Heather successfully juggles the roles of Director, Choreographer, Teacher and Entrepreneur. As the founder of UCDC, she has had the opportunity to teach thousands of dancers over the last 21 years. Heather began her training in 1976 with Teresa Wilson in South Carolina. Later she attended the Greenville Stage Company where she trained, danced, competed, and performed all over the United States. Heather’s passion for children and dance became a reality at the early age of 20 and now 19 years later, she has one of the most prominent and successful studios in the Southeast. Although she has trained in all areas of dance her entire life, Contemporary Clogging has become her specialty. She teaches and directs UCDC’s eleven competition-clogging teams, and has one of the top clogging programs in the industry. Heather continues her education yearly by traveling extensively throughout the US studying, performing, teaching, and judging at dance and clogging workshops. Her competition dance companies and clogging teams have won thousands of awards both regionally and nationally. Some of her latest accomplishments are being named One of the 25′s Most Beautiful Women for Greenville’s Talk Magazine, CCA National All-Pro Director 2011, Top 50 studios on the move in the US by Dance Spirit Magazine, The 2nd most competitive studio in SC by Dancer Magazine, and Upstate Parent 2006, 2007, 2008 Family Choice Award. Heather’s drive and passion is for her students, parents, and staff to have the best dance education and facility in the business. Heather’s Motto: “Do not follow where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
In 1993, Upstate Carolina Dance Center opened its doors and Leslie Adams was near the front of the line. UCDC has been her home for the last nineteen years, and clogging is her passion. Leslie became a member of the Rising Stars clogging team in 1998, and has worked her way through the clogging teams. She is currently a proud member of the Elite Stars. She was a member of the 2004 Overall Junior National Grand Champion Clogging Team & she also won 2010 Senior Miss American Clogger. Leslie was also awarded Clogging Champions of America All Pro Member for 2011 and 2012. As a student at UCDC she has had an opportunity to train with the most respected clogging instructors in the country including Heather Owens, Blake Bartlett Dunn, Brandon Norris, Shannon South, and Andrew Babbitt. Leslie is currently attending Greenville Technical College with plans to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree in Hospitality. She is thrilled to be part of the UCDC staff and excited to have the opportunity to pass her love for clogging on to the next generation.
Angela began her early training in 1977 with Pat Shepherd in North Carolina. From 1988-1990, she attended the Fine Arts Center in Greenville, SC. In 1990 she attended the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts held at Furman University. From 1990-1992 she danced with the Greenville Ballet and performed in The Nutcracker. In the years following, she was a dancer and choreographer with recording artist Dana Russell. In 1994 she obtained an Associates of Arts degree in Marketing from Greenville Technical College. She was a pre-school/ballet instructor at Harvard Dance Centre until 1998 and became the Director of Dance at West Oak High School in Westminster, SC on a Target 2000 Grant. In 1997 and 1998 she instructed dance at Lakes and Mountains School for the Arts for gifted and talented students through the School District of Pickens County. She was the director for the same program in 1999. Angela was an Artist in Residence in several local schools, teaching dance programs for the public school children in Pickens County. Angela has been teaching pre-school and ballet at UCDC since 1998. Over the past several years, Angela has attended dance educator workshops with Musicworks Unlimited in Indianapolis and Atlanta, and Rhee Gold’s Dance Life Teacher Conference in Orlando. In addition to teaching dance at UCDC, she is also the office manager. She is also the business owner of Teddy Bear Teas, specializing in dress-up tea parties, as well as a pageant judge for local Scholarship preliminaries and high schools pageants. Angela has also taught choreography for the Gettys Middle School chorus department and at Foothills Gymnastics & Cheer Center. She is married and has two daughters, Alexa and Halle.
