Instructors

Jerigray Eduave

Jerigray Eduave is a Filipino dancer and choreographer whose choreographic practice investigates the tensions between indigenous, immigrant, and assimilated identity. Jerigray’s contemporary movement blends Hip Hop foundation, Modern dance techniques, and research-driven work that draws from archival history of his identity and body shaped through rhythm and logic. His training is predominantly self-taught with additional training from Yue Yin Dance Company, Moncell Durden's Hip Hop and Heritage, Buddha Stretch's Art of Hip Hop, and Parangal Dance Company.

Jerigray holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (2017, with great honors), a background that continues to inform his analytical approach to structure and form in choreography. Jerigray has taught masterclasses at Western Kentucky University, Middle Tennessee State University, Ballet Tennessee, Chattanooga Ballet, Studio34, and all throughout the southeast. He most recently premiered his work, Dire ug Diha, at the Rialto Center for the Arts through Dance Canvas 2025-2026 CCDI program. A work that investigates where home is and how it moves through us.

Jerigray currently serves as Director of Content and Studio Community at The Pop-up Project.

Marah Bates

Marah Bates received her Bachelor of Science degree in Theatre-Dance Performance from Illinois State University in 2016. After graduating college, she relocated to Nashville, TN where she continued her training with ViShun Dance Company and taught for Millenium Dance Center, Ensworth Middle School and The Ladies of Echelon. In January of 2017, Marah received her 200hr RYT yoga certification from Asheville Yoga Center. She is currently studying and deepening her practice in Noyes Rhythm Technique and Duncan Technique under the direction of Meg Brooker. She is performing locally and regionally with The Pop-Up Project, Duncan Dance South and Collectively / Here. Marah works alongside our Administrative team and leads the Teaching Artist team of thirteen dance educators to bring their programming and mission to life. She is the Director of Dance at Normal Park Upper School where she leads a team of five dance educators in teaching 4th-8th grade dance. Marah is so very proud to help run an organization that brings free, high quality dance education and physical wellness classes to over 700 children and more than 200 adults a week.

Ashley Tisdale

A Chattanooga native, Ashley's love of dance started after seeing her first ballet, Dracula, at age three. She has a passion for movement, dance accessibility and performance, training in many forms of dance including ballet, modern, jazz, & musical theater. As a professional artist, Ashley has had the opportunity to perform with various artists and companies around the Chattanooga area including the performance company formerly known as The Pop-Up Project and Katheirne Dunham’s JUBA Ensemble. Ashley shares her love of dance teaching for Chattanooga Dance Theatre, Studio34 and as a Teaching Artist for The Pop-Up Project.

Ryan Roberts

Ryan was born in Oklahoma City and raised in Chattanooga, TN. Ryan found his love of Hip Hop dance at the tender age of 9 years old and has been dancing ever since. To better his Hip Hop skills, he took several dance classes anywhere he could and love to watch live performances from his favorite artists. From 2013-2015 Ryan trained at WEAVE: A Conceptual Dance Company to help shape his Hip Hop style and learn other dance styles. Ryan has taught Hip-Hop at various dance studios and schools around Chattanooga such as Ballet Tennessee, Chattanooga Ballet, Modern Play, Divine Dance Studio, Raw Art Dance and Entertainment Corp, Baylor School, Girls Preparatory School, Chattanooga High Center of Creative Arts, and Tennessee Association of Dance. He is currently teaching Hip-Hop at Velocity Dance Center and D.Williams Dance Academy. He is also an instructor and company member of The Pop-Up Project and appeared in their dance film “The Light We Share”. Ryan preforms at different events and collaborate with local artists on special projects around the Chattanooga area.

Louie Marin-Howard

Louie Marin-Howard is a passionate dance artist, educator, and community leader dedicated to using the power of movement to connect, inspire, and uplift. A graduate of the University of Florida New World School of the Arts under the direction of Daniel Lewis, Louie earned his B.F.A. with High Honors in 2005 on a full scholarship. He also trained as a scholarship student at the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance and Jennifer Muller/The Works School.

