FACULTY MEMBER — RISE CITY DANCE & NEIGHBORHOOD BALLET

Ericka created Company Bound, an accelerated and invitation only program for dancers 5-10 years, to provide a pathway for students interested in a more focused classroom atmosphere. Dancers are provided with more challenging choreography and technique so that they can be the very best they can be.

Ericka received her dance training from Atlanta School of Ballet and Capital City Ballet with Tom Pazik and Kathy McBeth. She was a professional dancer for 10 years dancing with Nashville Ballet, Lexington Ballet, Augusta Ballet, and Ohio Dance Theatre.

Ericka teaches to create a love of dance and nurture dancers to become the best versions of themselves. She believes in creating a supporting critical thinkers by power of arts education. She is inspired by watching her students grow into who they are destined to be!

FACULTY MEMBER - RISE CITY DANCE

Maria received her dance training from The Maryland Youth Ballet. After she graduated high school, she immediately became a paid trainee at Houston Ballet where she danced for 2 years.

She also danced with Hartford Ballet and Washington Ballet before attending college on full scholarship at the University of Texas in Austin. There she received her degree in Literature and graduated summa cum laude.

For Maria, being a teacher means bringing together her experiences as a dancer, a teacher, and even a parent to help students find their voice and their joy through movement.

Maria believes in helping dancers to grow their strong foundation of ballet so that the fun and challenging steps and choreography are possible and enjoyable. Maria notes that she was always so grateful to teachers who taught her how to do things correctly, with attention to clean lines, proper alignment, and musical precision. Then she was able to be the capable, articulate artist on which a teacher, director, or choreographer could set something. She aims to offer this to her students so that they can be feel prepared for their remarkable futures ahead.

FACULTY MEMBER — RISE CITY DANCE & NEIGHBORHOOD BALLET

Originally from Atlanta, Margaret began her dance training at Atlanta Ballet Center for Dance Education. She spent her summers training at the School of American Ballet, the Kirov Academy, and Boston Ballet. After graduating from Marist High School, she danced with the Atlanta Ballet Company. Her favorite roles while at the Atlanta Ballet include the Spanish Pas de Deux in The Nutcracker and an Indian Maiden in Peter Pan. Moving on from her ballet career, she landed a role in the original Broadway version of West Side Story touring through Europe. Then, she danced as a Radio City Rockette for nine seasons. Margaret has performed in The Radio City Christmas Spectacular in cities all around the United States and at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

In between her performing career, Margaret taught dance and choreographed at many studios in New York and Atlanta. She worked as a dance instructor for the New York Public School system during her off season from the Rockettes.

After retiring from a 15-year dance career, Margaret graduated summa cum laude with a BBA in Accounting from Georgia State University. She worked as an accountant for a year, but her love of dance pulled her back in the studio. Margaret is thrilled to teach at The Neighborhood Ballet as a jazz, musical theater, and ballet teacher. Her three daughters have enjoyed coming to NB for several years.

She is excited to pass all of the wonderful advice and technique that she gained from a 15-year professional career to her students.

DIRECTOR OF UNBOUND

Katie’s dance training began in Lambertville, NJ with the Roxey Ballet and Mill Ballet School. Receiving predominantly ballet training, she attended intensives at Orlando Ballet and The Washington School of Ballet.

Katie then attended Emory University, studying a wide variety of contemporary styles and majored in Dance & Movement Studies and Linguistics. She attended the Bates Dance Festival, the Bates Dance/ADF Winter Intensive, and staibdance summer intensive. Post-grad, Katie continued training with Jillian Mitchell of Kit Modus, Countertechnique, Floorwork with Dual Rivet and Matthew James, and two choreographic labs with Core Dance. Katie danced with Kit Modus and performed works by several noteworthy choreographers. She also freelanced and danced for Atlanta choreographers including: Greg Catellier, George Staib, Core Dance, Patsy Collins, Jacque Pritz, Leo Briggs, and more.

In 2021, Katie moved to New York and began freelancing for artists including Yuki Ishiguro, Animus Movement, and Emmy Wildermuth.

