies Program. Lindsay is in her seventh season with the Joffrey Ballet School and is currently the Administrative Director/Faculty of the Summer Programs – Joffrey South and Joffrey Colorado Springs.
CATHY RUMFELT
Owner, Director of Musical Theater
Cathy Rumfelt, better known around Athens as Miss Cathy, has always had music in her life. She started singing and playing the piano at a young age, attended music camp for many years, performed in musical theater productions throughout high school and college. Cathy holds a bachelor’s degree in English Education from University of Georgia, and her master’s degree in English from Georgia State University and has more than 20 years of experience as an educator. From 2000-2011, she taught English and Technical Theatre at Centennial High School in Roswell, Georgia, where she was awarded Teacher of the Year.
In 2014, Cathy moved to Athens and opened Allegro: Lively Music for Children, offering infant and preschool music & movement classes to children in Athens and surrounding areas. Allegro has been named Runner-up for Favorite Children’s Classes: Movement in the Flagpole Favorites for 5 years. When she opened The Studio, she knew she wanted to start a youth musical theater program and is now thrilled to direct Triple Threat Musical Theater.
Cathy discovered her love of dance in 2019 when she competed with Grace Bagwell Adams in Athens Dancing With the Stars. She started dancing with the Modern Pin-Ups soon after and loves performing with them.
HOPE BROWN
Studio Manager, Director of The Studio Company, Competition Team, & Pre Company
Hope started dancing at 3 years old at Dan & Company studios and continued her training there by joining The Atlanta Jazz Theatre. She was a member of the Atlanta Jazz Theatre for 10 years. She has studied under Kenneth Green, Dan Youmans, Mia Michaels, Lori Ann Gibson, and more. She received her bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Georgia. During her time at UGA, she danced in Pamoja Dance Company and is also one of the Co-Founders of Counterpoint Dance Company residing at The University of Georgia and served as the Company Director from 2015 to 2017. Hope has been teaching and taking classes since she graduated from college, and she is very excited to be a part of The Studio Athens team!
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!
Carrie Bishop
Assistant Director, Triple Threat Musical Theater Company
Carrie Bishop has been singing and playing music for her whole life. She started with piano lessons at the age of 5, and began singing at school and at church soon after. She has continued singing and playing piano since, including musical theatre productions, various church music programs and bands in Athens, GA. She has also been an aerial student at Canopy Studio since 2017.
When the Studio opened, Carrie took some dance classes to support her sister Cathy, and she hasn’t stopped dancing since. Carrie dances with Boulevard Burlesque Company. She also designed and maintains the Studio’s website. She is so excited to join the Studio’s faculty and work with the amazing kids in Triple Threat.
Carrie is a Triple Dawg, with a B.A. in English, an M.Ed in Instructional Technology, and an Ed.S. in Learning, Design and Technology, all from the University of Georgia. She is currently the Director of Learning Technologies at Digication, Inc. Before she came to Digication, Carrie worked at UGA for 15 years.
RALPH HALE
Director of Athena Rhythm
Ralph Hale has demonstrated a lifelong love of dance with over 20 years of experience and professional development. Although trained in a variety of styles including ballet, jazz, and musical theater, Ralph has spent his professional career focused on various forms of tap and clogging as a teacher, choreographer, and production designer. Since 2005, Ralph has shared his talents though various dance camps, workshops, and intensives nationwide. What’s his philosophy? “Dance is about bringing music to life visually and audibly. We dance to tell our audience a story and to make them feel something.”
TABITHA ROBBINS
Director of Youth Tap Company
Tabitha Robbins has over twenty years of dance training, assisting, teaching, and choreography in a variety of styles including tap, ballet, jazz, hip hop, and more. She has taught students from age two to adult, ranging from beginner to advanced. Tabitha has been a loyal and dedicated instructor and studio administrator, spending much of her dance career at her childhood studios in Winder and Loganville, Georgia. Additionally, she has attended numerous dance camps, conventions, competitions, continuing education events, and costume shows over the years. In 2005, Tabitha toured the US assisting and demonstrating at industry leading dance camps. She has also worked in studio administration at Gwinnett School of Dance. Tabitha has dedicated her life to dance education, mentoring, and studio development. Currently, she is excited to be directing and teaching the youth tap program at The Studio!
Bethany Barner
Bethany Barner is a freshman at the University of Georgia currently pursuing a double major in Dance and Marketing. 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.
