Our Faculty

Suzanne Hock Vandergrift is a native of Raleigh, North Carolina. In 1996 she received a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with secondary studies in vocal performance and dance. Not only is Suzanne an experienced teacher – having taught music, dance, gymnastics and theatre arts at other artistic institutions in NC for the past 15 years, she also has a extensive performance background in musical theatre as a dancer, singer, actress and accompanist. Suzanne has taught both MUSIKGARTEN© and Orff Scheulwerk©, and is currently completing the Dalcroze Eurhythmics Certification at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. Other specialized classes include the Zena Rommett Floor Barre© and the Lynn Simonson Jazz Technique©, also taught by our school director, Suzanne Vandergrift, who is certified in these methods practiced by professional dancers worldwide.

In August 2003, Suzanne partnered with Harald Petrini and David Tolbert from Pleasant Ridge Christian Fellowship in their vision to develop and grow a community Fine Arts Program that celebrated God through the arts. In September 2008, at the closing of Pleasant Ridge Fine Arts Academy, Suzanne, along with a dynamic community of teachers, ventured out to continue their vision at Greensboro Performing Arts. God has been incredibly faithful to their vision and the academy now has grown to over 250 students involved in Music, Dance & Theatre Classes, led by the giftings of our five dance instructors and five music teachers.

"God gave rhythm, experienced in the simple, steady pulse of a heartbeat, which inherently draws people to music and movement like nothing else can. Everyone can dance and it is my passion to create an atmosphere in which children and adults, boys and girls can freely learn to express themselves and worship through movement and dance."

Emily Adams has dedicated a lifetime to the performance, choreography, and pedagogy of classical ballet. A BFA Ballet undergraduate of the N.C. School of the Arts and a MFA Drama & Theatre Graduate from the University of Hawaii, Emily pursued her New York professional training with master teachers Igor Schwezoff, Igor Youskevitch, Leon Danilien, Benjamin Harkarvy & Margaret Craske. She performed nationally with the New York Ballet Repertory Company, performing as a soloist in Jose Limon's La Malinche, Anne Sokolow's Ballade, Raymonda, Swan Lake & Napoli, other professional credits include the New York Chamber Dance Ensemble, Hawaii Dance Theatre, John Davidson's mid-Atlantic tour of Oklahoma and the Duo Ridels Dance & Comedy Team. She has been on the dance facilities of Radford College, New York State University, and the University of NC at Greensboro.

Emily has produced choreography for the Chapel Hill Ballet, the Greensboro Ballet, Busch Garden Dancers, N.C. Shakespeare Festival, and UNCG's productions of Pippin, Pirates of Penzance, Oklahoma, and Camelot. Emily's contribution to the local & state dance community have been through grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the N.C. Arts Council, and the United Arts Council of Greensboro to product the Greensboro Ballet Festival in the 1980's. Prior to joining the Greensboro Performing Arts, she directed the Ballet Arts Studio in Greensboro for nineteen years.

Carla Crotts-Massa grew up dancing throughout NC and the US. Her educational background includes a BS in Biology from High Point University and graduate coursework in Physical Therapy from Winston-Salem University. She has also completed graduate work in Education. Carla began her dance career at the age of 2 at her father‘s disco club in Winston Salem, NC. She then continued to study ballet, tap, and jazz, lyrical, pointe, and hip-hop under the direction of Sheryl Patton at Dance Connection in Greensboro, NC from 1986 – 2006. Her studies also include ballet and modern at the Center for Advancement Studies at Southwest Guilford High School , the Dance department at UNCG and High Point University‘s dance team. She has also taken classes with master choreographers Frank Hatchett, Laurie Johnson and Liz Imperio just to name a few.

She worked with Jared Grimes for many years and competed in numerous dance competitions including Showstoppers, Star Systems, and Marvona. Carla has taught dance to all ages, from age 3 to adult, and coached many dance and cheerleading teams. Carla has an extensive performance background and has attended numerous conventions including the Paula Abdul‘s Company Dance, the Tremaine Dance Company, among many others. She has also choreographed dozens of musicals. 

