STAFF
Janda Cearley Earnest: Owner/Director
Janda has been dancing for the past 43 years. Her areas of study have included ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, lyrical, modern, hip-hop, and musical theatre. Janda attended Hardaway High School where she was a Governor Honors Semi-Finalist in Dance, a choreographer for the theatre department’s productions of Fame, The Wizard of Oz, and Blame It On Broadway as well as the captain and choreographer of the HHS Dance Team. While at HHS, she was a Universal Dance Association All-Star and was invited to perform in New York & Paris. She graduated from Columbus State University in 2000 with a B.S. in Humanities and in 2002 with a Master of Public Administration. She was a member of the 1998-99 CSU Cougar Heat Dance Team, became the Assistant Coach in 1999 and the Head Coach and Choreographer in 2001. Under her direction, the squad won one State Title, three PeachBelt Conference Titles, and was consistently ranked among the top teams in the nation with UDA. She was an instructor, judge, and choreographer for Eastern Dance Association and the Resident Choreographer for the Chattahoochee Valley Community College Music Department. Janda previously worked for the NBA D-League Columbus Riverdragons where she also coached and choreographed for the River Rage Dance Team. She was the choreographer for the 2011 National Champion Smiths Station High School J.V. and Varsity Dance Teams and the 2011 National Champion Wacoochee Junior High Dance Team having won Best Choreography for their pom routine and other various awards at national competitions.
In addition to her team experience, Janda has appeared in various productions at the Springer Opera House, to include: A Chorus Line, Will Roger’s Follies, Jesus Christ Superstar, My Fair Lady, The Wizard of Oz, Grease, A Christmas Carol, and was the lead dancer in the role of Dream Laurey in Oklahoma!. She was also the choreographer for the productions of The Sound of Music, Phantom, and T.H.E.’s School House Rock. Her most recent choreography was seen in the Chattahoochee Shakespeare Company's production of "Reefer Madness: The Musical" and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”. She has worked on the production crew for various Miss Georgia pageants and serves as an assistant, stage manager, choreographer and Assistant Producer for the Miss Georgia Pageant for 20 years. Janda is currently on the Board of Trustees for the Miss Georgia Scholarship Competition and is the Executive Producer/Director.
Rachael Cearley Venegas: Choreographer, Assistant Creative Director
Rachael has been dancing for the past 35 years. Her areas of study include ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, lyrical, and hip-hop. She is a graduate from CSU with a B.S. in Marketing. Rachael was the captain of the HHS Dance Team where she won the title of UDA All-Star and Drill Down Queen and was also invited to perform in Paris and New York. She has competed and won various awards throughout the southeast as a member of the Rivertown Dance Theatre competition team. As a member, choreographer, and two year captain of the 2002-2005 Cougar Heat Dance Team, shecompeted at the UDA College National Championships having most recently finished 9th in Jazz and 4th in Hip-Hop in the nation. Rachael has also choreographed for various high school cheerleading competition teams through United Cheerleading to include Shaw, Pacelli, and Calvary Christian and currently for the Chattahoochee County Varsity Squad. She was a member of the NBA D-League Columbus Riverdragons Dance Team where she also served as Dance Captain for two years. She appeared as the lead dancer in the Springer production of Phantom, and was competed in the Miss CSU pageant and the Miss Columbus pageant where she was awarded the “People’s Choice” Award two years in a row. Rachael was an instructor for UDA and has been awarded Best Choreography for her Senior competition pieces at various competitions. She is a former choreographer for the Northside High School Varsity Dance Team and the Smiths Station & Wachoochee Junior Pantherette Dance Teams. Rachael was been seen as the lead dancer in ChattShakes’s production of “Reefer Madness: The Musical” and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” where she also served as dance captain. She served as an assistant choreographer and stage manager for the Miss Georgia Pageant, a member of the Board of Trustees and is the Assistant Director of the Miss Georgia Scholarship Competition.
