CDC Staff
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Kelsey Crum:
Co-Founder, Executive Director Email, Phone Extension #705 Originally from Rock Hill, South Carolina, Kelsey studied under the direction of Anne Blackwell with York County Ballet Company as well as technique and repertory under Susan Anderson, Thaddeus Davis, Kyra Strasberg, and Stacey Calvert while at the University of South Carolina. She has attended Ballet Magnificat and Joffrey Ballet Summer Intensives and has performed and studied repertory by David Parsons, Thaddeus Davis, Twyla Tharp, Nathan Trice, Saza Dimmick, and Donald McKayle as well as George Balanchine. She was a member of Columbia’s Jazz and Contemporary Company, “Unbound” and is now a member of Naina Dewan Company where she performs a variety of modern work. Kelsey’s first experience of dance education led her to form a dance program with Westminster Academy of the Arts in Rock Hill. Kelsey has choreographed many theme‐specific contemporary pieces and has worked with numerous public middle and high school dance programs, specifically completing her student teaching at Dreher High School and Hopkins Middle School. Kelsey graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Education as well as Performance and Choreography. Kelsey served as the Director of Carolina Ballet Theatre’s Outreach and Community Engagement Program for 2 years prior to starting Carolina Dance Collaborative. She loves sharing her passion in arts integration and hopes to bring exposure, education, and involvement in dance throughout the different communities in the Carolinas. |
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Alyson Dixon:
Co-Founder, Director of Quality Education, & Instructor Email, Phone Extension #704 Originally from Massachusetts, Alyson started dancing ballet at a young age. She studied under the direction of Jessica Wilson at Ballet Workshop for New England and MetroWest Ballet, and supplemented her training at Boston Ballet, Jose Mateo Ballet Theater and Burklyn Ballet Theater. Alyson received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance Education with K-12 certification from USC in 2013. At USC Alyson performed in Giselle, Celia Rowlson Hall's Cinderella at the Ball, Susan Anderson's Gams Jam, various works by Bill Evan's and many student showcases. In addition she taught and choreographed in local school districts and after-school programs. Upon graduation, Alyson went to study at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London where she received a Postgraduate Diploma in Community Dance. Whilst in London Alyson worked with Corali Dance Company and the Ovalhouse Theatre where she taught and assisted dance classes for disabled adults and children. She also performed in Marina Collard's work Either one way or another. Alyson looks forward to watching the future of dance in Greenville grow through CDC's impact in the community. |
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Julie Stoddard:
Administrative Assistant Email, Phone Extension #0 Julie was the licensed, organizing Director for Classical Conversations of Taylors, SC, a program empowering families with tools for excellence in Christian, classical, homeschooling. She has also been a very successful, independent salesperson and sales team developer. She has worked in the fields of brand promotions and marketing and has contributed to her community with faith based volunteerism. Julie is also a loving, supportive mother to six beautiful, dynamic girls and a grandmother of 4. She has been married to her high school sweetheart for 34 years. Julie has encountered dance for many years as a 'dance mom' whose family valued the fine arts in their education journey (musical, visual, creative writing). She is back in the dance community and is so excited to have joined the CDC team to contribute her organizing skills and communicate with all families that CDC serves in the Carolinas. |
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Stephanie Cureton: Greenville Site Leader and Instructor Email, Phone Extension #702 Stephanie Cureton’s passion for dance was sparked at the age of 3 in Fort Knox, KY. After moving back to Greenville, SC she started her training with Barbara English at English Theatre Arts. She graduated from the South Carolina Governor's School for Arts and Humanities in the dance pre-professional program. While there she studied ballet, pointe, and modern under the direction of Llyod Whitmore, Irina Ushakova, and Stanislav Issaev. She then went on to receive her BA in Dance/Psychology from Agnes Scott College. While there she studied Ballet, Martha Graham Modern Technique, Jazz, and Labanotation under Bridget Roosa. Not only did she perform in Studio Dance Theatre, the school's dance company, she also choreographed several pieces for the company. She has choreographed and performed for local projects both in Atlanta and Greenville. Currently she’s the Greenville Site Leader with Carolina Dance Collaborative where she teaches and coordinates CDC’s YMCA, Adaptive, and Summer Camp programming. She also teaches at 3D Center of the Arts and English Theatre Arts as well as is a freelance performer and choreographer. |
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Alexa Soosaar started her dancing career at the age of two in her hometown of Asheville, North Carolina. She trained at Center Stage Performing Company for 15 years and competed in numerous competitions around the country. Throughout her time at Center Stage she attended multiple workshops, intensives, and summer programs under professional dancers from around the country. She continued her passion of dance into college where she joined the University of North Carolina Wilmington's Dance Company and became the Co-President. Through this experience, she was able to direct and choreograph for over one hundred dancers, as well as organize multiple showcases. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Special Education, Adaptive Curriculum and went on to teach 3rd-5th graders with moderate to severe disabilities for 3 years. Her two greatest passions in life are advocating and working with individuals with disabilities and dancing! She is excited to be able to share her appreciation of dance with an amazing organization like CDC and bring dance opportunities to the Triangle area of North Carolina!
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Sara Lane:
Performance Director Sara graduated cum laude from Oklahoma City University with a Bachelors of Science in Dance Management. She performed with Oklahoma City University’s American Spirit Dance Company and has been involved in the production of the American Spirit Dance Company’s performances. Sarah has been teaching dance since 2007 for various dance studios such as the Community Dance Center at Oklahoma City University. She was awarded with pedagogy accomplishments as a student at OCU and has worked as an assistant dance and cheer coach at Neosho County Community College. Sarah was the former head dance and cheer coach at Newman University in Wichita, Kansas and worked as the Program Director for dance, cheer, and gymnastics for the Greater Wichita YMCA in El Dorado, KS. She looks forward to the opportunity to continue sharing her love of the performing arts with others. |
