AFAA is extremely blessed to have Kari as a part of our AFAA family! Kari is an invaluable member of our administrative team. She and her husband, Micah, have five beautiful children, and are active members in many Alamance County communities. Her talented eye for design, as well as her administrative and organizational skills, help keep AFAA going, and we're so thankful for her!
Nicole has been teaching children, teens, and adults the art of dance for 21 years; 19 of those years at a studio that was called Arts Alive Fine Arts Studio. Over the years, she has served as instructor, Ballet Director, and Dance Director. She has directed and choreographed 10 ballets, including the beloved Cinderella. Nicole studied dance at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, as well as under Jane Wellford at Elon University. She loves continuing education and takes many opportunities to further her dance knowledge in order to pass it on to her students each year. Nicole lives in Elon with her husband, Jeremy, and their 6 children, Noah, Nathan, Elijah, LilyAnn, Sarai, and Isabella.
Anna is a graduate of the dance education program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a 2nd Grade teacher at Clover Garden. She completed her formal ballet, modern, and liturgical training at Arts Alive Fine Arts Studio and taught beginning level liturgical and ballet there during the 2015-2016 year. In addition, she was a member of Rejoice! Dance Ministry during her time at Arts Alive. Anna has studied dance under James Healey at North Carolina's Governor School, Yoav Kaddar at West Virginia University, and has participated in several dance conferences including American College Dance Association for the mid-Atlantic region. She cannot wait to share her passion for dance and Christ with her students!
Dana enjoys all styles of dance. She received instruction from Candy Brooks dance studio and taught at Arts Alive for 16 years. Her background includes Clogging, Jazz, Tap, and Character; she has also danced as a member of the Burlington Carousel Cloggers. Dana lives in Gibsonville, NC with her husband John and daughter Laney. She is proud to have her son, Caleb, serving in the U.S. Navy. In her spare time, Dana enjoys reading, watching Netflix, and spending time with friends and family.
Rebekah is a recent homeschool graduate. She has danced for 16 years, beginning at the age of three and has been part of Rejoice! Dance Ministry since 2010. Rebekah trained in Ballet, Pointe, Modern, Liturgical, Character, and Jazz; was a dance teacher apprentice for two years; and this is her second year as an instructor. She also has nine years of training in theatre performance. Rebekah is passionate about the Lord and using dance to worship and glorify Him. She adores children, and enjoys teaching and instilling in them a love for dance and an even greater love for the Lord.
Laney is a graduate of Clover Garden School and resides in Gibsonville, NC. She danced for 14 years at Arts Alive Fine Arts Studio, training in Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Jazz, Modern, Liturgical, Clogging, and Character. Laney participated in Rejoice! Dance Ministry, and has also assisted with choreography for an Alamance Children's Theatre production. She is currently attending ACC and plans to transfer to UNCG in 2020 to major in Nursing and minor in Dance. Laney is excited to share her experience with Alamance Fine Arts Academy students.
Katherine has been acting and directing for ten years. She's been pursuing an Associate's degree in Film and Video Technology at Piedmont Community College, where over the past year she wrote and directed three short films and acted in two more. She worked as part of the crew for the short psychological thrillers, "The Mark of Nafarious" and the feature film "Kill Giggles". Katherine is thrilled to be returning to AFAA, her second home, where she first learned to act. Some of her notable roles included, Lady Bracknell ("The Importance of Being Earnest"), Lydia Bennet ("Pride and Prejudice"), and Much ("Robin Hood").
Rockie and Mary Lou Troxler have been dancing ballroom for over 20 years and have competed in USA Dance for 12 years in various venues across the continental United States. In 2012 they won the Senior IV International Standard National Championship and are charter members of the Carolina Heartland Chapter of USA Dance in Greensboro, NC. They are natives of Alamance County and currently reside near Elon, NC. They have three children: Tonja (married to Sunny), Jeremy (married to Nicole), and Jesse (married to Jamie), as well as 8 grandchildren.
Born and raised in NJ, Chrissy Hahn moved to NC to attend Elon and graduated in 1998 with a degree in Elementary Education. She fell in love with the area upon arrival, and has enjoyed making NC her home ever since. She loves being around people--especially children--and is thankful the Lord has blessed her with opportunities to work with children over the years as a 4th grade teacher at BCA; summer camp director and after school care director for Parks and Rec; board member for ACCHE, member at Antioch Community Church; office helper for Arts Alive; and now in the office at AFAA. But her most-loved role is as a wife to Scott and a home-schooling mom to her three kids; Simeon, Zach, and Vada.
Lydia is a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of 3 beautiful children: Hannah Rose, Samuel, and Rachel Violet. She's been married to her best friend and talented husband, Lucas Harris, since 2003. She was a CNA on the Oncology floor for 6.5 years and worked for a year as a community support staff. She and her husband have worked with the children's ministry at their church for many years and she has been their VBS director for a few years as well. She has always loved working with people, especially children. Her family has enjoyed being a part of AFAA from it's beginning and she is excited to be a part of the AFAA team.
Geoff Gentry has a degree in communications from Elon. He worked for New Directions International (now Feed the Hunger) for several years doing video and computer work. He currently serves as a Data Manager for the Chapel Hill Carrboro City School System. Serving and helping are gifts the Lord has given him. He enjoys being behind the scenes in the background and supporting. These gifts have been cultivated and helped along the way from serving with his parents at church growing up, as well as serving in his church (running sound and computers). He has enjoyed running sound and lights, and helping backstage for dance and theater productions for many years. Geoff served behind the scenes at Arts Alive for 18 years and is glad to be part of the AFAA team.
