All Star Dance Camp has searched the nation to bring to you instructors that will make your experience at the camp not only a fun memorable one, but an informative and learning experience.
SCROLL DOWN TO READ BIOS OF OUR FABULOUS INSTRUCTORS
Jim and Jenell Maranto
Jim and Jenell are two-time U.S. Professional American Smooth Champions. They have represented the U.S. in two World Showdance events. They hold every major American Smooth title in the U.S. as well as many titles in International Standard. Jim and Jenell are top-level certified examiners for DVIDA and the authors of the American Smooth Syllabus for DVIDA.
Tammy Wilson
Tammy Wilson is the studio manager and artistic director at The Dance Studio in Tupelo, Mississippi. Prior to this position, she and her Mom, Linda Hong, were co-owners at The Dance Floor in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A meticulous dancer and instructor, Tammy believes in doing her best at everything she tackles.
Robbie Greenwood
Robbie Greenwood is owner of Ballroom By The Bay on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, began his dance career in Jackson, MS where he started his training. Before moving to the coast, he taught more than twelve years at The Dance Studio of Tupelo. He is fully DVIDA certified in both American Smooth and Rhythm.
Kem Overby
Kem Overby, a certified Grand Master, began is career in 1975 as an assistant in a college disco class. Over the next four decades, he trained with some of the top Arthur Murray, Fred Astaire, and independent coaches in the world. He began judging students in 1980 and judging teachers in 1981.
Jason Barnes
Jason Barnes is tall. In ballroom dance, Mr. Jason is certified in American Smooth & Rhythm as a dancer & teacher. Along with a west coast swing U.S.
Phillip and Gwen Farley
Phillip and Gwen Farley own and operate Farley’s Ballroom of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Phillip established the ballroom in 2002. Phillip teaches social and club dancing and he specializes in training his students to compete in the amateur couple and pro-am divisions. Phillip is certified to teach through Fred Astaire Dance Studios in two different programs.
Andrew Davis
Andrew Davis is an instructor at The Dance Studio of Tupelo. He has been a dance professional since 2014. He is certified in American Smooth and Rhythm through the DVIDA program. He teaches in all four styles, Ballroom, Latin, Smooth, and Rhythm. He loves teaching wedding couples. He describes himself as a student-centered, energetic and collaborative communicator.
Sara Davis
Sara Wood Davis has been dancing since 2016 and is a member of The Dance Studio of Tupelo staff. Sara teaches group classes, individual students and is a teacher for the Dance in the Schools program in Tupelo, MS. She is DVIDA certified in both Smooth and Rhythm and is coached by Jim & Jenell Maranto.
BJ Harden Jones
BJ Harden Jones is a cultural catalyst, consciousness evolutionary, truth teller, mystic, loving presence, community co-founder, ballroom dancer, and rad mama & partner. She’s been dancing since she was a wee one, and is grateful in the past few years to be joining others on the journey of partner dancing as a shared expression of joy and connection.
Miah Thompson
Miah Thompson graduated from the University of Alabama in Birmingham in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and she uses her psychological training to cater her teaching to the learning styles of her students. While in college, Miah started teaching social dance through Curt n’ Wendy Dance in 2011.
Spenser Thompson
Spenser Thompson graduated from Auburn University in May of 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in Forestry. He started out his dancing career in 2001 at Curt and Wendy Johnson’s first homeschool youth ballroom dance class. Just like many other 11-year-old boys, he was very reluctant to join the class.
Mo Abdel-Ghany and Priscilla Collums
Mo Abdel-Ghany is a certified dance instructor with honors (Gold level) International Latin and (Silver level) American Smooth and Rhythm dances by Dance Vision International Dance Association. Priscilla holds DVIDA Rhythm and Smooth Certification. She served as secretary, vice-president and president of Chapter 6037 of USA Dance.
Todd Longsworth
Todd Longsworth was born and raised in Pensacola/Pace, Florida. He retired as a City of Pensacola Firefighter after 30+ years in December of 2019. He is still an active Paramedic and a Dance Instructor. Todd has over 25 years of experience in the dance industry through teaching and competing.
