Meet some of our staff members: Mr Dylan and Miss Rachel!
Terrie Batson
Terrie Batson began dance training at the age of 5 and began Instructing at the age of 15 for the Baldwin-Copeland Studio of Dance in Wilmington, NC. She taught students of all ages Tap, Ballet, Jazz, Pointe, Clogging and Acrobatics. In 1989 Terrie moved to Atlanta and then to Raleigh where she continued her training & taught dance classes at several studios. Upon her return to Wilmington, at age 26, she continued to instruct students privately for pageants and dance competitions. Under her instruction many dancers have won numerous awards, scholarships and recognition in the dance arena and some have opened their own dance schools. Her routines and dancers have been awarded regional & national honors for choreography, dance spirit, overall placements, grand championships, etc. Terrie is also a judge for local, regional & national dance competitions. In 1993 Terrie opened Techniques In Motion School of Dance in Wilmington, NC and we are celebrating dance education in this area for 25 years!!
Model, dancer and actress, Terrie Batson’s diverse artistic career includes being a Runway & Print Model as well as featured in several area & National TV Commercials & National Print Ads. She has acted in major feature films including Mary in “Cyborg” with Jean Claude VanDamme, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II, “29th Street” and in several Wilmington area Independent feature films & theatre productions.
Jennifer Spivey-Grooms
Miss Jennifer began her dance training at the age of six. She studied under Baldwin-Copeland Studio of Dance, Danceworks & Techniques In Motion. She has been on the competition level since the age of eight and began assisting classes at the age of fourteen. At sixteen she began to instruct classes of her own. At 18 she was chosen from hundreds of dancers to tour the United States with Hoctor’s Dance Caravan as a Caravan Kid. During the experience she studied all forms of dance from world famous instructors, choreographers & performers. She received a degree from Louisburg College in Dance Performance and relocated to Orlando, Florida to entertain & perform at Universal Studios. In 2001 she reunited with T.I.M. School of Dance and has since been awarded numerous choreography & specialty awards.
Whitney Glenn
TIM Alumni Whitney Glenn has once again joined the TIM Staff! 25 year old Whitney began dance classes at TIM at the age of 6. Her training & love for the art of dance includes Tap, Hip-Hop, Modern, Pointe but her strengths are Jazz & Ballet. She began instructing dance classes in various elements at 16 years old and as a Competitive Team Member for numerous years she won many 1st Places and Overalls as a Soloist & Team Dancer, received the 2005 Dance Youth Ambassador Award & toured as a prestigious “Caravan Kid” with Hoctor’s Dance Caravan studying extensively with Barry Youngblood, Jerry Rose & Lorrie Rousseu. Whitney’s dance styles & talent were also featured in several music videos filmed in local & regional areas. After graduating from Ashley High School in 2007 Whitney attended UNCG, studied for BFA in Dance and instructed Acrobatics, Tap, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Lyrical & Ballet @ On Stage School of Dance in Greensboro, NC.
Four years ago Whitney’s life took a change and she relocated to Ohio to become a dance educator for The Movement Center School of Dance where the dancers she trained won countless awards including 1st place overalls as well as 2 Choreography awards and competed (and won) against Abby Lee Miller & Candy Apple’s dancers both on and off air. Also while in Ohio Whitney extended her dance training with Sonya Tayeh, Travis Wall, Molly Grey, Mia Michaels, Tyce Diorio, Tokyo of SYTYCD, traveled with the New Visions Dance Company performing across Ohio & Pittsburg and worked helped to change lives as a CNA @ The James Cancer Center. Whitney is more than thrilled to be back in her hometown & at TIM in this capacity to share with the dancers her experience, love and passion for Dance! She also plans on continuing to pursue a career in Nursing. Miss Whitney will be teaching Ballet & Jazz recreational & company classes.
