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Suzanne Hock Vandergrift
Founder and Artistic Director |
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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."
About SPVA
GPA's Theatre & Music Program has now partnered with the passion and vision of Summerfield Performing & Visual Arts, Non-Profit (SPVA) in connecting young theatre artisans with the greater community. Children helping children, inspiring young artists to reach out, that we all can make an difference using our God-given talents and gifts.
SPVA, Non-Profit is a group dedicated to building a community of area artists with a dual purpose: to offer training and performance opportunities for young artists, as well as generating awareness and fund-raising for various other nonprofit organizations, such as Urban Ministry, Children's Home Society of North Carolina, Second Harvest, and Triad Ladder of Hope.
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Emily Adams
Director of Classical Ballet and Pointe |
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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.
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Carla Crotts-Massa
Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip-Hop Instructor |
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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. 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 and the High Point University's dance team. She has also taken classes with master choreographers Frank Hatchett, Dan Karaty, 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 conventions including the Paula Abdul's Company Dance, and the Tremaine Dance Company. |
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Katherine Smith
Voice Instructor and
Musical Theatre Vocal Coach |
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Kate Smith received a Bachelor of Music from the State University of New York at Fredonia and a Master of Music from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Ms. Smith has been private voice instructor for over six years. She strives to create a comfortable environment in which students can learn healthy vocal production, general music education and repertoire preparation.
Her performance experience encompasses opera and musical theatre. She has been seen in such roles as Nella in Gianni Schicchi, Carolina in The Secret Marriage, Madame Goldentrill in The Impressario, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof, and Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors. |
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Caroline Oliveria
Voice Instructor and
Musical Theatre Vocal Coach |
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Caroline Oliveira is currently pursuing her Masters of Music in Vocal Performance at University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She graduated in 2008 with her Bachelor of Arts in Music from Florida State University. In her schooling, she has sung multiple partial and full opera roles, including Adele in Die Fledermaus, Mrs. Gobineau in The Medium, Adina from L'elisir d'amore, and Blonde from from Die Entführung aus dem Serail.
Also being well versed in musical theater, she was most recently Lily Garland in On the Twentieth Century with Theater a la Carte and Ethel Peas in Thoroughly Modern Millie with the Naples Players. Caroline joined the staff at Greensboro Performing Arts in May as a private voice instructor. |
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Rex Griffin
Violin and Guitar Instructor |
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Rex Griffin is a native of Greensboro and has been teaching guitar and violin for over 25 years. Rex studied with guitarist Greg Hyslop and trumpeter Al Neese for many years. He has lead a gypsy jazz band, the Hot Club of North Carolina, for 30 years and has played with greats like Babik Reinhardt (Django Reinhardt's son) and Frank Vignola to name a few. He is now teaching in conjuntion with GPA. For more information on guitar and violin lessons, contact Rex Griffin at 336.317.1730, email django1@embarqmail.com or register online for a consultation. |
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Carmella Fisher
Piano Instructor |
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Carmella Fisher is currently attending the University of North Carolina at Greensboro as a doctoral student in pianoperformance with an emphasis on collaborative piano andaccompanying. Her previous degrees are a B.M. in piano performance at West Virginia University and an M.M. at Ohio University. Between her undergraduate and graduate degrees, she studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. While in Salzburg, she performed in concerts at the Salzburg Summer Music Festival and the Schloss Leopoldskron.
After receiving her master's, Ms. Fisher returned to the Washington, D.C. area and formed a private studio of forty students. She also became an active member of NorthernVirginia Music Teachers Association, entering her students in festivals and competitions regularly and for three years runningthe Bach/Baroque Festival, for which she developed a new component: a competition culminating in an evening concert. She also judged numerous competitions and festivals for the organization.
Along with private teaching, she has also taught group class piano, and during her time in the D.C. area, she was a guest teacher at George Mason High School during their International Baccalaureate exams, helping the students prepare compositions and recordings, for which she accompanied them. As a freelance artist, Ms. Fisher accompanied many students for festivals and competitions, including college students at George Mason University and the University of Maryland. She continues to teach here in Greensboro and accompanies musicians not only within UNCG, but also in the community. She also performs solo at a local church monthly. Last December she performed in the Victorian Christmas Musical with the theatre company Peculiar People. Last summer she accompanied Cinderella with Greensboro Performing Arts and performed in Thoroughly Modern Millie at High Point University in the spring. |
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