Josette Bozeman Yarn has been at the forefront of dance instruction in Albany, Georgia for a generation of students. Josette grew up in Albany, Georgia where she has been dancing since 1985 & teaching since 1998, and received her early training and teaching experience from Murphy Dance Studio. Ms. Yarn continued her training in New York, Boston, Atlanta ,and Miami. She has studied with such notables as: Tony Corso, Gregg Russell, Joe Tremaine, Mia Michaels, Anthony LoCasio, Michael Vernon Cathy Roe, Bob Rizzo, Judy Rice, Frank Hatchett, Shelia Barker, Sean Curren, Peter Rose, Brian Friedman, to name a few.
Josette has taught ballet, tap, jazz, pointe, hip hop, contemporary, and lyrical to children ages 3 and up. Her contemporary/ lyrical style and choreography is truly unique in this area. She also is avid about introducing the world of acting & singing to students of all levels. Josette has performed in ballets including “The Nutcracker”, & “Westside Story”, along with many others. She has choreographed for dance competitions and many of her students have been title award winners and her groups have won multiple high score awards. Josette is an accredited judge for the Miss Georgia Pageant, and has choreographed many dances for contestants. She continues her education by attending seminars & conventions through out the year. Josette is an acclaimed choreographer and instructor that has mastered her craft in shaping young lives through her incredibly creative dance direction.
Amanda Goodson Rooks-On Broadway!
Singing, dancing, acting…all three of these words describe what Amanda has loved to do since a very early age. They have each become a very strong passion in her life. Amanda has had extensive training over the past 20 years in all three areas. She grew up in the small town of Leesburg, Georgia and began receiving her dance training and experience from Pritchett-Pippin Dance Studio in Albany. After graduating high school, Amanda continued to gain experience in ballet, tap, and jazz by serving as a teaching assistant. She then moved to Valdosta to finish college and continued to teach ballet, tap, and jazz to children ages three and up. Even after graduating college and starting her career in education in Tifton, Amanda continued to pursue her passion by teaching ballet techniques at night to gymnasts at DreamIt Gymnastics. After several years, she then taught a Triple Threat Broadway style class at the Carolyn Ellis School of Dance. Amanda currently serves as the dance line sponsor for Lee County High School.
During her high school and college years, Amanda stayed very active on the stage by performing in numerous productions with LCHS and Theatre Albany. A few of her favorites include Bye Bye Birdie, Robber Bridegroom, Sweet Charity, and especially playing the supporting role of Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel. Throughout all those years, Amanda gained a numerous amount of the knowledge and skills necessary to “light up the stage”. When she wasn’t performing in a production at the theatre or dance studio, Amanda was very active in competing in the Miss America pageant system. For over ten years, Amanda competed in many pageants earning a large amount of scholarship money and winning several awards in talent and interview. Persistence is definitely the key because Amanda ended up winning the titles of Miss Plantation Trace 2002, Miss Valdosta 2003, and Miss Southwest GA 2004 which allowed her the opportunity to compete for the title of Miss Georgia.
Amanda teaches 4th grade in Lee County; however, her true passion is performing on stage as a “triple threat” by singing, dancing, and acting. She looks forward to sharing this same joy and passion with all of her dance students.