MEET OUR STAFF

OUR DIRECTOR

Lori Zamzow

Lori Zamzow-Wire has been passionate about dance since her early childhood. Lori grew up in Lakeland, Florida where she received much of her early training and teaching experience from Florida Dance Theatre. She pursued her dance aspirations by attending the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with an emphasis on dance performance.

Lori has performed with several professional dance companies including dancing as a soloist for five years with The Georgia Ballet Company. In addition, Lori has extensive teaching and choreography experience. In her teaching career she has organized and started a ballet program at the Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta and she is the founding Artistic Director of the non-profit Sugarloaf Ballet company.
After teaching at Sugarloaf Performing Arts as the Ballet Director for several years, Lori purchased the studio in 2004. During the next couple of years Lori started building her vision for the studio. She focused on core skills at the early ages, hired in top instructors and gradually transformed the dance and tumble studio into the academy of arts that it is today. With her vision just started, there will be many more changes and improvements coming to the studio. Lori looks forward to a great new season with an exciting professional staff at Sugarloaf Performing Arts.

ARSTISTIC STAFF

Sugarloaf Performing Arts is the quality training facility that it is today because of the experience, skill and dedication of its faculty and staff. With seasoned professionals from all over the United States, we pride ourselves on offering accomplished instructors with fine arts degrees, professional teaching experience and extensive performance and choreography credits.

Michelle Bourgeois

Company Director

Howard Ethridge

Tumble Director

Bartley Cross

Company Director

Lara Davis

Company Director

Nick Hagelin

Company Director

Krysten Hill

Tumble Director

Jennifer Mason

Company Director

Lauren Neese

Company Director

Ashleigh Nyee

Company Director

Reyna O'Leary

Tumble Director

Jennifer Parker

Company Director

Erin Rauch

Company Director

Janet Rowthorn

Company Director

Whitney Sauve

Tumble Director

John Streit

Company Director

Rio Thompson

Company Director

Racehel Erin Truitt

Company Director

OFFICE STAFF

Sugarloaf Performing Arts is the quality training facility that it is today because of the experience, skill, and dedication of its faculty and staff. With seasoned professionals from all over the United States, we pride ourselves on offering accomplished instructors with fine arts degrees, professional teaching experience, and extensive performance and choreography credits. 

Ginny Ellis

Office Manager

Rebekah Rude

Office Associate

Rio Thompson

School Administrator

OUR ALUMI​

Sugarloaf Performing Arts and Sugarloaf Ballet are committed to providing preparatory and transitional training to enable dancers to pursue professional careers in dance. Our Alumni have gone on to dance professionally with companies, in addition to receiving scholarships to further their study of performing arts at Universities across the United States.

Julian Esteban Duque

Alexis Guthrie

Imani Williams

Heather Hatzenbuhler

Jennifer Mullins-Parker

Rio Dills-Thopmson

Michelle Bourgeois
– Company Director –

Michelle Bourgeois received a B.A. in Dance from the University of South Florida on a full scholarship for her academic and artistic achievements. While at USF, Michelle worked with many talented teachers and choreographers, including Gretchen Warren, John Parks, Patricia Page and Jill Bahr and served as an adjunct professor. Michelle performed with Dance Theatre of Florida, collaborating with the Kirov Ballet in the 100th anniversary of The Nutcracker.
Upon graduating, she performed with the Dance Theatre of Florida, Florida Dance Theatre, Georgia Ballet and Lee Harper & Dancers and is honored to have danced choreography by George Balanchine, Iris Hensley, Septim Weber and Loyce Holton. Michelle has been teaching dance since 1991, allowing her to share a disciplined yet creative and expressive art form to thousands of students. In addition to decades of teaching, Michelle has choreographed numerous dances which have been performed in various festivals, competitions and ballets. As a choreographer, Michelle is passionate about sharing the creative process with her dancers, believing inspiration to be symbiotic.

