Teaching Staff

  • She/Her

    Assistant Studio Director

    At the age of 9, Jennifer Cooper finally got to realize her dream of a dancing career when Perkins Elementary Performing Arts School was created in her hometown of St. Petersburg, FL. From there, she continued on to performing arts schools for both middle and high school as well as a local studio that offered her a scholarship. She spent every moment possible dancing and training. It was during this time at the studio, that she found a passion for teaching.

    Jennifer attended University of South Florida and received a BA in Dance Studies with Education. She started teaching in 2006, working at various locations including studios, a magnet school, day cares and special needs classes.  When she moved to the Altanta area, she taught with Creative Movement and Dance for 11 years. She takes every opportunity to learn more as she attends workshops and conferences, such as Dance Masters of America. Jennifer loves teaching students of all ages and levels. She currently dances and performs with several MAD companies as well as takes several classes each week.


  • She/Her
    Studio Director

    Kia J. Street began dancing at the age of three at Norma’s Academy of Dance and continued her training at Dance with Donna Webb. She decided to pursue a dance career while attending Fine Arts Magnet at Mount Zion High School, now named Martha Ellen Stilwell School of the Arts in Jonesboro, GA. Kia graduated from Valdosta State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance in 2015. While attending VSU she performed at the annual dance concerts, American College Dance Association, and during halftime with the marching band as a Blazette. She has choreographed for high school dance lines, the Emerging Artist Showcase at VSU, Modco Dance Company, and for Dancefx adult company members. Professionally, she has performed with Sideways Contemporary Dance Company and Modco Dance Company. Currently, she performs with Fuerta Dance Company, in festivals around Atlanta, and is the proud Studio Director of Metro Atlanta Dance

  • She/Her

  • "Emily grew up dancing at various studios in the Alpharetta/Metro Atlanta Area, including Footnotes Dance and Acrobatics. She holds a Bachelors of Art with concentrations in Art History and Art Education from Georgia State University. Emily has student-taught at local elementary schools, and choreographed musicals from some of the local schools in the area. She is dedicated to making dance class accessible and welcoming to everyone. As a dancer with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS), Emily is knowledgeable on the effects of hypermobility disorders and chronic illnesses on dancers. While she is also formally trained in jazz, ballet, and contemporary, her favorite genre is tap, and she is so excited to be teaching Tap 1 and Tap 2 this year!"

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    Marketing Director
    Sparks and Ignite Musical Theater Companies Director

    Born and raised in Dunwoody, GA, Hope fell in love with dancing at age three. She continued to dance with the Expression in Motion Dance Company where she began teaching at age sixteen. Hope began her musical theater journey in high school, performing and assisting with choreography. Through over five years of working with youth musical theater camps, most recently, the 2024 DanceFX Atlanta’s Triple Threat musical theater camp, she found a way to share her love of theater with the next generation. She danced with DanceFX Atlanta’s Xtensity, TheatriX, and Elevate companies this past year, and is excited to continue dancing with Metro Atlanta Dance this fall. Hope is a student at Georgia State University, where she is getting her degree in Speech Communications with a minor in Journalism.

  • She/Her

    Miss Nikki V. Matthews is a native of Southern California and has been dancing since the age of 3.  She has been trained in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, character and even Irish dancing.  She attended Orange Coast and Chapman College majoring in dance and liberal arts.     As a teenager and young adult, she attended the Joffrey Ballet, Ballet West, Milwaukee Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet and finally Ballet Pacifica . She has danced many roles in various ballets as well as choreographed individual and original pieces. She has taught all ages from 2-80.   Her favorite styles to teach are ballet and tap.  Her favorite styles to perform are also ballet and tap.  Her favorite part of teaching is sharing the art and passion of dance and movement.  Everyday is an opportunity for new experiences and growth.  She loves to watch her students experience the magic of dance and the joy it brings to all involved.  “I could not imagine my life without dance and the community it brings together.”