Brittney Peterson: Head Instructor
Brittney has been dancing for the past 28 years. Her areas of study include ballet, tap, jazz, pointe, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop, and musical theatre. Brittney attended Hardaway High School, where she spent two years on the dance team. While dancing at Hardaway, she made the All-Star dance team at UDA, was nominated for Governor’s Honor in the subject of dance, placed 2nd overall in the solo division at state, and went on to win first in state for both the jazz and hip hop group routines. Since graduating from Hardaway, she has returned to choreograph for their dance team, where they ranked 1st in class and received superior ratings in competition. Brittney has also choreographed for Harris County High School, Chattahoochee County High School, the Columbus State University winter guard team, and various area dance camps. She has choreographed many award winning routines and has led her dancers to consistently place in top overalls as well as win scholarships to dance all over the country. Brittney has been a dance instructor for the last 14 years, while the past 10 years have been with Company C Academy of Dance. She works with all ages and levels, and currently assists with Company C’s award winning competition team. In addition to being the head instructor at Company C, Brittney owns her own business, Faded Sparrow, where she restores and paints furniture. She resides in Phenix City, AL with her husband, Perry, and their 3 dogs: Bubba, Bennie, and Bandit.
Roseann Torbert: Instructor
Roseann's passion for dance began at a very young age. She was self taught hip hop and displayed her talent regularly at local events around her town. However growing up in a rural area there was very little opportunity for formal dance training. Yet, she found a way to train one year in ballet, tap, jazz, and clogging. She was finally able to display her full passion and creativity in high school as a member of the marching bands dance line, where she was choreographer and co-captain. In college as a member of Delta Sigma Theta she continued her passion as her chapter's Step Master. After graduating she moved to Tampa and began training again, focusing her skills in ballet, jazz, and hip hop. She was recruited to instruct Jazz and Hip Hop for AAYA where she taught until she returned home to Georgia.
Sarah Weber: Instructor
Sarah Weber has been in the Columbus area for over ten years. She is a military wife with three children, and by day a high school math and science teacher at Central High School. She has coached both recreational and high school cheerleading. Sarah has been teaching contortion and acrobatics at all skill levels at Company C since 2014, and also taught previously for Company C in 2006. She is a certified yoga and meditation instructor, and is also a choreographer for award winning competition acrobatics routines. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys running, hiking, and biking with her family.
Ashlyn Shoup: Instructor
Ashlyn is from the small town of Forsyth, Georgia where she grew up dancing at her mom's dance studio! While she primarily trained in Clogging, which was the first style of dance that she fell in love with, she also trained in Tap, Ballet, Jazz, Musical Theatre, and more. She has been teaching for 10 years in various styles of dance, and loves spreading her passion with the CCAD family. Ashlyn has a love for Musical Theatre and has performed in a variety of productions, some of which include "Guys and Dolls," "42nd Street," and "Crazy for You." Ashlyn is a recent graduate of Columbus State University where she pursued a degree in Kinesiology, as well as a minor in Dance. During her time at CSU, Ashlyn was a 2 time scholarship recipient for the Dance Minor Program as well as Co-Captain of the CSU Cougar Heat Dance Team. In addition to teaching, Ashlyn loves being a part of the production staff for the Miss Georgia Competition, dancing as a Pro Dancer for Dancing Stars of Columbus, and working for the GHSA Dance Team Championships each year. Ashlyn is so happy to be taking on year 6 as an instructor and choreographer for CCAD!
Sherman Williams: Instructor
Also a native of Columbus, Georgia, Sherman has been in the hip-hop dance scene for the past 18 years. He is a Hardaway High School and an United States Air Force Veteran. He has been dancing in the hip-hop scene for eighteen years. Starting with b-boying, he has been in numerous battles around the state and in other states during his high school years. He has served as a judge for various battles as well as winning numerous battles throughout the US and in South Korea where he was station in 2014. His specialty areas include; break dancing, krumping, tutting, popping, locking, house step and animation. Currently he is teaching at Company C Academy of Dance and is a member of Columbus’s very own, Adrenaline Rush Crew. He loves teaching and spreading the joys of dance while educating his community on true hip-hop culture.
Sydney Van Heuvel: Instructor
Sydney attended Columbus State University where she pursued a degree in Kinesiology, along with a minor in dance. Her love of dance began at age 4 when she began training at Patty Taylor's Academy of Fine Arts. She was a member of the competition team and competed at many competitions, including Dance Masters of America Chapter 33 and Showstoppers. She had the opportunity to train and take master classes from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Sonya Tayeh and Twitch. She has also trained at the Rockettes Summer Intensive to help her achieve her goal of becoming one. She continued to train as a dance minor at CSU and was awarded two dance scholarships and was a member of the CSU Cougar Heat Dance Team.
