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."

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! 

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. 

Mollie Sansone began her ballet training in North Carolina with Melissa Hale- Coyle, Claudia Folts, Lisa Leone, and Rebecca Massey. She attended various summer programs, including the Joffrey Midwest Workshop, the Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory, and Atlanta Ballet. Sansone’s professional career began with Nashville Ballet in 2004. She performed many works by renowned choreographers during her nineteen-year tenure, such as Paul Vasterling, Jirí Kylián, George Balanchine, Christopher Bruce, Salvatore Aiello, Val Caniparoli, Cathy Marston, and Stephen Mills. Her most notable lead roles include Juliet in Vasterling’s Romeo and Juliet, Lizzie in Vasterling’s Lizzie Borden, the Survivor in Mills’ Light, The Chosen One in Aiello’s Right of Spring, the Turning Girl in Balanchine’s Who Cares? and the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Dew Drop Fairy in Vasterling’s Nashville’s Nutcracker.

Sansone has taught dance for over two decades, for a wide variety of age groups, experience levels, and arts organizations. Most prominently, she was a School of Nashville Ballet part-time faculty member. She also taught classes for Nashville Ballet’s main and second company. As a choreographer, Sansone premiered her first original work for Nashville Ballet 2 in 2019. She choreographed other works on the main company such as Bootleg Sugar Lips and Fortitudine, among others. She later became Resident Choreographer of Nashville Ballet in 2022. In the summer of 2023, she attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts’ Choreographic Institute. As a répétiteur, Sansone set Vasterling’s Cinderella on Sacramento Ballet.

Kayla Jackson is a freelance, professional dancer and dance educator who resides in the Winston Salem area. As a recent graduate from The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), where Kayla obtained her BFA in contemporary dance, she has found a desire for integrating performance opportunities while continuing to teach. From collaborating with guest and faculty choreographers, Emily Nicolau, Wesley Williams, Trey McIntyre, Savannah Spratt, to studying under Brenda Daniels, Ashley Lindsey, Kira Blazek Ziaii, and Angelina Sansone, Kayla has received a diverse range of training at UNCSA. Since graduating, she has attended intensives and classes to further enhance her continued education. As a freelance dancer, Kayla recently had the opportunity to work with Boise, Idaho’s own Lauren Edson, the founder and artistic director of the professional dance company, “LED”, where she performed two new evening-length works last year. Kayla is thrilled to be working with such an amazing group of students and staff at Greensboro Performing Arts. She is delighted to have an opportunity to encourage and work with the ballet and contemporary students this year.

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.

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.

Jessamina Piazza is from Las Vegas Nevada. She grew up doing competition dance beginning at the age of 2. In 2019 she moved to Winston-Salem to attend UNCSA for the high school classical ballet program. She graduated in 2022 and began attending High Point University studying psychology and dance. She graduated from HPU in May of 2026, and is currently working at Bailey and Thomas PA doing estate planning and estate administration paralegal work along with both client and firm accounting. At GPA she is teaching adult ballet and modern and hoping to take on more classes soon! In her free time she enjoys reading, cooking, spending time with friends and family, and spending time at the beach!

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.

Meleysha Wooten is a recent graduate of UNCSA with a B.F.A. with a concentration in Contemporary Dance. 

Miss Wooten is an accomplished North Carolina-based artist with over 16 years of experience in the world of dance. Her passion for movement began at the age of 12 at Studio 33 Dance Company, where she received rigorous technical training. Growing up in La Grange, Meleysha was deeply inspired by her aunt’s liturgical and West African dance performances, which helped shape her artistic foundation.

In 2021, Meleysha furthered her commitment to dance by pursuing a BFA at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. There, she trained extensively in a wide range of techniques, including Cunningham, Tap, Clogging, Jazz, Musical Theater, Hip Hop, Partnering, Composition, Ballet, West African, Counter Technique, Horton, Limón, and Graham.

A milestone in her academic career came when she was featured in UNCSA’s first-ever main stage West African production. This historic performance not only highlighted the richness of West African dance traditions but also marked a significant step in diversifying the school’s artistic repertoire. Her role in the production reflected her dedication to bridging traditional and contemporary forms through powerful, expressive storytelling.

Beyond performance, Meleysha is also a passionate choreographer and educator. She is now a registered behavior therapist and in grad school to become a mental health counselor with a focus on working with individuals in art fields. She works with dancers across the U.S, teaching and mentoring students ages 2 to 90yrs. Her choreography is a vibrant tapestry of styles, seamlessly blending her technical skills and cultural influences into a unique and expressive voice.

With every movement, Meleysha continues to explore the limitless possibilities of dance—sharing her story, her heritage, and her heart through boundless creativity.

Calvin Richardson is a guitarist, arranger, composer, and educator based in NC. Currently,  he is a fourth-year jazz performance major at UNCG and will graduate next spring. He  enjoys teaching locally and performing with his own groups, such as jazz groups the CR Trio, leading the CR Quartet, and the local rock band Ad Lib. He also enjoys performing as a sideman with  other groups, including Act of Love, the John Brown Little Big Band, September: an Earth, Wind, and Fire Tribute, and SouLe and the SuperBand.