  • Stella Hansen grew up in Marietta, GA where she trained at Georgia Metropolitan Dance Theatre/Georgia Dance Conservatory ages 3-18. She trained in Classical Ballet, Pointe, Contemporary, Jazz, and Swing. Upon Graduating high school, Stella attended the Georgia Institute of Technology where she studied Industrial Engineering. Throughout College Stella took classes at Atlanta Ballet and danced with Georiga Tech’s DanceTech serving as their Membership Director and later their President. Stella began taking classes with Metro Atlanta Dance upon her graduation from college and is greatly looking forward to joining the MAD faculty for this upcoming season!

  • Reverie Ballet Company Director

    Audrey Crabtree holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts degree in Dance Performance from Oklahoma City University. Her performance work includes the theme park stages of Busch Gardens Williamsburg (VA) and Six Flags Magic Mountain (CA) dancing at Howl-O-Scream, Christmastown, Looney Tunes Kids Club, Fright Fest, and Holiday in the Park. Living in Los Angeles, Audrey performed with Amaterasu Dance Company, L.A. Unbound, City Ballet of Los Angeles, the Speak Hill Dance Project, and J Sutta. Returning to Atlanta, she was a company member with Watershed Dance Theatre and Sideways Dance Company. She currently performs as a company member with Atlanta-based Monica Hogan Danceworks (since 2021), ALA Dance (since 2021), and Fuerta Dance Company (since 2016), appearing at Dance Canvas, Modern Atlanta Dance Festival, and in seasonal company productions. Professional choreographic works by Audrey have been presented in Atlanta’s Fall for Fall Dance Festival, Modern Atlanta Dance Festival, and Fuerta's "Sole." A dance educator since 2012, Audrey is an experienced instructor in a variety of techniques with a passion for pedagogy. Audrey is a mother of two (Penelope & Theodore) who aims to develop each student’s technical skill set alongside a love for the performing arts.

  • She/Her

  • She/Her

    Julia began her dance journey in 2012 with Dancefx Atlanta’s first performance company. She studied regularly under the familiar faces of Kia Street and Payton McCarty and later progressed to teach her own youth and adult classes. From 2018-2023, she attended the University of Georgia and performed with Dancefx Athens’ Concert Company in several shows including: DanceAthens, Adventures of Pocahontas, Cinderella: A Modern Fairytale, Mary Poppins, Hercules, Dancing with the Athens Stars, and Xpanse in NYC. During this time, she guest-choreographed for Georgia Dance Team (2020-2022) and Sigma Kappa’s Greek Grind performance (2021). Since 2019, Julia has also translated her passion of dance into film by co-directing numerous projects involving Dancefx companies such as “Fine Line”, “Moon//White Ferrari”, “On the Attack”, and “Oh Ms Believer”. After moving back to Atlanta in 2023, Julia has danced with and guest-choreographed for Xtensity Dance Company, performed at the Emory Performing Arts Center with Divine Dance Studio, and trained with Atlanta Contemporary Dance Company and XCEL Studios.


  • Director of Adult hip Hop Company

    Mar is a dancer with over 15 years of experience training in styles like ballet, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, heels, acrobatics, and waacking. She started dancing in elementary school,  focusing primarily on acrobatics and ballet. As she went to college, she led a dance team called Impact for 4 years which focused on street style foundations and hip hop. Mar is a founding member of Waacklanta, having been on the planning committee for their first year of battles and events. Apart from that she has worked with age groups from elementary school to adult and is genuinely driven by people growing in their creativity and in their movement.

  • She/Her

  • She/Her

    Teaching Assistant


  • Elevate Heels Company Director

    Tricia is an Atlanta native who’s passion for dance grew at Pope High School while dancing with the marching band. While attending Georgia State University, she performed with the Pantherette Dance Team and Georgia State Color Guard. Tricia began dancing professionally as a WNBA Atlanta Dream Cheerleader, an event performer, and as a member of the Gwinnett Dance Project. Tricia is a member of Creatives Company (a professional hip hop team); she directs the Dance and Flag Line at Woodward Academy, and she directs Elevate Heels Company.

