Faculty

Alison Bundrick
Founder, Artistic Director, Ballet and Pointe Instructor, and Choreographer for South Georgia Ballet: Alison Bundrick has an extensive performing, teaching, and choreographic career. An Albany native, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Birmingham-Southern College, and a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from Florida State University. Most recently she graduated from Royal Winnipeg Ballet's Professional Division Teachers' Course of Canada and was awarded her Associate status with Cecchetti Society of London. She also attended an extensive master's workshops with David Howard at the International Ballet Competition. She received her certification with Music Together.

Alison's performing credits span over fifteen years and include such ballets as The Nutcracker, Giselle, Don Quixote, and Coppelia, as well as such musicals as Hello Dolly, West Side Story, Bye Bye Birdie, Chicago and may others. As a Choreographer Ms. Bundrick has over 40 musicals and ballets to her credit including The Sound of Music, FAME, West Side Story, Annie, A Chorus Line, Oklahoma, Coppelia, Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast, Twelve Dancing Princesses, and many others. She served as Artistic Director for Young Actors Theatre, Ballet Chairman for DeKalb Center for Performing Arts, School Director for Southern Ballet Theatre, and resident choreographer for a variety of schools and companies. Her choreography has been recognized with various awards throughout her career and many of her students have gone on to major in dance and perform professionally.

Jenna Miller Jones Ballet Instructor, Moultrie: Jenna Miller Jones is a native of Cairo, Georgia and a 2002 graduate of Cairo High School. She recently received her degree in Theatre Arts Administration with a minor in Theatre and Business from Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. Mrs. Jones studied with South Georgia Performing Arts for four years and was a Senior Company member of South Georgia Ballet. She has performed such roles as Feather Duster (Beauty and the Beast), The Mad Hatter and Sea Pearl (Alice in Wonderland), and Lead Russian, Lead Chinese, Tea Rose and Columbine (The Nutcracker). She has also studied tap, jazz, and traditional Irish step dancing. While at Wesleyan, Mrs. Jones taught ballet at Dance Dynamics and was a member of Wesleyan’s Expressions Dance Company. Mrs. Jones is also an accomplished actress with roles including Adela (The House of Bernarda Alba), Adelaide (Guys and Dolls), The Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland), Lilly (Annie), and The Cowardly Lion (Wizard of Oz).She also has credits as a director including Samuel Beckett’s Act Without Words I & II, A Christmas Carol and Kiss Me, Kate!. Mrs. Jones resides in Cairo with her husband, Jason Jones, their daughter, Wimberly, and their three dogs.

Laura Keys Ballet, Pointe Instructor and Ballet Mistress and Resident Choreographer: Laura Keys graduated from Dickinson College with a Bachelor of Arts degree and she also holds an MA in dance from Florida State University. She studied with Princeton Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Dickinson College, and The Royal Academy of Danse in London, England. Ms. Keys danced with Princeton Ballet, Belle Mead Ballet Company and Suburban Dance Force. She has worked as a ballet mistress, choreographer and/or instructor for Belle Mead Ballet Company, Dance Theatre of Dickinson College, and Princeton Ballet II. Ms. Keys is currently an MFA student with the Florida State University’s Department of Dance.

Mary Oglesby Ballet and Tap Instructor, Thomasville: Mrs. Oglesby studied and taught dance for over fifteen years with Shari Rarick School of Dance in Battle Creek, Michigan. She received her Teacher Training through Dance Masters of America at Kent State University. She also studied with international teacher and choreographer Gus Giordano, and taught in Thomasville at Ruth Salter's School of Dance. Currently, Mrs. Oglesby is the Youth Program Director at the Thomasville Cultural Center as well as the dance instructor for that studio.

Megan Powell Ballet, Pointe, Tap, and Jazz Instructor, Assistant Ballet Mistress, is a graduate from Brenau University with a BFA in Dance Pedagogy. Megan has danced for over 14 years and began her performing career with Ballet South in Savannah, Georgia. As a student at Brenau she performed with the Gainesville Ballet Company as a soloist for the past four seasons.  As a choreographer her work has been selected to appear at Regional Dance America (RDA) and she has set two pieces on South Georgia Ballet for the 2006-2007 season.  Ms. Powell has been seen as a guest artist and soloist with Augusta Ballet and Columbia City Ballet.  Her performing credits include leading roles in The Nutcracker, 12 Dancing Princesses and Alice in Wonderland.  Miss Megan will also serves as a Rehearsal Assistant for South Georgia Ballet.

Leighanne Strickland Advanced Tap, Jazz Instructor, Cairo; Artistic/Executive Director, South Georgia Ballet, Resident Company Choreographer: Leigh Anne Strickland is the manager/fitness consultant for Body & Soul LLC Lifestyle Center for Women. A graduate of Brenau University in Gainesville, Georgia, Leigh Anne earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts Degree in Arts Management, focus in dance. She has trained with the Radio City Rockettes, Eddie Garcia, Glenn Douglas-Packard, the Sarasota Ballet, Finis Jung, John White, Laura Alonso, Martha Goodman, Suzanne Farrell, and attended the USA International Ballet Competition School. She has completed studies in anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology while dancing with Gainesville Ballet Company. She is an alumni and guest choreographer of Thomasville’s Music and Drama Troupe and the South Georgia Ballet. A dancer, choreographer, and fashion model, Leigh Anne is a certified ZUMBA Instructor, choreographer and dance instructor with the TCCHS Dazzlers Dance Line, and a former Miss Thomasville who has competed at Miss Georgia and Miss Georgia USA.

Candace Howard Outreach Instructor, Thomasville: Candace Howard is a 2007 Honor Graduate of Bainbridge High School. She is currently a sophomore attending Valdosta State University where she is pursuing a double major in Mass Media Communication and Dance. Candace is very passionate about the art of dance. She danced at Lucretia’s School of Dance for 15 years. She also trained at the Tallahassee Ballet for 2 years under the direction of Kathryn Cashin and was a 2006 participant at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance Summer Intensive. For the past 2 years Candace has been a participant of the Miss Georgia Pageant which is linked to the Miss America Organization.  In 2008 she represented the city of Thomasville as Miss Thomasville and the Satilla River of Southeast Georgia as Miss Satilla 2009.  She currently holds the title of Miss Southwest Georgia 2010 and will be competing at the 66th Annual Miss Georgia Competition in June.  Her platform is “Kaleidoscope: The Colors of Dance,” which promotes  exposure to the arts, confidence building, and physical fitness to disadvantage youth as well as patients of the Children’s Miracle Network.

Kendrick Long Ballet and Tap Instructor: Kendrick Long is a home schooled 2009 high school graduate from Bainbridge, GA. She began her dance training at age five at Bainbridge College and then at South Georgia Performing Arts for seven years. She also studied with Joe Saponaro and Leslie Hodges in Pelham, GA. Kendrick has attended Suzanne Farrell workshops and summer intensives at Joffrey Ballet in New York City, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and Orlando Ballet where she trained under Peter Stark, Robert Hill, Olivier Munoz, Melissa Stafford, and Julie Kent. She also spent a year at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet where she train extensively under Marcia Dale Weary, Laszlo Berdo, Leslie Hench, Melinda Howe, Re Rabassi-Davis, Sara Eppley, and Bruce Thornton. Kendrick has performed leading roles with South Georgia Ballet as Clara in The Nutcracker and Belle Beauty and the Beast. She has also appeared in several other ballets including Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Coppelia. Kendrick currently dances with World Ballet inc., in Tallahassee, Florida under the direction of Henry Hernandez.