SOKY DA
Teachers
Ashleigh Keefer
Owner/ Artistic Director,
Instructor, SOKY Dance Ensemble Director & Dance Company 2 Director
Ashleigh graduated from WKU & received a B.A. in dance, along with a B.A. in Psychology. She was a member of the WKU Dance Company. Ashleigh performed in the ACDFA program 2007-2008, in the Chicago World Jazz Dance Congress 2007, & in the "Overseas" Dance tour through Italy in 2008 & 2010. She is a member of the National Dance Educators Organization & Tennessee Dance Association. She is an ABT® Certified teacher who has completed training in Primary through Level 3 of ABT® in NYC. Her award-winning choreography has been selected to perform in the Tennessee Dance Association Gala several years & Inaside Choreographer Showcase in Chicago. She has been a judge for several national dance competitions, has served as a Competitive Dance Team & Competitive Gymnastics Floor Coach. Ashleigh created & served as the Artistic Director for a National Dance Convention from 2014-2020. Most recently she took over ownership & is the Artistic DIrector, Owner, Instructor, & is the current director of Dance Company 2/SOKY Dance Ensemble. Ashleigh grew up dancing with us at Dance Arts and has been teaching since 2010.
Carlie Hardin,
Instructor
Carlie has been dancing since age five & grew up dancing at Dance Arts. She was a member of Performance Troupe & later joined SOKY Dance Ensemble. Carlie is currently attending Western Kentucky University and trained at the International American Musical Theatre in New York. She has trained in Ballet, Jazz, Modern, & Tap, but Tap is her favorite style to teach. Carlie has been an instructor for four years & currently teaches a variety of classes at SOKY DA. Specifically, she teaches Advanced Tap & Musical Theatre classes as well. Carlie has experience choreographing for local BETA groups, school musicals, and competition solos. She has done continued education classes online with CLI training company and has achieved certifications in choreography, childhood development, and more.
Ginny Cardi,
Instructor
Ginny is the primary Ballroom instructor at SOKY DA, but she also teaches in our Young Children's Program and choreographs for SOKY Dance Ensemble. She received her degree in Dance at Western Kentucky University. She was a member of the WKU Dance Company & has competed professionally in the Ballroom category. Ginny danced & taught at National Dance Clubs, YPAC in Illinois, & various places in TN. She is also known for her choreography for special events, specifically father/daughter dances, first wedding dances, & mother/son dances. Ginny is certified with SADM, DVida in American smooth & rhythm dance, & is a member of NCDA. Last but not least, she is a talented seamstress & often custom-makes costumes for her students' pieces.
Roshunda Brown,
Guest Choreographer
Roshunda graduated from Western Kentucky University with a B.A. in dance & also performed as a member of the WKU Dance Company. She currently lives in Nashville, TN & teaches at several different local studios. Roshunda dances with Found Movement Company & her choreography has won various awards at dance competitions. At our studio, she primarily choreographs Modern & Contemporary pieces for SOKY Dance Ensemble. Roshunda was the Director of Creative Operations at a dance competition/convention for five yaers & has experience as an instructor for the last nine years.
Kelsey Tullis,
Instructor,
Performance Troupe Director & Dance Company 1 Director
Kelsey is a graduate from Western Kentucky University with a B.A. in both Dance & Arabic. She grew up dancing at Dance Arts and was a member of Performance Troupe for several years. Kelsey worked in the office during high school, then transitioned to teaching soon after. Prior to attending WKU, she graduated from Tony Lindsey School of Cosmetology & attained her license as a Cosmetologist. Kelsey spent the summer of 2018 in Egypt as a dance instructor at a school for refugees. Kelsey is also a resident artist at Arts for All KY, an organization that specializes in providing visual & performing art classes for students with physical and mental disabilities. She's also choreographed several local musicals at various high schools and SkyPac. She teaches various ages, levels, & genres of dance, but her favorite style is Lyrical. Kelsey has been teaching dance for 18 years & is the current director of Performance Troupe & Dance Company 1. Most recently, she worked with the International Fest to provide multicultural dance classes in their 2024 event.
