Get to know CDE owner, Christy Wood

How did you get started in dance?

“I began dancing at the age of 4.  I was so eager to meet new friends and wear leotards and legwarmers! As I grew older, my love for dance expanded with learning new styles, going to conventions, and competing.”

Why did you want to start a dance studio?

“If you know me personally, you would know that I’m a bit of a perfectionist and, at times, get overwhelmed with the pressure I place upon myself.  Dance was, and still is, an outlet for me to release my tensions and emotions.  When the music starts and my body moves, I can feel outside pressures release their grip.  I become more relaxed, more focused, more determined, and more joyful as my thoughts are consumed with the choreography.  I want to provide a place where people can experience all those things that I love about dance.  A place where students can be themselves and push themselves to do more than they knew they were capable of doing.”

 Christy attended East Carolina University to pursue a degree in Business Administration and a minor in Dance. After transferring to North Carolina State University, Christy began teaching dance for a non-profit organization in the Garner area. While employed at SAS Institute, she received her Business degree with a concentration in Marketing. Christy was a member of the ECU Dance Team and the Wolfpack Clogging Team. Christy is an active member of her church where she serves as a preschool teacher and dance ministry co-director.

Carissa Bishop

Company Program Director
and Social Media Content Creator

Carissa Bishop was born and raised in Upstate New York where she trained competitively at Empire Center of Dance in Marcy, NY under the direction of Charlene Topor, Cristina Topor, and her mother, Leah Bishop. Graduating from The State University of New York College at Brockport receiving a Bachelor of Science in Health Science, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, Carissa had the opportunity to be cast and perform works by multiple prominent contemporary choreographers. Throughout her collegiate career, she performed and represented her college at the Rochester Fringe Festival and the American College Dance Association. Carissa also became the elected captain of the Brockport Dance Team, and is noted for her national title-winning choreography.

Upon graduation, Carissa moved to Tampa, Florida working as a full time instructor and choreographer with West Florida Dance Company. During her time in Florida, she danced with contemporary dance companies Project Alchemy and MKRep, where she performed throughout the Tampa Bay area as well as New York City. Carissa’s award winning choreography has been commissioned by multiple studios across the country, and is featured throughout Florida, New York, Texas, and Colorado. 

After four years in the sunshine state, Carissa returned to her hometown in 2022 where she taught and choreographed for her home studio, Empire Center of Dance. Throughout her time at Empire, her choreography has received numerous awards, and many of her students have moved on to dance both collegiately and professionally. In addition to her work in the studio, Carissa was also the head coach and choreographer of the Utica Comettes, the professional dance team for the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League.
Carissa is beyond excited to begin her journey with Christy’s DancExplosion as both teacher and company program director. She is greatly looking forward to the opportunity to help the company excel both in and out of the studio.

Karyn Abell

staff
Ballet

I began dancing at 2.5 years old. I studied at the Locker School of Dance in New Jersey. I was trained in tap, jazz, and ballet under the instruction of Susan Locker, a retired New York City Rocket. I moved to NC in 1996 where I attended the University of the North Carolina School of Arts. There, I was classically trained in ballet primarily under Nina Danivola. Upon leaving NCSA I picked up belly dancing.
I’ve been able to sub at CDE a few times and am looking forward to sharing my love and passion for dance with your little ones!

Alex Blackmon

Christy's DancExplosion
Tap, Ballet, & Jazz

Alex Blackmon began dancing when she was 5 years old at Christy’s DancExplosion, and has continued to dance here for the past 12 years. She has performed many different styles including ballet, jazz, contemporary, clogging, lyrical, tap, hip hop, jazz fusion and acro. She has been competing with the CDE company team for 7 years and is so thankful for the community of dancers at CDE. Alex has also assisted in many classes over the years at the studio and is overjoyed to bring her love of dance to the next generation of dancers. Alex is a senior in high school and hopes to always have dance as a part of her life.