Louie’s professional performance career includes work with companies such as Dance NOW Miami, Freddick Bratcher and Co., Sasha Soreff Dance Theater, Amanda Selwyn Dance Theater, Paskal Rekoert/Flexicurve, Graham II, and Carolyn Dorfman Dance, where he continues to coach and teach with purpose and pride. Louie has taught regionally, nationally, and internationally, known for his dynamic, breath-driven classes that emphasize the power, speed, and passion of contemporary modern dance and the rigorous demands of today’s repertory. Locally, he has brought masterclasses to institutions including Chattanooga High School Center for Creative Arts, Chattanooga Dance Theater, The Baylor School, Ballet Esprit, Chattanooga Theatre Centre, and Middle Tennessee State University.

In 2024, Louie stepped into a new chapter of service as Executive and Program Director of The Pop-up Project—a role that reflects both his creative vision and deep commitment to community impact. Under his leadership, The Pop-up Project continues to grow as the bridge in Dance Education for Hamilton County, working to expand access to high-quality, age-appropriate dance programming. Together with an extraordinary team of teaching artists and administrators, Louie is advancing a mission rooted in JOY, equity, and connection—ensuring every student can experience the transformative power of dance.

Hayden Turitto

Beginning their training in Chattanooga, Hayden danced with Chattanooga Ballet from 2004-2014. They are a graduate of Center for Creative Arts, being a dance major throughout middle and high school. With a heavy ballet background, Hayden also specializes in contemporary and improvisational movement. They continued dancing with various companies and college groups, all of different styles, until 2022 when they began rehearsing and performing with The Pop Up Project. They are now also a teaching artist for The Pop Up Project’s Outreach Program.

Jess Helton

Jess Ortega holds a bachelor’s degree in Dance from Middle Tennessee State University with a specialization in pedagogical theory. She has worked in dance studios including Chattanooga Ballet and Cannon Arts and currently teaches with The Pop Up Project and ProjectDance. Jess is interested in many movement modalities, having been trained extensively in ballet, modern dance, yoga, and Noyes Rhythm. Incorporating elements of these styles and the Speaking Through Dance curriculum, she seeks to create movement through an environmentally informed lens. She and her students have made dances about beetles, natural disasters, and floral growth! In her instruction, Jess also works to contextualize movement for students, situating technique in history and influence.

In addition to teaching, Jess is active in performance with Understory Experiential and Duncan Dance South. She has danced in a variety of settings, including immersive events, long form improvisation, and historical recreations.

Matty Dangerfield

Matty Dangerfield (Parker) has been an enthusiastic mover since his early childhood days. Always inspired by professional artists and movers he watched growing up, Matty began training virtually in any space he could find. A few short years after moving to Chattanooga he found a dance community and furthered his training in various styles. He began dancing professionally after joining The Pop Up Project Company in 2019 and was ecstatic to perform in their debut dance film The Light We Share. In the following years he performed in the immersive shows Romeo y Julieta and If These Walls Could Talk. He performed and choreographed again in Pop Up Project’s most recent show Until The Sun Rises. Matty is also a member of The Juba Dance Ensemble where he has performed and choreographed in two showcases celebrating African American history and culture. Inspired most by movement’s encouragement of individual expression via the human body, Matty loves to study various styles including vogue, contemporary, hip-hop, modern, jazz, ballet, musical theatre jazz, hula, and improvisation. Matty is extremely grateful to have found a movement community to play, create, and grow with. He plans to be a lifelong student, illustrator, and supporter of dance.

