Meet the Team

Meghan Burgess currently lives in Charleston, SC, and is the founder and executive director of Ignite Dance Competition. She founded Ignite Dance Competition with the idea of putting dancers and teachers first while creating a space for dancers and teachers to learn and grow together. This includes no early morning starts or late-night awards, teacher and studio awards, and opportunities for dancers to continue to train with our esteemed panel of judges each weekend. After leading multiple competition teams to regional and national victories and judging and teaching across the United States, Meghan understands the stress, time, and effort that goes into a competition weekend. Ignite is designed to leave your dancers feeling inspired and recognized, your teachers recharged, and your families asking to join us again next year.

Michael began his instruction in dance at Deborah Case Dance Academy in McAllen, Tx; starting off with traditional Spanish dances of Folkloric and Flamenco. After realizing his passion for the art form, he decided to broaden his training. He continued his training in Jazz, Tap, Hip-Hop and Modern techniques, where he also traveled around TX working with different master teachers including Joe Tremaine, Gus Giordano, Laurie Johnson, and many others. Finally realizing the importance of a solid background in Ballet he began his training at the late age of 14. He studied under Deborah Case at the Deborah Case Dance Academy, home of the Rio Grande Valley Ballet. He had the luxury of working with numerous instructors, including Prima Ballerina Absolut Galina Mezentseva of the Kirov Ballet, Alex Ossadnick Ballet Bordeaux (current Ballet Master of Ballet Idaho), Michael and Olga Wise of Moscow Classical, and Willie Shives of Joffrey Ballet. He then began to perform with The Rio Grande Valley Ballet portraying lead roles in different classical and contemporary ballets traveling and touring within the state of Texas. It was with the RGVB that he had the pleasure of sharing the stage with principals of the Joffrey Ballet, as well as dance and partner in Carnival of the Animals with Prima Ballerina Absolut Galina Mezantseva.

Michael began his teaching at the age of 15. Choreographing performances for local studios, along with choreography for competition pieces in YAGP, Co Dance, Dance Masters of America and Treamaine, he has received different awards including Best Choreography and Most Original. Along with competitions, he has had the privilege of working with local artists in Texas with music videos, live concerts, musicals and plays.

Relocating to Charleston, SC in 2009, Michael continued his training with the late Robert Ivey at the Robert Ivey Ballet. Soon after, Robert Ivey invited him as a dancer, teacher, and choreographer for his local performances. He became a soloist for the company including roles in Hunchback of Notre Dame, Romeo & Juliet, & Scherezade. As an instructor for the school, Michael worked with dancers of all ages in Modern & Ballet technique along with becoming a rehearsal master for the company. It was in 2012 that Michael became acquainted with Jill Bahr at the Charleston Ballet Theatre, in which he became a regular in her productions including Alice in Wonderland, Nutcracker, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Happily Ever After, and Chim Chim Cheree. With Charleston Ballet & Coastal Ballet USA he has become an instructor in their pre-pro program, school, and summer intensives.

Michael continues to travel as a guest artist/performer for Florida Ballet, Heartland Youth Ballet, & Rio Grande Valley Ballet. As an active member of DMA, he is a sought-out instructor and adjudicator for Dance Masters of America National & Affiliated chapters. Along with working conventions and being an adjudicator within different national competitive circuits. 

Dana grew up in Sumter, SC where she began dancing at the age of 2. She received training in various styles from some of the top choreographers and teachers in the industry. Dana attended Winthrop University and received her BS in Exercise Science, with a minor in Dance. While at Winthrop, Dana was chosen as captain of the Garnet Girls dance team. While finishing up her senior year of college, she was also able to cheer professionally for the NFL with the Carolina Panthers. Dana’s current role is Artistic Director, choreographer, and instructor. She travels and teaches master classes and does guest choreography for many studios. She has completed Dance Teacher Certification from UNLV and enjoys sharing her passion and love for dance.

