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Lance Brittany Jessica Ted Kaitlyn Liz Kaya Amber
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 Formerly trained as a DCS dancer beginning at the age of 6, Brittany performed as a company member until high school graduation in such roles as Clara, Snow Queen and the Sugar Plum Fairy, while attending Joffrey Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, the International Ballet Competition, and Ballet Austin during her summer studies. She continued her artistic education at Kennesaw State University as a Dance Major where she was awarded opportunities to perform with Atlanta Ballet - (Don Quixote, Four Seasons), at the American College Dance Festive Association, on stages such as, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, The Cobb Energy Center, Fabrifaction, and 14th Street Playhouse while she obtained her Bachelor of Arts Degree. After graduating, she professionally danced with Rachel Truitt’s, Gotta Dance Contemporary Company, for several years performing with live rock band accompaniment and the Emmy- nominated, Mad Violinist, before returning to DCS as an instructor. She has had the privilege of teaching for 14 years specializing in ballet technique, pre/pointe work, contemporary, jazz, turns and tricks, and pedagogy. Her choreographic works can be found in the Nutcracker of Cherokee County, Collide, Spring Showcase, Balletfest/Jazz on Tap, and has won numerous awards and accolades at Beyond the Stars, Turn It Up, Mark of Excellence, and Encore dance competitions.
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Kaitlyn Podawiltz is a senior dance major at Kennesaw State University, with a Modern concentration. She started dancing at the age of 2 in Indiana, but moved to Georgia and was a student at Dancentre South for 6 years. Her performance credits include The Nutcracker of Cherokee County, KSU's Dance Company, Disney World, Jazz on Tap, Balletfest Atlanta, SPARK, Riverfest, and was a performer in ADMIX (formerly Gotta Dance Contemporary) in 2018. Kaitlyn has a passion for teaching the upcoming generations of dancers, and helping them grow and acheive their goals, while still achieving her own.
Jessica Washington grew up in the Tampa Bay area where she trained for 12 years at the West Florida Youth Ballet. In her professional career, she performed for nine years as a principal with Patti Rutland Jazz (now Alabama Dance Works). She choreographed many pieces for the company and helped write and create large-scale productions. She continues to set work in metro-Atlanta, choreographing annually for the Nutcracker of Cherokee County and creating new pieces each season for the Dancentre South Company. Jessica received training from the American Ballet Theatre. She is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique and holds a college degree in Musical Theatre. Jessica has been a ballet, jazz, and contemporary teacher for over 16 years and coaches award-winning students for YAGP and other prestigious ballet competitions. She is currently on faculty with Dancentre South and Morningstar Dance Academy.
Lance Washington spent ten years as a principal dancer with the Patti Rutland Jazz company in Dothan, Alabama. He is originally from Chicago, Illinois. He received his professional hip-hop training from Maurice Fulkon in Chicago, Joshua Allen in Texas and Vincent Johnson from Atlanta. His professional credits include industrial television work in Chicago. National awards in choreography include, the Platinum Power Award from Platinum National Dance Competition, . In 2012, Lance made it through to Vegas for the hit television series So You Think You Can Dance. Lance also taught within the Patti Rutland Jazz Arts in Education Outreach program. This is the largest outreach program in the state of Alabama. It includes teaching over 6000 elementary and middle school children weekly. Currently Lance Washington is located in Georgia teaching for, Dancentre South, N-step dance academy, Liburn Dance Academy, and Impact Dance. Lance Washington has also taught for the Jazz on Tap convention in Atlanta, Georgia, hosted by Marcus Alford and Annie Day, and the Alabama Dance Festival. Lance has also taught and danced along side of Rustin Matthew, Phillip "Pacman" Chbeeb, Rob Hoffman, Balta Monkiki, Nick Wilson, Nicole Kirkland,and Jimmy Locust. He also works as a hip-hop choreographer for many other groups throughout the Southeast and has won numerous regional choreography awards. Lance is very excited about how his career is taking him to so many places where he is meeting more and more talented dancers, choreographers and friends.
Amber Boroski is a current dance major at KSU and a graduate of River Ridge High School. Amber was a company dancer with DCS for 14 years. She enjoyed Nutcracker, master classes, performing at Disney, KSU Dance Festival, Jazz on Tap, Balletfest and Collide and Riverfest. Amber also enjoyed assisting DCS classes for many years and is excited to pursue her dream of teaching dance.
Ted Laney is an Acrobatic Arts Certified 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 Theater. 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. Ted 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 Tumbling. Ted travelled the country as a lead adjudicator for Beyond The Stars National Dance Competition and also choreographed the Miss Mississippi Pageant.
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.
Liz 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. Liz has performed in Six Flags Over Georgia’s Fright Fest, with a leading role in the production of CarnEvil, and Holiday In The Park. Liz recently choreographed & starred in Young Atlas’s music video “The Dream.” Liz is also a part of the DCS competition team staff, and has been teaching for 7 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. 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 a DCS alumni currently pursuing her BFA in musical theater.