Howard Ethridge
– Tumble Director –

Mr. Howard has an extensive background in gymnastics, stretching, and conditioning. He is one of Atlanta’s top instructors for floor tumbling, jumps, and leaps. He was a master teacher at LSU college gymnastic camps under head coach, D.D. Breaux, UGA camps under head coach, Danna Durante, and is currently working with UNC college camps under head coach, Kim Landrus. Mr. Howard completed his training at Gym America in Tucker, Georgia which had one of the top men’s programs in the country. He was even honored to perform for one of America’s presidents during his time there. The coaching staff had a great influence on molding Mr. Howard to become the coach he is today. He prides himself on conditioning techniques and stresses the importance of learning how to use the mental aspect of high-level training. Mr. Howard is both loved and respected by both the dancers and parents. We are truly honored to have Mr. Howard on our teaching roster at Sugarloaf Performing Arts.

Bartley Cross

Bartley began dancing at age four and soon started performing and competing with the Jazz Company at The Southern Strutt Dance Studio. Under Director Nancy Giles, Bartley studied Jazz, Broadway Tap, Ballet, and Tumbling. Excelling in Jazz and Tap she won multiple Regional and National Overall High Score Awards, Double Platinum and Platinum Awards at Starbound, Star Systems, Show Stoppers, LA Underground and Tremaine Dance Competitions. While the majority of her training came from Southern Strutt, Bartley furthered her studies by participating in Summer Intensive Programs with the Columbia Ballet Company under William Starret, and the University of South Carolina’s summer dance workshops. Additionally, by participating in Master Classes at Southern Strutt, she had the privilege to learn from choreographers such as Joe Tremaine, Gregory Hines, Ray Leeper, and Marcea. Bartley attended the University of South Carolina from August 1994 to May 1998, and continued to study dance adding Ballet, Jazz and Modern dance classes to her schedule. She began teaching in September 1995 and as a choreographer has won High Gold, Platinum, and Double Platinum awards at Applause, Bravo, Show Stoppers, and Star Systems Competitions. She currently teaches at Sugarloaf Performing Arts and Academy of Ballet while continuing to study at Dance 101, the Atlanta Ballet, and the Georgia Ballet.

Lara Davis

Lara Davis has danced professionally with The Georgia Ballet, Refuge Dance Company, and Dance Canvas. She began her training at the Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance in Roswell, Georgia where she was a member of the pre-professional company for eight years. She has pursued additional training through the METdance Houston Professional Intensive, American Ballet Theatre in Orange County, The Rock School, Joffrey Ballet NYC, Joffrey Ballet South, Dance Canvas, Full Radius Dance Company, the National Choreography Intensive, Point Park University, Colorado Conservatory of Dance, and the 2012 Georgia Governor’s Honors Program as a Dance Major. In 2017, she graduated from the University of Georgia with Bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Dance Science and a minor in Dance and presented her thesis on Injury Prevention in Ballet Training. While at UGA, Lara studied abroad in Russia with the Voronezh Ballet.

Lara has choreographed in a number of settings including for the stage and for film. Lara presented her piece “Escape” set on the dancers of the Roswell Dance Theatre at the 2013 Southeastern Regional Ballet Association Festival. In 2016, she choreographed for the student film “Capriole”, which was awarded the Dean’s Horizon Award at the 2016 EMST Film Festival at the University of Georgia and was presented at the 2016 River’s Edge International Film Festival in Paducah, KY. Recently, her choreography “Ode to my School Days” was presented at the Dance Canvas 10th Anniversary Performance (March 2018) at the Ferst Center for the Arts as well as at The Georgia Ballet’s “Dancers Up Close” performance (April 2018).

Lara recently completed the week-long Ailey Extension Beginner Horton Teacher Training Workshop under the instruction of Ana Marie Forsythe. Currently, she teaches and dances in the Atlanta area and works as an Administrative Assistant for Dance Canvas.

Nick Hagelin

Nick Hagelin is a singer/songwriter, actor, and dancer from NYC. He trained at School of American Ballet at Lincoln Center from age 9-18 and danced four seasons at Carolina Ballet under the direction of Robert Weiss. As an actor, he has appeared on Law & Order: SVU and the feature filmThe Emperor’s Club. Nick is also an award-winning singer/songwriter with a major-label record deal at Streamline Records. He is label mates with Lady Gaga and Tamar Braxton, and has appeared on The Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards. Hear his music and stay in touch at www.therealnick.com Twitter/IG: @nickisthetruth

Krysten Hill

Bio Coming Soon!

