BALLET, POINTE, JAZZ

Kylie Morton Berry began her training at Van Metre School of Dance and Appalachian Ballet Company. In 2007, she received a contract with the North Carolina Dance Theatre (now known as Charlotte Ballet), where she remained for several seasons. She returned to Tennessee in 2010 and has performed title roles as the Sugar Plum Fairy, Cinderella, Peter Pan, and The Little Mermaid. Kylie recently retired from the stage in 2023. Kylie teaches ballet and jazz at Van Metre School of Dance and is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique. She is the rehearsal mistress for the Appalachian Ballet Company. In addition, she was named the Associate Artistic Director in December 2021 for the Appalachian Ballet Company. Kylie serves on the National Board of Regional Dance America as the RDA/Southeast President and the RDA Social Media Manager.

Ms. Kylie loves teaching the young dancers of VMSD and watching them grow into artists and confident young women and men. In Ms. Kylie’s spare time, she enjoys reading, gardening with her husband Evan and going to the zoo with their son, Ben.

TAP, MUSICAL THEATER

Chloe Melton is an accomplished visual artist and dancer. In her art career, Ms. Chloe’s work has been displayed in the Nation’s Capitol, the Knoxville Museum of Art, and various other local galleries across East Tennessee. Ms. Chloe has also taught Art for several years. In her dance career, she studied various styles of dance for 18 years before starting to teach for Van Metre School of Dance. During her 18 years of dancing, she studied Tap under Kiersten Mays and Jennifer Dotson-Creter. She attended Governor’s School for Dance in 2017 and has performed with the Tennessee Tech Orchestra multiple times. This is Ms. Chloe’s 5th year teaching for VMSD.

“Every year, I have an amazing symphony of dancers that excite my creativity and inspire my artistic pursuits. It is an upmost joy to be a part of the VMSD Family.” - Ms. Chloe

CREATIVE MOVEMENT

Julia has been a part of VMSD for the past seven years. She began as a competitive dancer and later shifted to Ballet when she moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. Julia participated in numerous productions with the Appalachian Ballet Company, including some of her favorites like The Nutcracker, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, and many others. As she transitioned into college, she realized that dance would always remain a special part in her life and found new passion in teaching for Van Metre School of Dance. Outside of the studio she is a student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, majoring in Kinesiology with the goal of becoming a pediatric physical therapist.

CONTEMPORARY, BALLET

Laura Morton La Russa is an alumna of Appalachian Ballet Company and Van Metre School of Dance and trained with Houston Ballet’s Academy. She is a former company member with Atlana Ballet, staibdance, and Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre. In 2021, Laura was named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” and in 2023 she received the National Choreography Award at RDA/Southeast 2023 Festival for her work titled “SHED” performed by ABC. As an educator, Laura was the Student Program Principal of Terminus Ballet School for three years and currently teaches Ballet and Contemporary for VMSD. She was most recently named ABC’s Marketing Director. Laura is a company artist with Chicago-based Contemporary Company, PARA.MAR Dance Theatre, as well as a freelancing dancer, teacher, and choreographer

After 9 years of dancing professionally in Atlanta, Laura is happy to be back home working closely with ABC and VMSD. It is an honor to perform with her community and she is excited to continue sharing the arts in East TN, and beyond, while helping her students discover more in their movement. In her free time, Ms. Laura loves to spend time with her husband James, cuddle with her cats Nihilo and Homie, read, and enjoys learning more about her favorite animal, an Octopus.

HIP HOP

James La Russa received his early years of training from Atlanta Ballet. He earned full scholarships to the training programs at the Atlanta Ballet Center for Dance Education and the Australian Ballet School, as well as, Boston Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, and Orlando Ballet Summer Intensives. James earned his Bachelor of Arts in Dance & Movement Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a Pre-Veterinary Medicine concentration at Emory University. While attending Emory, James guest performed with Atlanta Ballet, performed with the Emory Dance Company, and captained the Hip-Hop dance crew TrickaNomeTry (TNT). He was also hired into Atlanta’s staibdance as a company dancer and staged staibdance works for 8 years. James was selected as the RDA/Southeast Emerging Choreographer Scholarship Recipient in 2023 to attend the National Choreography Intensive for his original work, “Ascent”. At the 2024 RDA/National Festival, his work “Reverie” was selected as the only Emerging Piece to represent all of the RDA/Southeast Region.