Kimberlee comes to us from Blairstown, New Jersey where she is known for her versatile choreography. She began her serious dance training at the age of 12 when she won her first dance scholarship to Joffrey Ballet in New York. At the age of 15, she received her second scholarship where she attended the Southwest Ballet. She continued to dance with the Beaumont Civic Ballet and the Beaumont Opera in Beaumont, Texas. She was then accepted into Beaumont’s premiere dance company – Jefferson Jazz Ballet. Later she pursued her career in New York where she also found her love for theater. She is currently the choreographer for all shows at The Greenville Little Theatre and co-director of The Southeast Dance Theatre. Many shows to her credit include; NJ Premiere of A Chorus Line and Tommy, Jesus Christ Superstar, Chicago, Anything Goes, Annie and Oliver. Other credits include the Christmas Spectacular, Oklahoma 1776, My Fair Lady, The Music Man, and many others.
Becky is a former dancer and company member of UCDC. Becky began dancing at the age of 11 under a scholarship at the Greenville Ballet. After dancing and competing for a few years, Becky found her dance home here at UCDC. While a member of the UCDC Senior Company, Becky competed and won numerous Platinum and Gold metals, as well as a scholarship with Tremaine Dance. Becky also trained intensively for three summers in Los Angeles under numerous professional instructors in LA including; Wade Robson, Dan Karaty, Doug Caldwell, Mark Meismer, Dave Carter, Jackie Sleight, Tina D’Amato and others at PAC, The Edge, and The Millennium Dance Studio. Her disciplines include Ballet, Tap, Hip-Hop, Lyrical and Jazz. In high school, Becky was the captain of the EHS dance team and in 2002, her graduating class voted her as the Most Talented female at Easley High School. Upon graduating high school in 2002 Becky moved to Rock Hill, SC where she completed her BS at Winthrop University in Family and Consumer Science. Becky performed in many choreographer showcases while attending Winthrop University, and was also a member of the all girls Winthrop University Cheerleading Squad in 2003.
Preschool associate, Shan has been teaching at UCDC for 18 years. She began studying dance at the age of 4 from LaBruce Heist of Greenville. She has performed in Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina with the adult cloggers. She has performed at the National Clogging Convention and competed in competitions all over the southeast. Her former clogging teams won numerous awards including platinums, golds, and first place at nationals. Shan loves working with the mom n tots and the preschool program watching your wonderful children learn and grow. Shan’s greatest accomplishment is her daughter Alexandra who is now taking her 5th year of dance here at UCDC. She is enjoying watching Alexandra’s love for dance grow and is excited for her daughter to experience all of the wonderful opportunities and family here at UCDC.
Adelaide began her clogging career at age 10 here at Upstate Carolina Dance Center where she was a student for nine years and a clogging competition team member for seven years. She was a member of the 2004 Overall Junior National Grand Champion Team and won numerous other awards with the Shining and Elite Stars. Adelaide began teaching in 2006 and thoroughly enjoys passing on her expertise and passion for clogging to her students. She is a 2006 graduate of Easley High School and a 2010 graduate of Clemson University.
David’s innovative tap choreography has appeared on the national television shows “Good Morning America,” “America’s Got Talent,” “America’s Most Talented Kids,” and most recently on the WE Network reality show “Little Miss Perfect.” His work can be seen in industrial performances for Hugo Boss, Paramount, Ingersal Rand and on board Celebrity, Holland America, Norwegian and Cunard Cruise Lines. You can also catch his choreography in the national tours of “Road to Victory,” “On Tap” and most notably “Dr. Doolittle” starring Tommy Tune. David and his choreography has shared the stage with stars like Adam Lambert, Jill Scott, Erika Badu, Regis Philban, Rita Moreno and Queen Latifah. David is the tap choreographer for several of the “Top Ten” studios in the country according to the FDC and has taught for over a dozen schools represented in the Dance Spirit Magazine “Top Fifty.” David was also recently awarded “Teacher of the Year” by Dancer Magazine.