Jennifer Mason

Jennifer Mason was raised in Atlanta, Ga where she began her training with humble beginnings at a local dance school in Decatur. She continued to pursue her passion after being accepted on scholarship to both The Atlanta Ballet and The Alvin Ailey School where she pursued her professional training. Afterward, Jennifer received her BFA in Dance from The Florida State University and was blessed to work under such instructors and direction of Suzanne Farrell (NYC Ballet), Jawole Zollar (Urban Bush Women), and Anjali Austin (DTH). Jennifer then pursued dance in several different avenues from a soloist with The Universal Circus, to more contemporary work with Dance Iquail (NY) and Surfscape Contemporary Dance Theater (FL). She performed more classical works with Urban Ballet Theater (NY), as well as Ballethnic Dance Company (GA). Jennifer was selected as a 2016-2017 National Visiting Fellow with the School of American Ballet and was recently recognized as a Hidden Treasure with ATL Voyager! Currently, Jennifer is an instructor at, Sugarloaf Performing Arts, Ballet Mistress with Anthony Burrell Center for Dance, and resides as the Executive / Artistic Director of City Gate Dance Theater!

Lauren Neese

Lauren’s foundation in dance is attributed to over 20 years of dance training, including collegiate and professional experiences, layered with several years of exposure to dance education and instruction. As a Dublin, GA native, Lauren began her dance training at Fancy Dancer under the direction of Laura Soles. After an introduction to various styles of dance at a young age, Lauren was attracted to the art of classical ballet and dance en pointe. She trained with the Statesboro School of Dance under the direction of Shay T. Morgan, and performed with the Statesboro Youth Ballet for several years. Her summers were filled with dance training intensives with American Ballet Theatre, Atlanta Ballet, University of South Carolina, and Florida State University.

Lauren was accepted into the dance program and attended the University of South Carolina in 2009. In 2010, Lauren transferred to Kennesaw State University, where she was accepted into the dance program and performed with the KSU Dance Company for 7 consecutive semesters. During her time at KSU, Lauren had the pleasure of working with Ivan Pulinkala, Lauri Stallings, Stevan Novakovich, and Sandra Parks. She was also able to participate in the American College Dance Fesival (ACDF) on three different occasions, one of which being on the national level that included a performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. In May of 2013, Lauren graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance. Since graduating, Lauren has trained and taught with various Atlanta ballet academies, Creative movement and Dance, and Pure Barre fitness studios. In the fall of 2016, Lauren became an Adjunct Instructor of Dance at Young Harris College where she teaches classes, choreographs, and helps create courses for the theater department and the dance minor program.

Lauren currently lives with her husband and two young children in Buford, Ga. She is excited to join Sugarloaf Performing Arts and work with the talented faculty and dedicated students for the 2017-2018 season.

Ashleigh Nyee

Ashleigh is a dedicated performer, teacher, and a proud graduate of Georgia State University. She began teaching dance as an instructor’s assistant at I-Can Dance Studios at age 14. She has since taught hip hop, ballet, tap, and tumbling to children across Atlanta, including The Dance and Arts Showcase in Tucker, GA. She is also a featured dancer in Dan Pritzher’s feature film, “Bolden!”. Ashleigh can be seen on-stage alongside award winning artist CeeLo Green, or not at all as a member of iLuminate, from the 6th season of America’s Got Talent. Of all her career accomplishments, Ashleigh is most proud of teaching dance, and watching her students perform in costumes she designed through her own company, Dizzy Izzy Wear.

