Cameron has been dancing and performing for over thirty years, but for the last eighteen has found that her true calling is actually in teaching – not just students, but also in leading a team of other talented dance professionals! Her training began locally in her hometown of Kernersville, North Carolina, and she continued dancing in the Piedmont Triad Area until she graduated high school. She has ballet, pointe and modern training from the North Carolina School of the Arts (now UNCSA). In addition to dance, Cameron previously had a promising singing career under the name of Cameron Marion as she likes to say, “many moons ago!” She used both her singing and dancing abilities as part of an LA-based pop girl group that shared a short stint on the reality TV circuit and Cameron has also released an album and two singles on iTunes; one of which received regular airplay on XM country radio in 2010. She has opened for and shared a stage with Jeff Cook from the legendary country group ALABAMA, Jordan Knight & Donnie Wahlberg from the New Kids on the Block, Cartel, the Little River Band, and multi-platinum country recording artist Gretchen Wilson. She was also the musical entertainment aired at a birthday party on the television show “Outrageous Kids Parties” on TLC. Cameron enjoys traveling and taking master classes to learn all she can about the evolving studio business, and is mentored by some of the best in the studio owner “biz”. Cameron is an executive member of the More Than Just Great Dancing (MTJGD) affiliated studios, and also helps provide resources for other studio owners in their own businesses through the tools she has created with her company, Dance Teacher Dashboard. As an educator, her students have been featured dancers on the “Drop Dead Diva” television show, been cast as dancers and actresses at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, and have accepted spots out of very few given in many exclusive summer programs including: The Joffrey, Broadway Artists Alliance and Oklahoma City University’s (OCU) High School Musical Theatre Program. Cameron works less in the classroom these days and more on the backend of the studio, but she still loves experiencing all of the magic that is created within the studio’s walls! She lives in Oak Ridge with her husband, Joseph, and kids Flynn (6) and Remi (3).  She enjoys sharing her passion for dance, music and performing with our community, and her biggest hope is to inspire children to set their sights high and always know they can dream BIG!

E-mail Mrs. Cameron – destinationartscenter@gmail.com

Ms. Amanda has been involved with dance her whole life! She danced and competed from the time she was a young child, until she graduated high school. During that time she was able to become an assistant teacher and then teacher to young students. Amanda’s bubbly personality and attention to detail make her a huge asset to our program, whether in the office or in the classroom. She has two daughters, Abigal and Adrianne, and is the glue that holds us together! She is the smiling face that greets you when you walk in the front door or the friendly voice on the other end of the line! You might hear Mrs. Cameron lovingly refer to her often as her “string” – she keeps everything steering in the right direction and pulls Mrs. Cameron’s “kite” that is always dreaming and soaring back down to the ground when needed 🙂

E-mail Miss Amanda – destinationartsoffice@gmail.com

If you want to be an all-star tapper, beautiful ballerina, or really anything in between, then Mrs. Jocelyn is your girl! Jocelyn has been involved with dance for the past 32 years, and has been teaching dance for the past 18 years, both in public school and private studios. She has studied all genres of dance from tap and ballet to West African and Ballroom. While growing up, Jocelyn won multiple awards, honors, scholarships, and titles. She has performed leading roles in Ballets and Musicals, including the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker and Leisl in The Sound of Music. She has studied dance across the East coast including Broadway Dance Center in NY, Youth Performing Arts School in KY, New England Dance Conservatory in MA, North Carolina School of the Arts, University of North Carolina – Charlotte, and University of North Carolina – Greensboro, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree, with honors, in Dance Education. She has been an on-site choreographer and performer for professional and historic outdoor theaters. Jocelyn was a certified teacher and examiner with Carolina Dance Masters, Inc. Chapter 15 of Dance Masters of America, Inc. for over 10 years. She has also judged dance competitions and scholarship opportunities. Mrs. Jocelyn is certified in teaching Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT). PBT is an innovative body-conditioning and strengthening program that has been designed to enhance students’ technique by focusing on training the muscle memory required in each exercise in all forms of dance. It is a unique training system using ballet-technique specific exercises to train skill acquisition in a graded and progressive manner from junior through to advanced levels. PBT helps teachers around the world prepare their students to receive the strength they need to achieve their personal best. Through dance, Mrs. Jocelyn has been given so many wonderful opportunities through the years, and her true passion is in teaching dance and sharing her love of dance with others! We are so proud to have her at Destination Arts!