Samantha Reynolds is a professional dancer, choreographer, and teacher originating from Northern Kentucky. She began her training at just three years old and started competing at the age of nine. Samantha is well versed and trained in Jazz, Lyrical, Modern, Tap, Ballet, Contemporary, Hip Hop and Jazz Funk. After years as a competitive dancer, Samantha went on to receive a scholarship to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Northern Kentucky University. During that time, she trained and performed under Tracey Bonner, Jay Goodlett, Heather Britt, Dee Anne Bryll, and Renee McCafferty. Samantha was a member of NKU’s touring Dance Troupe, served as assistant choreographer for the Theatre Department musical productions, and had the pleasure of training with the Paul Taylor 2 Dance Company.

Upon graduation, Samantha became a company dancer for Exhale Dance Tribe based in Cincinnati, Ohio under the direction of Missy Lay Zimmer and Andrew Hubbard. She then moved to Los Angeles, California to train under the watchful eye of Shannon Mather at Mather Dance Company. Samantha became an instructor for Mather Dance Company, and an online assistant for Shannon Mather and Brianna Suakjian. During her time in California, Samantha had the pleasure of teaching at Fusion Dance Center and being an adjudicator for High School Dance Teams. Working at Millennium Dance Complex-LA was one of Samantha’s favorite experiences which led to her true love for the Commercial Dance. Samantha had the pleasure of getting to take class and train with Dana Alexa, Nico O'Connor, Kyle Hanagami, and many other industry professionals.

Some of Samantha's professional credits include the “First Position” book commercial, VIRAL The Musical-Preview video, Doterra Film Projects, YouTube film spots for Millennium Dance Complex, ONYX Avenue promo video, local news spots promoting dance and fitness, and many other on stage performances with Exhale Dance Tribe. While she loves performing, Samantha’s biggest passion lies in choreography, teaching, and inspiring the next generation of dancers. She loves traveling and inspiring dancers all over the country. Her pieces have earned high remarks and choreography awards throughout the competitive dance circuit. She is thrilled to be working with Ignite this season and looks forward to watching all of the dancers shine on stage.

Lindsay Giedl is a choreographer, teacher, and dancer. She is a graduate of The University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance degree, and has studied with Lisa Fusillo, Colleen Barnes, Elizabeth Osborne-Kibbe, and Chris Coates-Mitchell. She is a founding member of CADE:NCE – Contemporary African Dance Ensemble: New Conscious Explorations under the direction of Tamara Thomas. Lindsay danced at the Rex Nettleford Arts Conference in Kingston, Jamaica, and DANCE Africa in Brooklyn, NY, as well as presenting her choreography at the American College Dance Association Conference. She can also be seen in the indie shows “The Last of Robin Hood,” “Honey 4,”as well as Corey Smith’s music video “Honky Tonkin’ in My Blood.”

Lindsay danced with The Modern Pin Ups Dance Company from 2012 to 2018 and resided as the Company Director for the Apprentice Company for the 2017 – 2018 season. In 2017, she created the professional company Linds & Co. as a branch off her undergraduate thesis project – creating works with post-modern socio-political contemporary and improvisational movement. Lindsay is also one of the Co-founders of Counterpoint Dance Company residing at The University of Georgia and served as the Artistic Director from 2015 to 2018.

Lindsay’s work was recently accepted for the PANDEMIC ATLANTA Choreographer search with the City of Atlanta – Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs and was selected to present new work for the Fall for Fall Dance Festival, a new socially distanced dance festival. Lindsay is also the 2020-2021 recipient of the Kristel Rose Tedesco Residency with Mathematics-in-Motion. In addition, Lindsay is in her fifth year working with the Joffrey Ballet School and is currently the Administrative Director/Faculty of the Summer Programs – Joffrey South and Joffrey Colorado Springs.

Anna Burgess is excited to join Ignite Dance Competition for yet another season! When she isn’t on the road for Ignite, she serves as the joined Recruitment and Retention Manager for Avocet Hospitality Group. A native of Charleston, Burgess graduated from the College of Charleston with a degree in Communications and Women and Gender Studies. Burgess is an avid traveler herself, having visited 18 countries and 46 states so far.

