Teresa Bracken a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She has performed with Walt Disney World and the Conservatory of Dance Arts in New York. Teresa has been a dance instructor for 100 Miles Off Broadway, Center for the Arts, Chester Valley Dance Academy, Darlington Fine Arts Center, Creative Dance and Movement, and numerous elementary schools, day camps and day care centers. Teresa continues to further her dance training by attending the Sundance Adult Dance camp on an annual basis. She is also a substitute teacher for the Gloucester County School System.

Debbie Diggs is the Director of Diggs School of Dance and manages the studios in Gloucester and Mathews. Debbie received her dance training from Ballet Florida, Ballet Royal, and the Cecchetti Council of America. She has studied with Marie Hale, Lea Darwin, Gus Giordano, Alvin Ailey, Jo Rowan, and Edith Royal. Her teacher training has included Dance Masters of America, Cecchetti Council of America, the Vaganova School of Teaching, University of Nebraska, and Kent State University.

Danile Giesy Co-Director of Bayside Youth Ballet, began her training in Norfolk, Virginia. She has been performing professionally since 1981 and teaching dance since 1983. Danile has performed with Chamber Ballet, Ballet Tidewater, Young Audiences of Virginia and Richmond Ballet. She has taught for Tidewater Ballet, Chamber Ballet, and the Governor’s School for the Arts, and is currently teaching at TRDance Center and for Adult Dance Camps in Richmond. Danile is a third generation certified classical Pilates instructor.

Hope Andrews Hunter is a native of Gloucester, Virginia and began studying at Diggs School of Dance in 1993. She performed a variety of solo and ensemble roles in ballets such as Giselle, Nutcracker, and the Snow Maiden with Bayside Youth Ballet. Hope attended Shenandoah University and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of fine arts in Dance Education and a minor in psychology. Hope has choreographed for a variety of musicals and dance companies as well as directed dance programs at two camps in Pennsylvania. Hope teaches dance for the dance magnet programs at Woodside High School in Newport News while continuing to dance and choreograph for Bayside Youth Ballet.

Rachel Cross Morris, a native of Mathews County, Virginia, has studied at Diggs School of Dance since 1986 and worked with Bayside Youth Ballet since 1993. For six years she taught all levels of ballet, pointe and jazz at Five Points Dance Center in Farmville, Virginia, and choreographed for the “Emberz” Dance Company. Rachel has attended various workshops in dance education through the Professional Dance Teachers Association and Dance Educators of America. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education from Longwood University and currently teaches art at Poquoson Middle School.

Leslie N. Payton of Mathews began her dance training with the Diggs School of Dance at the age of four. She became a member of the Bayside Youth Ballet in 1999 and continued her connection with BYB throughout college. She attended Longwood University and graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication Studies with a minor in Political Science. While at Longwood she was a member of the Longwood Company of Dancers under the direction of Rodney L. Williams. Leslie has studied many diverse styles of dance including African, Hip Hop, Jazz and Modern. As a member of the Longwood Company of Dancers, she performed across the state of Virginia and choreographed dances for end of semester performances.

Kara Drummond Royall is from Mathews County and began her dance training with Diggs School of Dance in 1987. She danced with the Bayside Youth Ballet throughout middle and high school, performing roles in ballets such as Giselle, The Snow Maiden, and Paquita. Kara hold a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in dance performance with a concentration in classical ballet from Radford University, where she appeared in La Bayadere and The Nutcracker with Radford Ballet Theater, as well as various modern dance productions. Kara is also a certified massage therapist.