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Lance Brittany Jessica Ted Kaitlyn Hannah Kaya
Brooke Hatch
Owner/Artistic Director
Dancentre South Studios
Dancentre South Company
has been on the Dancentre South, Inc. staff since 1999 and has been a DCS dancer since the studio opened in 1993. She teaches tap, jazz, ballet and acrobatics and her choreography, on the Dancentre South Company, has been performed at DisneyWorld, Orlando, FL; Panoply Festival of the Arts, Huntsville, AL; Piccolo-Spoleto, Charleston, SC and the Hagen Opera House, Hagen, Germany. Ms. Hatch danced professionally in industrials for IBM, Clark Publishing and the Soaring Eagle Casino. Ms. Hatch recently received her certification from Acrobatic Arts , is a member of the Chicago National Association of Dance Masters (CNADM) and has taught for many organizations including the Southern Association of of Dance Masters (SADM), Birmingham Ballet and Southern Keyboards where she taught musical theatre.
Brittany Allyn Pierce holds a B.A. degree in Dance from Kennesaw State University. She attended summer ballet intensives at Ballet Austin, The Joffrey Ballet and The International Ballet Competition. As a member of the KSU Dance Company, Brittany performed in Ivan Pulinkala's CHAKRA, and attended the American College Dance Festival Association to perform the work at the national level in the Kennedy Center, Washington, DC. Brittany has participated in the Kennesaw State University/Atlanta Ballet collaboration by performing a Kennesaw State's student piece entitled, rEVOLUTION in the Ballet's rendition of Four Seasons and participated in Atlanta Ballet's presentation of Don Quixote. She was a principal dancer in metro Atlanta with Gotta Dance Contemporary, performing various contemporary and ballet works throughout the city. Ms. Hawes has served on the faculty of BalletFest Atlanta Summer Academy and has trained at Chicago National Association of Dance Masters Teacher's Training Seminar. Since becoming a Dancentre South staff member in 2011, she has contributed choreography and staging to the annual production of The Nutcracker of Cherokee County and her other choreographic works have been showcased in both Jazz on Tap and BalletFest Atlanta. Currently, with the rise of the Atlanta EDM music scene, she has had the privilege of dancing for, but not limited to: Alison Wonderland, Avicci, Bonnie x Clyde, Cash Cash, Cazzette, Dada Life, David Guetta, Hardwell, Knife Party, Krewella, Nervo, Showtek, and Tritonal.
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Kaitlyn Podawiltz is a junior at Kennesaw State University, majoring in dance and business. She started dancing at the age of 2 in Osceoloa, IN. After 12 years at Debbie Werbrouck's School of Dance, she moved to Georgia and began dancing at Dancentre South. Kaitlyn's performance credits include Disney World, The Nutcracker of Cherokee County, Christopher's Christmas, Roofsit, Osceola Blue Grass Festival, Riverfest, Jazz On Tap, BalletFest Atlanta, SPARK Summer Dance Intensive, CNADM and various other productions.
Hannah Yaklin is a teacher and performer who has been dancing for 17 years, and was a DCS dancer for 6 years. Her performance credits include The Nutcracker of Cherokee County, Disney World, Balletfest Atlanta, Jazz on Tap, Zombiefest, Panoply Festival of the Arts, Riverfest and she was a student performer in Gotta Dance Atlanta Contemporary’s production of Surface. Hannah has performed in Six Flags Over Georgia’s Fright Fest, with a leading role in the production of CarnEvil, and Holiday In The Park. Hannah has been teaching for 5 years and is passionate about inspiring and sharing her passion and love of dance to the next generation of dancers.
Kaya Waller Kaya Waller grew up in Buford, GA, where she started her dance training at the age of 10. Since then, she has trained in various styles and has continued her training at Kennesaw State University where she is currently studying for a B.A. in Dance with a Modern concentration. She currently performs as a member of the KSU Dance Company and RISK Contemporary Dance Company in Atlanta. Kaya's passion for dance lies within teaching and helping her students grow, as well as growing alongside them.
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Bridgett Bruderer (Front Office) has been with DCS over 20 years. She came to DCS in 1999 as an adult tapper and soon started helping out at the front desk. Bridgett started dancing at 7 years old, danced through college and with DCS adult classes when she and her husband moved here. She also plays Grandma in Nutcracker. She enjoys all aspects of office administration and working with our parents and staff, making sure everyone has everything they need. Bridgett's daughter is currently a DCS company dancer.
Jessica Washington is originally from the Tampa Bay area where she trained in classical ballet for twelve years at West Florida Youth Ballet, Florida West Ballet, and Suarez-Moreno Academy of Dance. She studied under Jessica Davies, Esther Suarez-Moreno and Mark Anthony Jelks, and was awarded many leading roles in productions such as The Nutcracker , Sleeping Beauty, and Jasmine and the Arabian Nights. Jessica has spent the past thirteen years in Dothan, Alabama, where she was a principal dancer for nine seasons with the multifaceted professional company, Patti Rutland Jazz., which presents three full-length productions per year. Jessica has become well known in the Wiregrass for her leading role of "Jessica Jingle" in the annual holiday hit Santa's Workshop. From 2012-2017, Jessica was also a teacher for BEYONDance. The program is the largest weekly outreach in the state of Alabama and provides dance education through the school system to over 8,000 children per week. In 2014, Jessica along with 2,000 elementary school kids earned a spot in the Guinness Book of Records for the world’s largest hip-hop dance. In addition to dancing, Jessica also enjoys acting and singing and has performed in several college theatre productions, including Alice Through the Looking Glass (The Unicorn) and Shakespeare’s The Tempest (Prospera).
