JENNIFER CLEATON - OWNER & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR - I am celebrating my 27th year anniversary as owner and Director. I have been teaching for over 30 years! I received my B.A. Cum Laude from Virginia Commonwealth University. I performed at Kings Dominion for four years and choreographed two shows which were performed in conjunction with the USO. I taught dance at the West End Academy of Dance in Richmond and taught creative movement and dance to local Richmond children through the YMCA. I have continued my educational training by attending various workshops with such teachers as Tremaine, Doug Varone, Susan Kicuchi (Martha Graham Company), Richmond Ballet, SYTYCD alums Kathryn McCormick, Robert Roldan, Twitch, Sonya Tayeh and more. I have two daughters of my own, one who is the General Manager of FBC and dance instructor and the other is a Senior in college. Both girls also followed in my footsteps… they both danced/performed at Kings dominion.
ASHLEY CLEATON - GENERAL MANAGER - TAP, JAZZ, LYRICAL, CONTEMPORARY, TEAM- Ms Ashley has been dancing at FBC since she was 2, she has studied tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, modern, hip hop as well as many other forms of dance. Ashley was on the competition team for 7 years and was captain for many individual teams as well as team captain her senior year. On the competition team she was able to take classes from world renowned choreographers and received a hip-hop scholarship from Dancemakers inc. She also has received special judges awards and the choreography award for her self choreographed solo. Ashley has choreographed and performed in the Stafford operas production of Cinderella. She has performed for King’s Dominion as a host and performer in two shows. Ms Ashley received her 200 hour yoga teacher training certification in 2019. This will be Ms Ashley’s 9th year of teaching and 11th year working in the FBC office. She is excited to continue her work with the students of FBC after graduating from the studio herself in 2018.
CHRISTINA HAWKINS - BALLET & BALLROOM - Ms Christina started formal dance instruction when she was six years old and has made dancing a lifelong passion. She started teaching ballet and tap classes at her local studio in Rapid City, SD, when she was 16. She continued her education of dance by earning a B.A. and a M.A. from Brigham Young University (BYU), specializing in ballet and ballroom dance. During her collegiate career, Miss Christina performed worldwide as a member of BYU Theatre Ballet and BYU Ballroom Dance Company (BDC) and taught all levels of ballroom dance classes. While on the BYU BDC she had the honor to dance in their award winning medley's which won the British Formation Team championship (2x), and the US Formation Team Championship (6x). She also was selected to perform in the 2002 Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies directed by Kenny Ortega. Highlights of her touring experience are: Mainland China, Hong Kong, Eastern Russia, Mongolia, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Scotland, England, South Africa, and the USA. Miss Christina joined the staff at FBC in 2017, teaching ballet and tap however, her children started at the studio in 2012. She has also been performing locally with Dance Matrix and Company (DMC) and has been a "Party Parent" in FBC's production of the Nutcracker. She is the mother of four fantastic and high energy kids, who are dancers and soccer players.
ALEJANDRO DELOSSANTOSCOY - HIP HOP, CONTEMPORARY, MUSICAL THEATER, JAZZ, TEAM - Gabe is a Fredericksburg native who started dancing at the age of five and through his journey found a love for teaching. His dance background includes training in ballet, jazz, contemporary, and hip hop, but he loves all styles of dance. In addition, he has choreographed for color guards throughout Virginia and performed at World Championships in the sport, primarily as a dancer. Gabe is very excited to be a part of the FBC family and can’t wait to create a fun atmosphere for all dancers!
LINDSEY FAINO - MUSICAL THEATER - Ms. Lindsey is a well rounded and established performer who has had the pleasure of performing all over the world in locations such as Japan, New York City, South Korea and 42 of the 50 US States while on Broadway National Tours. Having had roots in New York City for the last 10 years, she is thrilled to call Fredericksburg home and looks forward to transferring her passion for performance to that of teaching! She was a cast member (& Mary Poppins understudy) in the Mary Poppins Broadway National Touring Company, A Chorus Line Broadway National/International Tour- in US & Japan, The Wizard of Oz US National Tour, Oklahoma! US National Tour and the Jekyll & Hyde World Tour- Asia/South Korea. She has performed in musicals such as Legally Blonde, Children of Eden, Singin' in the Rain & A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, among many others! Originally from Nashville, TN, she danced all the way to the UDA National Championships at Walt Disney World with her high school dance team and became National Champions! She received a BFA in Musical Theatre Performance from The University of Oklahoma.
