Staff

Allison Shenton started her dance training in 1981 at Dance Arts, Inc. She enjoyed dancing the Nutcracker with Dance Arts every December, performing such roles as Dew Drop, Snow Queen, and the Sugar Plum Fairy. Allison attended the University of Georgia, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Sciences and a minor in Dance Education. At UGA, she was a company member of the UGA Ballet Ensemble under the direction of Joan Buttram. Many of the roles danced at UGA inspired her love for classical ballet. Such include Myrta, Queen of the Willis in Giselle, the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker with the Athens Symphony, the Pas de Quatre in Act 1 and Corps de Ballet in Act 2, Kingdom of the Shades in the full-length production of La Bayadere, Flowers in collaboration will Ballethnic Dance Company’s Urban Nutcracker, and corps de ballet in the full-length La Sylphide. After graduation from UGA, Allison also had the opportunity to work as a professional dancer in Atlanta Festival Ballet. She was directed by the world-renowned dancer Nicolas Pacana. Allison danced in many productions, including The Nutcracker, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast. She did many original works arranged by Mr. Pacana and enjoyed dancing in the lead trio for the work Symphony in C. At Atlanta Festival Ballet School, she served as the Director of Operations. In 2003 Allison returned to Dance Arts, Inc. Her students have gone on to study and have scholarships to many summer programs, have been selected for the Governors Honors Program, and competed at the Youth America Grand Prix under her direction. She is proud to have many of her past students studying at major Universities as Dance Majors, including The University of Georgia, Florida State University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Belhaven College, Brenau University, and Valdosta State University. In 2014, Allison was happy to join the Dance faculty at Valdosta State University from 2014-2016, teaching ballet, and was very proud to be a Blazer. Starting Fall of 2016, Allison transitioned to the role of Artistic Director and owner of Dance Arts Valdosta, Inc.

Shannon Thomas began her dance career in Douglas, Georgia, at The Dance Company, under the direction of Caroline Post. She Competed for 10 years with their competition team, Dance Attack, traveling the country and attending competitions and conventions hosted by the nation’s top choreographers. After high school, she attended college at The University of Georgia, where she was a member of The Redcoat Marching Band as a member of the dance line, the Georgettes. In 2002, Shannon opened Now Dance This in Douglas, Georgia. For 7 years, her students competed and won top awards for choreography, technique, and entertainment, as well as many national awards. In 2009, Shannon began teaching at Dance Arts teaching tap, jazz, and ballet.

• MFA in Choreography/Dance University of North Carolina at Greensboro
• BA in Biology University of North Carolina at Greensboro
• Professor of Dance at Valdosta State University

Melissa Pihos began dancing at a very young age and has performed professionally for over 20 years. She has performed all over the United States, and her film work has been screened in several film festivals across the country. She has danced for Flatlands Dance Theatre, Van Dyke Dance Group, John Gamble Dance Theatre, and Sidelong Dance Company. She has also performed in works by Martha Graham, Larry Keigwin, and Twyla Tharp.

She is an award-winning filmmaker and is currently touring her work, PIHOS A Moving Biography at Alzheimer’s disease awareness events. PIHOS A Moving Biography is a documentary dance/film performance that explores the life of her father, NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver Pete Pihos and his battle with Alzheimer’s disease. The work has toured Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Lubbock, TX, Philadelphia, New York City, and Santa Fe.

Holding an MFA in Choreography/Dance from UNC-Greensboro, her previous dance faculty appointments include UNC-Greensboro, UNC-Charlotte, High Point University, and Salem College. Pihos is also a national dance judge for Showstopper and Dance Machine.

Emily Harp started her dance training as a preschooler in Macon, Georgia. She spent many happy hours in downtown Macon at Flag City School of Dance under the direction of Cindy Little. She was a part of the Show Biz Dancers, the studio’s competition team, and became an assistant instructor in high school. Emily loved performing in the Nutcracker of Middle Georgia every December and had the honor of being chosen to dance in different roles throughout the years. Her childhood dream came true when she was chosen to play Clara. While earning a Mass Media degree at Valdosta State University, Emily danced under the instruction of Eric Neilson and Catherine Schaffer. She performed in several dance concerts as part of VSU’s Repertory Dancers and the musical theater department’s production of 42nd Street. A week after graduating college in May 2003, Emily married her favorite person, CJ. They now have three children and enjoy frequent dance parties in the living room. Emily is excited to share her love for dance with the students at Dance Arts.

