Charlotte Foster Williamson
CEO/DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
Jeremy Williamson
SENIOR FACULTY
Jeremy Williamson began dancing in college with UGA’s Ballroom Performance Group and performed with UGA Ballet Ensemble. After graduation, he joined Contact Dance Theatre and was a guest performer with SIDEWAYS Contemporary Dance Company in their first major show. He joined SIDEWAYS the following season and trained in ballet, jazz, and modern dance. Jeremy’s childhood passion for sports migrated to a study of fitness, strength, and conditioning in college. He is now a CrossFit Level 2 and CrossFit Kids coach. Jeremy believes strength and conditioning were an integral part of his dance training and can benefit all dancers. As an intersection of dance and fitness, Jeremy introduced the aerial program to ADC in 2014. He loves helping students overcome obstacles in the classroom as they develop bravery and resilience.
Megan Long
Senior FACULTY MEMBER/Director of Operations
Megan Long graduated Summa Cum Laude from Winthrop University with a BA in Dance and a minor in Psychology in 2017. She was awarded “Most Inspiring Junior and Senior Choreographer” during her undergraduate studies. After graduation, Megan grew as a dancer, choreographer, and person in New York City while working as an Intern and Training Fellow at Gibney. Megan specializes in contemporary, tap, and jazz, garnering numerous awards for her choreography work at competitive studios throughout the southeast. Outside of ADC, Megan performs with Monica Hogan Dance Works and works backstage with Applause Talent connecting with dancers throughout the US. Megan is a dedicated teacher and finds inspiration and purpose in watching her students grow.
Semaj Johnson
FACULTY MEMBER/LOCATION MANAGER
Semaj Johnson first began studying hip-hop, tap, and capoeira in elementary school. Since then, he has built on his passion for dance and martial arts. In addition to studying Public Health Nutrition in college, Semaj has taught at Studio Arts, Austin-East High School, Breed Arts, The Good Guy Collective, The Appalachian Ballet Company, and The Carpet Theatre. He has choreographed and danced with the University of Tennessee Knoxville, Capoeira Fundo da Mata, and Southern Sole. Semaj also contributed to performances for the HoLa Festival and served as one of the lead choreographers for the theatrical production of What The Water Tells Me. As a member of the ADC team, Semaj is excited to share his expertise with his students, helping them see the arts as a pathway to self-expression and self-discovery.
Daira Wiederhold
FACULTY MEMBER
Daira Wiederhold is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana where she began dancing at the age of 2 ½. She is trained in ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, acrobatics, contortion and hip hop. Daira became a very awarded dancer with multiple dance title winnings and scholarships. She has traveled to many cities with dance conventions such as Platinum and Titans of Dance where she was an assistant. She has also trained extensively with many well-known choreographers/teachers such as Cat Viger, Cherisse Wakeham, Carly Gallup, Jenn Parsley, Mary-Kate Campfield, and Marcus Shields. Daira has been awarded as both Miss Cobb County and Miss Paulding County’s Outstanding Talented Miss. She has had many performing opportunities including being a guest performer at the MissCobb County Pageant and Cobb County’s Winter Showcase. Daira is currently training with SIDEWAYS Contemporary Dance Company to further her dance education and training. As much as Daira loves performing, she is very passionate about teaching and pushing the next generation of dancers to build a strong technical foundation. She loves creating and and uplifting students to become the best versions of themselves.
Grace Burkhart
FACULTY MEMBER
Grace started dancing before she could even walk. However, her dance education began when she was two years old in Columbus, Ohio. From 2002 until her graduation in 2018, she was a student and teacher intern at Dublin Dance Center. Grace continued her dance education at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music as a ballet-performance major then, danced professionally with Columbus Dance Theatre. She spent summers training with American Ballet Theater and Boca Ballet Theater. Grace was head choreographer of the Abbey Theater. She choreographed student and professional theater productions for 2 seasons. She is excited to share her passion with the students of Atlanta Dance Central!
Maria Caprio
FACULTY MEMBER
Maria Caprio, a native of Franklin, TN, fell in love with dance at the Franklin School of Performing Arts in 2011 and hasn't stopped dancing since then. She is a graduate of The University of Alabama (UA) Dance program, and while attending there, she performed in productions with the Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre, the Emerging Choreographers’ Showcase, and Dance Alabama!. She was one of the choreographers and company members for Yonder Contemporary Dance Company which performed at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland this summer. She has trained with companies including Alvin Ailey, New Dialect, staibdance, Interlochen Arts Camp, and Joffrey South. She is also a certified yoga instructor through an RYT-200 Hour course and was the founder and president of UA’s yoga club. UA's Department of Theatre and Dance has recognized her over the years with the Lou Wall Award, Most Outstanding Sophomore, and Most Outstanding Freshman.
Jaylah Darlington
FACULTY MEMBER
Jaylah Darlington brings over fifteen years of dance experience to our studio. She is an Atlanta-based performing artist who began her formal dance training at 8 years old with Strathmore City Dance in North Bethesda, Maryland. There, she had the opportunity to perform for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. Her extensive training includes Ballet, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, and Modern, with a special focus on Musical Theatre, which earned her a spot in the NYU Tisch Summer Music Theatre Program.
After returning to Georgia, Jaylah has channeled her passion into teaching, delighting in sharing her knowledge with the next generation of dancers. She is currently studying Human Biology and Kinesiology, where she is focusing on biomechanics and injury prevention to enhance dancer health and performance.