Ashley Batson
Miss Ashley is 20 years old and began dancing at T.I.M. at the age of 2. As a competitive dancer for 13 years, she participated in a number of dance competitions and conventions. Ashley specializes in Tap and Hip Hop but has been trained in all genres from Ballet to Jazz. She is currently enrolled in UNCW with the goal of graduating in 2020 with a Bachelors degree in Clinical Research and a minor in Psychology. Ashley is also a member of UNCW’s hip hop dance crew, Physical Graffeeti, which performs in North Carolina and Virginia.
Jessica Palubicki
Raised in West Chester, Pennsylvania she was able to study at various studios around the area in numerous styles of dance such as: Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Lyrical, Contemporary, and Pointe. While in West Chester she became a member of Ash Contemporary II, under the direction of Braham Logan Crane, as well as two up and coming Hip Hop companies “So Fresh,” and “Beatminors.” While in Pennsylvania, Jessica participated in many touring conventions as well as competed and performed throughout the Tri State area.
At 15 years old Jessica began training and performing in Manhattan, New York. She was selected to be a member of a Hip-Hop Crew “Generation X” under the direction of Kelly Peters. Soon after, she placed for Broadway Dance Center’s “The Children and Teen Program” and the accelerated “Professional Track” training program where she was trained by various teachers such as: Cat Cogliandro, Stacie Webster, and Jamie Salmon. She was also selected to be a member in the company associated with Broadway Dance Center, “Arts In Motion” where she had the opportunity to perform locally in NYC.
As a member of the Albright College Dance Team she was able teach frequent classes to co-members and choreograph pieces to compete and perform for annual events. While in Reading, Jessica also became a Dance Instructor for two studios: Limelight Dance Studio and Future Legacy of Dance where she taught styles Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz, Hip Hop, Pointe, and Lyrical to dancers of all ages. While an instructor at these studios she choreographed pieces for competition and performance opportunities independently. Currently, Jessica is twenty-three years of age and resides in Wilmington. Here she works as a Social Recreational Counselor for children with Autism as well as teaches various styles of dance to all ages. Jessica loves the art of dance and her dreams are to generate a space of support, passion and progression within dance as well as inspire and facilitate her students to be the kind of dancer they aspire to be.
Qaadir Hicks
Qaadir began his dance training at age 7 when he performed a tap routine. Since then, he has trained with The Dance Cooperative, Techniques in Motion, The International Ballet Academy, The University of North Carolina School of the Arts, The North Carolina Dance Theater, and the Wilmington School of Ballet. His performance credits also include the titlular role of the Nutcracker on in the Wilmington Ballet Company, Forward Motion Dance Company, Dance-a-lorus, and Opera House Theater Company. His teaching credits include The Dance Cooperative and the Dance Element while his choreographic credits include Dance-alorus. He earned a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from East Carolina University.
Katie Ripley
Miss Katie began dancing at the age of four and teaching at the age of sixteen. She has extensive training in ballet and pointe, as well as tap, jazz, hip hop, and lyrical. She studied dance at Maryland Hall for the Performing Arts, Jeanette’s School of Dance, both in her home state of Maryland. She danced in college and Goucher College outside of Baltimore. She has performance experience as Giselle in “Swan Lake,” Cinderella in “Cinderella” and the Sugar Plum Fairy in “The Nutcracker” on more than one occasion. Once she moved to Wilmington, she performed in the Wilmington School of the Art’s Nutcracker with several roles, including a solo as the Spanish Dancer. She has experience teaching dance at a local studio that has since closed. In her role as teacher, she helped run and organize the classes and was the point of contact in Wilmington for parents. She has experience teaching ballet, tap, jazz, and beginning hip-hop. She has experience teaching ages 2-16 and is SO excited to bring her talents to TIM!
Emily Horrell
Miss Emily began her dance training at the age of four at Techniques in Motion School of Dance. She joined the TIM competitive team when she was seven and began assisting classes at the age of thirteen. Her experience has included training in various elements of dance such as Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, Modern, Ballet, and Pointe. Emily has received numerous awards and scholarships from competitions and conventions such as JUMP and 24 SEVEN. Fostering her love of tap, Emily has continuously engaged in opportunities to learn from tap masters including Savion Glover, Anthony Morigerato, Mike Minery, Ryan Lohoff and many more.
