Faculty
Halie Gillett
began dancing with Angie’s Dance Academy at the age of 4. She has studied jazz, tap, lyrical, hip hop, and ballet for 14 years. Halie was a student teacher for 4 years. She was a member of Angie’s Aces for 11 years. The Performing Troupes received many awards, including multiple overall awards and many judge’s choice awards. After graduating from Tuscola High School in 2014, Halie is now attending Southwestern Community College in Sylva, NC. She is studying Human Services Technology, and will be graduating in the next few years. Halie is very devoted to her school career, while also continuing to teach her passion of dance to her students.
Brittney Lee Champion
is a dedicated individual with a strong work ethic and an outgoing personality. She has been dancing for the last 19 years, 15 of these years as a member of Angie’s Dance Academy. At Angie’s she was trained in jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical, and hip hop and was a part of the Angie’s Aces competition teams for 12 years where she competed in group numbers and was also a soloist. While at Angie’s, she became a student teacher which taught her responsibility, patience, and showed her the joy in teaching others that have the same passion for dance. Following her ADA career she was part of the ETSU Dance Team during her four years of college where she performed jazz, contemporary, hip-hop, and pom routines. She graduated in 2015 with her Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications, concentrating in Public Relations and Advertising, and is now home working full time while also teaching at ADA. She has thoroughly enjoyed returning to Angie’s where she can use her knowledge and experience to teach others that share the same love for dance that she does.
Rebecca O’ Quinn
Originally from Raleigh, NC, Rebecca is a local dancer, singer, actress,
choreographer, and teacher with Angie’s Dance Academy and the Asheville Academy of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, Warren Wilson, and several other area studios in Western North Carolina. She attended the Raleigh School of Ballet in her youth as well as Elon University, obtaining a BA in Dance Performance and a minor theatre, where she studied intensely as a ballet, jazz, modern and tap dancer as well as Meisner and Stanislavski acting techniques, private voice instruction, and Performance of Musical Theatre. Upon graduating, she spent a decade traveling and performing with various regional theatres, dance theatres, cruise lines, theme parks, and other entertainment production companies. Outside of Asheville, she has taught for and choreographed with The Ballet School of Chapel Hill and The Burlington Academy of Dance Arts. Rebecca also performs locally with the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre, Asheville Community Theatre, The Montford Park Players, and with a bluegrass three-part harmony ensemble, The Mountain Laurels. She believes in training a dancer with a full-bodied understanding of multiple dance, acting, and musical styles. Rebecca’s motto in class is: Perfection – not required nor expected….hard work – required and expected!
Tricia Renshaw
has enjoyed dancing, choreographing, and teaching for many years. She began dancing in Delaware in her formative years, and continued her training at Shenandoah Conservatory, Temple University, The Professional School, The M
artha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, Jeanne Ruddy Dance, and East Coast Ballet. She has danced with contemporary and ballet companies in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Florida, and also served as the artistic director for The Professional School’s Modern Company. She received her Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Dance from Skidmore College, and went on to earn her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of North Florida. She currently enjoys teaching at the Asheville Ballet School and Western Carolina University.
Maria Lyons
Maria started dancing at the age of 9. Maria was also very active in her high school band where she played the flute and later chose to join the color-guard her 8th-grade year where she was Captain of the team for 3 years and instructor for 4. Maria was also very active in her high school drama department and community theater where she worked on plays like Into the Woods, Guys & Dolls, and South Pacific to name a few. After graduating Maria attended Meredith College where she double majored in dance and theater with a K-12 certification. Using her extensive experience in dance, drama, band, and theater, Maria opened a dance and theater business in two locations. She also ended up partnering with Swain County Schools for 12 years where she taught dance in their Arts Enrichment Program. She was also the theater departments choreographer for musicals like Beauty and the Beast, The Sound of Music, Grease, Annie, and Little Shop of Horrors. She was selected to work on a movie with Kevin Bacon and Timothy Hutton. Around this time, she co-founded a successful outdoor advertising billboard company with her husband.
Maria is no stranger to the ADA dance family from 2006 through 2010 she was a dance mom and faculty member here. However, after 25 years of being in the dance studio business, Maria chose to sell her dance & theater businesses to focus on her newfound passion of public speaking, mentoring, and training with the John Maxwell Team & Compassion International. As an accredited public speaker for Compassion International, she advocates for children in extreme poverty helping children all over the world get sponsorship for food, clothing, education, and healthcare. Maria is a licensed minister and has organized work for mission teams, youth organizations, and churches. She serves on the executive board of a globally recognized leadership equipping organization known as led2serve. led2serve mobilizes groups from all over the world to work hand in hand with different cultures and countries rebuilding communities, schools, & churches by building relationships in different areas. Maria is also a contracted Journey Leader for teams that travel into the Great Smoky Mountains and Costa Rica areas. Maria is moving to the Waynesville area this year with her husband of 19 years and two kids that she has been homeschooling for 6 years. She’s excited to be back with the ADA faculty and has been blessed getting to know all the new families and reconnecting with her old friends. Maria is currently enrolled at the American College of Healthcare Sciences where is working on degree on Herbal Medicine to become a clinical herbalist.
