Tracey Yanckello Bayly began her dance training in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she
grew up. Throughout her school years, she won several scholarships including a full
scholarship to the Pennsylvania Governors School for the Arts and The Pittsburgh
Renaissance Youth Ballet, both of which she attended.

At the age of 17, Tracey attended Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania, on a partial
dance and partial academic scholarship. While in school, she was a guest performer with
the Erie Civic Ballet in their production of the Nutcracker. By Tracey's senior year she
had won several scholarships, including winning ballet scholarships to four different
companies around the country. David Howard himself also selected her to attend his
school on a full scholarship. As a dance major at Mercyhurst, Tracey graduated cum
laude with a bachelor's degree in fine arts.

The next year Tracey accepted a position as a soloist with the Columbia City Ballet in
Columbia, South Carolina. Within one month, she began dancing principle roles. In her
ten years with the company, she danced leading roles in major classical ballets, as well as
having several original works set on her by the director and guest choreographers.

Tracey also performed as a guest dancer for companies around the country. One of her
favorite performances was dancing in Swan Lake, performing the roles of Odile and
Odette with her partner and friend Serge Lavoie of the National Ballet of Canada.

After a very enjoyable and prosperous career, Tracey and her husband Mike decided to
move to Atlanta, Georgia and begin a family. Jerod Gianni Yanckello Bayly was born on
June 5, 2001. At this time, Tracey pursued her other passion of teaching dance. She had
begun teaching in high school and continued throughout her college career. For three
years she was an assistant teacher at The Pennsylvania Governor's school where she was
an alumni. She taught at many area schools in South Carolina. Also, she taught at the
Columbia City Ballet full time, for their conservatory, as well as for their professional
company.

Once settled in Atlanta, Tracey taught for the Atlanta Ballet, Griffin Ballet Theatre, Roswell City Dance and Roswell Dance Theatre. Tracey found her home with the Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance, the home of the Roswell Dance Theatre, the school's non-profit performing company. She is presently the Ballet Mistress of RDT, where she is involved with their yearly production of the Nutcracker as well as SERBA. Tracey is the Director of the Pre-Professional company, which she has done for the past five years. She has staged Giselle, Cinderella, excerpts from Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and this season
will be setting the full length Paquita.

Jillian Hanes, a native of New York, is an accomplished performer, choreographer and teacher. Her performance credits include Star Search, Fiesta Texas, Opryland USA, Opryland Hotel, The General Jackson Showboat, as well as numerous music videos, television pilots, commercials and industrials. A published journalist, Jillian has also written a column in Dancer Magazine. Jillian hopes to spread her passion of dance and the theatrical arts to the next generation, as well as providing them with knowledge and confidence they can take with them through life!

Likesa PUMKIN Harris, a native of Atlanta, has been dancing her entire life. Technically trained in Ballet, Modem, Jazz, African and self taught in Hiphop, Pumkin is one of the rarities in the dance world today. Pumkin teaches Jazz, Hiphop, and a Hiphop Ballet class where she wanted to take the classic technique of Ballet and fuse it with the street of Hiphop. Once a tour dancer whose tours include the most recent Mary J. Blige and Ciara, Pumkin, when she's not teaching is recording and performing with her female alternative rap group "The Gang of Roses." She continues to choreograph for dance teams and companies around Atlanta as well as TV commercials including the "Off Broadway Shoes" commercial. A Hiphop dancer whose repertoire includes Street Hiphop, Jungle, Break Dancing, Pop Lock'n and Atl Crank, chances are if you see something with Hiphop in it, Pumkin had something to do with it!

"Find what it is you love and figure out how to make money doing it."

Hye-Young Kim began dancing at the age five. She trained under the direction of Adnenne Delias at the prestigious Sun-Wha Art School in Seoul, South Korea and later was invited to study at the Kirov Ballet Academy in Washington, D.C. In 1987 she joined Universal Ballet Company and was quickly promoted to soloist and then to principal in 1994.

In 1989, she won the gold medal at the Korea Dance Association Competition and a year later was invited to dance the Don-Quixote at the fifth annual Hong Kong International Dance Festival. In 1994, she joined the Atlanta Ballet Company as a principal dancer where she danced for 10 years. Mrs. Kirn has danced principal roles in such classics as Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, La Bayardere, Cinderella, Coppelia, Nutcracker, and Paquita. As well as, Balanchine's Allegro Brilliant Serenade, Tchaikovsky Pas, Four Ts, Stanton Welch's Madame Butterfly, Septime, Webrer's Carmen, Peter Martins's Ash, Fernando Nault's Carmina Burana, Michael Pink s Dracula, Hunchback of Notre Dame and Romeo & Juliet. Mrs. Kirn also made guest appearances with Nevada Ballet Theater, Lexington Ballet, Seoul Ballet Theater, Icelandic National Broadcasting System and most memorable performance at The Korea World Dance Stars festival.

