Sheryl Clay - Owner/Director
At the age of five, Sheryl began studying dance in Atlanta with J. Frank Leitzsey. There were no dance schools in Douglasville back in the ‘60s, and she thanks God that her parents made that trip to Atlanta every week so that she could dance. After Mr. Leitzsey’s school closed, Sheryl began dancing at Douglasville School of Dance. She began assisting and teaching at DSD and then had her dream of owning a dance school come true. In 1983, Sheryl and her husband purchased DSD. They have been the owners for almost 40 years. Sheryl loves teaching tap to the middle & high school students! She continues to be blessed each year by DSD dance families and the DSD staff. A life-long resident of Douglasville, Sheryl and her husband are the proud parents of three adult sons and two very precious granddaughters.
Nicole Crook - Co-Director/Office Manager
Nicole is an alumna of Douglasville School of Dance where she began her dance training at the age of five. Nicole began assisting at DSD during high school and has been teaching for over 20 years. She continues her dance training during summer programs at The Atlanta Ballet. Nicole works with all ages in the areas of ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary and pointe. She also manages the office and assists Ms. Sheryl with directing DSD. A graduate of the State University of West Georgia, Nicole also holds a Master's Degree in business administration. Nicole lives in Douglasville with her husband and son, and loves being a part of the DSD family!
Kristen Holloway - Instructor
Kristen has been a member of the Douglasville School of Dance family for many years. At the age of five, she began her dance training at DSD. After high school she began teaching dance and has taught students of all ages. Currently, she enjoys teaching younger elementary and preschool age dancers. Kristen has participated in classes at various Atlanta dance schools and has attended many dance conventions over the years. She lives in Winston with her husband Matt and their three children; Jacob, Georgia and Maddie.
Emily Moss - Instructor
Emily is an alumna of Douglasville School of Dance where she began her dance training at age three. She has been trained in tap, ballet, jazz, and she performed in DSD's Kickline and Elite Performers. Her love of dance translated into a love for all types of performing arts and she began to pursue theatre and choreography opportunities at the age of 16. Emily attended Birmingham-Southern College where she continued to pursue dance and theatre at the collegiate level. She graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Collaborative Education and is a teacher in the Douglas County School System. Emily is a newlywed to Tyler, and they live in the area and are the proud puppy parents to Milo. Emily currently teaches contemporary and jazz at DSD, and she also works with our performing groups.
Gaby Figueroa-West - Instructor
Gaby began dancing at the age of three, receiving training in ballet, tap, jazz, and contemporary. She is a graduate of the University of West Georgia with a B.S. in Psychology. While working towards her degree, Gaby taught contemporary, jazz, and performing groups and assisted in ballet and tap at DSD for five seasons. After graduating, she moved to Florida to work for Walt Disney World entertainment and begin her career in mental health. Gaby lives in Villa Rica with her husband, son and adorable pug. She is excited to return to DSD to share her love of dance with her students!
Olivia Wise - Instructor
Olivia started dancing at various dance studios from the age of four and spent her high school years at DSD training in ballet, pointe, tap, contemporary, and jazz. She participated in Kickline for three years, Senior Performers for two years, and Elite Performers for two years. This year, she will have assisted at DSD for four years and taught for two years. While teaching at DSD, Olivia is an Honors College student at the University of West Georgia where she plans to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Education with a Major in Speech-Language Pathology. Olivia has taught classes in pre-jazz, pointe and contemporary. She hopes to inspire her dancers to be the best that they can be through hard work, dedication, and motivation.
Savannah Phillips - Instructor
Savannah is a DSD alumna where she began her dance training at the age of five. She has studied ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary and pointe. Savannah also participated in all levels of DSD performing groups: Juniors, Seniors Elite, and Kickline. She began assisting in the preschool and elementary age classes during her junior year of high school. Savannah is excited to continue her time at DSD to teach students the love of dance!
Reagan Hughes - Instructor
Reagan has 10 years of training from Douglasville School of Dance, where she began with studying hip-hop classes. She quickly fell in love with dance and added tap, jazz, contemporary, and ballet to her skills, as well as participating in the DSD Kickline. Reagan began assisting dance classes at the age of 16 and is very much excited to continue her time at DSD by sharing her love of dance with students!
Whitney Graver
Whitney is an alumna of Douglasville School of Dance where she began her dance training at the age of three. During her 15 years of dance experience, which include training in tap, ballet, jazz, and pointe, she also participated in DSD's Kickline Performing Group. Whitney is a graduate of Kennesaw State University with a B.S. in Human Services with a concentration in Nonprofit Administration. Whitney's love for dance and passion to serve others has her excited to be on staff at DSD. She recently got married to her husband Matthew, and they are excited to begin life together. Whitney is excited to continue working with DSD by helping with social media and other behind-the-scene opportunities.
Lakin Whitesides
Lakin is an alumna of Douglasville School of Dance where she began her dance training at the age of four. Lakin began assisting at DSD during high school and continued to assist and teach during college. Lakin has worked with all ages at DSD. Currently, she teaches our elementary age dancers, and works with Kickline, our tap performing group. Lakin is a graduate of the University of West Georgia with a B.S. in Middle Grades Education. Lakin is married to Clay. She is very excited to continue working with DSD while furthering her career at Georgia Cyber Academy.
Serena Arnold - Instructor
Bio coming soon!