  • He/Them

  • He/They

    BX Hip Hop Crew Director

    EC is an educator of dance with 10+ years of experience training in street styles such as popping, house, and hip hop.  He first started off dancing with a street dance crew in Virginia Beach known as Anonymous in 2009. From there he moved into teaching and growing in the North Carolina collegiate scene, ultimately ending up with a Bachelor’s Degree in Dance and rounding out his training with ballet, modern, and jazz. He hopes to use his position as an educator to grant insight, knowledge, and growth in street dance culture to people from all walks of life.

  • She/Her

    Melissa Hoover began her dance training in tap at the age of 13. Since then, she has expanded her technical training to other styles including jazz, contemporary, lyrical, ballet, and hip-hop. Though high school, she was a part of several performance dance companies in Arizona. Since moving to Atlanta, Melissa continued her passion for dance and performance as an adult, taking classes and performing with DanceFX Atlanta Studio in the Aesthetic Ballet, Xtensity, and Tap companies. She has also performed with FlexCo Dance company in the styles of hip-hop and contemporary and was featured in the 2019 Super Bowl Halftime Show in Atlanta. Melissa takes every opportunity to continue to learn and take class, and loves to share her passion for dance with adults and teens whether they have been dancing for years or it is their first day.

  • Spotlight Musical Theater Company Director

    Hope Burt was born in Detroit Michigan but raised in Southern California and Central Florida. She began dancing at the age of 10 and immediately discovered her passion! Hope quickly developed a love for all dance styles but through intensive training and hard work reached a high level of accomplishment in Contemporary, Ballet, Hip Hop, Jazz and Lyrical. She later added ballroom to her repertoire.

    Hope has won numerous awards and scholarships including a full scholarship to Dance Educators of America’s Ballet Seminar where she trained under nationally renowned ballet instructors. Her achievements include; Being the first African American to receive the dancer of the year at her childhood studio. Winning the Leap Contest and being featured on the front page of the competition website. Hope has performed annually as one of the featured soloist in the Nutcracker Ballet, Held at the Maxwell C. King Center. She has also gone on to perform at the Mercedes Benz Stadium for the "Beloved" benefit, The Kennedy Space Center, Morgan State University, Disneyland and toured around the country performing.

    In addition to performance, Hope is a choreographer/Instructor known throughout Atlanta for creating innovative and unique choreography. After teaching for over 14 years her love for all 160 of her students is still going strong helping them to reach their fullest potential. Many of her students have been accepted into prestigious summer intensives, and college dance programs such as Juilliard, NYU, University of Georgia, University of Alabama, and Point Park University.

    Hope has received a choreography award and her work has been   featured at Disney Springs, Gas South Theater and is currently a judging official for Empire, GHSA (Georgia High School Association) and a Judge/Convention Teacher for Inspire Dance Competition.

Kalea

Front Desk

  • Delighted to be teaching in her hometown of Roswell, GA, Rebekah began dancing at a young age at the Tolbert-Yilmaz School of Dance and graduated from North Springs High School with the Performing Arts Magnet seal where she trained in Jazz, Musical Theatre, Horton, and a variety of modern techniques. Rebekah went on to the University of Georgia earning a Bachelor of Arts in Dance, focusing on Contemporary and movement theories including Laban Movement Analysis, Creative Movement, and Pedagogy. She has also received foundational training in Dance Movement Therapy principles and loves the role of artistic expression as a source of health and wellbeing for children. 

Board + Staff

Janet

Executive Director

President

Molly

Front Desk

Moriah

Treasurer

Kelle

Secretary

Margaret

First Vice President

James

Board Member

Jennifer

Second Vice President

Jamie

Board Member

Brittney

Front Desk

Anna

Front Desk

Jordan

Board Member

Elizabeth

Board Member