LILIANA GREVEN - JAZZ - Liliana is a Fredericksburg native and will be a senior at James Monroe. Through FBC Lili has been dancing since she was 6 years old and taking a variety of classes including Ballet, Musical Theatre, Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop, and Lyrical. This next year will be Lili's 3rd year on the competition team. She is so glad she chose to do team and has made so many friends through it. After assisting and substituting hiphop classes, being a Darby's Dancer's coach for almost 4 years, and is heading into her second year of Fredericksburg Teacher's Academy (dual enrollment through the University of Shenandoah) Lili feels very confident with younger students and is extremely excited to teach her own class this year.
TOBY LEVIN - BALLET - Ms Toby has been dancing since she was three and dancing at FBC for almost 11 years! She has grown up in the FBC community, learning to love dance and the people around her. Toby studies Lyrical, Contemporary, Jazz, Musical Theater, Hip Hop, and Ballet! Toby has had the opportunity to perform in many of FBC’s productions such as The Nutcracker, La Bayadere, Swan Lake, and Peter Pan. She has also danced in many of her school musicals such as Oliver, Mean Girls, and Spamalot. Toby recently had the opportunity to choreograph the musical Frozen, which she really enjoyed. Toby has been assisting summer camps with Ms. Ashley for years and loves that too. Toby has also been assisting Ms. Cristi with ballet for the past three years. Toby has also taught a course at Fredericksburg Academy, where she taught Jazz, Musical Theater, and Lyrical to students between the ages of 5-10!. She also had the opportunity to volunteer at many dance camps at FBC and loves to do so every summer. Toby has also been on the FBC competition team for the past three years and has won 1st place with her solo! Overall Toby has a passion for dance and loves spreading it to students! She wants to create a fun learning environment for her students where everyone can have a good time and be successful! Toby is looking forward to the next year and all it will bring.
TERESA MAYER - BALLET MISTRESS & TEAM - Miss Terry began her training at the Gainesville (Georgia) School of Ballet when she was 3. She was accepted into the newly formed Gainesville Ballet Company at the age 11, but promptly moved to Roanoke, Virginia, where she studied at Floyd Ward School of Dance. She became a founding member and principal dancer with the Roanoke Valley Civic Ballet. She attended summer intensives at Washington School of Ballet, Boston School of Ballet, Tidewater Ballet, Chautauqua Institution and Southern Ballet Theatre. She received additional training at Virginia School of the Arts, The Lynchburg Fine Arts Center and Post School of Ballet. She attended Point Park College for two years, and then transferred to Radford University where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BS in Dance. She danced professionally with Southern Ballet Theatre in Orlando, Florida, where she appeared in many classical and contemporary ballets including The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Elements, and Balanchine’s Valse-Fantasie. She appeared as a dancer at Sea World, and with the Orlando Opera Company. Retuning to Roanoke, she began her teaching career at Roanoke City Schools’ Magnet School for the Visual and Performing Arts where she taught ballet, modern and jazz and directed the Magnet School Dance Company for 7 years. Terry and her husband John performed as guest artists with Southwest Virginia Ballet, Rockbridge Ballet, Lynchburg Regional Ballet Theatre, and Southwest Virginia Opera. In her final year in Roanoke, she became instrumental in opening a branch of The Post School of Ballet, becoming the manager and ballet teacher there until John’s career brought them to Fredericksburg. She taught for one year at Barton and Williams School of Dance before finding her dance home at FBC. She first appeared in an FBC production as a guest artist in 1997 as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. She has taught, performed and choreographed here ever since. While teaching at FBC, she has performed as a guest artist with Dance Matrix, and taught ballet and drama at the Holy Innocents Homeschool Co-op. Miss Terry’s favorite roles include Swanhilda in Coppelia, Aurora and in Sleeping Beauty, Kitri in Don Quixote, and Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She loves passing on her knowledge of these roles and training the next generation of dancers.