She received her certification as a CNA her senior year of high school and is now enrolled at Cape Fear with the goal of graduating with an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Dental Hygiene. Emily is excited to share her love and passion for dance with the students at Techniques in Motion.
Hayley Fowler
Hayley Fowler has been a TIM Dancer since the age of 3! She started competing as a Mini company member at the age of 6. Trained in gymnastics by Carolina and Port City Gymnastics, she continued to dance with Techniques In Motion and completed dance & acro training until graduating from Eugene Ashley High School in 2013. She was also a dance/acro teacher assistant for four years. Miss Hayley’s strongest element in dance is Acrobatics and Lyrical, but she is also trained in Hip-Hop, Tap, Modern, Jazz and even Zumba! She is the daughter of Melissa Fowler who was a former Acrobatics teacher at Techniques In Motion. Miss Hayley is a mother of a beautiful daughter Parker Ann and she now attends Cape Fear Community College for Early Child Hood education. Hayley will be instructing Acro Level 1 starting August 2014!
Delainey Leli
Miss Delainey Leli is currently a college student at UNCW studying BioChem & PreMed. She is also a TIM Alumni and has been trained in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, and Hip Hop. She began teaching Musical Theatre for TIM in the summer of 2018 as being a Dance teacher has always been one of her dreams! She has a true passion for dancing, whether it’s on the stage or in the classroom, and her goal is to be a mentor in helping students in her classes find their passion as well!!
Rachel Taylor
Rachel Taylor began her love of ballet at Wake Forest University’s Community Ballet program with Brantly Shapiro. Later she also trained at Ohio Dance Theatre in their pre professional program for 3 years.
In 2016 Rachel graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a BA in dance performance and focus on Ballet Pedagogy. While in Charlotte she also became a certified barre instructor. She taught several years at Xtend barre Charlotte and at Core Integrity Pilates in Greensboro NC.
In the fall of 2016 Rachel joined Gary Taylor’s Winston Salem Festival Ballet where she performed professionally and trained for a year. Rachel also taught for Gary Taylor’s 3 schools, Taylor Dance, High Point Ballet and Winston Salem Festival Ballet.
In the summer of 2017 Rachel joined the US. International Ballet in Wilmington NC.
Under artistic direction of Walter Angelini and Ines Albertini, Rachel had the opportunity to perform in many full length ballets including The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland , a Midsummers ’ Night Dream, Giselle , The little Mermaid and the Nutcracker.
Rachel not only pursues her own progress with the art form of ballet but also has a heart to teach and share it with others. Rachel has been teaching ballet and fitness classes for serval years and as she continues to learn and grow she passes her passion and knowledge forward for others.
Abbey Durr
Abbey Durr is originally from High Point, NC but currently resides in Wilmington where she is a student at UNCW. Along with being a student she is also a proud member of UNCW’s Dance Team. Abbey has been dancing for 18 years and has been trained in many different genres including ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, pointe, acro, musical theatre, and hip-hop.
She’s had the joy of working alongside many wonderful choreographers and dancers including but not limited to Christopher Robbins, Sydney Overcash, Susan Hancock, Caroline Lewis-Jones, and Scott Fox. Abbey also attended the NC Governors School West where she studied dance. She also spent some time in New York studying with the Joffrey Ballet School in mainly pointe and ballet. She has had to joy in being a part of Encores Dream Team and a member of Christopher Robbins company, E’clatez Company. Abbey also works for Star Talent Dance Productions.
Rachel Sanford
Rachel Sanford is originally from Dallas, TX. She began her training at age 4 at the Ozsoy School of Ballet in Duncanville, TX, under Ballet Master Ceyhun Ozsoy. Rachel attended many summer intensives including the American Ballet Theatre Collegiate Program, the International Ballet Competition Intensive, the Joffrey Ballet, and Houston METdance Professional Intensive.
