About TDS Dance Studios See What Makes Us Who We Are

Shauna Mitchell has been dancing almost since she could walk. At just 2 years old, she began training at the Dance Shop, where she is now co-director, under the close instruction of her mother, Connie Draper. Her training continued at Ballet Spartanburg and the Carolina Ballet Theater. A graduate of Lander University with a degree in Science, with an emphasis in Exercise Science, she danced at the collegiate level for the University of South Carolina Dance Team. After graduation, she danced and cheered professionally for the Carolina Panthers as a Topcat.

Since 2008, Shauna has been a studio owner at TDS where she teaches at the recreational and competitive level, with jazz technique as her specialty. As a teacher, she finds great joy in helping her students at every level achieve and surpass their goals. Shauna and her husband Brett are the proud parents of four sons, Braxton, Eli, Silas, and Kip.

Neely Lashford has been dancing as long as she can remember. Since starting at the age of 2, Neely has trained with Allison Rawl, Dance Theater on Main, and Ballet Spartanburg. In high school, she began training at the Dance Shop, where she is now co-director. Neely danced with the Lander Dance Company in college, and is a graduate of Lander University with a degree in English Literature.

A studio owner with TDS since 2008, Neely specializes in teaching a contemporary style at the recreational and competitive level. She finds great satisfaction in helping her students leave their comfort zone behind and dance boldly. Outside of the studio, Neely can often be found with her husband Thomas and their daughter, Lottie Clare.

Abby was born and raised in Laurens, SC along with my five brothers and five sisters. I graduated high school in 2024 and look to continue my education at Greenville Technical College. Abby likes reading books writing and loves working with children. She loves meeting the kids and parents, and enjoys welcome new and nervous dancers making them feel at home. Abby is very excited to be a part of the encouraging TDS staff and looks forward to seeing the students grow as they find their love for dance.

Alison Rawl began dancing at a young age with Dianne’s School of Dance in Greenville, SC. She attended the Fine Arts Center during high school where she continued pursuing her passion for dance and under the training of Barbara Selvy and Pat Lusk. After graduation from Lander University, where she was a Lander Dancer all four years, she opened Alison’s School of Dance in Laurens, teaching all styles of dance from 1993-1998. She is a certified judge for the Miss South Carolina Organization and remains involved in the pageant circuit. She and her husband Bubba are the proud parents of Catie and James.

Angie has been singing and dancing since she was 3 years old and started doing theatre productions at the age of 6. She has a BFA in musical theatre and minor in dance from Millikin University and moved to New York right after she graduated. She acted professionally on several Broadway tours including Sister Act, Cats and Thoroughly Modern Millie. She can also be heard on a few Disney albums including the live action remake of Beauty and the Beast in 2017. Angie and her husband Brad moved to Simpsonville in 2020 with their two dancing girls Willa and Elie. After having kids, Angie formed her own music and dance classes for preschoolers to continue her love of music with the younger generation and currently teaches mommy and me music at Village play in Fountain Inn. She also teaches voice lessons juggling almost twenty students weekly on the days her husband is not teaching drums. You can spot her singing on the worship team for First Baptist Simpsonville downtown where she serves frequently on Sunday mornings! Angie finds her greatest joy teaching little ones and her biggest goal is to instill confidence and a love for music at a very early age.

Caroline Barnard grew up in Laurens,SC and graduated from Laurens District 55 High School. She later continued her education through Piedmont Technical College in Newberry, SC becoming a Licensed Veterinarian Technician. During this time she has enjoyed supporting and watching her daughter, Reece, grow up with the TDS family and establish an unwavering love for dance. Caroline has a passion for children and loves to see them smile. She is excited to be an addition to the TDS staff. She hopes to be a positive influence in the lives of young dancers as they establish and achieve their goals in the art of dance and looks forward to meeting TDS parents in the office.

Connie Draper began dancing at the age of 3 and has never looked back. She began her training at the Marjorie Palmer School of Dance, continued as a teenager with Barbary Selvy, and became a member of the Carolina Ballet Theater where she danced in various roles for the company.

In 1998, Connie founded The Dance Shop (now TDS) to share her passion for dance. Her students have attended The Governor’s School, North Carolina School of the Arts, University of South Carolina Conservatory, and Alvin Ailey. Connie most enjoys working with our young dancers, sharing her passion for dance in a loving, disciplined environment. Connie and her husband Ken have four children, Shauna, Sara, Jazz, and Kollin.

Haylee Jones is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree at the University of South Carolina Upstate. She started dancing at the age of 2 with Dancers Corner in Greer, South Carolina where she quickly realized her love for dance. She spent the last 9 years on their competitive teams and also began teaching as an assistant in recreational dance in 2018 and competitive dance in 2020. Her training includes ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, hip hop and musical theater and she also loves creating choreography. Haylee has a huge heart for teaching and some of her favorite things about teaching is getting to share her love, passion and knowledge of dance with each of her students, as well as the bond she gets create with them.