Larry & Sherri Bunch
Larry and Sherri Bunch are instructors and owners of The Way You Move dance studio in Pensacola, Florida. Having fallen in love with partner dancing over a decade ago, they now enjoy more than 20 styles of ballroom, swing, latin, and country dance. They are passionate about their teaching and dancing, constantly seeking out coaching and instructional methods from top professionals to share with their students.
Melissa Foster
Melissa Foster, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, began dancing and teaching as a student of Curt and Wendy Johnson. Now she is a DVIDA® certified dance instructor/choreographer. For two years, she was a teacher at The Dance Studio of Tupelo, Mississippi.
Joan Caviness
A talented dancer and musician all her life, Joan Caviness discovered ballroom dancing while a student at UNC-Chapel Hill. Intrigued by seeing Carolina Shag danced at mixers, she enrolled in a social dance class that changed the rest of her life.
David Nyemchek, Jr. & Vika Nyemchek
David Nyemchek, Jr. was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, comes from a prestigious dancing family. Viktoriya Nyemchek discovered her love for ballroom dancing at the age of five in her hometown of Ternopil, Ukraine.
Jim Frechette
Jim Frechette was introduced to ballroom dance over 35 years ago by his mother, an amateur dancer. He began his formal training with Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where he received his teaching certification. Shortly after returning to Mississippi, he established his own studio, Applause Dance Factory, in 1999.
Cameron Stevens
Cameron Stevens is a DVIDA-certified ballroom dance instructor at The Dance Studio of Tupelo where she began ballroom dancing in 2021. Her principal ballroom coaches are Jim and Jenell Maranto. Cameron’s dance journey extends far beyond ballroom. She has been classically trained in ballet from a young age and is an alumna of Civic Ballet, where she has served as the Assistant Ballet Mistress.
Chris and Rachel Santapaola
Chris and Rachel Santapaola are professional ballroom dance instructors and co-owners of Alabama Ballroom Center in Daphne, Alabama. Together, they bring a passion for dance, technical excellence, and a love of community with everything they teach.
Jim and Jenell Maranto
Jim and Jenell are two-time U.S. Professional American Smooth Champions. They have represented the U.S. in two World Showdance events. They hold every major American Smooth title in the U.S. as well as many titles in International Standard. Jim and Jenell are top-level certified examiners for DVIDA and the authors of the American Smooth Syllabus for DVIDA.
Tammy Wilson
Tammy Wilson is the studio manager and artistic director at The Dance Studio in Tupelo, Mississippi. Prior to this position, she and her Mom, Linda Hong, were co-owners at The Dance Floor in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A meticulous dancer and instructor, Tammy believes in doing her best at everything she tackles.
Robbie Greenwood
Robbie Greenwood is owner of Ballroom By The Bay on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, began his dance career in Jackson, MS where he started his training. Before moving to the coast, he taught more than twelve years at The Dance Studio of Tupelo. He is fully DVIDA certified in both American Smooth and Rhythm.
Kem Overby
Kem Overby, a certified Grand Master, began is career in 1975 as an assistant in a college disco class. Over the next four decades, he trained with some of the top Arthur Murray, Fred Astaire, and independent coaches in the world. He began judging students in 1980 and judging teachers in 1981.
Jason Barnes
Jason Barnes is tall. In ballroom dance, Mr. Jason is certified in American Smooth & Rhythm as a dancer & teacher. Along with a west coast swing U.S.
Phillip and Gwen Farley
Phillip and Gwen Farley own and operate Farley’s Ballroom of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Phillip established the ballroom in 2002. Phillip teaches social and club dancing and he specializes in training his students to compete in the amateur couple and pro-am divisions. Phillip is certified to teach through Fred Astaire Dance Studios in two different programs.
