Miss Athena comes to SSSPA as an engineering professional with an artistic side. She has a varied background including musical theater, kick line, marching band, cheerleading and gymnastics. Miss Athena is also the head costumer for shows and has made everything from character costumes to professional tutus. Miss Athena has been with Shining Stars since 2005. She teaches a variety of classes, including kinder theater, lyrical, and acro-contemporary. Newest offering she has in mind as a classical performance tutu maker is a sewing class for dancers this summer and fall 2010-2011. Yes, dancers need how to know how to sew from pointe shoes to repairs of all kinds.
Miss Camille has been dancing for over twenty years, starting as a 3 year old. and teaching for ten years. She is a three time national baton twirling champion in dance twirl, strut and pairs. During high school she was a cheerleader and a pommie. In addition to being on the lacrosse and swim teams in college, she was a cheerleader and a member of the Cottey Repertory Dance Company. Miss Camille has choreographed many dances and musicals, including "Bye Bye Birdie," "Annie," "Fiddler On The Roof," "Carousel," "Music Man," "The Sound Of Music," and "Guys And Dolls." She is currently a choreographer for The Contretemps Elite Ballet Corps and Director of our Eight Count Competition Team that claims has claimed many many first place and other outstanding awards in tap, lyrical , jazz, hip hop and tap. In addition to that Miss Camille teaches ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, tap, and musical theater dance.Miss Camille will shortly be entering into the world of Master's Degree in Child Psych and Develment to pursue a double major Ph.D.
Miss Cheryl has been involved with choreography and dance since she was 16 years old. She has taught dance in this area for over twenty-five years years including ballet, tap, jazz, pointe, choreography, musical theater, history of dance, lifts, partnering and variations. She is currently President and Director of both the Shining Stars School of Performing Arts and The Contretemps Elite Ballet Corps. Miss Cheryl has formerly been Presidents of Laytonsville Elementary School’s PTA, Laytonsville Woman's Club, The National Association of Women Business Owners and a Commissioner for The Commission for Women of Montgomery County and sat on its National Board... She is co-founder of the The National Marfan's Foundation and currently a member of the PEO Sisterhood. In her former life she was a head nurse and supervisor of OSU and U of K Surgical Intensive Care and Open Heart Units, a hunt seat enthusiast, having her best time in that sport as an outrider for the US Olympic Team in Lexington, Kentucky. Miss Cheryl teaches ballet, pre-pointe, pointe, partnering, lyrical, tap, and musical theater..
Mr. Drew has been in tap, jazz, ballet, and baton twirling for over 15 years. Mr. Drew is a Maryland State and Northeast Regional Senior Men's Solo Grand Champion in Men's Solo and Freestyle Baton and a member of the United States Twirling Association's World Team, placing 12th in world championships in Rome as the youngest Senior Man in that competition. Mr. Drew has also been a member of the Contretemps Elite Ballet Corps and has participated in musical theater since he was very little. He teaches teaches hip-hop and twirling.
Miss Katie M.has been teaching dance for over ten years. After training at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York, she continued her study of dance at Cottey College in Nevada, MO, where she obtained an associate of arts degree. In the past, she has been very involved in theater, both on and offstage - as performer, sound director, prop mistress, costumer and more. She has choreographed shows for the Rocky Hill Middle School, Barnesville School Summer Drama Camp, the Hood College Dance Club, the Damascus Theater Company, and several local churches. She recently served as the Artistic Director for the Contretemps Elite Ballet Corps production of "The Last Unicorn" and has served as Producer for "The Little Mermaid," "Alice in Wonderland," and "The Nutcracker." and recently variations for soloists in Sleeping Beauty, exacting Petipa choreography. . She has been a ballet consultant to member of the United States Twirling Association's world team. She also is an attorney specializing in obtaining visas for performing artists. She teaches ballet, pre-pointe, pointe, lyrical, contemporary, modern, partnering, and variations.
Miss Bernadette has been Irish dancing for 14 years. She is currently 9th in the nation and 25th in the world. She has performed in various shows and competitions across the nation and has traveled every year to Ireland to compete in world championships. We are pleased to introduce her to you and very happy to have her expertise and fine teaching skills added to broaden our teaching talent for you. She is now on tour with Lord of the Dance
Miss Sarah E, our awesome Hip Hop Teacher, has been dancing since she was three years old. She has trained four years with Joy of Motion in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, Hip Hop, as well as being on their competition teams, performing at the Kennedy Center. She is a current member of the DCypher Competition Team. She is the Coach for SSSPA's 8 Count Alpha Competition Team.
Miss Tiffany, mother of two little girls an happily married to one of Maryland's finest, has extensive experience in children's productions as well a personal performance history of Musical and drama performances. With a BA in drama and theater arts, Miss T is a teacher of full theater art and its craft with students learning not only on-stage skills, but back and front stage as well. Her students participate as triple threats in dance, vocal and drama. These "theater kids" work on costumes, set design and dressing, house and crew as well.. She is committed to the development of well rounded, well grounded and knowledgeable theater students from auditions to strike. She truly believes that theater belongs to everyone.
Miss Jenn, married to one of our great supporters and character actor, Mr. Joey, has been a dancer and performer since a very early age and teaching for 3 years now with SSSPA. And beautiful performer she has beeh the Repetitor for our recent Sleeping Beauty Ballet as well as dancing the lead as the Lilac Fairy. Miss Jenn teaches all ages in tap, ballet and jazz.
Summer Staff
Miss Jamie a Junior , pursing her Bachelor's Degree in dance, comes in her second year teaching with us, as our summer teacher in ballet, pointe and contemporary teacher. She is technical and assertive in class training, but couples this with a belief that understanding and achieving the ability to communicate to the audience through the artistry and passion of dance is just as important as a perfect balance or tour.
Miss Kate K. now working on ther PhD in Biology is returning to teach some very cool Tap Intensives. A dancer since very young, she is our former tap teacher and we welcome her back for as much time as we can get her to give us.
Miss Sarah L. also a Junior in college is new to us this year and has an extensive expereicne in all dance and theater. Welcome to SSSPA