If you looked up “magical preschool dance teacher” in the dictionary, then Miss Ashley’s picture would certainly be found there beside it!  Ashley received her first pair of tap shoes at age two, and has been dancing and performing ever since. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2010 with a degree in English Literature and creative writing. While attending UNC, Ashley performed with the Starheels Dance Company for four years. After college, Ashley joined the Cane Creek Cloggers, and has performed with them at countless music festivals, schools, and events around the state. While percussive dance is her favorite, she also loves ballet, lyrical, jazz, and hip-hop styles of dance. In addition to her dance experience, Ashley also has a background in musical theater, most recently performing as Margot in CTG’s The Diary of Ann Frank. Ashley teaches all styles, ages, and levels, but is especially popular with our littlest friends! Ashley currently resides back in Greensboro, NC after a short relocation to Charlotte, and we are so glad to have her back as part of the DAC family!

Krista Swain Hash truly grew up in a dance family! With a mom who was a dance instructor for many years, Krista starting assisting her at a young age and then soon had classes of her own. Her sister is also a dance instructor, so their world’s have always revolved around dance! Krista competed for many years and also cheered throughout middle and high school. With a vast knowledge of teaching and children, she is loved by students and parents alike! Mrs. Krista lives in Reidsville with her family and is a hairstylist by day! We are so glad to have her as a part of Destination Arts!

Maddie Batton has been involved in dance for over 15 years. She started as a recreational dancer at a More Than Just Great Dancing affiliated studio in Texas, then spent several years on their competitive teams. After graduating high school, Maddie continued her love of dance there as a dance instructor and competitive team director for the next four years until moving to North Carolina in 2018. She has a passion for teaching the littlest budding ballerinas, and is excited to jump back into teaching dance this year! Maddie is a mom of three that lives locally, and is grateful and excited to be joining the DAC family!

We love having DAC Graduate, Zoe, on our staff! She started as first a class assistant during high school trained by Mrs. Cameron, then moved on to a teacher-in-training for a couple of years after graduating, and has now moved to having her own classes after shadowing our instructors and being fully immersed and trained in our curriculum and culture! To know Zoe is to love her, and we can’t wait to watch her continue to grow on her teaching journey with us!

As a current elementary school teacher and Mrs. Cameron’s very first hire for the studio back in 2013, Mrs. Trinity is truly a “jack-of-all-trades” that can jump into any classroom at any time any teach any age and style! Trinity grew up dancing in Kernersville, NC and was an accomplished competition dancer herself before moving into teaching. Mrs. Trinity is married with two kids, one of which dances herself, and is such an asset to us at Destination Arts!

Caitlyn Smith started dancing at the age of two in Clemmons, NC. She danced up through high school, and in college was a member of the UNC Charlotte Gold Duster’s Dance Team. She also had the privilege to work at Disney World as a part of their college program! After college, Caitlyn was formerly the choreographer and assistant director for the Venom Dance Team for the Carolina Cobras National Arena League Football. She has taught and choreographed for many award-winning routines and dancers over the years, and is a talented addition to our staff! In Caitlyn’s free time she enjoys traveling, spending time with her family, and her beautiful daughter, Ivy.

Nicole started dancing at the age of two at Mindys Jessamine School of Classical Dance. She was born and raised in Kentucky and recently moved to North Carolina with her family. She has been trained in ballet, tap, modern, hip hop, jazz, pom, and lyrical. In addition to studio dance, Nicole started dancing for her school’s dance team in middle through high school. Nicole attended Morehead State University and studied neuroscience. She was on the MSU dance team for all four years and was awarded the position of team captain for her senior year. During her college career Nicole was involved in choreography, national competitions, basketball and football game performances, and fundraising recitals.