Andrew Davis
Andrew Davis, Senior Instructor at The Dance Studio of Tupelo, has been dancing for 11 years. He is certified in American Smooth and Rhythm through the DVIDA program. Andrew has been teaching dance for 7 years. He teaches in all four styles, Ballroom, Latin, Smooth, and Rhythm. He loves teaching wedding couples.
Sara Davis
Sara Davis has been dancing for seven years and has recently joined the staff of The Dance Studio of Tupelo as a dance professional. As an amateur dancer, Sara won many awards both in Amateur Couple, dancing with her brother, Jesse Davis, and also when she dance Pro-Am with Andrew Davis as her professional partner.
BJ Harden Jones
BJ Harden Jones is a cultural catalyst, consciousness evolutionary, truth teller, mystic, loving presence, community co-founder, ballroom dancer, and rad mama & partner. She’s been dancing since she was a wee one, and is grateful in the past few years to be joining others on the journey of partner dancing as a shared expression of joy and connection.
Miah Thompson
Miah Thompson graduated from the University of Alabama in Birmingham in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and she uses her psychological training to cater her teaching to the learning styles of her students. While in college, Miah started teaching social dance through Curt n’ Wendy Dance in 2011.
Spenser Thompson
Spenser Thompson graduated from Auburn University in May of 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in Forestry. He started out his dancing career in 2001 at Curt and Wendy Johnson’s first homeschool youth ballroom dance class. Just like many other 11-year-old boys, he was very reluctant to join the class.
Mo Abdel-Ghany and Priscilla Collums
Mo Abdel-Ghany is a certified dance instructor with honors (Gold level) International Latin and (Silver level) American Smooth and Rhythm dances by Dance Vision International Dance Association. Priscilla holds DVIDA Rhythm and Smooth Certification. She served as secretary, vice-president and president of Chapter 6037 of USA Dance.
Todd Longsworth
Todd Longsworth was born and raised in Pensacola/Pace, Florida. He retired as a City of Pensacola Firefighter after 30+ years in December of 2019. He is still an active Paramedic and a Dance Instructor. Todd has over 25 years of experience in the dance industry through teaching and competing.
Larry & Sherri Bunch
Larry and Sherri Bunch are instructors and owners of The Way You Move dance studio in Pensacola, Florida. Having fallen in love with partner dancing over a decade ago, they now enjoy more than 20 styles of ballroom, swing, latin, and country dance. They are passionate about their teaching and dancing, constantly seeking out coaching and instructional methods from top professionals to share with their students.
Melissa Foster
Melissa Foster, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, began dancing and teaching as a student of Curt and Wendy Johnson. Now she is a DVIDA® certified dance instructor/choreographer. For two years, she was a teacher at The Dance Studio of Tupelo, Mississippi.
Joan Caviness
A talented dancer and musician all her life, Joan Caviness discovered ballroom dancing while a student at UNC-Chapel Hill. Intrigued by seeing Carolina Shag danced at mixers, she enrolled in a social dance class that changed the rest of her life.
David Nyemchek, Jr. & Vika Dilay
David Nyemchek, Jr. was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, comes from a prestigious dancing family. Viktoriya Dilay discovered her love for ballroom dancing at the age of five in her hometown of Ternopil, Ukraine.
Jim Frechette
Jim Frechette was introduced to ballroom dance over 35 years ago by his mother, an amateur dancer. He began his formal training with Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where he received his teaching certification. Shortly after returning to Mississippi, he established his own studio, Applause Dance Factory, in 1999.
Cameron Stevens
Cameron Stevens is a DVIDA-certified ballroom dance instructor at The Dance Studio of Tupelo where she is entering her third year of teaching. She also returns for her third year as an instructor at the All Star Dance Camp. Her principal ballroom coaches are Jim and Jenell Maranto.
But Cameron’s dance journey extends far beyond ballroom.
Chris and Rachel Santapaola
Chris and Rachel Santapaola are professional ballroom dance instructors and co-owners of Alabama Ballroom Center in Daphne, Alabama. Together, they bring a passion for dance, technical excellence, and a love of community with everything they teach.