Caroline Blanks
Caroline was born in LaGrange, GA where she began dancing and competing at the age of 2 for Techniques School of Dance and Gymnastics. At 14 years old, she began her training at The Lafayette School of Ballet where she worked and competed until she graduated high school in 2019. Throughout her career, Caroline won numerous titles at various competitions in the Southeast. She began assisting dance and acrobatics at 14, and after graduating high school, became a teacher and choreographer for the Royal Academy School of Dance. Though her primary focus was in competitive dance, Caroline taught many styles ranging from ballet to hip hop. Caroline now attends the University of Georgia majoring in biological sciences with a minor in criminal justice and still loves to teach and dance.
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. After graduating high school and moving to Athens, she wanted to find a place where she could show how much dance meant to her. This led her to begin teaching at The Studio. Sarah is a UGA student studying Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in Human Development and Family Sciences. She is planning on becoming a Speech Language Pathologist.
ANDREA DINGWALL
Andrea Dingwall began her dancing career taking ballet, pointe, variations, stretch, anatomy, modern, and jazz classes at Maryland Youth Ballet in Silver Spring, Maryland. She has enjoyed various roles throughout her ballet career including, but not limited to: Clara, Soldier Doll, Snow, Flower, Party girl, Sugar Plum Attendant, Flower Queen, Spanish in “The Nutcracker”; corps de ballet in “Paquita”; Butterfly Queen in “Coronation of the Dragonfly”; corps in “Midsummer’s Nights’ Dream”; and Village girl in “Napoli”. She’s also performed in numerous modern dance companies throughout Washington DC while still attending high school, including LucyBowen McCauley Dance, CrossCurrents Dance, and lastly Eric Hampton Dance. Miss Andrea has performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC countless times along with smaller DMV venues. She has been even been written about in The Washington Post. Miss Andrea spent a summer as an apprentice with Houston Ballet Company, and then decided to pursue her degree at James Madison University in Early Childhood Education. She currently is an Assistant Teacher at Athens Academy and enjoys spending time dancing, doing yoga, reading, and traveling with her husband, son, and daughter. She hopes to instill a love and appreciation for dance in as many people as possible!
Melissa Gogo
Melissa Gogo has been studying swing dancing for 14 years, and teaching for 10. She has been involved in the leadership of Athens Swing Central (formerly Athens Swing Night) for 12 years, and was a member of the swing dance performance troupe – Swung – for 9 years, serving as its president for 2 years and as choreographer 4 times.
Gogo has traveled all over the US to learn from the best in the world and bring that knowledge home to Athens. Lindy Hop is her favorite swing style, but she has also spent significant time learning and practicing Vernacular Jazz, Charleston, Balboa, Blues, and West Coast Swing. In the classroom, Gogo emphasizes fun, comfort, and safety first, while enthusiastically sharing her love of dance.
Brenna Hayes
Brenna Hayes is an established dancer and teacher in the Athens and metro- Atlanta area. She began her training at Southern Performing Arts Academy in Lawrenceville, Georgia and was a company member with their pre-professional ballet company. Southern Ballet Theatre. Brenna currently teaches various styles of dance and fitness classes at The Studio Athens and SPAA as well as many outreach and masterclasses.
Brenna attended the the University of Georgia for both her BFA in Dance Education and for her MA in NonProfit Management & Leadership. During this time, performed and choreographed in the annual production of the Young Choreographers Series and was a company member of Bala Sarasvati’s pre-professional company CORE Contemporary and Aerial Dance. Since graduation, she has helped the UGA Department of Dance with recruitment and program development.
Outside of dancing, Brenna is certified in Barre Fitness, Yoga Trapeze, and Bungee Fitness. She enjoys finding new ways of staying fit and learning how to use these methods to cross train!
Madison Grace Hufstetler
Madison Hufstetler is a sophomore at The University of Georgia pursuing a double major in Management and Marketing with a minor in dance. She began competing at the young age of 5 and has loved it ever since. She is trained in various styles including ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, tap, pointe and hip hop. Growing up in the competition world she had many opportunities to grow as a dancer. In 2019 – 2021 she was a Platinum Apprentice for Platinum National Dance Competition and Convention. In addition she was a Pro Reveler for Revel Dance Convention. With these two titles she assisted the teacher in the classroom and helped with many behind the scenes aspects of the competitions. Madison began teaching dance her senior year of high school and knew she wanted to continue dancing and teaching throughout college.
While at the University of Georgia, Madison has had amazing opportunities while being a Dance Dawg and Georgette. She loves dancing at all of the UGA football, basketball, volleyball and gymnastic meets and feels so lucky to have the chance to dance for such an amazing university. During her time as a Georgette she has performed at the 2023 National Championship, the Peach Bowl, and the SEC Championship. In addition to this she has traveled with the UGA Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams to perform at the SEC Tournaments in 2022 with the Dance Dawgs. She is so blessed with the opportunity to do what she loves everyday and can’t wait to teach at The Studio Athens!
Jennifer Kay
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.
