THE DANCE CENTRE - Key Persons

Carly Duryea started dancing at The Dance Centre at the age of 5 and is still going strong 21 years later. She started apprenticing with Ms. Mary Beth while in middle school and began teaching at The Dance Centre's satellite studio in her hometown of Centre, AL in 2017. Carly has taught ballet, tap, and jazz to students ranging from 3 to 12 years old. She also serves as a member of The Dance Center's support staff, helping with recitals and registration events as needed.

Emily has been dancing for 12 years, and began her training at age 5 in Thomaston, GA at Armstrong School of Dance. She also loves performing in theater productions at Calhoun High School where she is currently a senior. While she is trained in all dance forms, her favorites are modern and hip hop. This is her second year teaching advanced beginner, intermediate and advanced hip hop classes at TDC.

JoAnna Parker has been dancing since the age of 2. She started ballet and tap at The Dance Centre and has been here ever since. JoAnna has studied all dance disciplines and studied ballet under Pavel Rotaru and Kay Whiffen at the Rotaru International Children's Ballet. She has choreographed and performed in numerous musicals such as Cats, Annie Get Your Gun (in which she played the lead role), Fiddler on the Roof, Lil Abner and all the Broadway Spectaculars for Rome Little Theater. She also performed in Pepperell High School's show choir. JoAnna was a member of Allegro Dance Company, under the direction of Georgie Riegel, for 10 years and now teaches all levels of tap, ballet, jazz, contemporary and musical theatre. JoAnna has been teaching at The Dance Centre since 2004. Currently, she is a teacher at Elm Street Elementary and works with Grand Illusion show choir at Rome Middle. JoAnna is the proud mother of son, Kaydon and daughter, Mollie Eloise. JoAnna holds a Masters in Elementary Education and teaches 5th grade literacy. She is assistant director of Grand Illusion.

Job Titles:

• Director, All Levels Ballet, Tap, Jazz, PreDance, Baby Ballet

Mary Beth, a cum laude graduate of Berry College, formed The Dance Centre in 1983. Her dance background includes study in New York at the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, the Broadway Dance Center and the School for Ballet and Theatre Dance. In Atlanta she has studied with the Atlanta Contemporary Dance Company, the City Center Dance Theatre, Terpsichore and with Ruth Mitchell Dance Studio. She has also trained with Rockette Sandi Friedman and Jason Kalish, a former Tap Dog. Mary Beth trained under Susan Robinson and served as an instructor at The Art of Dance in Rome from 1978-1983 and studied with the notable ballet teacher Stanley Zompakos at Shorter College. Mary Beth Has served on the audition committee for the Georgia Governor's Honors Program in dance as well as Dance Coordinator for the Rome Area Council for the Arts. She holds many choreographic credits including The Nutcracker for Darlington Players and Twelve Dancing Princesses, The Littlest Angel and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever for the Creative Playhouse Children's Theatre. She also created The Night Before Christmas and Winter Wonderland at the Rome City Auditorium. Mary Beth served many years as an executive officer on the Board of Directors for the Rome Area Council for the Arts and was rehearsal co-coordinator for the Rome Symphony Debutante Ball for 10 years. She is part of the production team for the Sexual Assault Center's annual Celebrity Dance Challenge, having served as judge, choreographer, stage manager and rehearsal coordinator. Mary Beth has two grown children, Anna Claire and Hampton, a son-in-law, Sam and grands, Will and Amelia

Job Titles:

• Competition Team Director

Tara Dawn Ogle began dancing at age 3 at Donna Ellis School of Dance and continued with Diana's School of Dance, where she competed at Dance Educators of America with numerous first place finishes. She also studied with Tom Moore at Georgia Ballet and at Rome Civic Ballet where she founded a competition dance team in 1987.