Margaret Anne began training in dance under Linda C. Chase and Allison Shenton at Dance Arts at the age of seven. She trained in ballet, pointe, jazz, modern, and tap, and performed many Nutcracker roles at Dance Arts, including Clara, Snow Queen, Dew Drop, Russian Duet, and many more. During her junior and senior years of high school, she served as an assistant instructor at Dance Arts and has continued teaching ever since.

Margaret Anne graduated from Valdosta State University in 2021, earning her BFA in Dance. She received honors as a graduate of the National Honor Society of Dance Arts. During the 2017-2018 season, Margaret Anne was a member of the 9x NDA National Championship-winning VSU Red Hots dance team. Throughout her time as an undergraduate student, she performed annually in VSU Theatre and Dance’s Fall dance concerts as well as musical productions such as Cats and Guys and Dolls. As a scholarship recipient, she performed soloist roles in VSU & Valdosta School of Ballet’s productions of Sleeping Beauty.

Upon graduation, she began her graduate studies and earned her Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy at VSU in 2023. After graduating with her Master’s, Margaret Anne returned to VSU Theatre and Dance as an adjunct instructor in ballet for the 2023-2024 school term. Margaret Anne has worked as a dance teacher and choreographer since 2017 at Dance Arts, as well as at various other studios and opportunities in the surrounding area, teaching students from K-12 to adults.

Margaret Anne is grateful for the opportunity to pass on her passion at the same studio where she found her love for dance so many years ago.

Born into a musical family, Lauren is no stranger to a stage. From musicals to orchestra concerts to opera productions, Lauren finds joy in artistic expression. After her first dance recital at age 12, she knew dance would always be a part of her life. Highlights of her early dance training included acceptance into Dmitri Roudnev’s Ballet Intensive from Moscow, and The University of Oklahoma’s Summer Ballet program, Summerwind. In college, Lauren was a Principal Dancer for Metropolitan Ballet Wichita, KS as well as Wichita Contemporary Dance Theatre. As a military spouse, Lauren has had the opportunity to share her passion for dance with students in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and now Georgia. Currently, she is a Second Grade teacher at S L Mason Elementary. She is delighted to work with the talented and knowledgeable staff of Dance Arts.

Carrie Beoddy began dancing at the age of 4 at Queen City Ballet in Helena, Montana, with her twin sister under the tutelage of Campbell Pryor Murphy. She quickly fell in love with the excitement of performing on stage, as well as gaining a passion for the detail and precision of learning techniques in class. Carrie has performed in 10 productions of The Nutcracker, including the roles of Dew Drop, Snow Queen, Columbine Doll, Arabian, and other roles. Carrie has also performed Lilac Fairy and Diamond Fairy in a full-length production of Sleeping Beauty, Odette in Swan Lake, and the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland. She has studied at Colorado School of Dance under Oleg Dedogryuk, former principal at the Bolshoi Ballet and Colorado Ballet, David Taylor of Denver Ballet Theater, Megan Yackovich, owner of Peak Ballet Theatre, and Mark and Sandra Carlson of International Youth Ballet. Carrie has been accepted to summer programs at American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, and The Kirov Academy. Carrie has a passion for teaching correct technique, emphasizing injury-prevention. She began teaching as a TA and substitute in 2008 at The Peak Ballet Theatre, and taught ballet, pointe, and variations for a season at Cindy’s Dance Factory in Monument, CO. After some years away from dance to focus on her studies at University of Colorado in Chemistry and Education, Carrie is excited to be in Georgia and join the Dance Arts faculty. When she isn’t at the studio, she can be found tutoring math, hiking with her dogs, or reading a good book.