While she has evolved into a well-rounded performing artist, Jessica’s first love will always be ballet, and she finds her ultimate joy in teaching this classical art form. She has taught at many studios in south Alabama and north Florida, and is in demand for private lessons among dedicated dancers as well as musical theater students.
Lance Washington is originally from Chicago, Illinois. He received his professional hip-hop training from Maurice Fulkon, Joshua Allen, Vincent Johnson, and Tight Eyes. He has spent the past decade in Dothan, Alabama choreographing and performing as a principal dancer in the multi-genre professional company, Patti Rutland Jazz. Throughout his time with PRJ Lance trained weekly in ballet, jazz, contemporary, modern, and hip-hop, and presented up to four full-length productions per season. Professional credits include industrial television work in Chicago, as well as teaching master classes for many conventions, such as Jazz on Tap and SPARK (hosted by Marcus Alford and Annie Day), the Alabama Dance Festival, and RA Movement. Lance is a featured guest teacher for workshops at studios across the southeast United States, including Cary Ballet Conservatory (NC), Dance Theatre of Dalton (GA), and Studio by the Sea (FL). He has taught and danced alongside Rustin Matthew, Phillip “Pacman” Chbeeb, Rob Hoffman, Balta Monkiki, Nick Wilson, Nicole Kirkland, and Jimmy Locust.
Lance is well known for his creativity in choreography. His work is intricate, energetic, and always entertaining. His competitive numbers consistently earn many awards, including the Platinum Power Award from Platinum National Dance Competition, which also earned his crew the opportunity to be featured on the front cover for the Platinum Dance Convention brochure. Lance has also set choreography for Southeast Alabama Community Theatre’s production of Peter Pan, Jr. and the Wallace Community College show choir, The Wallace Sound. In 2011, Lance made it through to Vegas for the hit television series So You Think You Can Dance. He was also a popular teacher for BEYONDance for nine years. This program is the largest weekly outreach in the state of Alabama and provides dance education through the school system to over 8,000 children per week. In 2014, Lance along with 2,000 elementary school kids earned a spot in the Guinness Book of Records for the world’s largest hip-hop dance. Lance has been on faculty at numerous studios in south Alabama and north Florida, such as Panama City Dance Academy, A Time to Dance (Navarre, FL), Dothan School of Dance, Enterprise School of Dance, and Patti Rutland Jazz Dance Center.
Ted Laney is an Acrobatic Arts Certified Instructor with 20 years of dance experience and a captivating method of teaching that has proven to bring amazing results for dancers and tumblers all over the world. Though Acro is his specialty, Mr. Laney is highly trained in Ballet, Jazz, Tap and Musical Theatre. Before planting his roots as a teacher and choreographer, he spent many years performing professionally as a singer and dancer. The Emmy award-winning Miss MS Pageant, Dollywood Theme Park, Sydney’s Mardi Gras Festival (Australia), Elvis Lives National Tour and the longest running show on the Las Vegas Strip, Legends In Concert are a few of the shows he has been featured in. He also travelled the world onboard many ships with Norwegian, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and also worked as assistant choreographer for Stiletto Entertainment where he taught and installed production shows for Holland America Line.
Because of dance, this “small town boy” has seen all 7 continents twice and has worked with music industry icons including Liza Minelli, Aretha Franklin and Dolly Parton. These performing experiences have exposed Ted to many unique dance styles and techniques and have allowed him to work with some of the best choreographers in the business. His teaching styles include Jazz, Tap, Lyrical, Contemporary, Musical Theatre, Jazz-Funk, Acrobatics and Power Tumbling. His passion for dance and choreography has been shared with dancers in classes and conventions throughout the US and Australia. Ted is currently a highly sought after instructor and choreographer in the Atlanta area. When not teaching classes at DCS and other Atlanta area studios, Ted travels the country as a lead adjudicator for Beyond The Stars National Dance Competition and also teaches Technique Master Classes for BTS Dance Conventions across the US.
Marcus Alford and Annie Day
Founders, Former Artistic Directors
Dancentre South Studios
Dancentre South Company
husband and wife team Marcus and Annie founded Dancentre South studio and company in 1993. Marcus holds a B.A. degree in Dance and Business from the University of Alabama and choreographed, taught, and toured with the legendary Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago for a decade. He has served on the Dance faculty at Kennesaw State University.
Annie graduated from Butler University, Indianapolis, IN earning a B.A. degree in Dance. Together they have been on the faculty of every major dance organization including D.M.A., International Tanz Werkstatt, Boston Dance Teachers Club, and D.E.A. Their classes have inspired students at The International Ballet Competition, Jackson, MS; The American College Dance Festival, Festival of the World in Hungary, Hubbard Street Dance Studio, Wake Forest University, Lexington School for the Deaf and the North Carolina School of the Arts.
Alford and Day are the founders and former directors of DanceFest, Inc. Their Dancentre South alums are working in the business directing their own companies, teaching, and performing in all aspects. In 2003, Chicago National Association of Dance Masters chose them as the recipients of their Lifetime Achievement Award.
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Annie and Marcus continue to advise and guide the path of Dancentre South, seeking to steer its staff, families and dancers on the road to continued success.