Miss Natasha Jade trained with Omaha Theater Ballet & on scholarship with Kansas City Ballet. Natasha began her professional ballet career at 17 years old. Natasha has danced numerous principal and title roles for various ballet companies around the US; Omaha Theater Ballet, American Midwest Ballet, & Ballet Vero Beach. Natasha performed the title roles in Paquita, Snow White, and Cleopatra. She danced principal roles such as; Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream,  Mina in Dracula, The Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. Her repertoire also includes The Sleeping Beauty, La fille mal Gardée, Coppélia, Romeo and Juliet,  Alice and Wonderland, Swing Swing Swing, and many other original works.   Natasha has graced billboards, commercials, & print ads for companies; some including Walmart, & Hayneedle. She also appeared on Fox Television's hit series, "So You Think You Can Dance." She has a rich desire to spread her knowledge to the dancers of the future.  Her unique teachings incorporate her many years in the dance industry, as well as her ballet, Pilates, and fitness education. Natasha is a certified Balanced Body Pilates & Barre Fitness instructor. She is also a certified Zumba Fitness & group fitness instructor. Natasha's teaching style incorporates cross-training. Cross-training helps the dancer improve quickly without the risk of injuries from over-use. Natasha virtually trains hundreds of dancers across the world. She offers specialized intensives, workshops, courses, master classes, and private lessons. Many of her students have went on to dance professionally for various companies across the nation. Natasha is excited to share her secrets with you.  

Ariana Schuler is from Asheville, North Carolina. She graduated from Southern New Hampshire University majoring in Communications with a concentration in New Media. She’s obsessed with anything that has to do with social media and marketing. She competed in dance competitions growing up and is excited to be a part of the Ignite team for a second season. In her free time, she likes to hang out with her cats Petunia and Mug and go to the beach with her friends!

Sherry Bodden is long-time dance mom. Her daughter is currently a member of the Buc Angels Dance Team at Charleston Southern University. She loves making her daughter’s solo costumes for competition where she loves turning simple pieces of dance attire to costumes that help her shine on stage. When she isn’t sewing costumes and cheering on Ashley, Sherry works for the City of Goose Creek and enjoys crafting with her Cricut machine and making gifts for friends and family.

Whitney Floyd is originally from Turbeville, SC, and has had a love of dance since age 3. Whitney danced competitively with The Rising Stars at Miss Libby’s School of Dance, graduating in 2012. Whitney continued pursuing her dance passion while attending Clemson University as a member of the Clemson Rally Cats Dance Team, the official dance team of Clemson Athletics. During her four years, she performed at a variety

of Clemson Athletics events and served as GameDay captain. Her favorite memories were performing at the 2015 College Football National Championship in Phoenix, AZ, and being selected and featured

in Sports Illustrated. After receiving her undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree in Health Science from Clemson University, she

attended the University of South Carolina Columbia to pursue her Doctorate degree in Physical Therapy. During her graduate studies, Whitney was a dance technique teacher for the competitive dance team at

Carolina Dance Academy of Manning, SC. Whitney enjoys judging dance team and studio tryouts for local schools and studios while choreographing competitive pieces in her spare time. She also enjoys judging across the southeast. Whitney currently practices Physical Therapy in Manning at Pocotaligo River Health and Rehab Center and lives in Manning with her husband, Austin Floyd, her 8-month-old son Tommy and their two dogs. She enjoys utilizing her

skillset and passion for dance to promote injury prevention and provide a point of contact injury analysis during competitions to keep dancers functioning at their highest level of health and performance.