Katie is the founder and director of her dance company, rogue wave, as well as Fall for Fall Dance Festival. During her time as a choreographer she has received many opportunities to create in Atlanta, NYC, and throughout the eastern seaboard.

For Katie, being a teacher is HIGH ENERGY! She loves seeing her students get excited when they master a new skill.

CO-DIRECTOR OF UNBOUND AND FACULTY MEMBER — RISE CITY DANCE & NEIGHBORHOOD BALLET

Andie Knudson is a dance artist, videographer, educator, and arts administrator currently based in Atlanta, GA. Andie received her BFA in Dance with Summa Cum Laude and multiple accolades for her artistic achievements.

Throughout her freelance career, she’s had the privilege of performing the works of Bill T. Jones & José Limon in addition to working with a wide range of choreographers & improvisation artists such as Nancy Stark Smith, Elizabeth Dishman, George Staib, Sarah Hillmer, and Anna Bracewell Crowder. In 2022, Andie attended Oriantheatre’s Paris Summer Academy working with artists such as Toula Limnaios, Volmir Cordeiro, Olivier Gemser, and Mehdi Farajpour. She has also choreographed works for Fly On A Wall’s 2023 production of Excuse The Art, Fall for Fall Dance Festival, AM Collab, and Rise City Dance.

Apart from her performance career, Andie has worked for 10+ years as a Dance Educator and developed her BFA Thesis on her passion for empowering students through cultivating their creative agency within dance curriculum.

Andie’s favorite thing about teaching is watching students grow in their confidence and empowering them to explore their creativity and emotions through their movement!

FACULTY MEMBER — RISE CITY DANCE & NEIGHBORHOOD BALLET

Qu received HER Bachelors of Arts Degree at Columbia College Chicago! It was during HER time in Chicago where she trained/performed with a hip hop group called Boom Crack! Dance Company. They competed and won multiple championships at World of Dance, Hip Hop International and other globally recognized competitions.

They love teaching Hip Hop and the history behind the art form but have also been trained in Contemporary, Ballet, Modern and West African.

Qu believes in creating a safe space for all to enjoy the freedom of expression that comes with dancing! They love watching a student’s face light up once they are able to nail a move that they’ve been working on. To experience such a vulnerable yet beautiful art form together is something Qu doesn’t take for granted.

FACULTY MEMBER - RISE CITY DANCE

Kalyn received their dance training at Oconee Youth School of Performance. After high school, they minored in dance at the University of Georgia. Kalyn soon decided they wanted to focus on the commercial dance world, so they moved to Atlanta where they became a scholarship student studio at Gotta Dance Atlanta, training 30+ hours per week. Kalyn has been working in TV/film ever since!

For Kalyn, teaching gives me them warm and fuzzies. They love seeing joy stretch across a student's face as they take on something new. They love getting to know their students as whole humans and advising them as they advance in this crazy world. 

FACULTY MEMBER — RISE CITY DANCE & NEIGHBORHOOD BALLET

Mychal Vandell has over 10 years of dance experience in both Choreography and Dance Performance. His training includes Modern, Jazz, Contemporary, Improvisation, Hip Hop and Tap while attending El Camino College in Torrance, California.

Mychal Vandell has professionally choreographed for 2 of the companies he was apart of, Funderburk Dance Artists(FDA) and Vicious Circle. Mychal Vandell was also selected as a soloist for Matthew Rushing’s (Alvin Ailey Dancer) Nina Simone Suite while in FDA. Mychal Vandell’s choreography also extends to known Dance Festivals such as ACDFA (American College Dance Festival Association) and Blaktina Dance Festival (Los Angeles and Arizona).

Mychal is inspired by all the growth that his students showcase to him every class!

