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, CONTEMPORARY, BALLET

Laura Morton La Russa is an alumna of Appalachian Ballet Company and trained at Houston Ballet Academy. She is a former company member of Atlanta Ballet, staibdance, and Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre. In 2021, Laura was named one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch." As a choreographer, her works SHED (2023) and Becoming (2025) were selected for Gala performances at the RDA/Southeast Festival and received the National Choreography Recognition Award. Most recently, The Wheel (2026), co-choreographed with her husband, James La Russa, was selected for the RDA/Southeast Gala and also received the National Choreography Recognition Award.

Laura currently serves as a Principal Artist, Resident Choreographer, and Marketing Director for Appalachian Ballet Company and is a faculty member at Van Metre School of Dance, where she teaches ballet and directs the Contemporary and Tap programs. After nine years dancing professionally in Atlanta, Laura is proud to be a Company Artist with PARA.MAR Dance Theatre and happy to be back home working closely with ABC and VMSD. It is an honor to perform with her community, and she loves sharing the arts in East Tennessee and beyond while helping her students discover more in their movement. In her free time, Ms. Laura enjoys spending time with her husband, James, cuddling with her cats, Nihilo and Homie, and getting lost in a good book.

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. Most recently, his work The Wheel, co-choreographed with his wife Laura Morton La Russa, was selected for the Gala performance at the 2026 RDA/Southeast Festival and received the National Choreography Recognition Award.

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.

CREATIVE MOVEMENT, HIP HOP, MUSICAL THEATRE

Sarah Ashmore 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 and she has been a member of the Appalachian Ballet Company since 2016. She has performed numerous roles in ABC productions, including The Nutcracker, Cinderella, and Swan Lake. Most recently, Sarah made her soloist debut as Mina Murray in ABC’s world premiere of Dracula. She has attended multiple Regional Dance America festivals, where she has performed in ABC’s classical and award-winning contemporary works. Through RDA, Sarah has received several scholarships and acceptances to many summer intensives and dance programs. She is currently a student at the University of Tennessee and a faculty member at the Van Metre School of Dance. Sarah is thrilled to continue dancing with ABC while pursuing her studies and a career in dance. At Van Metre, Sarah 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.

MODERN, CONTEMPORARY, HIP HOP

Temperance Coker grew up training under Van Metre School of Dance Director Amy Morton Vaughn and is currently a Soloist with Appalachian Ballet Company. She has trained at numerous summer intensives, including RIOULT Dance and Charlotte Ballet, where she was offered and accepted a traineeship for the 2022–2023 season. Tempe has performed featured roles with ABC including the Dew Drop Fairy in The Nutcracker and the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. At Regional Dance America/Southeast Festivals, she performed in Laura Morton La Russa’s award-winning work Becoming (2025) and Laura and James La Russa’s award-winning work The Wheel (2026). In 2026, her first choreographic work, Pleurer les Vivants, was selected for the Emerging Choreographers Showcase at the RDA/Southeast Festival, where she received the RDA/SE Emerging Choreography Award. As part of this recognition, she attended RDA’s Dance & Choreography Intensive on scholarship to continue developing her choreographic voice.

In 2025, Temperance was invited by Lexington Ballet to perform in Deauville, France, where she danced in excerpts from Sleeping Beauty, La Bayadère, and West Side Story, and performed the lead role in Joey-Lynn Mann’s contemporary ballet Pathos. Temperance is a faculty member at Van Metre School of Dance and is overjoyed to share her love of dance with the next generation of artists while continuing her own performing and choreographic career.

Tempe loves teaching for the studio that taught her everything she knows and cannot wait to continue teaching. Outside of dance, Tempe enjoys friends, family, and a really good book.

CREATIVE MOVEMENT

Charlotte Bollschweiler has been dancing with Van Metre School of Dance since the age of four and has been a proud member of Appalachian Ballet Company since 2016. Throughout her time with ABC, she has performed numerous featured roles, including Tinkerbell in Peter Pan (2018), Clara in The Nutcracker (2019–2021), John Darling in Peter Pan (2023), a Stepsister in Cinderella (2024), and the Bird in Peter and the Wolf (2025). Charlotte has also performed multiple works with Appalachian Ballet Company through Regional Dance America and received scholarships to attend the National Choreography Intensive in 2022 and 2023, where she was honored with the NCI Spark Award in 2023.

Now in her fourth year of teaching at Van Metre School of Dance, Charlotte loves sharing her passion and knowledge of dance with the next generation of artists. In addition to her dance accomplishments, she was named the Tennessee Poetry Out Loud State Champion in 2024 and is currently pursuing a degree in Fine Arts with a concentration in Studio Art at Maryville College. In her spare time, Charlotte enjoys listening to music, watching movies, painting detailed nail art, and exploring her creativity through visual art.

CREATIVE MOVEMENT

Araceli began dancing at the age of four and has continued her passion for dance ever since. Since joining Van Metre School of Dance and Appalachian Ballet Company six years ago, she has performed in numerous productions, including The Nutcracker, The Little Mermaid, and Peter Pan. Alongside Appalachian Ballet Company, she has participated in multiple Regional Dance America/Southeast Festivals, performing in both classical and award-winning contemporary works. Through these experiences, she has earned scholarships to summer training programs including Brenau University’s Summer Intensive and the RDA National Choreography Intensive.

Araceli loves interacting with students at VMSD and discovering the unique personalities that walk through the studio doors each day. She is currently a student at Maryville College studying Political Science, where she serves as a Bonner Scholar and Admissions Ambassador. In addition, she has interned with local nonprofit organizations including Special Growers and Legal Aid of East Tennessee and has served as an Office and Teacher Assistant at Van Metre School of Dance. Outside of the studio, Araceli enjoys going to the movies and the drive-in with friends and family.

BALLET, ADULT BALLET, ADULT TAP

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