ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND FACULTY MEMBER

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.

LOWER COMPANY LIAISON AND FACULTY MEMBER

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!

CO-DIRECTOR OF UNBOUND AND FACULTY MEMBER

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!

CO-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.

FACULTY MEMBER

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

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

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

Madison Lee is a dancer and choreographer based in Atlanta, GA. Born in Michigan but raised in Dallas, Texas, they have been dancing their entire life. In Dallas, Madison trained intensively in hip hop and several other styles at Next Step Dance Performing Arts Center. There they performed with the Dallas Cowboys and Royal Caribbean Cruises.

Madison moved to Atlanta in 2020 to study Dance and Marketing at Emory University. They began training in contemporary and modern techniques and presented multiple works for the Emory Dance Program. They also performed professionally in the Atlanta dance area while still a student. When they graduated this past May, they were awarded Highest Honors for their dance thesis, fellowship in the John H. Gordon Stipe Society, and The Pioneer Award. In Atlanta, they have worked with choreographers such as Jacquelyn Pritz, Jacqui Hinkson, Leo Briggs, Julio Medina, George Staib, Annalee Traylor, Xan Burley, and Alex Springer. Currently, Madison is a company member with Catching Mangoes, led by Jacque Pritz, and Excavate Body, led by Jacqui Hinkson.

FACULTY MEMBER

Spencer Wetherington is from Bridgeton, New Jersey, and began dancing at age four at his local studio. He continued his training at the School of Philadelphia Ballet, formerly the School of Pennsylvania Ballet. Upon graduation from St. Augustine College Preparatory School, Spencer went on to study at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography, also known as the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. With the academy, he performed variations from Flames of Paris, Napoli and La Bayadere, as well as soloist roles in the school’s production of La Fille Mal Gardée. Additionally, he competed in the International Ballet Competition "Dance Moscow" and was awarded second place. From there, he joined Atlanta Ballet 2 where he danced for two seasons. His notable performances include “Gaston” in Bruce Wells' Beauty and the Beast, “Prince Siegfried” in Bruce Wells' The Swan Princess, Alexander Ekman’s Cacti, and Russian in Yuri Possokhov’s The Nutcracker, among others. Spencer was promoted to apprentice with Atlanta Ballet in the 2020-21 season. Since joining, he has performed in roles such as “Igor Stravinsky” in Anabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Coco Chanel: Life of a Fashion Icon, “Gurn” in Johann Kobborg’s restaging of La Sylphide, Garret Smith’s Corridors, Sergio Masero’s Querencia, Blue Man in Helgi Tomasson’s Concerto Grosso, Snowblind by Cathy Marston and “Romeo” in Claudia Schreier’s Romeo and Juliette performed at the National Cathedral in Washington DC, to name a few.

FACULTY MEMBER

Michael Caye was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where began his training at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School and the Point Park University International Summer Dance Program. At 16, Michael was a finalist at Youth America Grand Prix and received a scholarship with Miami City Ballet Pre-Professional Program under the direction of Arantxa Ochoa, the same year. While in Miami, Michael performed roles such as George Balanchine’s Tarantella, Mathew Neenan’s Penumbra and works by Durante Verzola and Ariel Rose. During his last year in Miami, he was given the opportunity to choreograph on the pre-professional students and perform in West Side Story Suite with the Miami City Ballet company. Michael then was a Company Dancer with Nevada Ballet Theater in Las Vegas, under the direction of Roy Kaiser. He performed many principal and soloist roles, the most notable of which included Frederick in Ben Stevenson’s Dracula, Kaschie in Yuri Possokov’s Firebird, and Melancholic in George Balanchine’s Four Temperaments. Michael is beginning his fourth season with Atlanta Ballet where you may have seen him in the Peasant Pas in Giselle, the lead soloist in Justin Peck's Increases, and as the Red man in Darian Kanes Dr. Rainbow among others.

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.