Mrs. Haley Harmon-Ashford

She is the studio owner, master teacher, choreographer and dance competition judge, She along side her family, cofounded SDDA in 2015. She and her husband Shaun have now stepped into the role as the SDDA owners.

A UALR graduate with a degree in Social Work with a focus on concert dance,  Haley has been dancing and/or teaching for more than 25 years in studios all across the USA. She received her dance teacher certification from the Ann Lacey School of American Dance Arts and Management.

An accomplished young dancer, she has won more than 20 scholarships, and was named one of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's 20 to Watch in 2012 for her excellence in dance and commitment to dance education in Arkansas through community service, arts festival participation, and choreography projects. 

Haley has an extensive performance history, often sharing the stage with world-renowned dancers from the popular TV show, "So You Think You Can Dance." She is also a tap dancer and choreographer for UnTapped, the only professional tap company in Arkansas.

Over the last 8 years has been serving as competition director and lead teacher/choreographer. In that role, she has won over 20 choreography awards and led Stage Door teams to numerous national championships. A lover of continuing education, since 2019 Haley has received certifications in Acrobatic Arts, American Council on Exercise Group Fitness, Barre Above, and Schwinn Cycling, and is training toward MuvMethod. She has also completed training in nutrition coaching, injury prevention, anatomy and biomechanics, and corrective exercise.

Finally, Haley is a regional and national dance competition judge and serves as a master teacher for the Little Rock Tap Festival. As a true Conway fan, she has been thrilled to provide several years of award-winning choregoraphy for the Conway High School Varsity Dance Team and continue her work with them today.

Reach her at haley@stagedoordancearts.com

Ms. Jamie Dallas

No stranger to Stage Door Dance Arts, Ms. Jamie is entering her first year of employment as Office Manager for SDDA. However, she's been with us, in some capacity, since we opened in 2015.

We're thrilled to have her on the team. Not only does Jamie have a B.S. in Early Childhood Education, she is a Masters-level Special Education Instrucational Specialist, with a post-masters certificate in SPED program administration. Since 2018, Jamie has been a clinical instructor in Elementary and Special Education at UCA. Prior to that, Jamie served as the Director of the UCA Child Studies Center for seven years.

In addition to her professional and academic qualifications, Jamie brings years of experience in customer service and retail management from her years with Old Navy. But perhaps our favorite qualification is her 20+ years as a dance mom. This makes her the perfect addition to the Stage Door Family.

Ms. Anne Ryan Johnston

Anne Ryan is in her fourth year of teaching at SDDA. She has more than 15 years of studio dance training in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip-hop, modern, and other styles of dance. She has also been supplementing her dance training by attending intensives hosted by Blackbird Academy of Arts, as well as studio classes at Steps on Broadway and Broadway Dance Center in New York.

Anne Ryan is a former member of the Conway High School Varsity Dance team and is a sophomore at UCA, where she is pursuing a degree in exercise science to prepare her for training students of all ages in fitness and dance. She has a passion for children and dance. What could be a better combination to prepare her for SDDA? We're so thankful to have her on staff!

Miss Kaylee Munnerlyn

Miss Helena Rawlings

Mrs. Michelle Knell

An innovative and award-winning choreographer, with a proficient technical background in nearly every area of dance, Michelle has been inspiring dancers of all ages across the USA for more than 30 years. 

She is a studio owner, master teacher, choreographer, dance competition judge, and a freelance writer. She has over 11 years of professional performance history as a dancer, singer, and improvisational actress. Performance credits include corps and soloist roles with Ballet Arkansas and River City Ballet, and as a singer/actress in a children's theater group entitled The Story Patch Players, a member of the Texas Commission for the Arts.

Michelle is thrilled to have written a complete, graded dance syllabus to ensure consistent and thorough training for her students. She has recently licensed the syllabus for use at multiple studios across the country. The success of the program is proven through the many students who have become professional dancers, opened studios, or gone on to teach the art of dance. A teacher-of-teachers, and a freelance writer, Michelle has been published 7 times in Dance Studio Life Magazine. 

Michelle's desire is to continue her work in the field of dance arts for as long as possible. It is her life's work and heart's desire to positively affect as many people as possible, and to keep the arts alive and well in her community. 