Karen fell in love with dance during her childhood training at Performing Dance Arts in Hunstville, AL. After high school graduation, Karen went on to earn her BA in Dance with a concentration in Movement Analysis and Therapies and a minor in Business Administration from Coker College. While in college, she performed with Coker Repertory Dance Company. She also had the opportunity to attend the American College Dance Festival multiple times where she was exposed to a variety of styles taught by some of the best dance educators in the U.S. Karen has performed throughout the United States with companies such as Columbia Classical Ballet and the Wanda Project. This year marks Karen’s 27th year teaching dance and her 4th year at TDS. She has taught at numerous studios in South Carolina, Alabama, and Colorado, including directing the dance program at Xtreme Athletics in Alabama. In addition, she coached the dance team at the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics.

Karen has a passion to glorify God through movement and to help dancers have longer, healthier careers. This passion for helping other dancers led her to her degree concentration which focused on injury prevention and rehabilitation. She received her Pilates mat certification in 2006 and her comprehensive Pilates certification in 2019, allowing her to teach on all Pilates apparatus. She continues to learn and grow in this area so that she can help her students learn the joy of movement in a safe environment.

Kenzie Dieguez has been dancing since the age of three and competitively dancing since the age 6. While continuing her education at Coker University, she taught at her hometown studio, Brenda Cranford School of Dance, for 4 years. She recently moved to the Greenville area to pursue a job after graduation. She has trained under various artists at conventions and rhythm tap festivals. She enjoys choreographing and teaching mostly tap and hip hop, and loves to share the history of tap dancing with her students. Kenzie is excited to join TDS and to share her passion for dance.

Kristen Wilke started dancing at the age of three and has studied with Dance Explosion, Let’s Dance, and TDS Dance. She has training in tap, ballet, pointe, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and clogging. One of the original members of the TDS Simpsonville studio, she joined as a dancer in 2017, its opening year. Kristen is currently pursuing a degree in elementary and early childhood education with a minor in global studies. Her favorite dance style is tap and her favorite ballet is Nutcracker.

Kristen believes in having a joyful attitude while living life to the fullest! She loves teaching young dancers and hopes to inspire them to love dance as much as she does. Kristen strives to provide a loving environment in the classroom where students can be comfortable and creative.

Kristie began dancing at age 4 with Vicky’s School of Dance in Greenville, SC and since then she has studied, performed, competed, and taught tap, jazz, ballet, hip hop and clogging. Kristie earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Erskine College with a double major in Business Administration and English with an emphasis in Theater. While at Erskine Kristie was an EC Fly Girl for 4 years and continued studio classes. This year marks Kristie’s 25th year since she began teaching dance. She has taught in Simpsonville with Dance Explosion, Cabaret and most recently at TDS. Kristie’s mission is to share her joy for dance with students and loves seeing students’ smiles and confidence grow as they become more comfortable in their bodies through dance. Kristie is married to Curtis Smith and they have three daughters (and dancers!) Sydni, Darcy, and Kensley.

Laura Winship Dunn was trained in classical ballet under the Checcetti method. She has trained under artists such as; Martin Friedman of Colorado Ballet, world renown Galina Panova, Eli Lazar, Adam Sage, Martha Fesia, Dominique Angel, Tyrone Brooks and Sandra Meythaler. She has danced for several companies including The Sangre de Cristo Ballet Theatre, North Carolina Academy of Dance Arts and Roanoke Ballet Theatre. She also danced at several Summer Intensives with the Sangre de Cristo Ballet Theatre and Ballet Magnificat! She received her dance education from The Sangre de Cristo Ballet School of Colorado and from Virginia School of the Arts as a postgraduate student. Shortly after this she joined and began dancing for Roanoke Ballet Theatre. She danced lead roles for RBTincluding, the Snow Queen in the Magic Toy Shop, Isabella in Napoli, The Queen Fairy in an original Ballet and the principal role of Cinderella in Cinderella. She retired as a soloist when she started her favorite role in life, motherhood.

Prior to starting Ballet Aresko she taught dance for many otherstudios and schools such as Dance Theatre of Lynchburg, Seven Hills Dance studio, Roanoke Ballet Theatre and Assemble Dance as their Director of Dance. She is also the Co-founder of Haven School of Dance in Pueblo, Colorado. She received her Bachelor of Science in 2011 and hopes to one day obtain her MFA in dance pedagogy. Her desire is to provide an exceptional dance education for her students, that leaves them with skills and lessons applicable to every-day life. Believing that every dancer is unique, it is important to her to teach according to the needs of each individual student.

Megan Smith has been involved in dance since the age of six and is passionate about dance education. Megan’s enthusiasm carried her to the Broadway Dance Center Training Program, which she completed while participating in master class sessions with the Fosse/Verdon Legacy Program. For ten years, she trained as a competitive figure skater and gold level ice dancer. As a figure skater and ice dancer, she worked with world champion level ice dancers and choreographers and still teaches figure skating workshops. Megan currently choreographs shows for local theaters, including the Mauldin Youth Theatre and Younts Center for Performing Arts. She particularly loves working with young performers to help them grow in their confidence with dance technique and storytelling.

