Jeremy and his wife, Nicole, are both Alamance County natives; were married in 2000, and have six beautiful children. Jeremy graduated from NC State University with a degree in Engineering, and is the President of Piedmont Metals in Burlington, NC. He is an elder at Antioch Community Church, where he and his family have been members for over 10 years. He and Nicole are thankful to the Lord for allowing them the privilege of directing Alamance Fine Arts Academy since 2017, and pray that all who enter the studio will feel welcomed and encouraged in Christ.
Meet the Team
Learn more about instructors & staff
Owner | Dance Director | Dance Instructor
Nicole Troxler
Nicole has been teaching children, teens, and adults the art of dance for over 25 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 13 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.
Dance Instructor
Anna Ballard
Anna graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a BFA in dance choreography, and a K-12 teaching license. She is a K-12 Dance Instructor at Clover Garden School. She loves being able to combine her love of teaching and dancing at Alamance Fine Arts Academy as well, and has been teaching here since 2017. She has studied many forms of dance throughout her training including ballet, contemporary, liturgical, African, and jazz, and has studied under many amazing teachers and professors. Anna currently lives in Greensboro with her husband Brandon and their dogs Maggie and Bri. She cannot wait to share her passion for dance and Christ with her students!
Dance Instructor
Dana Culberson
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.
Dance Instructor
Heather Zachary
Heather is a former homeschooled student and original member of Rejoice! Dance Ministry, which was formed in 1993. She has been teaching and performing with many different studios, churches, workshops, and conferences throughout the area since 1999. Her choreography has won awards and been selected for dance showcases throughout the Triad. For 8 years, she was blessed to be a part of Arts Alive Fine Arts Studio and desires to continue the mission Arts Alive began by sharing the gospel through dance at Alamance Fine Arts Academy. Heather lives in Snow Camp with her husband, Jeremy, and children, Zeb, Elias, and Miriam, and Baby Boy due December 2022!
Dance Instructor
Laney Lee
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 enjoying training her dog, Sadie, and planning her wedding with her fiancee, Josh, and she will become Mrs. Lee in October 2022! Laney is excited to share her dance experience with Alamance Fine Arts Academy students.
Dance Instructor
Elizabeth Sharpe
Elizabeth has 8 years of teaching experience in dance with a background in ballet, modern, contemporary, and jazz. She began teaching in 2013 with Arts Alive Fine Arts Studio and continued with Alamance Fine Arts Academy. She has studied various forms of dance since she was little with her main focuses being ballet and modern. She is passionate about bringing emotion through movement and inspiring her students to dance for their Creator’s glory. Elizabeth lives in Graham, NC with her husband, Caleb, and dog, Mufasa.
Visual Art Instructor | Decor Committee Chairperson
Lydia Harris
Lydia is a 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 2002. 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.
Visual Art Instructor | Set Design & Construction & Design Director
Lucas Harris
Lucas Harris has been married to his wife, Lydia, since 2002 and they have 3 sweet children: Hannah Rose, Samuel, and Rachel Violet. He and his family attend Integrity Community Church, where they are involved in and enjoy various areas of ministry. He and his family can be found after work hours designing, building, and painting sets for AFAA as well as volunteering at both AFAA and Integrity. He has had a love for art his whole life, and is looking forward to joining AFAA--along with his wife--as the Visual Art Instructors. He believes that art is meant to be an act of worship to our Creator, who is the greatest artist, and he enjoys sharing that with his students.
Theatre II Director
Katherine Childs
Katherine fell in love with acting when her mother signed her up at 11 years old, and she has been passionate about it ever since. She has been acting on stage and in film for 15 years. Katherine studied acting for the camera, cinematography, and lighting at the Center for Creative Media in Texas, and spent a year in Atlanta working in the film industry. She is incredibly excited to teach theatre at AFAA. Her credits include, Mrs. Beaver (“The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”), Mary Magdalene (“Jesus of Nazareth”), Mrs. Gardener (“Pride and Prejudice”), and Susy Hendrix (“Wait Until Dark”). Katherine lives in Elon with her husband, Andrew, and daughters Arwen and Vivian, and baby #3 due November of 2022!
Theatre I Director
Katherine (Kat) Holmes
Katherine has been acting and directing for over ten years. She received an Associate's degree in Film and Video Technology from Piedmont Community College, where 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 working at 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).
Dance Instructor
Caitlyn Crabtree
Caitlyn is a highschool senior currently pursuing her Associates of Arts degree at Alamance Community College. She has been dancing for 12 years and has been trained in many styles of dance including ballet, pointe, modern, liturgical, character, tap, and jazz. She is also entering her fourth year as a member of Rejoice! Dance Ministry. During her free time she enjoys playing with her younger siblings, singing, and reading. Caitlyn is excited to share her passion for dance with her students!
Instructors | Ballroom
Rockie & Mary Lou Troxler
Rockie and Mary Lou Troxler have been dancing ballroom for over 20 years and have competed in USA Dance for over 10 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.
Voice Instructor
Jessica Johnson
Jessica, a homeschool mom of 5, has enjoyed making music as long as she can remember. In 2005 she received her BA in Vocal Performance from Evangel University in Springfield, MO and has enjoyed teaching and coaching voice students since then. She and her husband have lead worship together for over 20 years. She has directed Homeschool Choirs in Rowan and Alamance County for 4-1/2 years. She looks forward to sharing her love of singing with the students of AFAA.
Office Manager
Chrissy Hahn
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 Burlington Parks and Rec; board member for ACCHE; teacher for Veritas Classes, Inc.; member at Antioch Community Church; office helper for Arts Alive; and now as Office Manger 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.
Office Staff | Marketing & Design
Kari Fox
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 and at their church. Her talented eye for design, as well as her administrative and organizational skills, help keep AFAA going, and we're so thankful for her!
Tech Support
Geoff Gentry
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.