Mrs. Laura Crabtree

Laura Crabtree is originally from Jonesboro, Arkansas and is in her eighth season teaching at SDDA. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from John Brown University with a double major in Digital Media and Intercultural Studies. She has over 15 years of dance training across all disciplines, but her greatest strengths lie in her experience as a dance instructor and as a mom. She has worked with several studios in the state, such as All Rhythm Dance Alley and Christi McNeil’s Dance Studio. She has many years of experience in the classroom, as a lead teacher and an assistant, specializing in beginning and intermediate levels of ballet, tap, jazz, and clogging.

SDDA is thrilled to have her as a part of our esteemed faculty.

Miss Hannah Spann

Hannah is a graduate of the University of Central Arkansas, with a degree in Exercise and Sports Science. She began her academic careet at UALR, where she was a dance major.

Hannah received most of her training from North Arkansas Dance and Theatre Company. She has over 16 years of training and is especially well-versed in ballet, contemporary, modern, tap, and clogging. She is also an expert instructor, with 7 years of experience as an assistant or lead teacher. 

She has great passion for dance, but even greater is her passion for working with children. We are so excited to have her on staff, and we can't wait to watch her journey as part of the SDDA family.

Miss Aspen Powell

Miss Aspen Powell is a junior at University of Central Arkansas and spent two seasons on the Honey Bears Dance Team. She is originally from Texarkana and has 16 years of dance training and 3 years of experience as an assistant teacher. 

She is especially fond of jazz, contemporary, and lyrical, and she is excited to be a  member of the SDDA staff for the 2023-24 season.

Anneliese Cormier
Avery Ribbing

Mr. Kevin Knell

As Michelle's husband, and number one fan, Kevin brings a wealth of relevant experience and skills to Stage Door Dance Arts. Professionally, Kevin is a 30+ year veteran in the field of information technology, where he enjoys a fulfilling sales career. Kevin lends his knowledge and expertise to SDDA in many areas, including technology, finance, and business operations.

Kevin is experienced working with children and their families, as he coached his own children's youth basketball and baseball teams for more than 15 years. In addition to Kevin's business experience and coaching skills, he has extensive knowledge of music editing and sound systems...and he's even been known to pick up a saw or a hammer from time to time to construct props and sets.

Kevin completed his Bachelor of Science in Business Management at Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma, in only three years, while graduating Cum Laude. No stranger to the stage himself, Kevin has been singing since his youth, and he played trumpet from fifth grade through college.

Ms. Kylie Dallas

Kylie is in her sixth year of teaching at SDDA. She has more than 15 years of studio dance training in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip-hop, modern, and other styles of dance. She has also been supplementing her dance training by attending workshops like DanceMaker's Inc. and Broadway Connection. This has allowed her to study with many master teachers, such as Kathryn McCormick and Dejan Tubic. In addition, Kylie has a wealth of experience in competitive gymnastics, All Star Cheerleading, and acrobatic arts.

Kylie's diverse background includes four years as a member of the Conway High School dance team, frequent participation in high school musicals, along with choral music, too. We are so excited to have her share her passion for dance, and the love of Christ, with the students of SDDA.

Ms. Courtenay Pierce

Courtenay has been studying dance since she was just a little girl. She is trained in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip-hop, improvisation, and modern. In fact, she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and Choreography from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2000. She has also trained with the Atlanta Ballet, Steps on Broadway, Broadway Dance Center, the Rennie Harris Pure Movement Company, Hubbard Street Dance, The American College Dance Festival, The Manhattan Dance Project, and the Mississippi Ballet Theater.

Courtenay's performance credits include: Young Choreographer's Concerts with the USM Repertory Dance Company, halftime shows and the Liberty Bowl with the USM Dance Team, Orpheus in the Underworld with the USM Opera, and The Nutcracker with Ballet Mississippi, and the Lousiana Dance Foundation.

She began a summer of interning at SDDA in 2021 and now serves as an assistant and lead teacher for the 2022-23 season, and you may see her helping out in the office, too. We're already so thrilled with her potential, her knowledge of dance, and her passion for teaching. 

Mrs. Katherine Beasley Hinojosa