In 2016, Rachel graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance and a Business Foundations Certificate from the McCombs School of Business. She has performed in professional pieces by artists including Sidra Bell, Merce Cunningham, Andrea Beckham, Mark Morris, Shen Jun, and Joe Celej. She has choreographed multiple contemporary ballet works for the Dance program at UT Austin and for the McCallum Fine Arts Academy in Austin, TX. In 2019 Rachel joined the U.S. International Ballet and has performed in many works including Vampires, The Nutcracker, and Alice in Wonderland.
Dylan Szuch
Mr Dylan,15, is in his 6th year of tap dancing, beginning his tap dance journey right here at Techniques in Motion. Dylan is a member of the elite performing company team at the studio
and has been a student assistant for the past 2 years assisting with a variety of tap, ballet and hip hop classes as well as the dance-ability and adult tap classes. He is also a member of the
Southern Open Rhythm Collective (SORC).
Two years ago, Dylan was accepted into the North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble (NCYTE) under the direction of Gene Medler where he enjoys performing, learning, teaching and educating the community about the art of tap dance. He attends regular weekly rehearsals in
Chapel Hill, NC.
Dylan has traveled extensively to participate in numerous classes, festivals and intensive programs including the North Carolina, Orlando, New Jersey, Chicago, DC and Riff Dallas tap festivals as well as the Palmetto Tap Intensive, Tap into the Network, Tap University, Tap Kids, Woodshed, “The Intensive” with Derick Grant and Aaron Toslon and Sarah Reich’s Tap Music Project. Dylan has also enjoyed the opportunity to take classes at the Broadway Dance
Center in New York City as well as Pineapple Studios in London, England.
Dylan currently is working remotely with Demi Remick and, during the Pandemic, has been enjoying a vast array of online classes and programs with tap dancers from all over the world. He has participated in a number of online global tap jams, discussion groups, footage nights, “Tap the Screen”, and 3 rounds of Derick Grant’s newly developed Improv. lab. This spring he
also began an individual mentorship with Brenda Buffalino.
Dylan has developed a strong love for improvisation and loves to busk on the streets of downtown Wilmington as well as attend the regular Sunday night jazz jam at Burnt Mill Creek
with local area jazz musicians. He also is enjoying starting to develop his own choreography being honored to receive a national award of excellence for his 2020 submission to the National PTA reflections arts program.
One of the things Dylan loves most about dancing is having the chance to get out into the world and meet new people. Dylan is extremely excited to begin teaching at Techniques in Motion, where he looks forward to continuing to grow and share his passion for tap dance with others.
Jailyn Tingo
Jailyn is happy to be relocating back home to Wilmington and Techniques In Motion. She started dancing at Techniques In Motion at the age of 2 and went on to join the competition team at age 6. At 16, Jailyn was selected to attend a summer intensive in Phoenix, AZ with Celebrity Dance Competitions. As Celebrity Crew, she had the opportunity to work Celebrity Nationals and perform on ships from Carnival Cruise Line’s fleet. Jailyn continued her competitive training with Fox Troupe where she worked with many renowned choreographers. Jailyn studied Biology and Chemistry at Hofstra University and East Carolina University and now works in the medical field. After college, Jailyn got married, moved to New York, and welcomed a baby girl into her family, for whom she can’t wait to buy ballet shoes! She is honored to be teaching dance again and can’t wait to build lasting memories with all of her students.
Ava Catherine Boyle
Miss Ava took her first tap dance class at the age of two at Techniques In Motion School of Dance and fell in love with it! She was invited to the Mini Company at the age of 6 and is currently a member of the Elite Company. She began assisting dance classes at the age of 13 and is now one of the receptionists at the studio. She is trained in Tap, Ballet, Hip Hop and Jazz, but her passion is Tap dancing. She is a Senior at Ashley High School and studies at Cape Fear Community College as a dual enrollment student. Her goal is to complete her associate degree in Interior Design at CFCC and then obtain a bachelor’s degree in Interior Design from Savannah School of Art and Design in Savannah, GA.