Becca Robinson has been passionately dancing since the young age of 2. Growing up in San Diego, CA, she made her way to the east coast to train at Broadway Dance Center for the Professional Semester Program in 2015. Upon moving to NYC, she is now signed to MSA Talent Agency in NYC and LA. Becca has performed at the VMA’s with Taylor Swift, High School Musical, Chloe Flower, The Macy’s Day Parade and can also be seen in hit films such as, “Isn’t It Romantic” and “In the Heights”. Becca has had the opportunity to work with brands such as Puma, MembersOnly, Degree, and Universal Standard. Over the past few years, Becca has consistently been performing for shows that include: “The Soul Spot,” “DayDreamers” & “Blooming”.

Along with dancing, Becca has taught and choreographed for numerous artists and studios across the country. Her most recent work can be seen on “Get Out the Vote,” A social media campaign, which aired late last year. Her most recent collaborative work is being created with Bo Park on Virgin Voyages: Scarlet Lady, for the new immersive dance show: “Scarlet Night.” 

Cary de Graaff began his dance training at the age of eight. Throughout the years, Cary has continued his dance training in Ballet, Contemporary, Lyrical, Jazz, Musical Theater, and has participated in multiple show-stopping performances. During Cary’s senior year in high school, he was invited to join an award-winning competition company, where he was able to compete nationally across the east coast and received scholarships for showmanship, dedication, and hard work. Since graduating high school, Cary has been attending Lynn University, majoring in Sports Management. On Cary’s off days, he enjoys aviation, sporting events, and traveling with his competition company team members.

Teacher and Choreographer, Fernando Naranjo, has extensive experience teaching classes and workshops at numerous schools and studios in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. His broad, rich, and varied dance training affords him expertise as an instructor in Contemporary, Tap, Jazz, and Latin Dance. Choreography credits include setting pieces on a variety of studios and schools to “Boogie Wonderland”, “The Tornado”, “Surfin”, “Black & Gold” and “Love In The Dark” as well as creating a tribute to Celia Cruz. A well-rounded dancer, his performing credits include company membership in The Showbiz Dancers, performing on the stage of The Kennedy Center as well as a wide variety of other venues. He has worked with and trained under such dance luminaries as Shawn Cosby,  Derrick Evans, Bonnie Slawson, and Hinton Battle.   

Tory Bowers is originally from the Charlotte, NC area, but has called Charleston, SC home for the past ten years. She danced competitively during her childhood and is excited for the opportunity to be a part of the dance competition world again. She is a graduate of the College of Charleston Dance Department, then went on to obtain her MBA. She has vast experience in event planning and production and can't wait to put that work to use with Ignite!

Kamali Hill is an ​independent dance artist creating work that manifests thought-provoking conversations concerning Black culture. Her work has been commissioned and presented by Dissonance Dance Theater (District of Columbia), The Center for Civil and Human Rights (Atlanta), Modern Atlanta Dance Festival, Sans Limites Danse (New York City), and Deeply Rooted Dance Theater (Chicago). She has also had the opportunity to collaborate on interdisciplinary works with Fuerta Dance Company (Atlanta), Okwae A. Miller and Artists (Atlanta), Alan Kimara Dixon (Atlanta), Corian Ellisor and Dancers (Atlanta), T. Lang Dance (Atlanta), and Otis Sallid (Atlanta).

She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University and is a Master of Fine Arts in Dance candidate at Texas Woman’s University. Her current research explores African diasporic movement practices to facilitate community engagement through collaborative dance-making.  

Noa Barankin (Lowell, MA), originally from Israel, has danced and toured with the Boston Tap Company and Off Beat Tap, until forming her own tap dance and percussion company DrumatiX in 2017. With DrumatiX, Noa has showcased her work in venues such as Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, Clayton Opera House, Rochester Fringe Festival, and numerous other venues and festivals in the Northeast. DrumatiX is also on the roster for Young Audiences of MA, performing both virtually and in person for K-12 educational programs.

Noa teaches and choreographs for dance studios - both competitive and recreational, and leads tap and percussion workshops for festivals (Southern Vermont Dance Festival, Beantown TapFest), private organizations, universities (MIT, Northeastern, Brandeis, Middlebury College), and dance studios.