Ava Coffman,
Instructor
Ava has trained under instructors such as Ashleigh Keefer, Clifton Brown, Roberto Sifontes, Roshunda Brown, Ginny Cardi, and many others in her 15 years at SOKY Dance Arts. Ava spent over half of her early training years under the direction of SOKY DA’s pre-professional program, SOKY Dance Ensemble. She attended Ruth Page Center for the Arts in Chicago, IL, a summer Intensive for Musical Theatre training in New York City, NY, and has danced along with the professional ballet company, Kentucky Ballet Theatre in their professional production of ‘The Nutcracker'. Ava was also invited and worked as an assistant to the professional faculty for HEAT Dance Convention and Competition. Ava enjoys producing and self-choreographing dance concept videos, and she has received the CLIStudio certification for ‘Fundamentals in Ballet’. Ava is currently a freshman at WKU and is earning her B.A. in Psychology.
Ashley Benge,
Acro Instructor
Ashley currently teaches Acro at SOKY Dance Arts. She is also an Account Manager for Rebel Atheletic Cheer. Ashley was a cheerleader all throughout highschool & has been a gymnast for most of her life. Her teaching goals are to be inclusive of everyone, encourage students to step out of their comfort zones, & build confidence through the acquisition of new tricks. Ashley emphasizes the importance of safety first in her Acro classes & has several years of experience teaching Acro/Tumble classes.
Ginny received her degree in Dance at Western Kentucky University. She was a member of the WKU Dance Company & performed Ballroom professionally. Ginny is a very talented seamstress & often custom-makes costumes for her students' pieces.
Neena Hook,
Yoga Instructor
Neena received her yoga teaching certification in 2019. She is registered nationally with the Yoga Alliance and has earned 500 accredited hours. Neena received her Instinctive Meditation certification and most recently certified to teach Aerial Silks Yoga. Her teaching style can be characterized as a gentle flow with the emphasis on breathe, mind & body connection.
Roberto Sifontes,
Ballet Instructor,
SOKY Dance Ensemble
Roberto received his training in ballet at the Professional School of Arts. After graduating he joined the Ballet of Camaguey then was invited to join the Contemporary Ballet of Caracas as a principal dancer. As a professional dancer Roberto has performed in Mexico, Jamaica, Venezuela, Italy, Israel, Yugoslavia (Sarajevo), Europe, & the Middle East. Most recently Roberto danced with Kentucky Ballet Theater in Lexington, Ky. Roberto also has more than 20 years experience teaching ballet technique and partnering, he was on faculty of the Kentucky Ballet Theatre academy, and has been contracted as a guest teacher in Chicago, Florida, Kentucky, New York, Kentucky, & Puerto Rico. Roberto is one of the SOKY Dance Ensemble Ballet instructors and is also the primary instructor/rehearsal director for the KBT Nutcracker this year.
Kailey Sanchez
Instructor
Kailey has been teaching at SOKY DA for the last two years! With a background in gymnastics and competition cheerleading, she has been dancing for a total of 9 years now & taught in studios in and around TN for the last six years! She graduated from Austin Peay State University in 2020 where she earned her Bachelors in Theater & Dance as well as an associates degree in Liberal Arts. During the lockdown,her senior year, she started photography as a hobby. Four years later, she is now the owner of Kay Media Productions, providing photography, videography and content management services. She has worked with multiple dance companies to help them capture movement for shows, marketing, social media & more! In addition to her experience with acting, dancing, and photo/video; she has been professionally modeling for four years.
She is signed with Premiere Modeling Agency in Nashville, and enjoys learning and growing as a performer.
Clifton Brown,
Instructor / Guest Artist
Clifton was born and raised in Chicago, where he began his dance studies at Ellis-Du Boulay ballet school. He received his BFA in dance from the University of Iowa under the guidance of Francois Martinique and his MFA from the University of Arizona under the guidance of James Clouser and Melissa Lowe. Brown’s professional career has been with Ballet Arizona, Grand Rapids Ballet. He has performed with The Los Angeles Chamber Ballet, and pursued a European career performing with DjazzX Modern Dance Company in Den Hagg, Holland and Friedrichstad Palast in Berlin, Germany. In 1997, as a principal dancer he joined L'Ensemble Da Micha Van Hoecke in Rosignano, Italy. In 2008, he was invited by the American Studies Association of Turkey as a guest artist to perform and present a lecture on the African American Influence on Classical Ballet. Brown was the former Dance Program Coordinator/Associate Professor at Western Kentucky University.
Madison Ainsley,
Intstructor
Madison is currently studying at WKU. She is a dancer with the Topperettes Dance Team at WKU and has been teaching hip hop at SOKY DA for the last three years. She also teaches dance team clinics throughout the summer session. She grew up dancing, cheering, and tumbling and we love having her around!