Avaree Ponder
Miss Avaree Ponder is an award winning performer embarking on a new journey of teaching the art of dance at Techniques In Motion School of Dance. Since the age of two, she has been involved with movement and began competitively dancing at seven years old.
Fluent in various forms such as tap, contemporary and hip hop
Avaree will be studying as an apprentice at TIM to further their education in movement and instructing. Verified awards and stand outs include 3rd Runner Up Miss Platinum, First Place Regional Solo Winner at KAR Dance Competition and an all-around leader inside the classroom.
Recently graduated from high school, Avaree has a passion to stay involved with movement alongside helping dancers achieve similar goals and progressing their own professional career.
Jenn Stanton
Jenn has been a group fitness instructor since 2012 when she began teaching Zumba. Since then she has certified and teaches (in addition to Zumba), SPIN, TRX and Silver Sneakers. Born and raised in Ohio she enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard after high school and retired in 2016 after 20 years of service. During her service she was a part of search and rescue, law enforcement, humanitarian and environmental missions all over the world and country. After retirement Jenn continued her fitness journey and became a Personal Trainer and works with people from all walks of life to help better themselves, feel good and live a healthy lifestyle. She is married to her husband Jared who is still serving in the Coast Guard and they have 2 daughters who love to dance at Techniques In Motion. Jenn also grew up a dancer and credits her success throughout her life to her dance upbringing and teachers. She always looks forward to her weekly Tap or Hip Hop classes. When not dancing, leading fitness classes, helping others on their journey and being a wife and mother Jenn’s favorite thing to do is attend live concerts.
Marriah Kalil
Marriah Kalil developed a love for dance at age three when she began taking classes at New Hampshire Academy of Performing Arts. She spent her childhood in Coastal New Hampshire and Central New Jersey focused on learning and performing ballet, jazz, and tap before falling in love with Contemporary Dance in college, when she minored in Dance at James Madison University. At JMU she enjoyed opportunities to teach Creative Dance to kids at the local community center as well as performing at school and community events. She continued to take open classes during graduate school at the University of New Hampshire and throughout her 20’s at various studios including Jeanette Neil in Boston and New Hampshire Academy of Performing Arts, also joining the Professional Company of NHAPA in 2007. Marriah stopped performing when she had her first daughter in 2009, taking the occasional open class when her schedule allowed in the years following. She relocated to Wilmington from Newburyport, MA with her family in 2019.
Marriah is the owner of Energy Awakenings Healing Arts in Wilmington where she provides services as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, and a Reiki Master Practitioner. She lives in Wilmington with her husband Michael, daughters Sadie & Sawyer, and dog Daisy. Her daughters are loving their time dancing at Techniques in Motion and have inspired her to return to dance, her very first love. She is excited to be teaching and offering other adults an opportunity to tap back into their own love of dance!
Sarah Rose
Sarah began her dance education at Techniques in Motion at the age of three and fell in love with dance, especially tap. She continued her training at T.I.M. throughout her elementary school years before moving to the Charlotte, NC area in 2014. There, she did tumbling until she continued her dance training at King David Christian Conservatory in tap, ballet, and modern in 2017. During her years there, she also got the chance to assist and substitute teach for a variety of ages. After graduating high school in 2021, she returned to the Wilmington area and continued her Associates in Arts at Cape Fear Community College alongside teaching dance and gymnastics. She also completed the tap teacher certificate program taught by Hillary Marie, founder of the New Jersey Tap Festival. Over the past few years, Miss Sarah has gotten the opportunity to learn from dance masters such as Nicholas Van Young, Kaycee Rice, and Ryan Lohoff and gets to share her love for growing in the arts through being a part of a local theatre group. Now, Miss Sarah is excited to encourage students on their journey in the arts at Techniques in Motion just like her teachers did for her growing up!