Director - Meg Morrissey
Meg grew up dancing at the Georgia Dance Conservatory in her hometown of Marietta, Georgia. She trained in classical ballet with GDC and performed as a company member of the Ruth Mitchell Dance Theatre for fifteen devoted years. With RMDT, she had the opportunity to perform in Regional Dance America and the Southeastern Regional Ballet Association’s conventions, as well as attend master classes in Atlanta, Pittsburg, and New York City, before graduating in 2008.
Meg then went on to continue her study of ballet, contemporary, jazz, and modern dance at Northwestern University in Chicago, graduating with a B.A. in Dance and a B.A. in International Studies. Here she also discovered her passion for choreography and teaching dance, which she brought back with her to Atlanta in 2012.
Along with teaching classes and workshops around the greater Atlanta area, Meg headed the dance program at Pace Academy from 2012 - 2014. Meg has been a company member of Sideways Contemporary Dance Company, Graffiti Dancers, and Fuerta Dance Company. Her choreographic work has been featured by the New Movement Project, two seasons of Atlanta's Dance Canvas, and Zoetic’s: MIXTAPE. Meg is the co-founder and Artistic Director of the Fuerta Dance Company, as well as the owner and Director of the Druid Hills Dance Center. Her passion for working with young dancers and artists, creating innovative new works of choreography, has played a major role in shaping DHDC and Fuerta into what they are today. She looks forward to every new season with her students and professional dancers!
Assistant Director - Olivia Rowe
Olivia is a professional dancer, choreographer, teacher, and stage manager in the Atlanta area. As a choreographer, Olivia seeks to discover and reflect the beauty of the human experience through expressionism. With members of The Esthete Collective, she presented process in a split bill performance with Fuerta Dance Company, entitled “WAKE.” The Collective presented two new works in 2021 including Nubivagant, performed alongside Profectus Dance in their production "The Seeds We Plant." In 2020, she was commissioned by musician Desmond Meyers to choreograph music video Real Man. That same year, she presented two new works in collaboration with The Esthete Collective; The first being aphotic|lucent at Excuse the Art presented by Fly on a Wall, and the second being ALPHA STATE, a dance film presented at FEMMEfest. She has also presented works in festivals such as Fall for Fall Dance Festival, 3 Contemporary Dance Project, and Palette Project. In 2018, her work, Matutine, was danced by Ballet Southeast in their inaugural mixed repertory showcase. Also in 2018, her senior capstone project, Dichotomic, was presented by the Kennesaw State Dance Co. in their annual Senior Spring showcase.
Olivia's professional performance endeavors include companies Fuerta Dance Company, City Gate Dance Theater, Ballet Southeast, and Gotta Dance Contemporary where she has performed both classical and contemporary works. At Kennesaw State, she has been honored to work with choreographers such as Christine Winkler, Martha Goodman, Lisa Lock, and Dr. Ivan Pulinkala.
Olivia is currently an MA in Dance candidate at Cal State Long Beach, where she is set to graduate in 2024. In 2018, she graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance. In high school, she trained at Atlanta Academy of Ballet as a professional trainee, as well as Balletmet Columbus and Nashville Ballet. She received her early dance education at Impact Dance of Atlanta. In college, she was privileged to study Gaga dance technique at the Batsheva Dance Company in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Olivia received her dance production training at Kennesaw State under the guidance of David J. Tatu, and has gone on to work for well known dance productions such as the Vail Dance Festival. She now works as a freelance stage manager in Atlanta for companies such as Terminus Modern Ballet Theater, Staib Dance, Fly on a Wall, ImmerseATL, Bluebird Uncaged, and the Kennesaw State Dance Theater. Olivia is passionate about educating the next generation of artists. She is currently blessed to serve as Assistant Artistic Director and Instructor at Druid Hills Dance Center.
Instructors
Abi Grassler
AbAbi is a San Francisco native who moved to Atlanta in 2015 to attend Emory University. She graduated in 2019 with a double-major in Dance and Movement Studies and Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. Although she started as a competition dancer and cheerleader, she trained primarily in contemporary-modern while attending Emory. Abi had the opportunity to perform for Greg Catallier, Kendra Portier, and Sally Raddell, as well as student choreographers during her time in the program, and was awarded the department’s Vail Scholarship in 2019. Since graduating, Abi has performed for independent Atlanta-based choreographers Jacquelyn Pritz, Catherine Messina, and Amelia Jazwa, and is currently dancing with Fuerta Dance Company. She is excited to share her enthusiasm for movement with young students and create a space to foster success among aspiring dancers.
Jen McQuiller
Jen is a hip-hop choreographer hailing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Her dance career started with a co-ed dance troupe at Florida State University. Post graduation, she moved to Dallas, TX, to begin her professional choreographer career. It was there that she began teaching middle school students through the DEA Youth Dance Program. She then went on to teach at Dallas International School. Throughout her time in Texas, she was a part of Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) to DFW Airport promotional tour, Choctaw Casino promotional tour, and RAW Dallas.
Since moving to Atlanta in 2016, she has been able to collaborate with local choreographers, as well as showcase her work at the Harlem Globetrotters pre-show. She continues to instruct various beginner, intermediate, and advanced training classes throughout the metro Atlanta area.
Lauren Michelle
Lauren Michelle is a freelance movement artist new to Atlanta. She has performed in soloist and ensemble roles throughout the U.S. with Chicago Repertory Ballet, the Portland Opera, Point Park University's Conservatory Dance Company, and in other freelance projects.
Lauren received her Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude from Point Park University. Her diverse training has included studying and performing alongside companies such as Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, NW Dance Project, Shen Wei Dance Arts, Houston Contemporary Dance Company, and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.
She is thrilled to be back on stage, making her Atlanta debut with Fuerta Dance Company and the Esthete Collective.
Jenn Klammer
Jenn is an Atlanta based creative, movement artist, and educator. She has received her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts from the University of Florida. In 2019, Jenn moved to Atlanta and has worked with various artists in the area including ALA Dance, Bautanzt Here, and Fuerta Dance Company. She specializes in Limon and Release Modern, Contemporary, Leaps and Turns, and Conditioning. She has an emphasis on strength and power in all techniques.
Aryanna Allen
Aryanna Allen is a graduate of Emory University where she earned her B.A. in Dance and Movement Studies. While enrolled, she was a member of the Emory Dance Company for 7 consecutive semesters, during which, she performed works by Dafi Altabeb, Kendra Portier, George Staib, Gregory Catellier, and many more. As a three-time scholarship recipient, Aryanna has studied at the American Dance Festival and B12 - A Festival for Contemporary Dance and Performance Art. Since graduating, Aryanna has performed in works by local artists Jessica Bertram, Danielle Swatzie, Leo Briggs, Patsy Collins, and Okwae Miller. She is excited to enter her first season at DHDC and continue her teaching career.