Kelly Harper Avery

Academy Director

 

Kelly Avery began her dancing career at Vestavia Dance at the age of six as a student in the program. From there, she went on to further her instruction with Mira Popovich at Birmingham-Southern College. Kelly received a Bachelor of Arts degree from BSC with a major in Dance. She has studied in New York with the New York School of Classical Dance and has taken classes under David Howard, The Alvin Ailey School, The Joffery Ballet, The American Ballet Theatre, Steps on Broadway, and Broadway Dance Center. Kelly came to Vestavia Dance as a teacher in 1996 and accepted the director’s position in 2001. She is a founding director of the Magic City Nutcracker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stephanie Thompson Rangel

Artistic Director

 

Stephanie Thompson Rangel began her training in Jacksonville, Florida under Mark Spivak. She then continued her training with Beth Marks where she studied ballet, jazz, and modern. She joined Jacksonville Ballet Theatre at the age of 15 where she studied under Dulce Anaya. She attended notable summer intensive programs including American Ballet Theatre (Irvine), Briansky Saratoga Ballet, and Charleston Ballet Theatre where she trained with the company. She was simultaneously a member of JBT and the Bolles School Repertory Theatre. She moved to Birmingham, Alabama and joined Birmingham Ballet Repertory Company where she has performed roles including Princess Florine in Sleeping Beauty, Arabian coffee in The Nutcracker, and the lead in Alfonso Figueroa’s Hues. She joined Arova Contemporary Ballet in 2012, under the direction of Alison Page. She performed the role of the "Sorceress" in the original ballet The Snow Queen. She has been teaching ballet, jazz, and contemporary to students of all ages since 2007. After she was married in 2013 she moved to the country of Panama with her husband David and taught for Crossroads Bible Church and the Metropolitan School of Panama. 

 

 

​

Angel White

Founding Director

 

Angel White began dancing twenty years ago at the Marilyn Sanders Performing Arts Studio during which time she traveled to numerous competitions and workshops throughout the U.S. She has taken classes under Wade Robinson, Marty Drew, and Joe Tramaine, reciving a dance Scholarship to his LA studio. She spent several summers under the instruction of Sonia Arova and Thor Sutowski at the Alabama School of Fine Arts, where she was a student for one year during high school. Other accomplishments include a performance in The Nutcracker, attendance at two Gus Giordano World Jazz Dance Congresses, and a performance at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.Angel began teaching dance and gymnastics in 1996 at the Marilyn Sanders Performing Arts Studio and in Walker County School system. She has been with Vestavia Dance since 2001. Angel is a founding director of the Magic City Nutcracker and appeared as Mother Ginger in the 2013 production.

 

 

​

​

 

 

Anna Sims

Assistant Director 

Anna Sims is a native of Vestavia Hills, Alabama. She has been dancing with Vestavia Dance for ten years and studied classes in the disciplines of ballet, jazz, lyrical, pointe, and hip-hop. She also served as captain of the Rockettes danceline with Vestavia Hills High School, She performed in the premiere production of the Magic City Nutcracker as Arabian soloist and Ice Princess. She currently attends the University of Alabama at Birmingham. This year, Anna joins the artistic staff as an assistant director as she is now teaching at Vestavia Dance and passing on her love of the performing arts to the next generation. She will dance the role of the Ice Princess in the 2016 production. Photo by Clark Scott.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guest Artists 2016 Production 

 

 

 

 

 

Jamie Kilgore Foust

Guest Choreographer 

 

Jamie Kilgore Foust is a founding company member and ballet mistress of the AROVA Contemporary Ballet. Jamie has been featured in works by international choreographers, such as Thor Sutowski and Jorden Morris, in AROVA productions of Pointe / Counterpointe, Signature Blend, and Star-Crossed. She began her ballet training under the guidance of Margaret Galloway. Later she continued to train at the Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA) under Dame Sonia Arova, Thor Sutowski and Therese Laeger. As a student, Jamie had the opportunity to work professionally with the Alabama Ballet in productions of the Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet. She also performed with the Alabama Dance Theatre as a soloist in La Bayadere, Cinderella, and Crystal Edge. She graduated from ASFA with the Prix D’Excellence de Danse Award in 1998 and immediately joined the San Diego Ballet. There she was best known for her role as lead Arabian in the Nutcracker and as a soloist in many of Javier Velasco’s contemporary works. Jamie is an adjunct faculty member of the ASFA Dance Department, and she teaches for ASFA’s Preparatory Dance Program. Photo by Fred Jemison.

 

 

 

 

​

 

 

 

 

 

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

​