PATRICK MAYER - BALLET & PAS DE DUEX - Patrick has been dancing at Fredericksburg Ballet Centre for most of his life, taking classes in a variety of styles. He has had many performance opportunities at FBC including leading roles in the Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, and La Bayadere. After graduating in 2019 he has continued to Dance at FBC, and now is happy to share his knowledge through teaching.
CRISTI SAUNDERS - OFFICE MANAGER - CREATIVE MOVEMENT & BALLET - "Ms. Cristi" has been a part of the FBC staff since 2001. She teaches Creative Movement through Beginning Ballet. She has had the privilege of fostering the love of dance in many hundreds of children through the years. She is the creator and director of the Summer Princess Ballet Camp program as well as the creator of the Art and Lyrical Camp, both camps designed to enliven the creativity within and to encourage confidence in children through imagery, dance, and art. Additionally, she is the resident costumer for the Fredericksburg Ballet Company and the office manager. Her nursing degree comes in handy for the dancers, too! Participating in all areas of FBC is an honor and has allowed her to combine her passions of teaching children, the arts, and the love of textiles and design in a lovely, lifelong career. Ms. Cristi has 3 grown daughters that danced from toddler years through adulthood at Fredericksburg Ballet Centre, creating lasting and beautiful memories for her family.
ASHLEY SLEMP - BALLET - Ashley began dancing when she was 4 years old under the direction of J. Randy Lamb, in Southwest Virginia. She continued dancing everywhere she went from boarding school in Richmond to college in SC where she earned her Minor in Dance. Ashley was a member and choreographer for the Joni Rodman Dance Theatre, the company in residence at St. Catherine’s School. While at the College of Charleston, she was a member of the company in residence, the Robert Ivey Ballet. She began teaching dance on base while her family was stationed in Okinawa, Japan. Today, she loves to learn the history as well as the anatomy behind the movement. Always a student of all forms of dance, she hopes to inspire the same kind of joy in the dancers in Fredericksburg. In the summer of 2015, she was introduced to Darby’s Dancers and knew immediately she wanted to be a part of a program that made all children feel like a STAR. Not much melts her heart more than watching our Darbys move across the floor with a giant smile or hearing the little ones giggle as they lay on the floor being mermaids. She feels blessed to be a part of an organization that affords her the opportunity to share her passion.
LYDIA SZAFRANSKI - BALLET - Lydia began her ballet training at the age of 3 at FBC. She danced the roles of Sugarplum Fairy, Dew Drop, and Cinderella. During this time, she was also accepted into summer intensive programs with the Richmond Ballet and Virginia School of the Arts. Upon graduation from James Monroe High School, she was accepted into Radford University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. She studied Vagonava method under Inessa Plekhanova. She also opened up her own dance studio, New River Dance Academy, while simultaneously completing her degrees in Business Management and Dance. Lydia comes back to FBC after teaching ballet and pointe for several years in Louisiana, Nevada, and Colorado. She is excited to come full circle back to teach at the studio where she fell in love with ballet.
MAKAYLA WOOLNER - TAP, JAZZ, CONTEMPORARY, TEAM - Makayla is an FBC alum who graduated in 2020. She then studied at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) where she earned her BFA in Dance and Choreography as well as a minor in entrepreneurship. Makayla has trained in various styles of dance, including,but not limited to, Ballet, Pointe, Contemporary, Jazz, Tap, Musical Theater, West African Styles, and Hip Hop. While Makayla was away from FBC, she attended the American Dance Festival where she was chosen to be a part of the Footprints program. Through Footprints, she worked closely with Abel Salaam and performed his work “Fallen Idols? Wallstreet 3.0”. During her time at VCU, she had the pleasure of dancing with choreographers such as Norbert De La Cruz III, Dean Moss, and Paloma McGregor. Makayla also performed works by VCU Dance faculty including Scott Putman, Eric Rivera, Sinclair Emoghene, Robbie Kinter, Trebien Pollard, and Starr Foster. To supplement her education, Makayla continued to choreograph for competitive dance where she earned awards for her choreography. She also danced with Dance Matrix Company as a guest artist. As a student at FBC, she had the opportunity to perform in many ballet productions. Some of her favorite roles were Sugar Plum Fairy and Clara in The Nutcracker, Mad Hatter (tap role) in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and Croc in Peter Pan. Makayla also was a part of the FBC Competition Team for 7 years.
