Dance101

Class: This is Soca!
@chantalmauricedotcome

Dancing to the beat of her own drum. Chantal's passion for dance started at an early age. Throughout college, she taught dance and was a backup dancer for local music artists in South Carolina. After college, she moved to NYC and began training in multiple Afro/Caribbean dance styles.

In her journey to connect more with her Haitian Roots, she fell in love with the Caribbean Culture & SOCA music. Her SOCA dance classes provide a Caribbean Carnival experience through choreography & cardio.

Classes: Dancer's Stretch & Conditioning & Dance Fundamentals Workshop

Though a passion for dance has been with her since childhood, it wasn't until the age of 34 (in 1991), after the birth of her second child, that Ofelia de La Valette found her second calling through dance. After 10 years of intensive training in jazz, hip hop, ballet and modern, she was asked to teach an adult beginner jazz class at Emory University. Having learned to dance so late in life, Ofelia developed a unique method of teaching dance to adults in accordance with how adults process and apply information (very differently than how kids learn). 

Classes: Hip Hop Fit, NRG (hip hop), Reggaeton & Fuego!

D. Norris is a native of Atlanta, GA. He obtained a degree in Business Management from Alabama State Univ. He started choreographing in high school. D. has choreographed and danced for numerous theater and stage performances across the globe, including Miami, San Diego, Montreal and Mexico. He has worked with various artists, including Mary Mary and Dirk Chaney (R.I.P.). Culture Shock Atlanta, Infinite Movement Dance, CHOSEN and Contagious Entertainment are among the dance companies he’s been affiliated.

Class: Reb3l Groove & Strength
@reb3l_ilene

Ilene born and raised in Northern Virginia. She has been acting since sixth grade and has always enjoyed dancing. After attending NYU and UGA with a focus in theatre, she moved from DC to Chicago and had a bit of a break from the stage and the dance floor. After moving back to Georgia to start her family, Ilene once again found the stage. Through the Atlanta Community Theater community, she met an amazing gentleman who introduced her to Reb3l. One class and she was absolutely hooked. A little over a year after that first class she became a certified Reb3l Instructor and she is so excited to be a part of the Reb3L crew at Dance 101!

Classes: Hip Hop 101 & Hip Hop 201
@johnjamesatl

John James is a native of Atlanta, GA whose life has centered around music and dance.

Since birth, John has been surrounded by vocalists, producers, and musicians which naturally helped him develop both a love and understanding for the entertainment industry. At a young age he studied instrumentation and music performance from some of the best directors in the southeastern United States. After becoming a singer/artist at age 16, John realized that his truelove lie in dance.

Class: MADD-X Fitness (dance fitness)

Kevin is an established fitness instructor, originator of MADD-X Fitness, Hip Hop choreographer, founder and Executive Director of Culture Shock® Atlanta (a nationally recognized professional hip-hip dance organization that, among other things, produced some of Dance 101's most popular dance teachers: Elaina Whitehead, Kevin Tyson, D Norris and Jeremy McShan). Kevin is considered the most influential pioneer of Dance Fitness in Atlanta, being one of the first trained dance professionals to cross over into fitness.

Classes: Jazz for Beginners & Intro to Hip Hop

Malerie Grady grew up competing in dance and gymnastics before beginning her career as a company dancer at the age of 15. She continued until several injuries pushed her out of the company world and into the realm of professional dancing for television and film. After a few years of working as a professional dancer, she began to cross over into acting.

Classes: Reb3l Groove & Reb3l Strength 
@reb3l_ashleigh

Ashleigh does not come from a dance background but discovered it only by trying to "lose the baby weight". She went to a dance fitness class back in 2009 after her second son was born and became hooked! The baby weight started to melt off and it was a release, it was fitness and it was fun! She continued to go to that class until she moved to Colorado in 2011 where she became a certified fitness instructor herself.

Classes: On Broadway & Jukebox

Ricardo is a professional director and choreographer for theater, industrials, and televised specials. Most recent theater credits include: Kiss of the Spider Woman (Actors Express), Ain't Misbehavin' (Atlanta Lyric Theatre), The Buddy Holly Story (Georgia Ensemble), Altar Boyz (Horizon Theatre), How I Became a Pirate (Theatre in the Square), Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer (Center For Puppetry Arts), Kiss me, Kate, Annie Get Your Gun, The Dinosaur Musical, (Aurora Theatre),

Classes: Music Videography, Heel & Now

Class: Thread
@triphopdavid

Visionary, Artist, Storyteller.
David Norwood is a artist choreographer. David Norwood has a creative style known as TripHop that is progressive and disarming. Commercially, Mr. Norwood has choreographed for such notable companies as Ford, Nike , Apple, Volvo, Reebok, and Armani as well as directed Television shows in Tokyo, London and Belgium. For the stage David has worked with Atlanta Ballet, Charleston Dance Project, Idaho Ballet, David has taught nationally and internationally master classes and workshops David sees himself as more of a visionary artist than a choreographer.