Jennifer Parker

Jennifer was born in Boca, Raton Florida and began dancing at the age of four. She has lived in Lawrenceville, Georgia since the age of 12 when she began her intensive technical training in ballet, pointe, modern, jazz, musical theatre and many other styles of dance at Sugarloaf Performing Arts. In her time dancing with Sugarloaf Ballet, she has been in a variety of productions from Pinocchio in 2004 to Sleeping Beauty in 2011. In 2009, she received the lead role of Snow White in Sugarloaf Ballet’s production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. In addition, she has acquired numerous gold, high gold, and platinum awards for group and solo pieces at talent competitions all over Georgia. Jennifer graduated from Peachtree Ridge High School in 2010 with honors and went on to attend Kennesaw State University (KSU) in Kennesaw, Georgia. She danced with the KSU Dance Company five semesters and worked in the Department of Dance office at KSU for one year. She graduated from KSU with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance in 2014. She continued her education and fostered her love for children by attaining a second bachelor’s degree. She received her Bachelor of Science in early childhood education in 2015. Jennifer is excited to continue to foster excellence in dance education as an artistic staff member at Sugarloaf Performing Arts.

Erin Rauch

Erin Rauch is an Atlanta based performing artist and teacher. Her roots as a dancer are woven and knotted deeply in the classicism and structure of ballet, and while those technologies continue to inform her phrase-making and beliefs about movement, they have also been firmly bound to an ongoing investigation in modern and contemporary forms. Erin received her BA in Dance from Kennesaw State University in 2013. While attending university, Erin was awarded an academic scholarship for being an “outstanding scholar”, and her choreography was selected to represent KSU at the American College Dance Association regional festival in 2013. At KSU, she performed in works by Ivan Pulinkala, Lauri Stallings, and Stevan Novakovich. Erin attended the American Dance Festival at Duke University in the summer of 2014, where she received training from former Forsythe dancer Elizabeth “Betsy” Corbett, Rodger Belman, Ishmael Houston Jones, and many others. Erin danced for Emily Cargill and Dancers in 2014 and performed in both the Modern Atlanta Dance Festival and the Detroit Dance City Festival. In 2015, Erin attended two weeks of summer programming at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, taking classes (most notably) from Bobbi Jene Smith, Summer Lee Rhatigan, Alex Ketley, Tristan Ching. Currently, Erin enjoys dancing around Atlanta in the immersive creations of Lucky Penny/Work Room resident artist Anicka Austin and teaching/choreographing for studios in the metro Atlanta area.

Janet Rowthorn

As a dance educator, Ms. Janet was the supervisor one of the first Performing Arts High School in the state of New Jersey . Ms. Janet was the former artistic director of the nationally known DENISHAWN Repertory Dancers and New Jersey Center Dance Collective. Janet worked along side of former dance historian Jane Sherman and founder Michelle Mathesius for ten years reconstructing the historical work of Ruth St Denis and Ted Shawn (the mother and father of American modern dance) and Doris Humphrey. In addition to her work with the historical modern dance, Ms. Janet received numerous Distinguished Fellowship Awards for her own choreography and grants for her company Rowthorn & Dancers. Ms Janet’s work has performed by the famous New York School of Performing Arts HS- the “FAME” school and the Georgia Ballet. In addition to her performing career, she has implemented dance programs for over 40 years throughout the Northeast and Atlanta area. She was the former Founder and Artistic Director of the Bravo Dance Center located in Acworth, Georgia.

Whitney Sauve

Whitney Sauve is a native of Marietta, Georgia and has trained since the age of nine in Jazz, Ballet, Lyrical and Hip-Hop. She has recently been seen working with professional artists such as “Jadi” and “The Gang of Roses” and with professional dance company “Brooks and Company Dance.” She has choreographed works for Light the World Parade, Atlanta’s Thanksgiving Night of Hope and the Georgia’s Governors Honors Program, to name a few. Whitney is extremely excited to begin another season at Sugarloaf Performing Arts.

