HOT SHOTS DANCE COMPANY

 School of Dance, Hartwell, GA

Suzanne Krause, began her formal training in Germany at the age of 5 and continued with the Dance Arts Centre Performing Arts Company in Duluth, Georgia.  She has performed throughout the Southeast, taking part in many regional and national dance competitions before accepting a scholarship to attend Brenau University, having earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Dance Pedagogy.  She studied under the professional training of Carol Smiarowski, Vincas Greene, Jolie Long, and Diane Callahan.  She also performed with the Brenau Dance Ensemble and the Gainesville Ballet Company.  After graduation, she accepted an invitation to attend the Summer Dance Institute at Binghamton University in New York, where she studied under the direction of Danita Emma and Anthony Salatino.  Suzanne was also a faculty artist/instructor with Arts Connect, a federally funded program through the Atlanta Ballet, which is designed to incorporate the arts into early and middle grades education.  She was a member of BigHouse Dance Theater, an auditioned company specializing in contemporary dance.  This will be Suzanne's 16th season with Hot Shots Dance Company as the Owner/Director of Dance.

Shana N. Toney found her love for movement, dance, and performance at the young age of 4, when she began classes in baton and jazz dance.  At the age of 16, her passion was rekindled when she began taking ballet and jazz classes under the direction of Libby Hilley and Suzanne Krause at Hot Shots Dance Company.  While dancing at HSDC, she participated in community performances and recitals, as well as dance competitions at the regional, state, and national level.

In 2015, she graduated Cum Laude from Brenau University with a BA in Dance Studies and a minor in English Literature.  While attending Brenau, she trained in ballet, modern, and jazz technique, as well as improvisation, dance pedagogy and teaching methods, with an emphasis in choreography and performance. Shana has performed historic choreographic works of the late Helen Tamiris, as well as renowned dance artists such as NOW-ID founder Charlotte Boye-Christenson, and Brenau faculty Vincas Greene, Jolie Long, and Madia Cooper-Asirifi.  She attended and performed at the American College Dance Association (ACDA) in 2014 and 2015, and has taken master classes and workshops from many notable dance artists in the southeast, including T. Lang, Georgia Staib, and Gerri Houlihan.  Shana has presented and choreographed four originals works for Brenau University, one of which was selected to go on to Emory University for ACDA in the spring of 2016.  Shana has taught all over the Northeast Georgia region for the past 8 years, and continues to share her passion and love of dance through teaching and choreography.  She is honored to be returning to her home studio, Hot Shots Dance Company.

Kimberly Carter started gymnastics at the age of 9 with Tina Washington at Bishop Park in Athens, Georgia.  Shortly after, she began competing in USA Level 5 gymnastics under Coach Jay Clark, the former Assistant Head Coach for the University of Georgia Gym Dawgs.  In 2008, Kim started working at Hot Shots Dance Company and is now in her 11th year coaching.  Kim was also the team coach for the YMCA Hartwell Twisters in 2013.  Kim is certified in AAU and USA certified.  She has coached students in levels 1-5.  Many of her students have competed all over Georgia, Florida, and Michigan.  Kim is excited to be teaching at Hot Shots Dance Company and looks forward to many more years.

Rebecca Lynn Berg began dancing at the age of 3 years old with Center Stage and continued with Jayne’s Dance Academy of Arts. 

Rebecca studied Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Musical Theater, Pointe, and Contemporary dance.  Rebecca competed in Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, and Musical Theater for 7 years and was a cheerleader at Hernando High School. 

Rebecca is currently studying Early Childhood Education at Emmanuel College and has been with HSDC as a Hip Hop and Tap instructor since 2015.

Kaitlin started dancing at the age of 2 ½ at Premier School of Dance in Cary, North Carolina. There she studied Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical/Contemporary, and Hip Hop.

Kaitlin was also on the competition team for 10 years of her dancing career. She has multiple years of experience being an assistant dance instructor with children of all ages. She is currently on the Revive Dance Team at Emmanuel College where she is studying Middle Grades Education with concentrations in Language Arts and Social Studies.

Hot Shots is excited to add Kaitlin as the newest member of our team.