Angie Lynn, Director, Ballet Born in England, Angie enjoyed an extensive professional dance career after training at The Arts Educational Schools, London, earning a diploma in dance performance. As a certified associate member of the Royal Academy of Dance and the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance, she earned certificates in classical ballet and modern dance education. She first joined Vienna Festival Ballet, touring in Swan Lake throughout England and Europe. She then ventured into musical theatre, performing for 6 years in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s productions of Cats, as Victoria, the white cat; and Phantom of the Opera, as Meg Giry. Angie studied and performed in New York City before moving to Asheville with husband Chris and their three daughters. In 2009, Chris and Angie opened the Ballet Conservatory of Asheville. “I am privileged to share from my professional dance experiences, when teaching young students, nurturing them as they develop beautiful ballet technique, graceful coordination, musicality and confidence.”
Nadia Iozzo, Ballet Mistress, Ballet Originally from Toronto, Ontario, Nadia received the prestigious RAD Solo Seal Award before moving on to spend four years at Alberta Ballet. With Kansas City Ballet, Ms. Iozzo performed leading roles in Balanchine’s Serenade, and Who Cares?, Trey McIntyre’s The Naughty Boy and Yuri Possokhov’s Firebird; along with soloist roles in Jerome Robbins’ Move and Fancy Free, Ib Anderson’s Romeo & Juliet, Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs, Paul Taylor’s Company B, and the title role in Giselle with Ballet Bellevue. She can be seen in the CBC TV special The Secret of the Nutcracker, as well as the Jean Grand-Maître/Joni Mitchell production, The Fiddle & the Drum, performing as a guest artist at the Luminato Festival in Toronto. Miss Iozzo has adjudicated dance competitions, choreographed and taught for various dance schools across North America. She has also coached successful Solo Seal candidates, including dancers appearing on So You Think You Can Dance Canada. In July 2008, Miss Iozzo hosted Creating Dance For a Cure, a dance performance in Toronto that raised funds for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. She also attended the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB) teaching course and is a certified GYROTONIC® trainer.
Gavin Larsen, Ballet A native New Yorker, Gavin received her dance training at the School of American Ballet, the New York School of Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. She began dancing professionally at age 17 with Pacific Northwest Ballet and went on to perform with the Alberta Ballet, the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre and as a guest artist with Ballet Victoria. Over the course of her 18-year professional career, she danced principal roles in ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, James Kudelka, Helgi Tomasson, Yuri Possokhov, Christopher Wheeldon, Paul Taylor, Christopher Stowell and Kent Stowell, among many others. In May 2010, Ms. Larsen retired from full-time performing to focus on a career as a teacher, coach, freelance dancer and writer. She was most recently a faculty member at the School of Oregon Ballet Theatre and the children’s ballet master for Oregon Ballet Theatre. She has taught for The Portland Ballet, BodyVox, Olympia Dance Center, Ballet Victoria, Ballet Hispanico and Sunking Dance, as well as coaching students privately. Her writings on dance have been published by Dance Magazine, Pointe, Dance Teacher, Dance Spirit, Dance/USA’s journal In the Green Room, and the literary journal The Threepenny Review. Her 2021 release, Being a Ballerina: The Power and Perfection of a Dancing Life… was praised as ‘luminous’ in a New York Times Dance interview. Ms. Larsen joined Ballet Conservatory’s faculty in January 2017, after guest teaching in BCA’s 2016 Summer Intensive.
Nick Kepley, Ballet, Partnering, Theatre Jazz Born in Asheville, NC, Nick Kepley (they/he) trained with Sandra Miller and spent summers at School of American Ballet and The Juilliard School. Concert dance: Ballet Austin II, Kansas City Ballet. Broadway/NY stage: Mary Poppins (Neleus, Valentine, Ensemble), Cinderella (Asst. Choreographer), Waitress (Asst. Choreographer), Camelot (NY Philharmonic), American Dance Machine for the 21st Century (Joyce Theatre). TV/Film: SMASH (NBC), Great Performances (PBS). Choreography: Working (Prospect Theatre NY, Assoc.), Cake Off (Bucks County Playhouse, Assoc.), West Side Story (Mill Mountain Theatre), Dirty Dancing in Concert, Guys and Dolls (Flat Rock Playhouse). Kepley has served as Rehearsal Director for Dance Lab/New York (2016-2018), Ballet Master of Ballet Austin II (2013-2015), and on full-time faculty for Broadway Dance Center and Milwaukee Ballet. From 2010-2015, Kepley served as the Founding Artistic Director of MOTION Dance Theatre, a summer choreographic residency program in Asheville, NC. They are the Managing Director and Rehearsal Director for Stewart/Owen Dance, the resident dance company of Wortham Center for the Performing Arts.