A'Leah Burrell: Instructor
A’Leah’s love for dancing began at the age of 2 at the Academy of Dance in Newport News, Va. By age 5 she was active in ballet, tap, and jazz and competed on the Academy of Dance Showbiz Kids Competition Dance Team. She was a part of the National award-winning dance team and a York County School of the Arts alum, Some of her most prestigious awards for her love of tap include: Dance Educators of America “You Instill Dance is Worth Living Award” as well as DEA’s National Workshop Scholarship Recipient and Encore DCS “Highest Scoring Entry of the Day” for her tap solo, “Hollywood.” Since 2015 she has taught Ballet, Tap, and Jazz classes at the beginner and intermediate recreational level as well as an advanced level teacher, cleaner, and choreographer. Leah’s award winning choreography in Tap, Lyrical, Musical Theater, and Jazz have been seen on numerous regional and national competition stages. She is currently a judge with StarQuest Dance Competition and travels the country on the weekends adjudicating talent. A'Leah is a Rhythm Works Integrative Dance Certified Instructor, A proud member of the National Dance Education Organization, Dance Educators of Georgia Society, Georgians for the Arts, and Americans for the Arts. A big proponent of the performing arts, Leah founded, TAP: The Triple A Pursuit in February 2019. Through this initiative, she advocates for Arts Accessibility for All. She has been involved as a candidate and volunteer in the Miss America Organization for 15 years. As a volunteer, she has choreographed many talents that have been seen on the Miss Virginia and Miss Georgia Stage. She has held many local titles over the years and in June of 2022, as Miss Gwinnett County, was awarded 2nd Runner Up to Miss Georgia. After obtaining her A.A. in General Studies, Leah continues her education working towards her B.S. in Political Science and Business Administration. Leah is the owner and CEO of Lea Bee Boutique, which is a clothing boutique located in her town’s Downtown Distict. She resides in Tyrone, Georgia with her adorable 4-year-old Shih Tzu, Westyn and enjoys spending time with her family, cheering on the Atlanta Falcons, and celebrating the Christmas season, the most wonderful time of the year, year-round!
Joshua Edens: Instructor
Joshua is a native of Ft. Benning, GA and a graduate from Columbus State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science and a Master’s in Occupational Safety and Health from Columbia Southern University. He currently is the OSHA Compliance Analyst for Aflac. Joshua’s Dance career began 14 years ago at Company C, Academy of Dance in Columbus, GA. Joshua is currently an Instructor and Operations Manager for Company C, but while a member of the completion team, Joshua has been awarded numerous Top Overall placements, special judges’ recognition's, first place rankings at multiple regional and national dance competitions and also received the title of “2014 Mr. StarQuest”. Joshua is trained in various styles of jazz, contemporary, tap, hip-hop, and ballet. Joshua had the opportunity to participate in the Miss Georgia Pageant as a featured dancer for 5 years and a PRO dancer for the Alzheimer’s Association, Dancing Stars of Columbus for 7 years.
Ishmael McKinstry:Guest Acting/Vocal Instructor
Ishmael is a small town country boy with a boundless heart for the arts. From a very young age, Ishmael has always displayed an undeniable passion for music and theatrics. May of 2014, he graduated from Albany State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Speech and Theatre. During Ishmael's collegiate matriculation he excelled tremendously in the theatre and music departments. Ishmael Markael was President of the Albany State Theatre Ensemble, Vice President of the CAPTIVATING Chi Delta Cast of Alpha Psi Omega National Theatre Honor Society, and he served as the Vice President for the National Association of Dramatic and Speech Arts. He starred in a plethora of productions at Albany State such as "The Colored Museum”, "Before It Hits Home”, "Side Man", "Next to Normal", and many more! He was also a featured soloist in the Albany State Concert Chorale, the Albany State Gospel Choir, and the annual Martin L. King, Jr. Day Celebration. He aspires to be a professional working actor in the theatre, film, and television industries and was recently seen in Sister Act and Grease at the Springer Opera House as well as a 2016-2018 Featured vocalist for the Miss Georgia Pageant. He has recently become the Director of Choral and Theatre Arts at Lee County Middle School.
Karen Cearley: Office/Accounts Manager
Sam Porter: Facilities Manager
