Most of our instructors grew up dancing at Center Stage, danced on college teams across North Carolina, and came home to teach the next generation.
Grew up dancing at Center Stage
Leadership
Director
Sandy holds a BS in Dance Education from UNC-Greensboro and an education degree for grades K–6. She has directed Center Stage since the very beginning.
Beyond the studio, Sandy travels the country judging regional and national dance competitions, and she is actively involved in producing the costumes Center Stage dancers wear on stage.
Center Stage alumArtistic Director
A graduate of the Center Stage program, Sydney has performed nationally and internationally since high school: at Santa's Village in New Hampshire and Busch Gardens in Virginia, in a Las Vegas–style dinner show in Guam, and on tour at Madison Square Garden and in Canada, Europe and Australia.
Her numbers consistently place in the top five at regional and national competitions and often rank first overall at regionals. She has won outstanding choreography and most entertaining number awards, with numerous numbers nominated for the Industry Dance Awards.
Instructors
College-trained dancers, award-winning choreographers and, in most cases, Center Stage kids who came home.
Instructor
A longtime Center Stage instructor with 100+ competition trophies, the Mr. Starpower solo title, and a run as a featured dancer at Hersheypark.
Jonathan has been on the Center Stage staff for many years and loves working with dancers of every age. He was featured as a dancer in a South Carolina Lottery commercial, and he travels with dance competitions as a backstage coordinator and, on occasion, a panel judge.
Numbers he has choreographed have earned Industry Dance Awards nominations. He loves cheering on every Center Stage dancer, especially his daughter.
Center Stage alumInstructor
A Center Stage graduate who came home to teach. Logan captained the NC State dance team to a 2nd-place national ranking.
Logan danced in many competition numbers at Center Stage, then earned a BS in Nutrition Science from NC State, where she danced on the NC State dance team and served as captain her senior year.
She has traveled the East Coast choreographing routines for colleges, high schools and studios, and she can't wait to share her passion with Center Stage dancers.
Center Stage alumInstructor · "Miss Kristi"
Miss Kristi danced at Center Stage from age 3 through her senior year and now gets our youngest dancers off to a great start.
Kristi competed at Center Stage and served as a dance assistant here for 8 years. She went on to dance on the Appalachian State University dance team and earned her BS from App State.
She teaches at West Rowan High School, where she has worked with the dance team and cheer squads. Miss Kristi loves going to competitions to cheer on her daughter.
Instructor
An East Carolina graduate with a BFA in Dance Performance & Choreography who also trained at Trinity Laban in London.
Lauren double majored in Dance Performance and Choreography (BFA) and Psychology (BA) at East Carolina University. During college she worked with notable guest artists and attended Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London.
A competition dancer all her life, Lauren is trained in every genre and has a passion for technique. She teaches ballet at Center Stage.
Center Stage alumInstructor
Competed at Center Stage for 12 years, then earned a BFA in Dance Performance & Choreography at East Carolina. Her numbers are regulars in the top scores.
Along with her BFA, Liza double majored in Communications (Media Studies) at ECU. She has choreographed numerous Center Stage numbers that have earned top awards at competition and multiple Industry Dance Awards nominations.
Liza loves creating art and sharing what she learned as a dance major, while still cheering on her lifelong team: CSDC in the house!
Center Stage alumInstructor
A proud Center Stage alum with 20+ years of dance who danced for High Point University's LadyCats and now choreographs for the team.
Jessie earned her bachelor's degree in Special Education from High Point University and is working on her master's there. With the LadyCats she competed at the National Dance Alliance (NDA) Collegiate Nationals.
Her experience as a dancer and performer grew her passion for teaching and mentoring young dancers, and she's grateful to be back at the studio where she started.
Where our team trained
Our instructors bring degrees and college dance team experience from across North Carolina, and beyond.
Every class
Every Center Stage class has a dance assistant alongside the instructor, so your dancer gets more attention and more help, especially the little ones.
Tell us about your dancer and we'll match them with the right class and teacher. New dancers start Monday, January 4, 2027.