Staff

Administrative Staff
Kathleen Banks Everett Director
Ron Everett Business Manager
Mary Frances Banks Office Manager
Elizabeth Carroll Administrative Assistant
Virginia Cox Receptionist

 

Other Staff
Tamara Makdad Albrecht Daphanie Scandrick
Leslie Palmer Gourley Dee Wagner
Catherine Hessing Jerylann Warner
Kate Holland Toya Willingham Riley
Jessica Paget Reese Heather Yates
Birda Ringstad
Kathleen Banks Everett, Director has been associated with Decatur School of Ballet almost all her life. She began her dance training at age 6 under former owners Hilda Gumm and Marie Roberts, began teaching in 1970, and has been owner and director since 1980. In addition, she has trained and performed in classical ballet, jazz and modern dance. A graduate of Georgia State University, Kathleen is also Artistic Director of Decatur City Dance.
Email: kathleen@decatur-ballet.com
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Ron Everett, Business Manager has been Co-Owner of Decatur School of Ballet with his wife Kathleen since 1980. Although he grew up playing football and baseball rather than studying dance, he enjoys ballroom dancing. A graduate of Georgia State University with a degree in business management, Ron volunteers with the Paideia School, Druid Hills Youth Sports, Decatur Business Association and Decatur City Dance.
Email: ron@decatur-ballet.com
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Mary Frances Banks, Office Manager has been affiliated with Decatur School of Ballet since 1958 when her daughter Kathleen (now Owner and Director of the school) started taking classes here. Mrs. Banks is well-equipped for her role as Office Manager, a position she has held since 1981. Her experiences as Office Manager for a medical practice provide the business background. Her experiences, raising two children provide a background of understanding for dealing with the needs of dancers and their families.
Email: maryfrances@decatur-ballet.com
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Virginia Cox, Receptionist has been associated with Decatur School of Ballet since 1969. Both her daughters, Heather and Heidi, studied with our school and danced with our company. Virginia served as Secretary and a member of the Board of Directors of our dance company for many years. A teacher with Atlanta City Schools and DeKalb County Schools for 16 years, Virginia has been our receptionist since 1989. As our staff artist, her artwork decorates our bulletin boards, programs and flyers. Her other hours are filled with stitchery, sewing, volunteering at Fernbank Museum, and grandchildren.
Email: virginia@decatur-ballet.com
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Elizabeth Carroll, Administrative Assistant Elizabeth came to know the lobby at Decatur School of Ballet when her daughter, Anne, began dance training in 1998, and has worked as part-time receptionist since 2001. A former piano teacher and choir director, Elizabeth appreciates the variety of personalities and music that flows through the studio doors. In her spare time, Elizabeth enjoys choral singing, reading and cooking.
Email: elizabeth@decatur-ballet.com
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Toya Willingham Riley started her dance training at age 3 and came to Decatur School of Ballet at age 13. She has been a company dancer with Decatur City Dance since 1992. She is a graduate of the DeKalb Center for the Performing Arts. In the summer of 1995, she participated in the Governor's Honors in Dance program. Like many of our teachers, Toya trained as a demonstrator, an assistant teacher, and a substitute teacher in younger children's classes at our school. She has a strong foundation in ballet and has also trained in modern dance, jazz and tap.
Email: toya@decatur-ballet.com
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Leslie Palmer Gourley started her dance training at age six in Marietta and continued her dance studies in Mississippi and with the Joffrey School of Ballet in New York. At age 16 she came to study with Decatur School of Ballet. After graduating from Texas Christian University as a ballet major in 1986, she returned to teach and dance with our school and company.
Email: leslie@decatur-ballet.com
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Kate Holland started dancing at the age of five and has enjoyed a professional career in Atlanta for 25 years. A graduate of West Virginia University with a degree in Child Development, she has been teaching with Decatur School of Ballet since 1988. Performer, dance teacher and choreographer, Kate is also a registered yoga teacher with the National Yoga Alliance. Her philosophy that dance is also a healing art has taken her to senior citizen facilities to create her own “Aging with Grace” classes.