John Streit

Mr. Streit holds the position of Affiliate Professor of Dance at Brenau University. He earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance with a Teaching and Choreography emphasis from the University of Arizona where he danced with the Arizona Repertory Ensemble and taught ballet, jazz, musical theatre and modern dance. Prior to his time at the U of A, John danced with the Georgia Ballet, was a Guest Artist with Atlanta Ballet in Michael Pink’s Romeo and Juliet and has been a guest artist throughout the Southeast. Mr. Streit has danced much of the classical repertoire including principal and soloist roles in Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Giselle, Coppelia, La Bayadere, The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, La Fille Mal Gardee, Paquita, and Cinderella among others. Mr. Streit has also performed principal roles in a variety of musicals including Anything Goes, The Addams Family, Damn Yankees, and most recently CATS as Mr. Mistoffolees at the Cobb Energy Center. John teaches all levels of ballet, modern, jazz and musical theatre and has taught as a guest teacher or on faculty at several dance schools and festivals in the Southeast as well as in Arizona. Mr. Streit just successfully completed the the Pre-Primary-Level 3 teaching certification at the ABT National Training Curriculum in NYC this summer.

Mr. Streit is also a choreographer and has created several concert works including the ballet Se Faire Echarper which won the best choreography award at Access Broadway, Let it Be which finished 1st runner-up at the Panoply Choreographic Competition and most recently Wind, Sand and Stars which was chosen to be performed at the Southeastern Regional Ballet Association Convention in 2016 in Durham, NC.

John serves as a coach for students attending the Youth America Grand Prix where he has coached Top 12 and Top 24 finalists.

John is thrilled to be working with the students at SPA this sesaon!

Rio Thompson

Rio Thompson was born in Brunswick, GA where she began her dance training at the age of three with Jessica Dominey School of Dance. While in Brunswick she also trained at Jill Stanford School of Dance under owner and director Jill Stanford. Upon moving to Suwanee, GA in the summer of 1999, she began her training with Sugarloaf Performing Arts in Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, and Modern under the direction of Lori Zamzow-Wire. Trained classically in the Vaganova Style with accents of Cecchetti and Balanchine, she furthered her dance career performing with Sugarloaf Ballet in roles such as Claire in the Magic of Christmas, The Fox in Pinocchio, Sugar Plum Fairy and Chinese Tea in Nutcracker Excerpts, Soloist in the Little Match Girl, 3rd Odalisque Variation/Soloist in Le Corsaire, and the lead role of Cinderella in the Production of Cinderella. She also competed in various ballet and dance competitions where she was named a Dance Olympus VIP in 2005 & 2006 and a Dance America semi-finalist for Dancer of the Year in 2006 where she performed at Disney’s Galaxy Theatre. She also spent time training many summers with Dance Olympus, Sugarloaf Ballet Intensive, The Georgia Ballet, The Nashville Ballet, The Atlanta Ballet, and The American Ballet Theatre. She graduated from North Georgia College and State University (now University of North Georgia) in 2012 with a Bachelor’s of Science and has returned “home” to Sugarloaf to teach and inspire young dancers.

Racehel Erin Truitt

Bio coming soon

Julian Esteban Duque López Gomez Delgado Aristizabal Marin Ocampo
– Company Director –

Julian Esteban Duque López Gomez Delgado Aristizabal Marin Ocampo was born in Medellin, Colombia. At the age of 7 he moved to New Jersey and at 15 to Georgia. After starting ballet at the age of 18 at Sugarloaf Performing Arts with Lori Zamzow-Wire, Julian moved to Pennsylvania to train at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under Marcia Dale Weary, Leslie Hench, Laszlo Berdo, Bruce Thornton and Melinda Howe and many others. After three years at CPYB, Julian received a second company contract at Tulsa Ballet where he danced for a year before joining Miami City Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2014.

Alexis Guthrie

Upon graduation from SPA, Alexis moved to Philidelphia to attend University of the Arts where she recieved a scholarship from the Dance Departmment. She has worked with the Koresh Dance Company as was recently given an outstanding review by The Dance Journal. Read the full article here: http://philadelphiadance.org/blog/2015/01/20/the-koresh-artist-showcase-a-slice-for-you-a-slice-for-me/

Imani Williams

Imani Williams started dancing in his junior year at Collins Hill High School as a musical theatre student. He soon developed a passion and began training at Sugarloaf Performing Arts (SPA) under the direction of Lori Zamzow-Wire. Upon graduating from SPA and Collins Hill, Imani moved to New York City where he lived and trained at the Joffrey Ballet School on full scholarship. He has had the opportunity to work with former prima ballerina Margo Sappington, Tony award-winner Chet Walker, and choreographer of the musical, Rent, Marlies Yearby. He has been featured on Joffrey Ballet advertisements and promotional materials and selected to showcase his original choreography at the Alvin Ailey Performance Space. Imani is currently a member of Florida Dance Theatre in Lakeland, FL.

