ABOUT

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OUR story

Studio 73 Dance opened its doors to the Huntersville community in the fall of 1999 with our focus placed on teaching students the art of dance. Under the direction of owner and instructor Michele Benton Edwards, we are proud to be a staple in the Lake Norman area over the past 25 years engaging dancers of all ages in the disciplines of ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, Pointe, contemporary, modern, and hip-hop.

Studio 73 Dance offers a staff of college graduates dedicated to teaching your child their passion in the art. Our staff annually continues their dance education by attending national dance conventions, workshops, and seminars. Studio 73 Dance strives to give quality instruction to each dancer. We promote growth in the development of coordination, poise, technique, physical discipline, and a healthy and positive well-being.

Our state of the art facility, built in 1999 for the sole purpose of dance instruction is equipped with two 1,000 square foot dance rooms complete with Harlequin dance floors that include shock absorbent sub-flooring. Each dance room has full wall-to-wall mirrors, ballet barres, and modern musical equipment. 

OUR TEAM

Miss Michele E

Owner/Dance Instructor

Ms. Michele has over 35 years of dance training, teaching, and performing. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, completing her Bachelors Degree in 1998. Michele began her dance career at the age of 3 at Pegge’ Lee School of Dance in Concord, NC. She was the 2nd recipient in 50 years, of the Pegge’ Lee Haywood Artistic Achievement Award. Michele was also a former member of the Appalachian State University Dance Team. At their national competition in Daytona Beach, FL, she was selected by the National Dance Association to become a national dance instructor for their summer dance programs. This gave her the opportunity to travel the southern United States teaching participants from various dance teams and dance studios. She was also a former member of the 1996 – 1997 Charlotte Hornet HoneyBees Dance Team and a former member of The Chamber Ballet Theatre. Ms. Michele resides in Concord, NC with her husband, Jaren, and children, Finley Claire and Easton Eli.

Miss Casey

Managing Partner/Competition/Dance Instructor

Casey Fitzsimonds is a graduate of East Carolina University with a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography and a Certificate in Business Entrepreneurship. While at ECU Casey had the pleasure of performing in numerous faculty, student, and guest artist works. Casey also completed the Broadway Dance Center Professional Semester in New York City where she furthered her training in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Modern, Contemporary, Hip-Hop, Musical Theatre, Improvisation, and more. During her college years, Casey found that her true passion was teaching and choreographing, rather than performing. Casey has become an award winning choreographer on a Regional and National level and is a 2022 nominee for The Star Dance Alliance- Choreographer of the Year. Having grown up as a competitive dancer in the Charlotte area, Casey is loving being on the other side as a teacher and hopes to continue to share her love of dance with others daily. 

Miss Abi

Competition/Dance Instructor

Abi is from Holly Springs, North Carolina where she started dancing at the age of three. Her parents owned Studio Five Dance Company where she trained and danced competitively in genres including ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, hip-hop, musical theatre, and clogging. Abi found her love of teaching dance when she became a teacher’s assistant and later started choreographing and teaching her own classes. After her parents sold their dance studio, Abi continued her training and became an alumna of Cary Dance Productions in Cary, North Carolina. Here, Abi was able to expand her knowledge as a dance instructor as well as work with many professionals from the dance industry. Abi went on to study at Appalachian State University where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with minors in Communication Sciences and Disorders and Dance Studies. While at Appalachian State University, Abi trained extensively in ballet technique and facets of modern dance including Graham and Hawkins technique. Abi was also a part of the Appalachian Dance Ensemble where she performed works from students, faculty, guest choreographers and attended conferences such as the American College Dance Association. Abi now resides in Charlotte where she is working on obtaining her Masters Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Abi is so excited to be a part of the Studio 73 staff and continue to share her love and passion for dance with all the dancers!

Miss Becky

Ballet Mistress/Dance Instructor/Adult Classes

Becky has been literally dancing her whole life.  From a very early age she knew that dance and theatre had her heart. 

She graduated from Point Park University, magna cum laude, with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance.  She continued her training (as all good dancers should) after college and studied at the Joffrey Ballet and San Francisco ballet schools as well as with the great Finis Jung and David Howard.  

She has taught all around the country including the prestigious Joffrey Ballet School in New York City and the Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School.

Becky has extensive professional experience on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and National Tours and has worked with some of professional theatres’ finest legendary directors and choreographers. She has worked with such legends as Jerome Robbins, Harold Prince, Michael Bennet, Bob Fosse, Susan Stroman, and Trevor Nunn to name a few.

Becky has directed and choreographed more than 70 productions for professional theatres all over the country: La Jolla Playhouse, NJ Shakespeare, The Cort, and MTC, among others.

 In addition, she was the associate choreographer for the Tony Award winning show Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2002. 

Becky performed on Broadway / National tours of Cats, Chess, West Side Story, Pippin, Showboat, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolored Dreamcoat (starring Donny Osmond).  As well as dozens of Equity regional theatres around the country.

She is married to Actor/Director Paul Carlin and her favorite “production” is her son Payton.

Miss Chris

Dance Instructor/Adult Classes

Miss Chris started dancing at the age of 5 and has studied jazz, tap, ballet and lyrical. Throughout high school she attended many dance conventions and classes in NYC, as well as performed in and choreographed a variety of shows for her school. In college she was a dance major at Marymount Manhattan College and also took classes at Broadway Dance Center.  She transferred to the University of Connecticut where she choreographed shows for the Theater Department and also performed in and choreographed in Dance Showcases presented by the Lighting Design program of the Theater Department. She graduated with a degree in Theater Management and worked at various theater companies until she became a full time mom. Miss Chris has always had a “funky” side which shows in her love for teaching hiphop. She and her husband moved to Huntersville in 2019 from Connecticut where she had lived her whole life. Miss Chris has taught dance for over 20 years and is extremely excited to be part of the Studio 73 team of instructors. 