Carla is the founder and director of GPA’s “Triad Tap Company”. She founded the company in 2012. Carla’s passion for Tap Dance includes sharing her love of tap with future generations so that this amazing American art form can live on through Historic repertoire and classic technique.  Carla students perform multiple times throughout the year and also attend numerous Tap Festivals.  Carla teaches Broadway and Rhythm styles along with music theory and improv technique. Carla loves to Sing, Act, and Dance. If you want to be a well rounded performer, come and take class with her! 

Terri B. Rooks began her classical ballet training at the Virginia Ballet Company under the instruction of Tatiana Rousseau—a pupil of Madame Olga Preobrajenska, and a principal of Paris’ Le Theatre des Champs Elysees—and Oleg Tupine—a principal and sensation of the Ballet Russe. Broadening this training at summer intensive programs at the School of American Ballet and the Joffrey Ballet School, she went on to study and perform at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, BFA, under Joseph Levinoff and Emily Adams. While at the University(cum laude), she was a soloist and choreographer. For more than 25 years, Terri has traveled extensively across the country as a judge for Showstopper: American Dance Championships, the first dance competition for young dancers in the United States. Her considerable ballet technique knowledge has served her well, as she has judged with professionals from Broadway stages, Hollywood, and national and international ballet companies.

Terri has taught and choreographed as a guest artist at various dance schools in North Carolina. All the while, Terri has worked as an editor for publications such as Delta Air Lines’ Sky magazine, US Airways Magazine, AAA Traveler, and Conversations, the publication for Wells Fargo’s wealth investors. Her articles about dance, the arts and culture have been enjoyed by international readers. Terri lives in High Point, North Carolina with her husband of 32 years. She has three grown children who do not dance, so she loves to celebrate the performances and accomplishments of dancers everywhere.

After graduating from the eight years professional ballet training program at Kiev State Choreographic Academy in Ukraine, Ms. Onipko was first invited to join the Kiev Ballet and Opera Theater for Youth and, two years later, the National Ballet of Ukraine with which she toured Europe and the United States, while performing in Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, La Bayadere, Giselle, La Sylphide, Romeo and Juliette, Spartacus, and The Nutcracker. Ms. Onipko was also fortunate to be one of the first dancers who took a part of Alexei Ratmansky’s, currently artist in residence at the American Ballet Theater, early choreographic works. In 1996, Ms. Onipko joined Ballet El Paso and soon became the company’s principal dancer, appearing as a lead in The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote and Pulcinella. Simultaneously, she was performing as a guest artist with New Mexico Ballet, Dallas Metropolitan Ballet, El Paso Opera Company and El Paso Symphony Orchestra. In 2002, Ms. Onipko received her BFA in Dance and graduated with honors from the University of Texas at El Paso.

Ms. Onipko’s twenty plus years of teaching experience includes the University of Texas Ballet Academy, Marry Jo’s Performing Arts Academy in Tampa, University for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, and Dmitri Kulev Classical Ballet Academy in Orange County, California where she held a position of the principal lower academies and a senior teacher. Her choreography credits include the Assistant to the Director for the El Paso Ballet and the Children’s Ballet Theatre Project in Fort Lauderdale. Several of Ms. Onipko’s ensemble pieces have been advanced to the Finals of Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) in New York City. Besides teaching Ballet, Pointe and Character dance, Ms. Onipko has completed a Graduate course at the Connecticut Institute of Children’s Literature and published her first historical fiction novel “Prelude to Ballet”.

Abigail Ray Davidson is a dancer, teacher and choreographer born and raised in North Carolina. A graduate from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, under the direction of Susan Jaffe, Abigail graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance with a concentration in Contemporary. She has studied the techniques of Cunningham, Limón, Release, Horton, Giordano Jazz, Cecchetti and ABT syllabus. Abigail has taught and choreographed at various locations including UNCSA's Preparatory Program from 2015-2017, Arts Alive Fine Arts Studio, Burlington Dance Center, New Garden Friends School and Greensboro Performing Arts. In addition, she has performed and choreographed music videos and enjoys that creative outlet as well as teaching master classes locally. Abigail is passionate about teaching dance, allowing a space for creativity and has loved seeing the impact the art of dance can bring to a community. 