Kendra Norwood

Kendra Norwood is a Chattanooga-based professional dancer with a calming, gentle teaching style. She grew up in Kennesaw, Georgia, and began dancing at the age of 4 with classes in ballet, tap, and jazz. After switching to gymnastics for several years, Kendra returned to dance in high school, where she performed in Musical Theater productions. During college, she focused on her degree in Communication Studies while dancing, choreographing, and teaching on the side. Post-graduation, Kendra moved to the Kona, Hawai’i for a dance training program where she received interdisciplinary training for various technique styles and dance pedagogy. She had the opportunity to work under the tutelage of teachers including Vincent Hardy, Fred Vasallo, Tammy Tolaas, Chelsea Dawn, Cynthia Newland, BBoy Xodus, Cheryl Cutlip, and Kumu Christine (her Hula teacher). As a part of her training, Kendra taught dance classes for children in the Kona community. She also spent time in San José, Costa Rica teaching dance master classes and workshops while continuing her training. Kendra performed in a live and filmed dance production with Prince Dance Company, a unique project that portrayed the 7 stages of grief. The film premiered on Kahilu TV in 2021. She also danced for Why We Move Collaborative, a dance company that focused on digital film projects with dance and spoken word. Kendra then joined the Pop-up Project in 2023 and danced in the November show Until the Sun Rises. She is thrilled to now be part of the Teaching Artist team and share dance with the beautiful community of Chattanooga!

Jessi Faircloth

Jessi Faircloth is a mover, poet, visual artist, and social worker based in Chattanooga, TN. A lifelong mover, she has been dancing since the moment she could walk.

Jessi built a strong foundation in modern and ballet at Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts. She went on to further her studies at Bennington College in Vermont, where she immersed herself in postmodern dance, improvisation, and the art of deconstructing traditional movement forms.

Since 2017, Jessi has been a performing member of The Pop-up Project, where her deeply personal story of living with Severe and Persistent Mental Illness was featured in The Light We Share. She has also performed in Barking Legs' Cross Cultural Ties and Drive-In Dances, bringing her unique movement language to diverse audiences.

Jessi is passionate about creating dance through improvisational scores and postmodern movement, crafting work that is fluid, expressive, and deeply human. She often merges her love of poetry with movement, dancing to her own spoken words to create visceral, embodied storytelling. Whether on stage or in spontaneous spaces, she moves with authenticity, always seeking new ways to challenge and expand the boundaries of dance.

A'mya Collins

A Chattanooga native, A'mya Collins graduated from Ridgeland High School. Her early training in musical theater and competitive cheerleading sparked her passing in pursuing more dance training. In 2021, A'mya was cast in The Pop-up Project's production of "Romeo + Julieta", and began her training with the company in various dance genres and on stage. Since then she has performed with Doetry (2022,2023), Juba Dance (2022), BEC Awards (2022,2023), as a model, and with local recording artists. A'mya looks forward to creating a safe space for students to learn confidence and freedom; teaching them to express their feelings and emotions within their bodies. A'mya is thrilled to be joining our Teaching Artist Team.

Tania Cuenca

Tania began her artistic journey as a gymnast at the age of six in Quito-Ecuador. She graduated in 2014 from the Metropolitan School of Dance of the National Ballet of Ecuador, as a modern dance interpreter, with a focus on ballroom and urban dance styles. Tania furthered her studies in Performing Arts, Directing, and Playwriting at the Central University of Ecuador and is certified as a Cultural Manager. Her passion for multidisciplinary art has led her to participate in diverse artistic productions, as well as performing in both conventional and unconventional spaces. Currently, she teaches with The Pop Up Project, where she emphasizes organic movement, body awareness, and empowerment through the transformative power of dance.

Jane King

Jane began dancing as a young child with her babysitter in Atlanta. Soon after, she began taking formal ballet classes throughout the metro area. After graduating highschool, Jane moved to NYC to train as a scholarship student at The Ailey School, where she studied modern forms of dance including, but not limited to Horton, Graham, Taylor and Dunham. Performance credits include The Metropolitan Opera and The Lion King. Ms. King is ecstatic to resume her teaching journey here in Chattanooga.