 

Miss Donna

Competition/Dance Instructor

Donna graduated with a B.A. in Dance Studies and a B.S. in Spanish Education from Appalachian State University in 2012. Donna also holds her M.A. in Professional School Counseling. She began dancing at the age of three at local studios in the Huntersville and Mooresville area. She focused on ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, and lyrical. In addition, she danced competitively for over 12 years. Donna also had the opportunity to study with Denise Wall. In college, Donna expanded her dance experience by studying modern dance, expressive arts, Pilates, and floor barre. While at Appalachian, Donna choreographed and danced in numerous dance concerts, including the North Carolina Dance Festival. Donna is also certified as a Third Generation Classical Pilates Instructor. After finishing her Master’s Degree, Donna spent over two years as an elementary school counselor. She is passionate about sharing her love of the arts and helping children learn and grow. Ms. Donna currently resides in Huntersville, NC with her husband Adam, and their children Addison and Grayson.

Miss Emma

Competition/Dance Instructor

Miss Emma has over 18 years of experience in dance and is passionate about sharing her love for this art with the next generation. Emma was a member of the Competition Troupes at Studio 73 Dance for 11 years before attending UNC-Chapel Hill to study Public Relations and Psychology. She completed a majority of her dance training under Mrs. Michele Edwards and the Studio 73 Dance Staff, receiving numerous scholarships and overall awards throughout her competitive dance career. It has always been a dream of hers to come back to Studio 73 as a teacher and give back to the place that was so formative for her as a young dancer. 
Emma is constantly looking for new ways to improve her craft and share her passion with others. While in college, Emma was the Vice President of Choreography for Carolina Vibe Dance Team, where she choreographed jazz, contemporary, and lyrical pieces to be performed on campus. Miss Emma currently works with NexStar Talent Competition and absolutely loves using this platform to empower and inspire young dancers across the country. In addition to teaching dance at Studio 73, Miss Emma will be attending UNC Charlotte to pursue her Master’s degree in School Counseling. 

Miss Erica

Competition/Dance Instructor

Ms. Erica received a minor in dance and bachelors of science in electronic media from Kutztown University of PA in 2004. While in college she had the opportunity to teach at Dance One Studios in Douglasville , PA for two years. She has trained in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical and hip hop for over 30 years. She competed in numerous dance competitions all over the north east and won Miss Performing Arts at Performing Arts Dance Alliance. Ms. Erica has performed at Disney Magic Music Days and has choreographed for a troupe who has danced at Disney. She has taken numerous master classes at Broadway Dance Center in NYC since the age of 10. She has studied with Frank Hatchett, Mia Michaels, Chris Judd, Laurie Ann Gibson, Wade Robson, Dave Scott, Sheila Barker, Bev Brown, Leslie Feliciano and AC Ciulla. Ms. Erica has also competed in numerous pageants in the state in Pennsylvania where she held two local titles in the Miss America organization. Ms. Erica hopes to not only teach your child to dance but to appreciate it just as much as she does. Ms. Erica currently resides in Mooresville, NC with her husband David and their daughter Kaidryn.

Miss Jacqui

Dance Instructor

Jacqui graduated with a B.A. in Dance Education from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2008. She began her career in dance at the age of 10 at The Dance Centre in Toms River, NJ. In High School, she studied at The Hilton Head Dance Theatre in Hilton Head, South Carolina where she trained under former principle dancer for American Ballet Theatre, Corrina Brock. During her training at Hilton Head Dance Theatre, she performed in the Nutcracker, Cinderella, and Terpisichore. During her college career, Jacqui performed in several dance concerts and has worked with guest choreographers Martha Connerton, Jefferey Bullock and Sandra Neels. After college, Jacqui spent five years as the dance education teacher and Varsity dance team coach at East Gaston High School in Mt. Holly, North Carolina. During her tenure at East Gaston, she was nominated for New Teacher of the Year and was the recipient of the Gaston County Schools Star Teacher Award. She is currently working as a Senior Sales Specialist for the Johnson & Johnson family of companies. Jacqui is a strong advocate of the arts and continues to share her love of dance with all of her students. Ms. Jacqui currently resides in Concord, NC with her husband Jared and their daughter Tessa Marie.

Miss Michele W

Competition Assistant/Dance Instructor

Miss Michele has been a part of the Studio 73 Dance family for the past 15 years as a dance mom, office assistant, and dance teacher. She has a background in cheerleading and was a competitive cheer coach for 5 years. Miss Michele developed a love for dance as her daughters were competing with Studio 73’s competition troupes. Her two older daughters, Emma and Madison, started dancing at Studio 73 Dance in 2007, and have since graduated and gone to UNC-Chapel Hill. Her youngest, Lily, started dancing at the studio as soon as she could walk, and is still dancing competitively with Studio 73 today.
Miss Michele started teaching at the studio in 2012, assisting with the younger competition troupes and focusing on technique, cleanliness, and conditioning. Since coming on staff, Miss Michele has been assisting with many styles of dance, including jazz, tap, lyrical, and tumbling, and her dancers have been awarded with top honors at both regional and national competitions. Miss Michele loves being a part of the Studio 73 Dance family, and is passionate about teaching young dancers how to work hard and be confident both in and out of the studio.

Teacher Assistants