FACULTY MEMBER — RISE CITY DANCE & NEIGHBORHOOD BALLET

Devin began their classical training at Central Florida Ballet in their hometown of Orlando, FL. After high school Devin danced with these notable companies: Atlanta Ballet, Oklahoma City Ballet, and City Ballet of San Diego. Through these companies they were able to perform lead roles in the Nutcracker, Balanchine’s Walpurgisnacht, Carmina Burana, and Etudes. Devin also danced many corps de ballet roles in Septime Weber’s Alice in Wonderland, La Sylphide, Beauty and the Beast, Balanchine’s Serenade, and Don Quixote amongst other contemporary ballet works.

Since joining the freelance art scene in Atlanta they have worked with Leo Briggs, Nadya Zeitlan, and Sarah Hillmer, George Staib and Anna Bracewell Crowder through ImmerseATL. Devin has also choreographed work for A.M. Collab, Fall for Fall dance festival, and MAD festival. This past season they have also been honing their art making and teaching style. In these differing experiences they have melded their time in the ballet world with that of passion for creativity to generate an uplifting space for kids and adults to find joy in classical and contemporary movement.

Devin’s favorite thing about teaching is setting challenges for students and watching them excel.

FACULTY MEMBER — RISE CITY DANCE

Jacque Pritz is an Atlanta based dancer, choreographer, and arts administrator. She is program coordinator at Emory Arts and freelances in the community.

In 2022, Jacque was an inaugural Meli Kaye resident artist at the Decatur School of Ballet. Jacque’s works have been presented at 7 Stages, First Center for the Arts, The B Complex, Fall for Fall Dance Festival, and various other festivals and venues.

She’s danced for Beacon Dance, ALA Dance, Bautanzt Here, Dance Canvas, Julio Medina, Catherine Messina, Leo Briggs, and Patsy Collins. She has a BFA in Dance and BSBA in Marketing from the University of Florida.

Jacque’s favorite thing about teaching is seeing students have those "eureka!" moments when connecting new pathways in their bodies.

FACULTY MEMBER - RISE CITY DANCE

Nancy received her dance training from School of American Ballet. After graduating from SAB, she was hired as an apprentice at Pacific Northwest Ballet.

Nancy finds great value in teaching in that it has given her the opportunity to teach students the knowledge she has in a way that is different from the way she was taught. She hope to inspire all of her students.

FACULTY MEMBER — RISE CITY DANCE & NEIGHBORHOOD BALLET

Virginia received her dance training from DeKalb School of the Arts and Emory University.

During her time within the Emory Dance program, she grew as an artist, dancer, scholar and somatic practitioner. After graduating, she danced with staibdance for several seasons. Currently, Virginia pursues contract-based dance work with independent artists in Atlanta.

For Virginia, teaching means always meeting students with where they are at — doing her best to address the ways in which each person learns differently and enjoys different kinds of movement practices. She finds it so rewarding to witness when they have *click* moments where you can watch the information align in their eyes and their bodies.

FACULTY MEMBER — RISE CITY DANCE

Calvin Gentry, an Atlanta native, began his dance training at Atlanta DanceWorks in Stone Mountain Ga.

He furthered his studies on full scholarship at Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education, School of American Ballet in Nyc and Houston Ballet Academy. Calvin began his professional career with Atlanta Ballet where he danced for two seasons.

In 2002, Calvin joined Ballethnic Dance Co. in East Point, Ga. dancing and bringing ballet to diverse audiences through out the metro area and the Us. In 2006 he joined Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo traveling through The states and abroad. In 2010 he returned to Ballethnic and embarked on teaching young dancers through out the metro area.

He has taught at Ballethnic, DanceMakers of Atlanta, Georgia Dance Conservatory, Phusion, and British Academy of Performing arts. In 2013 his choreography was chosen for the South East Regional Ballet Association gala performances. His choreography and teachings have reached dancers and audiences in NYC, Washington DC, and Akron, Ohio.

FACULTY MEMBER — RISE CITY DANCE & NEIGHBORHOOD BALLET

Aldawna Morrison, Jr. began his dance training at the age of nine. He has danced with the Atlanta Ballet, Donald Byrd the Group, Complexion Ballet, the Elisa Monte Dance Company and the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Company. After many years of dancing and touring the world, Mr. Morrison decided to pursue a teaching career and further his education.