Kimmie Ellis

staff
Adult Clogging

Kimmie has been clogging since the age of five and comes from a long family line of traditional cloggers. Growing up, she was fascinated by the stories of her mother, aunt, and uncle performing with the infamous Little General Cloggers of Kennesaw, Georgia. They danced multiple times at the Grand Ole Opry and even traveled to Washington D.C. to perform at the White House. Her family eventually created their own competitive clogging team called the Southern Travelers that earned numerous national titles. These stories developed Kimmie’s passion for clogging before she ever put on her first pair of clogging shoes. Following in her family’s “double-steps,” Kimmie spent many years performing and competing with Rhythm & Class Cloggers of North Augusta, South Carolina before relocating to the Raleigh area. Here she has been an avid member of the Hemlock Bluff Cloggers and CDE’s award winning competitive adult team. As a clogging instructor at CDE, Kimmie strives to share the enjoyment of dancing and to build confidence in dancers of any age. She is also dedicated to preserving the traditional drag-slide style of clogging that has brought great pleasure to both cloggers and audiences for generations.

Michelle Gerrald

staff
Clogging & Hip Hop

Branding & Marketing Design

Michelle started clogging as a young child under the direction of Christy Wood at a nonprofit organization in Garner.  She then started dancing at CDE upon its opening.  Her love of clogging grew even more as she became a founding member of CDE’s competitive clogging team, Feet on Fire.  While on FOF she took master classes and workshops under many accomplished clogging instructors from across the nation.  When she started teaching in 2007, she realized her love of choreography and creating relationships with her students.  During her time as a FOF director, she choreographed many award-winning routines and discovered just how much joy it brought her to watch her students succeed and reach their goals. She has always had a love for Hip Hop and loves to even incorporate it into her clogging choreography.  Michelle is very passionate about being able to share her skills and experiences with her students.  She hopes that she can help create an environment where students can grow, push themselves, and BE themselves! CDE welcomes Michelle back for another year!

Dayleigh Martin

Feet on Fire Director Dayleigh
Clogging & Preschool

Feet on Fire Clogging Team Director

Dayleigh Martin is from Clayton, North Carolina and began dancing at the age of 3. For the past 19 years she has trained in many styles of dance, including ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, musical theatre, and clogging. Dayleigh started competing at a young age and she became a dance instructor in 2015. Her choreography has won many awards including “Most Entertaining”, many overalls, and multiple highest scoring routines of the day. At 16 she became a national CCI (Certified Clogging Instructor), and has been a guest choreographer for many other studios. She is a recent graduate of Mars Hill University, with a B.A. in Elementary Education. Dayleigh was a member of the Bailey Mountain Cloggers, the 28 time national championship clogging team. During this time she has served as the dance team leader and co-captain. As a member of this team, she enjoyed many opportunities including traveling overseas each summer to represent the United States at international festivals. Also, Dayleigh was inducted into the America’s Clogging Hall of Fame All-American Team in 2019. She is very excited to be a part of the CDE staff!

Marcos Roque

CDE Faculty Andra
Ballet

Company Instructor

Marcos Roque, born and raised in El Salvador, began his ballet training at age 10 under the Royal Academy of Dance. He performed with the National Ballet Company of El Salvador from 2005 to 2014, taking on various roles in ensemble and soloist performances. At 13, he expanded his training into other styles and joined the National Contemporary Dance Company of El Salvador. This opportunity allowed him to learn from renowned teachers and choreographers from Latin America, Europe, and the US, while also performing and gaining experience in countries like Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, and Ecuador. At age 18, Marcos moved to New York City to train at Ballet Academy East, Steps On Broadway, Broadway Dance Center, and Peridance. He performed with the Metropolitan Ballet Repertory at Symphony Space and taught ballet and contemporary classes at the Bridge for Dance. In 2015, he relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina, pursuing a career as a dancer, teacher, and choreographer. Marcos became the main dance teacher and choreographer at the Academy for the Performing Arts in Apex and a guest teacher for multiple studios in the Raleigh area. He also embarked on a freelance career, traveling across the US to set up choreography for various studios, many of which competed in dance competitions. Marcos received numerous awards for his choreography, achieving recognition at both regional and national levels in prestigious competitions and conventions such as NYCDA, Radix, Jump, Nuvo, 24Seven, OnStage, and Hall of Fame. In 2022, he was personally invited to create choreography for the Festival de Dança de Joinville in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where his work received significant accolades, including 1st Place Neoclasico Senior Group Set, 2nd Place Contemporary Senior Female Solo, 1st Place Contemporary Junior Male Solo, and a Special Choreography award.