Ali Lowenstein, Ballet Ali, from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, trained with the University of North Carolina School of the Arts for nine years. After graduating the High School program, she completed three years with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Graduate Program. She attended summer programs with the Boston Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Alonzo King LINES Ballet of San Francisco, and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Ali has performed professionally with Carolina Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and four seasons with the Lexington Ballet. Ali has enjoyed teaching ballet for the past seven years and loves being a part of BCA.
Jake Lowenstein, Ballet, Men’s Class, Partnering Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, Jake trained with Ballet Met Columbus for eight years. He attended summer programs at Houston Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Jake trained for two years in the Professional Division at Pacific Northwest Ballet, where he had the opportunity to perform works by Jerome Robbins and George Balanchine. He also trained for one year with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater Graduate Program. He spent three seasons as a company member with Ballet Idaho, three seasons with The Lexington Ballet and one season with Ballet Palm Beach. Jake has enjoyed teaching at BCA for the past four years.
Tina Mueller, Jazz/Tap, Pre-Ballet Tina graduated with a BFA in Dance from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point. She traveled the world performing musical theatre with her husband Nathan before settling in Asheville to start a family. Tina is an adjunct theatre professor at Mars Hill College. She loves sharing her professional dance experience with the students of the Ballet Conservatory.
Megan Medford, Contemporary Megan received a BA in Dance Education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She spent six years living in NYC as a professional dancer and teacher. Along with free-lance work Megan was a company member with Periapsis Music & Dance, LiNK! the movement, and Shauna Sorensen and Dancers. Some of her performances include SummerStage, Jazz at the Lincoln Center, American Dance Guild Festival, Symphony Space, New York Moves, Carnival, and Choreographers Canvas. Megan trained with Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Martha Graham School, and American Dance Festival. She was on faculty for the Children & Teen Program at Broadway Dance Center and All Star Studios in NYC. She has guest taught and choreographed for studios and conventions around the States. Megan and her family moved back to her hometown of Asheville in 2016 where she has performed with Stewart/Owen Dance, Lindsey Kelly Dance, and Asheville Ballet. She is thrilled to be able to share her love of dance by continuing to perform and teach.
Gavin Stewart, Contemporary Hailing from Tulsa, OK, Gavin is co-director, choreographer, and dancer with Stewart/Owen Dance. Gavin received his BFA from UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance. He has performed with Richmond Ballet, Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance, and Dark Circles Contemporary Dance Company, and as a guest artist with ballet and modern dance companies around the US. As a Cultural Ambassador with Company E, Gavin toured and choreographed contemporary dance in countries such as Kazakhstan, Sweden, Russia, Cuba, and more. His choreography has been presented by numerous dance companies, universities, and festivals, and he has taught and led master classes across the eastern seaboard. Gavin is excited to join the faculty of the Ballet Conservatory of Asheville!
Christopher Lynn, Managing Director Acting Chris is a veteran theatre performer, teacher, director and producer, earning an MHA from Duke University. His performing experience includes Raoul in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, Tony in WEST SIDE STORY, The Beast in Disney’s BEAUTY & THE BEAST, and ABC-TV’s “One Life to Live.” An original instructor in the renowned Brevard Music Center Young Vocal Artists Program, his students have gone on to study and earn scholarships in prestigious programs at the Julliard School (NYC), UNC School of the Arts, Northwestern University, University of Michigan, Elon University, Emerson College (Boston), and Hartt School of Music. He started the Ballet Conservatory with wife Angie in 2009, and together, they have produced over 30 full-length ballet productions, and over 25 recitals and showcases, creatively adapting Nutcracker to video most recently.
Gail Attaway Elkins, pianist has worked with: American Ballet Theatre, Alabama Ballet-company pianist 20 years, Alabama School of Fine Arts, University of Alabama, Atlanta Ballet, Ballet Repertory Theater NYC, Birmingham Southern College-17 years as pianist Dept. of Dance-designer and instructor of labs, Charlotte Ballet, Dance Theater Of Harlem. Ms. Elkins is a certified massage therapist and holds a certification in therapeutic music.
Alisha Ear, Modern