Michael Job brings over 25 years of professional experience as a dancer, ballet teacher and choreographer to the Greensboro area. Michael was a Principal Dancer with the Boston Ballet, Atlanta Ballet and the Dallas Ballet. Michael also danced with the Hubbard Street Dance Company, The Dutch National Ballet, Houston Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballet Theater. As Principal Dancer, Michael performed a diverse classical and contemporary repertoire including principal roles in Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Giselle, Les Sylphides, La Sylphide, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Raymonda, Le Sacre Du Pretemps, Etudes, Napoli, Concerto Barocco, Tchaikovsky Pas De Deux, Square Dance, Scotch Symphony, Allegro Brilliante, Pas De Dix, Bourree Fantasque, La Sonambula, etc. Following his performing career, Michael served as a faculty instructor at The Juilliard School, STEPS on Broadway, The Washington School of Ballet, and Southwest Ballet Center. Michael also served as Ballet Master of The Dayton Ballet as well as Director of The Dayton Ballet School and Dayton Ballet II. As a guest instructor and choreographer, Michael taught and staged classics and original works for the University of Oklahoma, Wright State University, The Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, Southwest Ballet Center, University of Northern Colorado, University of Southwest Louisiana, The David Taylor Dance Company and the Syracuse University Summer Dance Intensive. Michael owes his career and his enduring love for ballet to his teachers, Joan Kunsch, Bill Martin Viscount, Ann Burton, Joyce Cuoco, Nicolas Petrov, Frederick Franklin, Edward Caton, James Clouser, Nicolas and Ann Polajenko, Ben Stevenson, Rudi Van Dantzig, Robert Joffrey, Maria Grande, Sally Bliss, Finis Jhung, George Skibine, Marjorie Tallchief, Maria Tallchief, Robert Barnett, Larry Long, Anna Marie Holmes, Bruce Marks and Benjamin Harkarvy.

Dom Alexis Sebastian is a technically informed artist trained in various degrees of street dances, social grooves, and contemporary techniques. He holds a Dance BFA and Drama Minor from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) and is certified in Bartenieff Fundamentals. From a young age, Alexis learned rhythm & groove from dancing to soul music with his mother. He first entered the environment of a dance studio at the age of 17. In 2012, Dom-Sebastian became the first Hip-Hop instructor to ever teach at ADF’s Samuel H. Scripps Studios. From 2012 to 2014, under the direction of former Pilobolus Dancer, Gaspard Louis, Dom-Sebastian fine-tuned his contact dance and partnering skills as a collaborator with Gaspard & Dancers. Alexis has been fortunate to share his talents, skills, and knowledge in amazing cities across the globe such as New York, Atlanta, London, Orlando, and Los Angeles. In his personal and professional life, he lives by the code “teaching as a student and learning as a professional.

Victoria LeBaron joined the GPA family as a theatre student in 2012 and has been a dedicated member of the Greensboro Performing Arts family ever since. After graduating from Greensboro College in 2020 with a BA in Theatre (emphasis in Acting and Directing), she has taught Acting, Musical Theatre and Musikgarten at GPA in addition to running the Drama Program at New Garden Friends School. She has directed many musicals including The Addams Family, The Little Mermaid Jr, James & The Giant Peach Jr and A Year with Frog & Toad Kids. She has also directed plays such as Charlotte’s Web, 15 Reasons Not To Be In A Play, Just Like Us and Step On A Crack. 

In 2021, Victoria stepped into her role as Office Manager and DOFI (Director of First Impressions). With strong organizational and social skills, she helps all incoming families find the perfect class for their schedules and goals. Victoria loves, and in return, is loved by everyone she meets. If you call the studio at 336-549-2228, you can expect to hear the joy and excitement she has for all of our Performing Arts Programs. 

Kaitlyn Moss is a graduate of Greensboro College, class of 2013. She has a B.A. in Theatre with an Acting Emphasis. She also completed minors in Music and Dance. For several years, she was an intern at The Green Room's Summer Shakespeare Theatre Institute in her hometown of Newton, NC. Kaitlyn also completed an internship at Theatre West Virginia in 2011. She performed in the regional premier of "O Guru, Guru, Guru or why I don't want to go to yoga class with you." The show was originally produced at the Humana Festival for New American Plays. After nearly a decade of working behind the scenes, she returned to the stage in the North Carolina premier of "Escape to Margaritaville" in 2022. She has been a part of the Musical Theatre staff at GPA since 2013 and is so proud to see the growth of the program and its students continue each and every year.

