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Ballerina Birthday Party |
Anne Holladay Byrne fell in love with dance at an early age when she attended her first performance of The Nutcracker. At the age of five, she began dance classes in her hometown of Ashland under the instruction of Diane Hale where she continued dance lessons each year throughout her elementary, middle and high school career. During this time, Anne also danced with the Concert Ballet of Virginia, performing a variety of roles over the years, including the principal roles of Clara, Snow Queen and the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker and Myrta in Giselle. She continued her dance studies at Radford University where she graduated cum laude with a B.F.A. degree in classical ballet from the Department of Dance. While studying at Radford, Anne performed various lead roles for the Radford Dance Theater. With leaders from this group, she traveled to Europe to observe ballet companies in Croatia and England. She has even had the opportunity to perform at the White House! Anne’s passion for teaching dance began during her college years when she had the opportunity to teach and stage children for the Radford University Arts Foundation’s production of The Nutcracker. After graduating from Radford, Anne performed with the Charleston Ballet Theater before moving to New York City where she studied at various dance centers, including Broadway Dance Center, Steps and Dance Sport. Most recently, Anne has taught both ballet and tap at several local dance studios and also at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland. Anne’s commitment to her dance education continues to this day. Throughout each year, she goes to New York City to attend dance classes and during summers also attends dance conferences. Anne is excited to have her own dance studio and looks forward to being Director of the Central Virginia Dance Academy! Anne, or “Miss Anne” as she is dearly known to her students, strives to pass on to others the magic and love that she has found in the art of dance. Contact Anne at anne@centralvadance.com or (804) 501-0707
Karen Lynne Karen’s love of dance began at the age of 4 at Heritage School of Dance. As she got older, her love of dance grew and she eventually joined the Concert Ballet of Virginia and extended her training to include Richmond Dance Center and Scott Boyer Teaches Dance. While at the Concert Ballet, she rose through the ranks to become a Principal dancer and then Ballet Mistress. While there, Karen had the opportunity to perform various lead roles including Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Giselle in Giselle, and Nikita in La Bayadere. While performing, Karen discovered her love of teaching and attended Virginia Commonwealth University where she got her degree in Psychology. She retired from performing when she was accepted into the Masters of Teaching program at VCU. While there, she worked with professors to create lessons that integrated art and dance into the elementary curriculum. Karen became a third grade teacher at Linwood Holton Elementary School in Richmond. While teaching school, she had the opportunity to pass on her love of dance by choreographing various musicals for her school. Karen also spent 6 years as the Mills E. Godwin High School dance team coach. She choreographs for Hanover Children’s Theatre and was a ballet instructor for Randolph Macon College. Karen also taught for 11 years at Encore Performing Arts Studio. Over her years of teaching, she has had students accepted to numerous programs including Appomattox Regional Governor’s School, University of Richmond Governor’s School program, Richmond Ballet, Virginia School of the Arts, Washington Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, North Carolina School of the Arts, and various colleges across the country. Her training continued at VCU’s summer intensive classes and currently with Richmond Ballet’s Adult Program. Karen received various awards over her career including the 2000 Broadway Dance Center Summer Intensive Scholarship winner and National Dance Week’s Choreography Competition winner- Best Costume, Best Concept, Best Choreography, and Best Overall. Karen took a hiatus from teaching school to raise her two children Ethan and Lucy. She is active in her community and her church. She enjoys spending time with her husband, Andy, and her kids. She is also ecstatic to be back in the studio with “Miss Anne” as she continues her work with the fabulous CVDA!
Sheena Jeffers Sheena Jeffers started her dance training at the age of 5 under the direction of Ann Catherine Cross in Mechanicsville, Virginia. She was a member of the competition team for years, before moving to Virginia Beach where she studied musical theater and dance at Governor's School for the Arts in Norfolk, Virginia. There she performed in many shows including "Chicago," "Lucky Stiff," and traveled with the school to Miyazaki, Japan to perform the Broadway hit "Smokey Joe's Cafe." Sheena also performed with Virginia Musical Theater in "Pippin," "Student Prince" and "Joseph and the Amazing Techno-colored Dream Coat." Working with renowned choreographers and teachers up and down the East coast, she continued to study various techniques of dance including jazz, tap, lyrical, hip-hop, Broadway, pointe and modern. She has also studied with Denise Wall Womble, owner of Denise Wall's Dance Energy (the school that produced Travis Wall, Jaimie Goodwin and Danny Tidwell from "So You Think You Can Dance.") Most recently, she graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University where she was a member of their Dance Team, and she was a staff teacher for Christian Youth Theater of Richmond. She hopes to pass her love of dance and passion for performing onto her students. |