Andra Thomasson

CDE Faculty Andra
Clogging & Preschool

 Accounts Manager

Andra grew up in the Garner area and began dancing at the age of 6. She has studied a variety of dance forms including modern, ballet, jazz, hip hop, and clogging. She studied under and worked with Christy at a non-profit organization in Garner prior to the opening of CDE where she continued as a dancer, assistant, and an instructor. She attended NC State University and was a member of the Wolfpack Clogging Team while she continued to teach at CDE and earn her degree in Biochemistry. She was assistant director for Feet on Fire until she moved to Boston with her husband in 2008. Andra returned to North Carolina and teaching at CDE in 2010, adding the role of Office Manager in 2018.

Taylor Wood

Feet on Fire Director Taylor
Clogging, Tap, Jazz, Strength & Stretch

Feet on Fire Clogging Team Director

Taylor has been dancing at CDE since she was old enough to walk. She competed with both Feet on Fire and Company at the studio. For the past 18 years, she has trained in many styles of dance, including ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, musical theatre, pointe, and clogging. Taylor was honored to be inducted into the Clogging Hall of Fame as a member of the Team of the Decade from 2011-2021. She has earned numerous awards and certifications through dance, but most importantly, Taylor continues to dance, coach, and mentor alongside her mother Christy Wood.

Meredith Finch Hardy

Feet on Fire Director Taylor
Tap Instructor

Meredith Finch Hardy grew up in the Charlotte area and has studied tap with Gil Stroming, Mike Minery, Brenda Bufalino, Henri LeTang, Dianne Walker, and Savion Glover. She graduated from The Southern Strutt and started their competitive tap program from 2004-2007. While attending high school and college, Meredith performed in several Off-Broadway shows in New York City: Break the Floor, Shake ‘n Break, Slide with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and Gil Stroming’s – The Producers Showcase. After graduating college from NC State, Meredith has been teaching tap around the Raleigh area and started the award winning Center Stage tap team. She has won many awards with her choreography including making it into the finals at Showstoppers Nationals every year and receiving multiple You Rocked Jump Awards and Best of Jump Awards. Her students have won numerous tap scholarships and awards including a Team USA gold medalist at the World Tap Championships in 2019, members of the NC Youth Tap Ensemble, and five Rockstar Awards at Jump. Meredith loves teaching an upbeat style of tap that introduces old tap styles with up-to-date music.

Allyson Severyn

Feet on Fire Director Taylor
Ballet Instructor

Allyson Severyn is a seasoned musical theatre and dance professional who recently relocated from Los Angeles, California, to the Raleigh area. She began her dance training at a local studio, studying ballet, tap, and jazz, and continued her development through competitive dance and esteemed summer intensives with Boston Ballet School, Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet.

In addition to her extensive dance background, Allyson cultivated a passion for musical theatre and vocal performance, ultimately earning a degree in Theatre Arts from Azusa Pacific University. Following graduation, she built a successful career performing with numerous respected theater companies across the Los Angeles area and beyond. Most notably, she was an original cast member of *Frozen – Live at the Hyperion* at the Disneyland Resort, where she portrayed Princess Anna.

Allyson is thrilled to bring her professional experience, passion, and artistry to the students of Christy’s DancExplosion and looks forward to inspiring the next generation of performers.

Mackenzie Millwood

Feet on Fire Director Taylor
Acro

Mackenzie did competitive gymnastics from the age of 5 until she was 15 at Artistic Gymnastics, and now she competes for her high school varsity gymnastics team. She was a strong tumbler but also loved to demonstrate her poise and gracefulness in her floor routines. She never became involved in dance, but she always thought that if she hadn’t done gymnastics, she would’ve danced instead. Mackenzie worked as an instructor at her previous gym, where she fell in love with watching kids improve and build confidence in their skills. This is Mackenzie‘s second year working at CDE, but she has already become close with many of the dancers and has enjoyed learning more about dance in the process. Mackenzie is currently a senior at Enloe High School, where she is working towards a career in pediatric medicine.