Melody Watson grew up in Columbia, South Carolina where she danced at the same studio for sixteen years. Throughout those years she took tap, jazz, and ballet. She was also part of a competitive dance team. Dancing has always been a big passion of hers and she hopes to spread that same excitement to the dancers at TDS.
She graduated from the University of South Carolina and has been teaching elementary school for the last 9 years. She is married to Corey and they have one daughter Anna Grace who loves to dance, too. Melody is a thrilled to be a part of the TDS dance family!

Merry Chandler began working in Group Fitness Classes while still attending the University of South Carolina. Working as both an assistant and lead organizer, she continued following her passion after graduation, returning home to Laurens where she began teaching at The Family YMCA. For more than 15 years, she has taught fitness classes, never taking a moment for granted while finding joy in helping others achieve their goals! Merry and her husband Walter have two children, a son, Ellis, and a daughter, Amelia.

Molly started dancing at age of three and has been thrilled to experience so many aspects of the art, including musical theater, hip hop (her personal favorite), jazz, contemporary, ballet, and ballroom. She currently dances with several competition teams. In addition to her competitive dance, Molly loves creating show choreography. Some of her favorite performing roles were as Jasmine in Aladdin, Babette in Beauty and the Beast, and Sally in A Charlie Brown Christmas. Molly Lynn has a big heart for teaching and loves working with the students at TDS!

Reece Barnard is from Laurens, SC. She started dancing at the age of three, training in all styles of dance. Reece received her training from TDS Dance Studios, and was a part of the company for 14 years. She has had the opportunity to work with many amazing artists as her time as a company member, as well as being an assistant for Deviate, a dance convention based in New Jersey. Some of her most memorable highlights include dancing in a video shoot “Miss you” under the direction of Dylan Pearce, she danced in “The Graduate” and “Yours Truly” both choreographed by Grayson Anthony, and Reece was also in a music video “Send the Sun” by Nikki Lane as a young dancer. Aside from dancing, Reece has found a love for choreography, she choreographed multiple dances for TDS Dance Studios the past couple of seasons, and hopes to continue and broaden her work in the near future.

Rennah St. Clair started dancing at three and continued until she was ten under the instruction of her mother, Sarah St. Clair. After that she got very involved in musical theatre which she started doing at five, performing on multiple stages in the upstate. Rennah loves bringing joy to people through her love of theatre and dance. She has been dancing with TDS for 6 years and loves growing more in her dance abilities. She is so excited to help TDS students learn more about dance and find their love of this art form, as she has.

Samantha Cain has been dancing since she was two years old, and has been a member of the TDS Dance Studio competitive team for ten years. She performed with the International Ballet Academy for three years and has also studied at the South Carolina Governor’s School. Samantha loves sharing her passion for all styles of dance with her students! She is currently pursuing a degree in Education.

Sarah St. Clair has loved dance all her life. At the age of 7 she started studying Russian and Cecchetti styles of ballet and has also taken classes in other styles of dance over the years. After moving to the Upstate of South Carolina from Michigan, Sarah immediately found ways to get involved in the wonderful Fine Arts community here. Together, Sarah and her husband Tim taught dance and theater at Artios of Greenville for 5 years. Later, Sarah opened Selah Ballet in Taylors where she taught ballet and worship dance to ages 3-adult. Over the last few years she has gone back to study more Cecchetti and has become certified to teach their graded curriculum.

Sarah’s contagious enthusiasm for dance makes her classes a joy to be a part of. She loves imparting her knowledge of dance to all ages and helping her students gain confidence both in and out of the studio. She and her husband Tim are blessed to have six amazing daughters.

Taylor began dancing at the age of 7 at a dance studio in the Upstate. She trained extensively in Contemporary, Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Hip Hop & Clogging. During her 11 years training and competing, Taylor won numerous overall awards. She attended many conventions and worked with many leading choreographers and instructors. Taylor served as an assistant instructor during this time, and upon graduation, Taylor became a Company teacher for her home studio. Taylor also served as an instructor and substitute instructor at other local studios, including UCDC. Taylor graduated from Clemson University in 2019 with a Bachelors in Marketing and is currently working on her masters specializing in Digital Brand Communications. During her time at Clemson, Taylor assisted and traveled with choreographers to create a multitude of routines. Taylor is a current Hip Hop and Jazz Company instructor for UCDC as of the fall of 2017 as She specializes in contemporary, hip hop, conditioning & rehearsing routines for competition season. We are thrilled to welcome coach Taylor this season!

Teri Thomas is a professional dancer turned teacher that recently moved from New York to Greenville. Before transitioning to teaching, she performed in multiple shows on Broadway, was a Radio City Rockette, and A New York Knicks City dancer to name a few highlights. She has been a teacher at a competitive dance studio in New Jersey for the last 15 years, where she choreographed and taught classes in Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Lyrical, Contemporary, Hip Hop, and Acrobatics. Her routines have won numerous awards for choreography and her students have won accolades for technique, performance, and overall excellence.