Cassie Jessica (CJ) Bryant, discovered a love of performance at a young age, and decided to go to school to study Theatre. She graduated with honors from Berea College, where some of her favorite roles were Catherine in Proof, Alcyone in Metamorphoses, Buckingham in Richard III, and Mollie in The Mousetrap. She went on to intern in the wardrobe department at Merry-Go-Round Theatre in Auburn, New York, and was a touring actor with AD Players Theatre in Houston, Texas. She continued to work both onstage and backstage in various productions after moving back to NC. Some of her favorite professional performances are The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Victorian Christmas, and 15 Minute Hamlet. After taking a step back from the fast paced world of acting to raise a family, CJ discovered an unexpected love of teaching!

She spent the next 10+ years teaching theatre. These classes included acting, monologues, theatre makeup, and stage combat. She joined GPA in 2017 and has stage managed and directed many musicals including Madagascar, Newsies, Frozen, Once Upon a Mattress, Schoolhouse Rock,The Little Mermaid, and James and the Giant Peach. She has also worked on non musicals including The Actor‘s Nightmare, 15 Reasons Not To Be In A Play, The Interview Show, Appropriate Audience Behavior, The Velveteen Rabbit, Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon, and Art. Along with her classes, CJ is also passionate about working on the costumes, makeup, and stage combat for our various shows. You can usually find CJ repairing a split seam, reviewing another script, looking up new improv games, or heating up rice for her daughters in the kitchen.

Collin McCrea is a teacher, performer and director who graduated from UNC Greensboro with a masters degree in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy. His main teaching focuses are helping students find their own unique sound in a healthy and efficient manner, and helping foster healthy relationships with one‘s own voice. He has performed in numerous shows such as playing Tobias Ragg in Sweeney Todd, Thomas Rakewell in The Rake‘s progress, and Monostatos in The Magic Flute. Collin has studied and worked with numerous professionals in the classical and musical theater industry, including Jake Heggie, Allan Glassman, Dr. Robert Wells, Robert Swensen, Anthony Laciura, Mary Huff, Genevieve Ellis and Glen Cortese. He has also assistant directed Carmen with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, directed the world premiere of respawn_object_infinite<\o>, a series of mini operas composed by composition students at SUNY Fredonia, and continues to music direct shows here at Greensboro Performing Arts.

Eli Wittmann is a musician, performer, and teacher residing in the Greensboro area. His passion for music stems from playing guitars, keyboards, and drums that were around the house when he was a kid. Teaching and performing music professionally was a central focus for him as early as high school, where he started playing with local jazz and rock groups while teaching guitar and drum students. Pursuing a Bachelors degree in Jazz Performance from UNCG was a great source of inspiration and fostered his creative, as well as technical, skills in many areas of music. Since graduating, he’s performed in venues all over the US and in parts of Canada with touring acts, recorded guitar on albums such as the Shambles ‘Shamblevania’ and Chuck Etchersons ‘This way out’,  and held regular shows with his own groups in Greensboro and surrounding areas. He’s currently a faculty member at Elon University’s dance department where he provides live music for dancers in a lively class setting. Eli is passionate about teaching, and is open to working with students of all ages and skill levels. 

Jacob Anflick is a 4th generation percussionist and graduate of Greensboro College, Class of 2013. He has a B.A. in Music with an emphasis in Percussion. His experience includes performances, masterclasses, private lessons and recitals. He has had the pleasure of playing with International Jazz icon’s Chris Murrell and Reggie Workman, and playing festivals such as the International Jazz and Blues festival in High Point along with many others. His love of music has always drawn him to help inspire younger musicians. He’s helped teach the John Coltrane Jazz workshop for multiple years as well as several local Jazz Bands and Drumlines. Currently Jacob is working with the Tap Dance classes to help them understand the history of Tap and the rhythm as well as playing for Hip Hop classes and Musical Theater performances.