Nicole started doing choreography in 2018 for her home studio. In 2020 she started teaching at a studio while at Morehead. She taught hip hop and acro for two years while she finished her bachelor’s degree. She is super excited to now continue her teaching career here at DAC!

Sara Culler Chatham was born and raised in Winston-Salem where she began dance and voice lessons at the young age of 5. Coming from a musical family, there was always music being played throughout the house, and she was quickly introduced to many different genres. Sara has competed and won several local, state and national talent titles, including the opportunity to open up for the well-known gospel group “The Hoppers” in front of an arena of 12,000 people, when she was just 12 years old.  That opportunity led her to record her first gospel CD and network with numerous songwriters and musicians. Sara’s most recent accomplishment was winning the National “Sing Like Carrie Underwood” radio contest out of thousands of entries, where she traveled to Nashville to meet Carrie and record her version of the single “Jesus Take The Wheel.”

Pageantry has also been a fun-filled hobby for Sara. She won many local and state titles, including Little Miss North Carolina Majestic Queen in 2000, and competed in the Miss America and USA pageant systems, winning scholarship money for college. In 2007, she graduated with honors from UNC-Greensboro with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications. She then began teaching private voice and pageant lessons, and has continued for the past 15 years. Sara loves watching her students grow and they become part of her family from their first lesson!

In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her husband Zach, kids Braxton & Scarlett, and their dogs. She loves going to the lake, watching movies, and volunteering in her community.

Mr. Jim has been performing since the age of eight. His formative years began in choir, culminating in attending East Carolina University as a voice major. But, soon guitar became the center of Jim’s musical endeavors and he began playing in 1987 and started teaching shortly after in 1990. With many years of experience in both teaching and performing, Jim has what to takes to easily guide a student through the ropes of being a beginner through advanced. He can still be found out around the Triad performing acoustic gigs weekly, which gives him a broad knowledge of all musical styles.

Taylor Schmidt holds a Master of Music degree in Music Education from the University of North Carolina Greensboro and a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Virginia Commonwealth University. In addition to private piano lessons, Taylor’s teaching experience includes elementary and secondary general music, choir, and band, as well as experience with instructing and mentoring preservice undergraduate music educators. A musician since the age of three, Taylor’s performance experiences as a flutist, pianist, and vocalist have included Bel Canto Company, Musica Anima, Richmond Symphony Chorus, The North Carolina Middle Eastern Music Ensemble, Winterbirds (a progressive folk band), and Kallam Grove Christian Church.

Taylor believes that music education is for everyone and strives to provide a well-rounded curriculum that allows for creativity, flexibility, and student autonomy whenever possible. Taylor’s research interests and areas of specialty include sound-before-sight music literacy instruction and teaching neurodiverse learners.

Outside of teaching, Taylor enjoys being outdoors, learning new instruments, creating music, goofing around, and watching her favorite shows with her husband, Erik.

Miss Kate was raised primarily in NC but lived in Delaware and Texas with her family before moving back to NC in 2015. She received her BA from NC State University before becoming a Corp Member with Teach for America.

She is married to Scott and is the mom of her two wonderful children: Cooper (15) and Kellan (13). Their family loves to camp, travel, watch “How It’s Made” and play board games. She spends most of her free time cross-stitching, coaching her son’s Odyssey of the Mind team, and taking her daughter to dance competitions.

Kate has taught 8th grade Language Arts, preschool art and music, and for the past seven years has been teaching in a church preschool setting, with the last three of those years serving as Director. She is a strong believer that learning comes through movement and play, so she loves a classroom that is loud, messy and fun! She thoroughly looks forward to working with your family to give your child the best preschool experience possible at Bloom!

Abigal is a 2019 graduate of East Forsyth High School, and also a 2019 music program graduate here at Destination Arts! She now attends GTCC and works part time at our front desk. Abigal is always willing to lend a helping hand, and we are glad to have her as a part of the DAC family!