Taylor Sanders trained with Valdosta State University for four years, earning a B.F.A in Dance with a concentration in Modern Dance. She performed in many dance concerts for the university as well as for the American College Dance Association Eastern Conference. She had the honor of being Membership Coordinator, Vice President, and President of VSU’s National Society for Dance Arts. Taylor is also a Honor’s Recipient of the 2019/2020 College of the Arts at Valdosta State. She is no stranger to work and has had many jobs in this career field while still enrolled in school and she has no desire to stop now. She invites new challenges, ready to accomplish great feats, savvy, sophisticated and successful. Just see for yourself!

Elise began dancing at Dance Arts at the age of two under the direction of Allison Shenton, Shannon Thomas, and the late Linda C. Chase. She quickly fell in love with dance and has taken classes in a variety of styles, including ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, hip hop, and contemporary. During her years at Dance Arts, Elise participated in the annual performances of the Nutcracker and the spring recitals. She danced many Nutcracker roles, including Arabian Princess, Lead Spanish, and the Snow Queen. Elise has also assisted with summer camps at Dance Arts. She graduated with honors with distinction from Lowndes High School and is currently attending VSU to pursue her bachelor’s degree. Elise is excited to have the opportunity to share her knowledge of dance and technique at the studio where she grew up dancing. She hopes to inspire a love for dance in all of her students.

At age three, Merriss began her dance journey at Dance Arts under Linda C. Chase and Allison Shenton performing in both Nutcracker and spring recitals every year. After graduating from high school in 2020, she never lost her love for dancing, which led her to discover her passion for prophetic worship dance. For the past three years, she has been a dance worship leader for New Covenant Church in Valdosta, where she inspires and equips others of all ages with the same desire. Her dance team focuses on improv, choreography, and, most importantly, how to flow in unity as a team. In the middle of it all, she met and married her husband, Jack Millsap, who also shares her passion for worship. Together, they sing and play music for their home church group. Currently, Merriss has been attending sewing classes in Tryon, NC, at WorkRoom Tech. She is working towards becoming a custom drapery designer and plans to open her own business one day.       

Ms. Chase began her early training under the renowned Russian ballerina Hela Slavinska in Red Bank, N.J.  At age thirteen she joined the Ballet Guild of Jacksonville, Florida directed by former ballerina of New York City Ballet, Betty Hyatt Ogilvie She has trained with the most prominent teachers in the dance world: George Balanchine, Felia Doubrovska, Pierre Vladimiroff, Anatole Oboukoff, Robert Joffrey, Igor Swetzoff and Matt Maddox.  It was in Atlanta, Georgia that Mr. George Balanchine, world renowned director/choreographer of New York City Ballet, awarded her a full dance scholarship to attend the School of American Ballet in New York City.  DANCEMAGAZINE highlighted Ms. Chase in their article on Regional Ballet Festivals after viewing one of her performances. While living in Rome, Georgia she and Anneliese Mathews formed the Rome Dance Academy.  She continued her school in Rome after moving to Cartersville, Georgia and establishing the Cartersville Dance Academy.  In 1970 she moved to Valdosta, Georgia with her two children and husband.  In 1971, she opened the Valdosta Dance Academy teaching all levels of ballet along with tap and jazz.  Through her efforts, Valdosta audiences saw their first performance of The Nutcracker in 1972.  This began an eagerly received annual tradition. When Ms. Chase moved her studio in August 1989 to its present location at 1760 W. Gordon Street in Remerton/Valdosta, she changed the name to Dance Arts. Linda’s Dance Arts students have auditioned and have been accepted to such well known professional schools as the Joffrey School of Ballet, NY and San Antonio, TX, North Carolina School of the Arts, Boston Ballet School, Dance Aspen Colorado, Princeton University, South Carolina Dance Institute, The School of American Ballet, Virginia School of Arts, the Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet, Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts, Pacific Northwest Ballet and students as dance majors and minors at the University of Georgia, Jacksonville University, University of Utah, Belhaven College, Florida State University and The University of Tennessee.  Former students who have danced professionally are: Jessica Roan principal dancer with Charleston Ballet Theatre, Anne Harshbarger with The Houston Ballet and a principal dancer with Atlanta Ballet, John Michael Schert with American Ballet Theater, Alonso King Lines Ballet and the Trey McIntyre Project, Holley Chatraw Johnson with Atlanta Ballet and Lexington Ballet and Allison Hannay Shenton with Atlanta Festival Ballet.