Her choreographic work with her students has achieved recognition at dance competitions, including two nominations for Industry Dance Awards for "Best Performance in Tap", National Title, as well as National Choreography, Concept, and Entertainment awards.

Noa directs and choreographs musical theatre and has worked for schools as well as organizations such as Kidstock! Creative Theatre and the Wakefield Repertory Youth Theatre.

In Israel, before moving to Boston, aside from performing and choreographing in shows, TV, and independent films, Noa also toured with the international group “Tararam”, and was a touring cast member in “Power of Wishes”, for which she was nominated Best Supporting Actress at the Israeli Children's Theater Awards in 2013.Noa enjoys creating visual art, hiking, and spending time with her two sons and husband in her spare time. 

By day, she is an elementary school teacher and by night she is a mom to two precious boys! She has spent many years of her life dancing on a competition team for a local dance studio. After her dancing years were over, she went on to pursue her studies toward becoming an elementary school teacher. She loves spending a few weeks out of the year helping and being a part of the dance competition scene again.

Xavier’s very first professional art job came at the age of nineteen as a Hip Hop dance teacher at Georgia Dance Conservatory. Since then he has instructed and taught master classes at many studios and schools, including Kennesaw State University, Brenau University, Atlanta Ballet, Gwinnett Ballet Theatre, Dancers Studio Backstage, and many more. In 2015, he was hired at Grayson High School as Dance Director and in 2019, he began sharpening his skills in music and music theory. By 2020 he began composing musical scores for multiple dance companies, including Emory University, ImmerseATL, Georgia Staib, Zoetic Dance Ensemble, and others! He is currently working as a professional dancer for T. Lang and had a 2-month residency with Dance Canvas under the direction of Angela Harris. He has choreographed live performances for Grammy-nominated artist Jack Harlow and has been a background dancer for Hip Hop artist, B.O.B.. Xavier recently launched his very own arts and entertainment company, VIA UNI.  

Phyllis Williamson is a retired dance mom and is excited to be on tour with Ignite this season. When she isn’t on tour, she is a warehouse supervisor for USCG, managing four warehouses. She is a mom of two and a grandmother to five boys who keep her on her toes. She has also been married to Mack for 35 years and is very involved with her local church where she serves as Treasurer and a member of the praise and worship team.

La'Brece Knox began dancing at the age of twelve years old. From there, he joined the competition team at New Attitude Performing Arts Center. You can see him taking the stage on America's Got Talent and becoming a quarterfinalist and finding new heights as a dancer. He then moved into doing contract dancing at King's Dominion and Cedar Point Roller Coaster Capital of America. There he was able to receive amazing and intense training with Debbie Allen, Twitch, and Wildabeast. La'Brece now is working as a dance instructor at Dance U and travels frequently for master classes and guest choreography. 

Kasie Auten is choreographer and studio owner based out of Charleston, South Carolina. She has lived in NYC and trained at BDC, Ailey, and Peridance as well as interned at Steps on Broadway. Kasie has helped develop teaching programs and competition companies at studios all over South Carolina. She held a position with Converse College as a teaching artist and co-director for the dance ensemble. Her passion lies in teaching her own dancers, guest teaching, and choreographing at studios and schools all over the east coast. She has guest taught at the Charleston School of the Arts, Rollings Middle School, SC dance festival, DMA regional conventions, Gear Up Dance Convention, choreographed for the Wando Highschool dance department, Charleston SMART camp, presented choreography in the SC research symposium, several DanceFX shows, and DanceAthens in Athens, GA. As a dancer, she performed in collaborations with artists in NYC and was a principal with the Charleston Dance Project for four seasons. Kasie is currently the proud owner and director of Creative Edge Dance Center, home to the award-winning “Edge Co” in Charleston, SC. She is also the co-director of a pre-professional modern company known as “Vibe” that is housed at CEDC. Her students are currently studying dance in college and dancing professionally in New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, cruise ships around the world, and Broadway shows