Email: kate@decatur-ballet.com
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Birda Ringstad began dancing at the age of 8 at the Art Linkletter Dance Studio in Chicago, Illinois. She has been fortunate to study with some of the great tap dancers of our time, including Brenda Buffalino, Pat Rico, Al Gilbert, Gregory Hines, and the "master" Tommy Sutton. She has been teaching tap to dancers of all ages and levels since 1986.
Email: birda@decatur-ballet.com
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Jessica Paget Reese began her dance training at the Gainesville School of Ballet at age six. A professional performer with South Carolina Ballet Theatre, she also taught with the Columbia Ballet School before opening her own studio in Lexington, South Carolina. In addition to her classical ballet training, Jessica has performed in musical theater productions. With a BA degree in English and a M.Ed. in Elementary Education from Columbia College, she taught seventh grade for seven years.
Email: jessica@decatur-ballet.com
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Tamara Makdad Albrecht is an Instructor in Music History and an adjunct Organ Professor at Emory University. She is also the Organist/Choirmaster at St. Bede’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta. She received her degrees of Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Music Education from Wittenberg University and her Master of Music degree from Northwestern University. Tamara is a certified Musikgarten teacher and has been active as a workshop leader for children’s church and classroom music, a studio organ and piano instructor, and a classroom teacher for over thirty years.
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Jerylann Warner has enjoyed a succession of years as a performer, teacher and choreographer. She holds a BA in Dance from Brockport State University and has taught dance at Harvard University, Emory University, Lesley College, University of Massachusetts at Boston, Georgia State University and at performing arts programs at North Atlanta and Avondale High Schools. She currently directs and choreographs for Gathering Wild Dance Company.
Email: jerylann@decatur-ballet.com
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DeeWagner has taught dance, mime and theatre for 30 years through Company Kaye, the Georgia Council for the Arts, and Georgia Dance Conservatory. She has been teaching Mommy and Me classes for ten years. She has choreographed the musicals at the Paideia School for 26 years. As a performer, her work was seen at the New England Vaudeville Festival and the Governor’s Awards for the Arts. Dee has taught summer musical theatre camps through the Marietta Community Schools and Decatur School of Ballet. Also, Dee is a practicing Licensed Professional Counselor and Registered Dance Therapist.
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 Heather Yates began her dance training at Decatur School of Ballet at age eight and continued her study with the Atlanta Ballet, the Royal Academy of Dance and the Cleveland Ballet, where she also danced in the company. She also danced professionally with the American Ballet Theatre in New York City from 1988 to 1994, working with such notable artists as Twyla Tharp, Natalia Makarova, Jiri Kylian and Mark Morris. Heather is also a professional chef.
Email: heather@decatur-ballet.com
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Catherine Hessing began her dance training at age six and came to Decatur School of Ballet at age 15. A recent graduate from Bennington College with a BA in dance and theatre, she interned with Merce Cunningham Dance Company, the Judith Essex School of Dance in England, and the Cayman National Cultural Foundation. Decatur School of Ballet welcomes Catherine as a new member of the faculty and staff. catherine@decatur-ballet.com
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Daphanie Scandrick began her modern dance training at Davidson Fine Arts School in Augusta, Georgia. She was also a member of the Augusta Ballet apprentice company under the guidance of Ron Colton, Zanne Beaufort- Colton, and Cammy Fisher. In 2000, Daphanie obtained a B.B.A. in Computer Information Systems from Georgia State University and currently works as a Healthcare Analysis Manager for Georgia’s Department of Community Health. A performer with Zoetic Dance Ensemble for three years, she has been a member of Gathering Wild (a modern dance company directed by Jerylann Warner) since 1997. Daphanie also works regularly with choreographer George Staib.
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Updated 04/27/08