Andrea Tankersley

Began dancing at an early age in Monterrey Mexico, where she attended La Escuela Superior de Música y Danza de Monterrey and studied different styles of dance with a main passion for ballet. After moving to the U.S she continued to pursue ballet in Texas and later danced professionally with Dance Theatre of Tennessee, Gwinnett Ballet Theatre, Ballet Esprit and has guested with Sterling Baca, Niccolo Orsolani, Travis Stancil and Casey Haywood. Andrea has acted as a liaison for Global Education Center and Casa Azafrán, Chattanooga Dance Theatre and Best Beginnings Early Learning, Ballet Esprit and Montessori Elementary and Wauhatchie Nature School. Aside from teaching dance Andrea is a certified PBT (Progressive Ballet Technique), Health and Life Coach and hopes to educate, support, and empower her students through their journey. She also stays current with her Adult, Child and Baby First Aid/ CPR/AED certification.

Kunstruct

KUNSTRUCT (AKA RERUN 2-NICKNAME GIVEN TO HIM BY THE CREATOR OF LOCKING-DON CAMPBELLOCK CAMPBELL) has been a staple representative in the South East Dance Scene. He’s teachers and mentors include the worldwide legends Ill Kozby, Buddha Stretch, me Rodney Cozzmolock Castle, AquaBoogy, PapaDok, Loose Caboose, The late Kid Dynamo, Honey Rockwell, Orko, and Daizo the leader of the D-Train Campbellock Family just to name a few. He also has judged and hosted multiple all-styles events in the Southeast Region and loves to entertain in dance community circles. Recently, Kunstruct also played RERUN in American Soul Episode 2 Season 2 on BET along with his Hoodlockers Crew brothers and Goldie Lox (his teacher Aquaboogy's wife, who played Toni Basil) as the recreated the iconic 1975 return show of the lockers on Soul Train. This was a dream and major blessing for Kunstruct as Mr. Fred Berry (Mr. Penguin AKA RERUN) is his biggest inspiration in his dance career. Due to this he has been chosen to make a Cameo as Reun in the upcoming Renaldo Rey bio film and has been cast to play Fred Berry aka Reun in his biofilm to both to be shot sometime next year! Currently, he also is a part of the worldwide known Hoodlockers crew, is Vice president of the BattleHolex Crew- South East Region and a member of the legendary ATL Funklordz crew (extended family of the Mighty Zulu Kingz).

Kai'Lani Zyloe

Kai’Lani “KZ” Zyloe is a multidisciplinary teaching artist and art educator whose work lives at the intersection of dance, visual art, and community building. Rooted in a lifelong love of movement, he began dancing at age four, and has since developed a wide-ranging practice that includes Tap, Jazz, African dance, Latine styles (Bachata, Merengue, Salsa, Tango, Cumbia, Bomba), Dancehall, and Street Dance forms such as Hip Hop, Freestyle, Popping, American and Afro House, and Vogueing.

As an instructor, Kai’Lani is known for his energetic, student-centered classes that invite curiosity, confidence, and cultural awareness. He draws on his diverse training to create experiences where dancers of all levels can explore rhythm, musicality, and storytelling through the body.
Beyond the studio, Kai’Lani is a committed visual and literary artist. His creative practice spans watercolor, chalk and oil pastel, acrylic and spray paint, digital art, printmaking, graphite sketching, cardboard sculpture, collage, jewelry fabrication, poetry, and music curation. This multidisciplinary background informs his teaching, allowing him to connect movement with color, texture, language, and sound in ways that resonate with a wide range of learners.

In every space he enters, Kai’Lani aims to cultivate an environment that is engaging, supportive, and imaginative—where each person feels seen, encouraged, and free to experiment. He is dedicated to nurturing artistic growth and innovation, and to making the creative process feel joyful and accessible to all.

Sonia Kaur

I’m Sonia, and if I learned to dance, truly anyone can. My Latin dance journey started because I just wanted to learn Spanish — and it ended up becoming one of the most meaningful parts of my life.

After dancing in different places and meeting amazing communities abroad, I was reminded of how powerful it is when people connect through music and movement. That feeling of belonging is something I want to share right here in Chattanooga.

I’m so excited to continue growing the Latin dance community and help others discover how beautiful this journey can be. Come dance with me and start your own story!