Jena Michele Oswald, has been dancing with brooks & company dance since 2005. Her early training began at the Janet Herbez Dance Studio in Gretna, Louisiana and then at Highland School of Dance and Harrison Arts Center at Lakeland High School in Lakeland, Florida. She graduated cum laude from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. At FSU she focused on the diversity of her performance, appearing in classical works such as Giselle and Swan Lake, modem works by Garth Pagan and Sean Curran, and many contemporary ballets. Jena has also studied at the Florida Dance Festival, Dance Theatre of Harlem and the New Arts Festival with David Parsons. Professionally, Jena spent three seasons with Ballethnic Dance Company and continues to perform with Griffin Ballet Theatre.

Believing that classical ballet establishes the technical foundation for the next generation of dancers, Jena is proud to teach ballet technique to all age groups throughout the Atlanta area.



 

Birda Ringstad has been teaching tap dance in the Atlanta area since 1986. She started her dance training at the Art Linkletter School of Dance in Chicago at the age of eight. Birda has studied tap with many of the tap masters, including Brenda Buffalino, Diane Walker, Josh Hilberman, Gregory Hines and many more. Her main influence however was the late Tommy Sutton.

Birda continues to travel around the country attending tap festivals and staying on top of current trends. She is the director of The Rhythm Keepers Tap Company. Although she considers herself a "rhythm tapper," she's been known to choreograph a pinwheel or a kick line into her dancers. Birda is also an accomplished ballroom dancer and instructor.

Ginger Sausmer - A Southern Crescent native, Ginger has an extensive dance background that includes both teaching and technical training in creative movement, Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Tap, Hip-Hop, and Modern Dance. Ginger has instructed and choreographed for the Dance Academy of Fayetteville, Clayton Festival Ballet, Dance Clayton, Mt. Zion High School, Dance & Arts Showcase, Cumming Dance Academy, Creative Movement and Dance, and Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance.

Ginger first entered the world of dancing at age 3 at the Dance Academy in Fayettevilte, where she trained for 17 years. After leaving the Dance Academy, she was Artistic Director of Atlanta South Dance Company, which toured greater Atlanta from 1992-1993. While at Georgia State University, she was a member of GSU's performing dance company, Movement Force. Ginger's professional performances include the Atlanta Ballet's 1998 production of "Spring Fever" and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, the 1996 Tenth Paralympics Games and the 1993 Georgia Games. Ginger is a 1999 graduate of Georgia State University, holding a BA in Sociology.

She and her husband currently reside in Roswell, Georgia, with their three children. Ginger is thrilled to share her enthusiasm and creativity with Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance.

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 loves teaching at Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance along with her husband Brandon Sauve. Whitney is also the proud mother of a little girl, Pamela Sauve.

Nebiyu Berhane Is a Choreographer/Teacher, specializing in Ballet, Jazz, and Contemporary. Nebi attended Southern Methodist University and University of the Arts. Has danced with Dance Theater of Harlem, Ballet West, and Holland America Cruise Lines/Stiletto Entertainment. Most recently danced with Chicago Festival Ballet, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, Thodos, Inaside Dance Chicago, and Momenta.

Workshop/Master Classes
DePaul University - Jazz/Musical Theater
Fisher Dance Center  - Contemporary
The Entertainment Project - Fosse Workshop

Musical Theater Choreography
St. Benedicts  -  Snow White
The Art Place -  Pippin
The Entertainment Project  -  Beauty and the Beast
The Entertainment Project  -  High School Musical

Guest Choreography
Collision Theatre  -  Shotgun Wedding
Chicago Dance Crash  -  Destructible Day Trip
Schaumburg Ballet  -  "The Nutcracker”

Teaching Experience
The Entertainment Project - Director of Dance  -  Chicago, IL
Dance Center Evanston-Guest Teacher - Jazz  -  Chicago, IL
Naperville School of Performing Arts - Jazz, Ballet  -  Naperville, IL
Roswell Dance Theater - Ballet  -  Atlanta, GA

Education
CCEPA  - 1996-2000   -  Atlanta GA
Southern Methodist University  -  2000-2001   -  Dallas, TX
University of the Arts  -  2001-2002  -  Philadelphia, PA

References
Priscilla Parche  773-822-1365 -  The Entertainment Project
Lindsay Shepherd  773-484-0306  -  Especially Tap Chicago
Alyce Brinkmann   815-790-7446   -  Illinois Youth Dance Theater

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