Presently, James dances with PARA.MAR Dance Theatre under the direction of Stephanie Martinez and stages Martinez’s works on other prestigious dance companies. In addition, James choreographs, teaches and continues to perform across the nation. He is excited to have moved to Maryville with his wife Laura, and to be able to teach and dance with the dancers of ABC and VMSD.

MODERN, JAZZ

Temperance Coker grew up training under Van Metre School of Dance Director, Amy Morton Vaughn, and is currently a Soloist with the Appalachian Ballet Company. Most recently, she was ABC’s Dew Drop Fairy in The Nutcracker and Fairy God Mother in Cinderella. She was a trainee at The Charlotte Ballet during their 2022/2023 season. While being at The Charlotte Ballet she taught contemporary and ballet at The Dance Spot.

She is overjoyed to officially be on staff at the school that taught her everything she knows and cannot wait to begin teaching. Outside of dance, Tempe enjoys friends, family, and a really good book.

CREATIVE MOVEMENT

Sarah began dancing at Van Metre School of Dance at the age of 6 and has trained in many styles of dance such as Ballet, Modern, Jazz, and Tap. She has been dancing with the Appalachian Ballet Company for 8 years and is currently a senior company member. She loves performing in their annual production of The Nutcracker and participating in Regional Dance America’s Festivals. Recently, Sarah received multiple scholarships and acceptances to dance programs around the country through RDA’s recruitment process. At Van Metre, Sarah teaches creative movement and loves watching the exponential growth of her students’ technical skills and joy for dance in a single year. In her free time, Sarah plays cello and enjoys spending time with her family and cats.

CREATIVE MOVEMENT

Ms. Charlotte loves getting to share her passion and knowledge of dancing with the next generation of artists. She has been dancing with Van Metre School of Dance since age four, and has been a member of Appalachian Ballet Company since 2016. She received scholarships and danced at Regional Dance America’s National Choreography Intensive in the summers of 2022 & 2023. She is currently majoring in art at Maryville College and loves listening to music, watching movies, and painting detailed nail art in her spare time.

OFFICE ASSISTANT

Araceli began dancing at 4, and has continued since. Since joining Van Metre School of Dance and Appalachian Ballet Company five years ago, she has been a part of many of the productions. Alongside Appalachian Ballet Company, she has participated in numerous Regional Dance America/Southeast Festivals. These Festivals have provided her with the opportunity to gain scholarships to attend summer intensives such as Breneau University’s summer intensive and the RDA National Choreography Intensive.

Araceli loves being able to interact with the students and discover the multitude of personalities that walk through the door. Outside of the studio, you can probably see her going to the movies or the drive-in with friends and family.

BALLET, ADULT BALLET

Diane Jones-Lawhern Graduated in 2002 from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with a Master’s Degree in Education, a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, and a Minor in Dance Performance. She received her certification in 2023-2024 though the Bolshoi Ballet Academy/Russian Ballet International to teach Pre-Ballet through Professional Level 6 of the Vaganova Syllabus under the teaching of Ekaterina Trunina, Natalya Revich, and Lyudmilla Yermakova. Ms. Diane has been teaching dance since 1998 and performed with many companies in the East Tennessee area.

“I feel honored and blessed to be teaching the wonderfully talented students at Van Metre School of Dance. Teaching dance to the next generation fills my heart with joy, when I see the spark of passion light-up a lifelong desire of learning, dreaming, and working so each child’s gift can become an inspiration and light for others.” - Ms. Diane

CREATIVE MOVEMENT

Julia began dancing at Johnson City Arts Center in Johnson City, TN where she trained for 13 years in Ballet, Jazz, and Contemporary dance. After graduating high school, she continued training at Van Metre School of Dance and performed with Appalachian Ballet Company during the 2021-2022 season. Outside of the dance world, Julia is a senior at Maryville College majoring in English Literature.

“I have been teaching ballet classes since 2019, it's a job that I have found so incredibly rewarding and that has taught me so much over the years. I love that teaching provides an opportunity to share my love of ballet with the next generation.” - Ms. Julia