MJ Ma

M.J is a passionate dancer with over 15 years of experience performing and teaching in the SF Bay Area and New York City. Her dance journey spans social dance, Latin dances, hip hop and more, but she has found her true love in Lindy Hop. M.J is dedicated to helping people connect with music, movement, and their own unique style. Her teaching blends technical skill with joy and self-expression, making dance accessible, playful, and empowering for everyone. Outside of dancing, M.J is an avid rock climber and passionate visual artist. She is looking forward to connecting more with the dance community in Chattanooga.

Meg Brooker

Meg Brooker, Professor of Dance and Director of the School of Performing and Visual Arts at The University of Southern Mississippi, is a founder of the Isadora Duncan International Symposium and a former member of Lori Belilove & Company, Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation (NYC). She specializes in the early modern dance techniques developed by Isadora Duncan and Florence Fleming Noyes and presents this work as Artistic Director of Duncan Dance South. Her creative research includes embodied, kinesthetic, and traditional archival methodologies and results in new choreography and performance, often in collaboration with visual artists and musicians. For fifteen years (2005-2019), she traveled and performed extensively in Russia as a legacy Isadora Duncan dancer. Recent credits include featured interviews and dance performance for Season 2: Episode 5 of Io e Lei: Isadora Duncan for SkyArte (Italy). In the Southeast, Meg’s work has been produced by the Hunter Museum of American Art and the Nashville Parthenon. Awards and grants include USM’s Creative Activity Innovation Award, MTSU’s Creative Activity Award, Career Service Award from Women’s and Gender Studies (MTSU), Outstanding Teaching Award from Women and Gender Studies (MTSU), Mississippi Presenters Network, Mississippi Artists Roster, Dancer Laureate (Murfreesboro, TN), Dance Chair for the Hellenic Institute of Cultural Diplomacy, National Endowment for the Humanities grant for the Noyes School of Rhythm Archives, among others. Meg has presented scholarship for Society of Dance History Scholars, Congress on Research in Dance, Dance Studies Association, National Dance Educators Organization, and Women in Dance Leadership. www.duncandancesouth.org.

Kira Vassilev

Kira is a Chattanooga local who started out in the Ballroom dancing community in 2016 and has been teaching ballroom and country dancing for a year. Kira co-founded ChattaCountry country dance community with her dance partner Joel Thomas in February of this year. She has a passion for community connection and movement through dance.

Kira’s residency includes hosting recurring, various partner dance classes that is free to the public with the ambitions to continue and develop the partner dance community in the Chattanooga area.

Join Kira every Wednesday at 7pm for Intro to Ballroom and Country Dancing. These free classes are perfect for those seeking a community and chance to connect with people of all ages and backgrounds. Beginner friendly! Some dances that will be taught are ballroom rumba, country Nightclub 2 step, & Swing. Showcase your skills that you've learned throughout the class with an optional performance at the start of December.

All are welcome, no partner needed but encouraged.

Natalie Duke

Natalie Duke is a Chattanooga native and 2004 graduate of Chattanooga Center for the Creative Arts. Though Natalie has studied several styles of dance, she chose to pursue a career in Ballroom Dance both on the competition floor and teaching. In 2015, Natalie moved to New Jersey to begin her dance partnership with Joe Hasson and trained under Fred Astaire Dance Studios. Together they were regular finalists in American Style Rhythm in competitions across the country, even winning American Star Ball and Washington Open. They also represented the United States at Blackpool where they made the semi-finals. Along with her professional dance career, Natalie trained to be the best instructor she could be. In 2019 she was awarded "Top Female Instructor" out of all the Fred Astaire Studios in the state of New Jersey.

After years of training, Natalie retired from competitive dance, deciding to return home to Chattanooga to focus on teaching and choreography. She also found a new passion for Shuffle Dance, starting Chattanooga's first and only group, ShuffleNooga for teaching the style.

You can find Natalie teaching both Ballroom and Shuffle at the following studios across town :

Studio34

Broad Street Ballroom

Dance Tonight Chattanooga

Chattanooga Theater Center

Follow her on Instagram @NoogaShuffler for updates on class schedules, locations, and times