UPSTAGE CENTER OF PERFORMING ARTS STAFF
Jenny Griffes, owner/director
Jenny started her dance career 25 years ago at a local non-profit, where she grew a small program into a thriving school with a successful competition team. She is a guest teacher at private studios in the Charlotte area. In addition, Jenny also has contracted with high school musical theater productions and City of Charlotte events, receiving awards for her work. Jenny's certifications include Rhythm Works Integrative Dance, which provides the tools to successfully teach dance to kids with Autism, Down syndrome & special needs students, Dance Masters of America and Youth Protection Advocates in Dance. She is also an active member of Dance Studio Owners Association. A believer in continuing her training, Jenny has attended workshops with Rhee Gold, Anne Green-Gilbert (Brain-Compatible Dance Education), Duane Pitman (Little People's Creative Workshop), Leap N' Learn, Kindermusik, Preschool Dance Teachers Workshop, and Studio Success Formula. Jenny's philosophy is to help students find their own creativity and help them achieve personal goals through movement. ​ She enjoys traveling, cooking and recently completed her 17th half marathon.
Ashley Baker, owner/competition director
Ashley has 16 years of experience in the dance industry as an instructor and manager. She received her BA in dance education and her graduate certificate in arts administration from the University of North Carolina Charlotte, She has received numerous awards as a tap dancer and as a choreographer. Ms. Ashley has extensive experience working with young children in dance as well as in a preschool setting. She grew up as a competitive dancer in Mint Hill and now enjoys managing the competition team for UCPA.
​
Heather Freire
Heather has been dancing and teaching for over 25 years and received her Bachelor of
Performing Arts degree from Oklahoma City University in 2003. Heather has danced
with multiple companies such as: Joseph Allen Decker Dance Co., Deborah Brockus
Project Dance Co., Kybele Dance Co., and The Illinois Ballet to name a few. Heather completed two contracts with Holland America Cruise Line, where she was Dance Captain as well as a featured dancer, traveling throughout Hawaii and Alaska, East/West Caribbean, and Panama Canal. She has enjoyed performing throughout the United States as well in Sydney, Australia and Beijing, China.
Heather has had an extensive amount of dance training in the following styles: Ballet,
Jazz, Tap, Lyrical, Contemporary, Musical Theater and Hip Hop. Heather has enhanced
her training by attending workshops with the infamous Donald O’Connor, Leonard Reed,
Rhonda Miller, Dana Michaels, Debbi Dee, and Scott Benson.
While attending OCU, she helped create A Chance to Dance program that emphasized
dance movement as an outlet for emotionally disturbed children in the St. Anthony’s
Hospital Children’s ward in Oklahoma City. Furthermore, Heather was a dancer for
UNICEF with choreographer June Taylor and special guests Audrey Hepburn and Liza
Minnelli.
Nicolette Agosto
Nicolette’s love for education began at the age of 13 while assisting her first dance class. Since this time, she has taught both recreational and competitive dancers and also continued her education at UNC Charlotte where she received her BA in Dance. After college she spent time working as a professional dancer and cheerleader in Charlotte, Atlanta, and New York. Her love for teaching quickly took over and that has been her main focus for the last 18 years. As a Dance Teacher,Nicolette feels that it is important for her students to feel confident, motivated and inspired at all times and that they are in an environment they feel comfortable in. Nicolette wants to see her students succeed, be proud of their accomplishments and enjoy all of the hard work and dedication they put into dance.
Sophia Batista
Sophia loves the Charlotte 49ers Basketball Team and sneakers. Her favorite style of dance is hip hop. She can be seen at the studio teaching Adult Ballet and co-teaching Saturday morning classes. Sophia is a pre-exercise major and dance minor at UNC Charlotte. She previously assisted with classes at CC &Co Dance Complex in Raleigh, NC. Sophia recently achieved her personal trainer certification.
Nicole Rosemond
Having danced for 17 years, Nicole holds a degree in arts administration and dance from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. She has a background in performance and choreography, and is skilled in various styles such as hip hop, contemporary, modern, ballet, musical theater, and African. Nicole has also worked with several dance and arts organizations, including the José Limón Foundation, Dance Project/North Carolina Dance Festival, UNCG Auditorium, and Greensboro Project Space. In her leisure time, Nicole likes to go thrift shopping and take hikes by the lake.
Akire' Rogers
One of our UCPA alumni, Ms. Akire' is returning as an instructor this fall. She was a student for 15 years with Ms. Jenny & Ms. Ashley and a member of the competition team. She attended UNC Wilmington, recently graduating with a BA in international studies with a concentration in environmental science. Fun fact: she speaks 3 foreign languages: Spanish, Korean and Chinese. Shealso works as a PreK EC Teacher Assistant at a Charlotte Elementary School.
Ms. Akire is exited to join the Upstage team and share her knowledge with our students.
Judy Collins
Judy is an experienced customer care specialist with a background in human resources and payroll. She joined UCPA in 2024 and has been a great asset in making all our students and families feel welcome. Judy also takes care of all the details that help us run efficiently. She has two grandchildren who keep her busy in her spare time.(and are two of her favorite people.)
Kaleya Stocks
Kaleya joined our team in 2024. She is a Health Systems Management major at University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She also has attended East Carolina University. She has 15 years of dance training, 8 of those years as a competitive dancer. She also has taught classes at the Boys and Girls Club in Charlotte. Kaleya assists with Discover Dance classes.