Staci Quinn began dancing at the age of 3. This is her 19th year here at UCDC. She was a member of the award winning Jazz Company at Upstate Carolina Dance Center for twelve years. She has traveled extensively across the U. S. training and competing. She also has spent six summers in California training under many well known choreographers. Staci has had the opportunity to work with Mark Meismer, Brooke Lipton, Jocelyn Dowling, Chonique and Lissette and many others. She currently is a teacher at Upstate Carolina Dance Center and has been teaching for four years. Staci has also performed in many of the South Carolina Children’s Theatre productions, such as Peter Pan and Music Man. Some of her other accomplishments include dancing as a principle dancer in the Miss South Carolina Pageant.
Staci is a junior PRTM:Therapeutic Recreation major at Clemson University. She hopes to one day become a Child Life Specialist and get her master’s degree in social work. With her education, training in dance, and love for people, she hopes of working on the foreign mission field someday.
Abigail Rollins began her dance training at age four. She trained at the Greenville Ballet School and performed in The Nutcracker for Foothills Conservatory for the Performing Arts at the age of ten. For the past five years, Abigail has trained at Foothills Dance Conservatory, participated in The Nutcracker, and has spent four of her summers attending Foothills Dance Conservatory’s Summer Intensive. She has performed the roles of Dew Drop, Marzipan, and Chinese. In 2009, she danced the role of the Bird in FCPA’s Peter and the Wolf and in March of 2010, she participated in International Ballet Academy’s Coppelia with Orlando Ballet company member Cara Marie Gary. She has been accepted to the Summer Intensive programs at Joffrey Ballet, International Ballet Academy, American Ballet Theater, Carolina Ballet Theatre, Atlanta Ballet, Walnut Hill School for the Arts, and South Carolina Governor’s School for Arts and Humanities along with early acceptance to the Boston Ballet’s Summer Intensive. Abigail’s first summer intensive outside of FDC was for five weeks at Atlanta Ballet two summers ago. She competed in Youth American Grand Prix’s ballet competition in 2011. Abigail was the first student at Foothills Dance Conservatory who was selected to be the Sugar Plum Fairy in the The Nutcracker last year. This past summer she studied under former American Ballet Theater principal Michael Owen at Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, MA with a merit scholarship. Abigail hopes to continue diligently studying the art of dance and someday become a professional ballerina!
Hannah Rollins began her training in classical ballet at the age of 4. Since then, she has expanded her training to include modern dance. For the past 6 years, Hannah has participated in Foothills Dance Conservatory’s The Nutcracker. In 2010, who was able to perform the rolls of the Snow Queen and Dew Drop. Additional performances include the roll of the Bird in Foothills Dance Conservatory’s Peter and the Wolf in 2008, competing in Youth American Grand Prix, Semi-Finals in 2008 and participating in International Ballet’s Coppelia in 2009. Hannah has also been accepted to the Summer Intensives of: the Joffery Ballet, Carolina Ballet Theatre, International Ballet Academy, American Ballet Theatre New York, Atlanta Ballet (which she attended in 2010) and Boston Ballet. This past summer she received a merit scholarship to Walnut Hill Summer Dance Program which she attended, receiving training by Michael Owen and Denise Grothman Lewis. Hannah, along with her sister, has taught and choreographed for Foothills Summer Intensive, too. Hannah continues to not only expand her training in Classical Ballet, but also discovering her passion for dance and dream to perform professionally!
Carolyn is going on her 13th year at UCDC. She is our studio monitor and maintenance supervisor. Carolyn has become a safe face to parents and students of UCDC- while keeping everything clean, neat, and in working order.
Brooke is a full time clogging teacher at UCDC. Brooke directs 5 competition clogging teams and teaches all the recreational clogging classes. Brooke was a student at UCDC for many years and clogged on the competition teams. She was a member of the 2004 Overall Junior National Grand Champion Clogging Team. She graduated from Easley High School in 2004. She then attended Anderson University, where she was crowned Miss Anderson University and won overall talent. She graduated from Anderson in 2008 with a bachelor degree in Elementary Education. Brooke is also married to Travis Williams and has two handsome sons Micah and Kobe, and a beautiful daughter Brooklyn. Brooke loves to teach clogging and share her excitement with her students. She wants all of her students to have the same life changing experience that she has received from clogging!