Kate is the owner and artistic director of Art of Dance Studio at Art of Dance, Inc. She is originally from Raleigh, NC where she started dancing at the age of two. Kate found her passion for dance with classical ballet and pointe training as a member of Triangle Academy of Ballet, taking classes under instructors from the Carolina Ballet Company. Such technical education influenced her to have a strong focus on technique and conditioning for performance-based arts. At the Academy for Performing Arts and throughout college, she studied Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Contemporary, Choreography, Acrobatics, Pilates, Hip-Hop, Musical Theatre and was a member of the UNCW dance team. Most of her time was spent traveling to conventions, performances, and competitions where she acquired countless awards and scholarships through New York City Dance Alliance, Showstoppers, SHOCK the Intensive, JUMP, and many others. She was awarded a scholarship to attend Broadway Dance Center in New York under tap enthusiast Mike Minery. This memorable experience help mold the choreographer, educator and philanthropist she is today. In 2016, she created a non-profit company, Art of Dance Inc., that provides scholarships for children’s dance education and college dance education. Kate has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with an emphasis in child development, Philosophy, Religion, and feels that dance unites different types of cultures in a fundamental way. Kate truly loves teaching, performing and inspiring others to be their best. She believes that dance is an enlightening form of expression that every child can learn and grow creatively from.

Brittany Priester is from Charleston, South Carolina. She owns her own business, Brittany Priester Graphic Design which offers branding services to those looking to build a successful, recognizable, and unique brand. She graduated from Charleston Southern University’s Honors College with Bachelor’s Degrees in Business Entrepreneurship and Graphic Design. Brittany loves the dance industry and is excited to work with Ignite Dance Competition. She started dancing at the age of three and has performed on Carnival Cruise Lines, in Charleston Ballet Theatre’s Nutcracker, and was the Captain of the Buc Angels Dance Team at Charleston Southern University. Currently, she teaches dance at Planet Dance Center for the Arts and serves as Miss Charleston Southern University 2022. 

Maddie Kurtz is originally from Westport, CT, and received her early dance training at the D’valda and Sirico Dance and Music Centre. She holds a B.A. in Dance and Religious Studies from Colby College and an M.F.A. in Dance Performance and Choreography from SUNY Brockport. Maddie continues to teach and choreograph at studios and universities throughout the Southeast, while also creating and producing contemporary dance works for the concert stage with her company, MKrep. In addition to teaching dance, Maddie is a certified yoga and Pilate’s instructor. With interests rooted in the overlaps between concert and commercial dance, she has presented research at conferences including the National Dance Education Organization, The Dance Studies Association, and the Popular Culture Association. Previously based in Tallahassee, Maddie was in the faculty of Ballet Arts Conservatory of Tallahassee and in the School of Dance at Florida State University, and she is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Tampa. Maddie also judges for StarQuest, Inspire, and is on the roster of dance competition judges with Impact Dance Adjudicators. She also teaches on the convention circuit with Inspire’s Intensives and The Classic Dance Experience.

Originally from Oklahoma, Grace is a dancer, choreographer, instructor, and fine artist. She trained at Tulsa Ballet, as well as The Kirov Academy, Boston Ballet, Ellison Ballet, and the Marais Ballet School in Paris. She placed in the top 12 of the YAGP finals in 2011 and 2012. She joined Tulsa Ballet in 2013, and during her time there performed works by many great choreographers including, Marcello Angelini, Ma Cong, Adam Hougland, Ben Stevenson, Paul Taylor, and Christopher Bruce. Upon retirement, she worked as Ballet Mistress for Academy of Performing Arts and has choreographed several full-length ballets, including an original production of Alice in Wonderland. She then moved on to work as a choreographer and instructor at multiple dance studios in the Pacific Northwest, coaching her students to first place awards at many competitions as well as having three graduate and receive contracts with ballet companies. Grace currently lives in South Carolina, working with local dancers and art galleries. In addition to her dance career, she holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art, a 500-hour RYT yoga teaching certification, and is a NASM certified personal trainer