The CR Quartet was recently honored when one of the members, saxophonist Angel McCray, won a 2025 Downbeat Student Music Award for Outstanding Soloist in the Small Group category. The winning recording featured Angel performing with the CR quartet. Cal was also recently honored to be selected to participate in the 2025 Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead program, hosted by the Kennedy Center. Cal uses his different musical experiences to inform his teaching approach, which is flexible and catered to each individual student’s interests.

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”.

Taylor Heritage is a senior in high school and has been dancing since she was three years old. She has been a substitute and an assistant for dance classes, and she is excited to teach her own class! She is looking forward to pursuing a career in the performing arts.

Nicole Smith is a versatile singer with a range of songs as diverse as her background. Her style ranges from jazz standards and popular songs, to classical arias and gospel music. Nicole has performed with civic choirs such as CORO! (not just another chorus), under the direction of the late Dr. John-Scott Moir, sharing the stage with Barbara DeMaio Caprilli, former Prima Donna of The La Scala Opera in Milan; and Exultate!, including the recording “Joy to the World”, a collection of Christmas music, and excerpts from Handel’s Messiah. As a musical theater performer, Nicole was cast to play the role of Sophie Tucker in The Black Orchid: The Josephine Baker Story, in 2009 for the Urban Spectrum Theater Company. She has also performed with Broadway artists such as Eugene Fleming, Billy Johnstone, Peggy O’Connell, Kerry Casserly, Chrissy Whitehead, and Stephanie Zimbalist.

Nicole studied voice at Mankato State University, under Dr. Diana Moxness, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Music degree. She continued her studies with Vocal Instructor, Susan Kosel (Minnesota Opera) at the Lundstrum Center for the Performing Arts in Minneapolis. She has also studied privately with Shannon Kessler Dooley (Metropolitan Opera). Nicole has performed as a soloist with The Wilmington Symphony Orchestra and served as Principal Soprano at various churches for 12 years. She was a featured performer at the City of Wilmington’s 275th Anniversary celebration, and she performed monthly at Ted’s Fun on the River for seven years. In 2015, she was finalist in WILMA Magazine’s Women to Watch feature.

She currently serves as Director of Marketing & Public Relations for The Carolina Theatre. Soprano, Nicole Smith, has been praised as “an unbelievable talent”, and her voice has been described as “gorgeous” and “angelic”. Her style ranges from jazz standards and popular songs, to classical arias and gospel music. Recognized for her versatile musicality, Ms. Smith has been a soloist with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra, the Urban Spectrum Theater Company, and the Lundstrum Center for the Performing Arts. She has participated in professional choirs such as Exultate! and CORO!, both in Minneapolis. She is celebrated locally for performing at the 200th Anniversary of the City of Wilmington, singing in the annual patriotic services at Wrightsville Beach United Methodist, her “Fine Line Between Love & Hate” show at TheatreNOW, weekly participation in the St. Paul‘s Episcopal Choir, and monthly performances at Ted‘s Fun on the River. She was nominated as a “2015 Women to Watch” Finalist by Wilma Magazine.

Jen Watson is a dancer, theater arts and organization enthusiast. Jennifer Watson blends a lifelong background in tap, jazz, ballet, and musical theater with administrative precision as Music Scheduler for Greensboro Performing Arts and the Academy of Musical Arts. She spends her days orchestrating private music schedules that keeps music education moving in harmony.

Tyree Myers by way of Charlotte, NC, Tyree graduated from UNCG in 2021 where he studied Music and Arts Administration as an instrumentalist. He has worked with a music community outreach organization called Music for a Great Space as an executive intern where his admiration for performance grew. He began his journey with GPA in 2021 when he was given the opportunity to participate in an internship with the organization. With GPA he has been able to experience new styles of performance and technical aspects of production through theater. For almost seven years, Tyree has been performing in theater productions with GPA and recently, the Theater Guild of Rockingham County. He is also currently the elementary music teacher at Allen Jay Elementary in High Point, North Carolina. Going into his third year of teaching theater at GPA, he is excited for more opportunities of growth and performance in his career.

Maddie Barham is a theatre educator and director dedicated to creating meaningful theatre grounded in ensemble-based storytelling, with a particular interest in creating imaginative, collaborative theatrical worlds that challenge and empower performers. She currently serves as the Theatre Teacher at Rockingham County High School, where she works with students to create and cultivate a lifelong appreciation for the arts.

Maddie began doing theatre at age 11—and never stopped. Since then, she has performed and directed with a variety of organizations throughout the region, including the Theatre Guild of Rockingham County, The Community Theatre of Greensboro, and High Point Community Theatre. Maddie earned her BA in Theatre with a concentration in Acting from Greensboro College and studied Shakespeare through Mary Baldwin University’s Shakespeare & Performance Graduate Program.

Under Maddie’s direction, Rockingham County High School has earned recognition at both the state and regional levels of the NCTC High School Play Festival including the Dan Seaman Outstanding Achievement in Ensemble Acting Award and the John W. Parker Award for Excellence in Directing. Her favorite directing credits include The Search for Delicious, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Peter/Wendy, and Romeo and Juliet.