Heather Hatzenbuhler

Heather Hatzenbuhler began her dance career at Sugarloaf Performing Arts Studio (SPA) during high school after nine years as a competitive figure skater. As a result of the intensive, professional training she received from Lori Zamzow-Wire and Kara Hill-Protos Heather progressed quickly to become a member of the Senior Company, performing many feature roles and winning numerous awards for her solos at dance competitions throughout the state. She went on to attend the University of Georgia where she was in the Honors Program and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Environmental Economics and Management. She has been a member of City Gat Dance Theatre, Gotta Dance Contemporary, Refuge Dance Company, Dance Canvas and through these has worked with Choreographers Katherine Gant, Lonnie Davis, Lane Grosser, and Angela Harris. She was a guest artist performing the role of the Fairy Godmother in the Metayer Conservatory’s Winter Fairytale and is dancing with Ballet Palm Beach for their 2015-2016 season. Heather works as an Environmental Analyst whenever she isn’t in the studio.

Jennifer Mullins-Parker

Jennifer Mullins-Parker was born in Boca, Raton Florida and began dancing at the age of four. She has lived in Lawrenceville, Georgia since the age of 12 when she began her intensive technical training in ballet, pointe, modern, jazz, musical theatre and many other styles of dance at Sugarloaf Performing Arts. In her time dancing with Sugarloaf Ballet, she has been in a variety of productions from Pinocchio in 2004 to Sleeping Beauty in 2011. In 2009, she received the lead role of Snow White in Sugarloaf Ballet’s production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. In addition, she has acquired numerous gold, high gold, and platinum awards for group and solo pieces at talent competitions all over Georgia. Jennifer graduated from Peachtree Ridge High School in 2010 with honors and went on to attend Kennesaw State University (KSU) in Kennesaw, Georgia. She danced with the KSU Dance Company five semesters and worked in the Department of Dance office at KSU for one year. She graduated from KSU with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance in 2014. She continued her education and fostered her love for children by attaining a second bachelor’s degree. She received her Bachelor of Science in early childhood education in 2015. Jennifer has decided to return to Sugarloaf as full time artistic staff, stage manager, and school administrator with the intent of combining her passions for dance and love of educating.

Rio Dills-Thopmson

Rio Dills-Thopmson was born in Brunswick, GA where she began her dance training at the age of three with Jessica Dominey School of Dance. While in Brunswick she also trained at Jill Stanford School of Dance under owner and director Jill Stanford. Upon moving to Suwanee, GA in 1999, she began her training at Sugarloaf Performing Arts under the direction of Lori Zamzow-Wire. Trained classically in the Vaganova Style with accents of Cecchetti and Balanchine, she furthered her dance career performing with Sugarloaf Ballet in roles such as Claire in the Magic of Christmas, The Fox in Pinocchio, Sugar Plum Fairy and Chinese Tea in Nutcracker Excerpts, Soloist in the Little Match Girl, 3rd Odalisque Variation/Soloist in Le Corsaire, and the lead role of Cinderella in the Production of Cinderella. She also competed in various ballet and dance competitions where she was named a Dance Olympus VIP in 2005 & 2006 and a Dance America semi-finalist for Dancer of the Year in 2006 where she performed at Disney’s Galaxy Theatre. She also spent time training many summers with Dance Olympus, Sugarloaf Ballet Intensive, The Georgia Ballet, The Nashville Ballet, The Atlanta Ballet, and The American Ballet Theatre. She received a dance scholarship to Winthrop University where she attended until 2009 when she transferred to North Georgia College and State University (now University of North Georgia) and continued to dance as a member of the UNG Dance Team. She graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor’s of Science and has returned “home” to Sugarloaf to teach and inspire young dancers.

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