Keatyn Lee
Keatyn Lee grew up studying ballet and modern at the Carnegie Performing Arts Center and Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After moving to New York City in 2008 and continuing to dance, Keatyn became the choreography coordinator for the 2011 feature film The Sitter. She expanded her portfolio further by later graduating from the New York School of Burlesque and performed on the New York City burlesque circuit from 2017-2020.
LILY MEDLOCK
Lily Medlock is a second year Elementary Education student at the University of Georgia, pursuing a minor in dance. She grew up in Decatur, Georgia, where she developed a love of movement and music while training under the Decatur School of Ballet and Decatur City Dance Company. Lily has studied ballet, jazz, modern, and musical theater with both DCD and Ballet Pensacola, while teaching creative movement and beginning ballet at her home studio sparked her interest in teaching dance. Lily is passionate about working with young students and leading them in their expression through dance, and she is so excited to continue that work with 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.
Alyssa Poulos
Bio coming soon!
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.
Samantha Ruggieri
Samantha danced competitively from age 7-19. Studying many forms of dance throughout her life: ballet, tap, jazz, and modern. She quit dance during college and truthfully thought she wouldn’t dance again. She rediscovered her passion for dance at The Studio in 2022. Her love and need for dance pushed her to start teach adults at The Studio and eventually lead her to become the director of The Studio’s Speakeasy company. Dance has always been a huge part of her life, not only as a sport, but also as a way to stay connected with her body and mind. It’s a privilege to bring people together and make connections through movement.
ABBY SCHULZE
Abby Schulze is a current student at the University of Georgia pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and a Masters in Nonprofit Management and Leadership. Working with Barbara Powers and Jason Aryeh, she performed in the Young Choreographer’s Showcase, Ubuntu, and the 2022 UGA Dance Company Performance. Abby has attended summer programs at the University of South Carolina Dance Conservatory and with Los Angeles based contemporary company BodyTraffic. She trained for thirteen years under Alexis Kozar at N-Step Dance Academy in Suwanee, Georgia.
Along with choreographing ensemble and solo pieces there, she has instructed ballet, jazz, and lyrical classes for the past six years. She loves working with students to achieve their goals, and has enjoyed many years of childcare experience through teaching and nannying. More recently, Abby interned with the Traverse City Dance Project under Brent Whitney and Jennifer McQuiston Lott from 2020 to 2021, and with the Joffrey Ballet School as an Administrative Assistant and Resident Advisor during their 2022 summer season.
Kydae Scott
Kydae Scott is a Fall 23′ UGA graduate with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology & a Personal Health & Well-Being minor from Columbus, GA. Since Fall of 2021, Kydae has choreographed and taught Hip Hop, Contemporary, Majorette and Vogue pieces at UGA through Pamoja Dance Company and other organizations.
As a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., Kydae has also choreographed, judged and performed for various Greek events within the state of Georgia since Fall 2022. Outside of dance, he also works as a Registered Behavior Technician since February of 2024. Kydae welcomes all dancers with open arms, open hearts and an open schedule!
Emily Sweat
Emily Sweat grew up in Marietta, Georgia and has had a love of dancing since she could walk. She grew up primarily dancing ballet and Jazz, and has many wonderful memories dancing in the Nutcracker at the Fox Theatre. She danced all through college and has 12 years experience teaching ballet, tap, and creative movement to preschool age children. After college, Emily worked at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Camp Twin Lakes. Since moving to Athens in 2017, she has been an elementary school teacher in Clarke County. Now, Emily is a stay at home Mom to her two-year-old daughter, Joiner, and is looking forward to teaching creative movement at The Studio!
ALISON WAKEFORD
Born and raised in Albany, Georgia, Alison has been dancing since she was 3 years old, starting at Murphy Dance Studio. Alison was classically trained in ballet, tap, and jazz, and performed with her community ballet company where she remained throughout high-school and into college. This experience was fundamental in encouraging her to not only pursue further performance opportunities in Athens and Atlanta, but also to maintain her training with a strong focus on ballet foundations. In doing so, Alison had the opportunity to train with multiple companies, including Dance FX in Athens, Volta Dance Company with Maryn Whitmore, and Project 7 headed by Cherrise Wakeham. Specifically, Alison’s time with Project 7 solidified a personal and artistic relationship with Cherrise, with whom she continues to work on projects for the upcoming seasons.
Upon graduation from UGA, Alison moved to DC where she had the privilege to hone her contemporary pedagogy at Metropolitan School of the Arts (MSA) in Alexandria VA. Her time spent performing in Athens and Atlanta, as well as teaching in DC solidified her passion to share her knowledge and craft with movers of all ages. Alison is ecstatic to return to the Athens, Georgia artistic community to continue her teaching and mentorship of young artists at The Studio!