Summer Activities

Kyri Hayes

• Kyri graduated in 2013 from Woodland High School Fine Arts Academy with a major in dance and has since joined the faculty of her Alma Mater as well as Cartersville School of Ballet. She has choreographed for musicals such as “Catch Me If You Can” and “How To Succeed in Business Without Trying” as well as concert works for dance companies, performing arts high schools and for various dance festivals.

Nacoleon Hillsman III

• Atlanta bound, Nacoleon holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Oklahoma. Taking his first dance class at the age of 14 at the Cobb County Center for Excellence in the Performing Arts at Pebblebrook High School, he fell in love with dance. He has trained in multiple styles, including jazz, ballet, modern, and hip hop. He has performed on stage in New York, San Francisco, Beijing China, just to name a few.

Angie Wells

• Angie began her formal dance training in Columbia, South Carolina. After high school, Angie studied at the North Carolina School of the Arts and Pennsylvania Ballet. Angie danced professionally with Charleston Ballet Theatre and Southern Ballet Theatre. Angie opened Brevard Civic Ballet School in 2012 and founded Brevard Ballet, a civic ballet company in 2014. She closed the physical location in 2020 due to the pandemic but continues to teach her students virtually. Angie is an ABT® Certified teacher and has completed coursework in the Leap 'N Learn dance program.

Toya Willingham

• Toya started her dance training at age three and came to Decatur School of Ballet at age 13. She has been a company dancer with Decatur City Dance since 1992. She is a graduate of the DeKalb Center for the Performing Arts. In the summer of 1995, she participated in the Governor’s Honors Dance program. Toya trained as a demonstrator, an assistant teacher, and a substitute teacher in younger children’s classes at our school. She has a strong foundation in ballet and has also trained in modern dance, jazz, and tap. Toya is Director of AboutFace, the professional jazz ensemble of Decatur City Dance.

George Staib

• Born in Tehran, Iran, George Staib began his dance training at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in conjunction with the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. He holds a BA in political science and an MFA in dance and choreography from Temple University. In 2001 he joined the dance faculty at Emory University where he teaches modern and ballet techniques, choreography, and "Contemplate, Create, Debate", a freshman seminar designed to introduce students to the practice of seeing and making art. Staib’s choreographic work has been commissioned across the United States and abroad. He is also a contributing writer and critic for ArtsATL and was recognized by Dance Teacher Magazine as one of the top five dance educators in the country!

Nacoleon Hillsman III

• Atlanta bound, Nacoleon holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Oklahoma. Taking his first dance class at the age of 14 at the Cobb County Center for Excellence in the Performing Arts at Pebblebrook High School, he fell in love with dance. He has trained in multiple styles, including jazz, ballet, modern, and hip hop. He has performed on stage in New York, San Francisco, Beijing China, just to name a few.

Major Nesby

• A multidisciplinary creative, Major started his career as a dance artist performing in New York City and on global stages. A graduate of Point Park University, he has also had the opportunity of acting and appearing in several web series, commercials, and movies. Along with dancing & acting, Major is currently working as a producer, content creator, host, and correspondent. He has worked with outlets such as GLAAD, Google, HBO, and has interviewed prominent leaders in entertainment, including award-winning writer-director Lee Daniels as well as Pulitzer Prize winners Jericho Brown and Michael R. Jackson. Major continues to teach dance both domestically and internationally.

Walter Carson Apps

• Born and raised in Detroit MI, Walter started his dance training at the age of four. He received his BFA from Point Park University in 2016. During his training, Walter had the privilege to perform works by Aszure Barton, Garfield Lemonius, Septime Weber, Lar Lubovitch, Kyle Abraham, MADBOOTS, Mark Morris, Luke Murphy, and Ohad Naharin. After graduation, he worked with Texture Contemporary Ballet, Yin Yue, Rubén Graciani, Patrick O’Brien, and Andrea Ward. Currently, Walter is a Dance Artist with Core Dance based in Decatur.

Sarah Stokes

• Atlanta-based, Sarah Stokes is a choreographer, dancer, and dance educator. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Afterward, Sarah relocated to Atlanta to perform, choreograph, and teach. She has had the great pleasure to perform in works by choreographers such as Shapiro & Smith, Helen Tamiris, Carl Flink, Larry Keigwin, HIJACK, Nadya Zeitlin, Mallory Baxley, and Morgan Carlisle. In 2015, Sarah joined with Britt Whitmoyer Fishel in order to establish Atlanta Dance Collective. Sarah's choreography has been produced in Asheville, Minneapolis, New York City, and at various venues across Atlanta. In addition to choreographing and performing, Sarah teaches acro-dance, ballet, contemporary, and musical theatre dance styles, and is a certified instructor with Acrobatic Arts. Currently, she teaches at Gwinnett Ballet Theatre, is Dance Director at Bridgepoint Arts, and is the lead Acro Dance instructor at Dance Theatre!

Xavier Lewis

• From the age of 19-24, Xavier instructed and taught master classes at many studios/schools, including Georgia Dance Conservatory, Kennesaw State University, Brenau University, Atlanta Ballet, Gwinnett Ballet Theatre, Dancers studio Backstage, and many more. In 2015, he was hired at Grayson High School as Dance Director. In 2019, he began touring with the KAR National Dance Competition. During this time, he began sharpening his skills in music & music theory. By 2020, he began composing musical scores for multiple dance companies, including Emory University, ImmerseATL, Georgia Staib, Zoetic Dance Ensemble, and many more! Additionally, he was hired as a professional dancer for T. Lang and had a 2-month residency with Dance Canvas under the direction of Angela Harris. He also choreographed a live performance for Grammy-nominated artist Jack Harlow. He is currently on tour with KAR National Dance Competition and has just started his own Arts Company, VIA UNI.

Otis Sallid

• Mr. Sallid hails from Harlem, New York, and is a graduate of The Juilliard School. His work is widely recognized through the entertainment world, stretching from dance, to theater, to television, to film. In his teaching, his attention to detail brings about new levels of movement for students.