Classes: King of Hearts (int. hip hop) & J-Roc (beg. hip hop)

Jared was born April 1, 1990. Inspired by street dancers and poppers he started dancing at the age of 11, and that’s when Jared and his brother came up with the crew name Royal Flush. Throughout the years he continued to grow as a dancer and choreographer, despite the negative comments from his parents and his high school basketball coach. Now Jared has danced and choreographed for singing groups and danced in many videos.

Class: Musicality in Motion (hip hop)
@kyizzy

Kevin Zhou started dancing as a hobby during his high school years as a break dancer and freestyler.  Originally from Richmond, Virginia, Kevin moved to Atlanta to attend school at Emory University to pursue a degree in biology, never thinking that he would one day he would become a professional dancer.

Classes: Ballet Barre Basics, Ballet Int. & Contemporary Ballet
@rz_ballet

Rachel is a graduate of The Boston Conservatory, where she earned her B.F.A. in Dance, Magna cum Laude. She received her initial training at Tolbert-Yilmaz School of Dance in Roswell, GA. Her studies continued at Regional Dance America conferences and summer programs including American Ballet Theatre, Kaatsbaan Extreme Ballet, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and Walnut Hill School for the Arts. At The Boston Conservatory, Rachel studied a wide range of classical and contemporary techniques under the Conservatory’s renowned faculty, including ballet pedagogy courses with master teacher Donna Silva.

Class: Serpentine (bellydance)
@erinrichardson76

Erin first fell in love with Bellydancing watching the famous Bidasha Twins perform at a wedding. Captivated by this mesmerizing, sexy, snake-like dance, she began her Turkish Egyptian training at Nazeem Allal Studio here in Atlanta. Over the years, she has found a love for the American Tribal Style, which has a blend of Traditional, Greek, Latin, Gypsy, West African, Asian and Bolly. Her musical journey takes you from Middle-Eastern, Flamenco, Reggae, Dub, to Trap, Hip Hop and Elecrtronica.

Classes: Jazz Roulette, Burlesque Jazz and Turns, Jumps & Leaps
@caitlingraycreative

Born in NYC, Caitlin Gray's diverse background, which includes dance, gymnastics and circus arts, has made her a much sought-after teacher and choreographer. She believes that teaching is an integral part of giving back to the dance community and has taught master classes all over the U.S. and abroad, including South Africa, United Kingdom, U.A.E., Turkey, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada and Australia. 

Classes: Ballet Barre Fit, Inside Out, Stretch & Align 101, Intro to Contemporary
@laurenbanks05

Lauren Banks graduated from Kennesaw State University suma cum laude with a B.S. in Communication and a Minor in dance. Upon graduating, Lauren began performing with Young Audiences at the Woodruff Arts Center and later the Atlanta-based contemporary dance companies Gathering Wild and Ellisorous Rex and the Dance Machine. She is a featured dancer/actress in a Home Depot and Lifetime Original Series Devious Maids commercial and has worked as a freelance dancer for a number of prominent Atlanta choreographers (Bubba Carr, Emily Christianson, Corian Ellisor, and Jerylann Warner) for over 10 years.

Classes: Ballet Center & Pure Ballet

Tara began her training at age 3 in Enola, PA, later dancing with the pre-professional Cumberland Dance Company and studying at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. At 15, she was invited to study on full scholarship at the School of American Ballet in New York City, where she danced principal roles in Allegro Brillante, Concerto Barocco, and Flower Festival for the school’s workshop performances, as well as principal roles in Symphonie Concertante and Serenade for the New York City Ballet’s 1993 Balanchine Celebration.

Classes: Contemporary Expressions & Intro to Contemporary
@mmperry1

Meghan is a graduate of Coastal Carolina University, where she earned her B.A. in Musical Theatre. She has danced professionally at The Lost Colony and as a street performer at Hard Rock Theme Park. She has attended the University of South Carolina’s Summer Dance Conservatory as well as training at Broadway Dance Center in New York City. Since moving back down south Meghan has taught various dance styles in her home state of South Carolina and is excited to continue her teaching and dance career at Dance101. 

Classes: Tap (beginner & intermediate levels)

Barry Thomas received his B.A. in dance at the prestigious Butler University. Several seasons in summer stock found him with his first job in New York and the world famous Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. After numerous shows in and around New York, Michael Bennett cast Mr. Thomas in the role of Don Kerr for the Broadway and International Company of A Chorus Line. He performed with the company for a year, where they eventually headed for Atlanta.

Classes: E'mote' & Hip Hop Flow 
@mo_nobledanz

Originally from Augusta, GA, Monica "Mo" Noble began training in modern and ballet at John S. Davidson Fine Arts School. After moving to Atlanta to attend Georgia State University, she was introduced to hip hop while dancing on Dancers On Point Dance Team. She choreographed several of DOP's dance pieces and also performed at some of Atlanta's hottest venues and events. Mo has choreographed and performed for the UniverSoul Circus tour, danced for David Banner on Ludacris' "Chicken and Beer Tour," co-choreographed the "Crank It Up" David Banner video, and performed in two of international artist K’Naan’s videos.