Alumni of Note
Successful Graduates of our Knoxville Programs
Jake Wallace
Former Angela Floyd Schools Voice Student
Jake is a senior at Belmont University, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance. Since coming to Belmont, he has appeared in several shows, most recently in Shakespeare’s As You Like It, in the role Silvius. Coming up in March, Jake will be completing his senior year as Tigger, in Belmont’s upcoming production of “The House at Pooh Corner,” based on the original Winnie the Pooh stories.
Jake was also given the opportunity through Belmont to spend a semester in New York City, where he interned for the famed playwright residency, New Dramatists. While in NYC, he was able to work closely with playwrights as they work shopped their ideas into production ready scripts. He even helped inspire a new musical! After NYC, he spent the summer in Los Angeles working as an intern with Telsey+Co casting, who have cast popular television shows such as This is Us and the upcoming Rent Live on FOX!
Post Graduation, Jake is hoping to get hired at Universal Studios Hollywood for the summer, before making the move to New York City in September, with aspirations of starring in sitcoms.
Brookie Smothers
Former Angela Floyd Schools Voice Student
Brookie is also a 2018 graduate of Farragut High School where she won numerous awards and featured parts in productions for vocal performance and acting. She is currently on scholarship at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey.
Sascha Richey
Former Angela Floyd Schools Student
Sascha studied dance under the direction of Angela Floyd Schools since preschool. She is a graduate of Hardin Valley Academy and is currently attending the University of Tennessee. She made her final solo appearance in 2017 as the Queen of Hearts in the ballet “Alice in Wonderland”.
Courtney Spencer
Former Angela Floyd Schools Student And Angela Floyd Dance Company Member And Captain
Courtney is currently a Graduate Assistant at East Tennessee State University, majoring in Media and Communications with minors in dance and journalism. She is also working as an Assistant Resident Director for ETSU’s Department of Housing and Residence Life.
Courtney danced on the Angela Floyd’s Dance Company for four years, which inspired her journey to a dance minor. Along with her dance courses at ETSU, Courtney on the Mountain Movers Dance Company, and the ETSU dance group Amalgam. She has been introduced to the joys of modern dance at ETSU, as well as Aerial dance, which she instantly fell in love with. Courtney is also currently in the advanced aerial course at ETSU which is predominantly aerial silks, with some trapeze and lyra.
Rylie Miller
Former Angela Floyd Dance Student, Former Angela Floyd Dance Company, and AFS Instructor
Rylie is a graduate of West High School, Pellissippi State College and South College with a Bachelor of Health Science. Rylie is currently a Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Nicole Payne
Former Angela Floyd Schools Student And Angela Floyd Dance Company
Nicole is a graduate of Catholic High School and is currently in the Graduate Program at the University of Tennessee.
Olivia Monroe
Former Angela Floyd Schools Student And Angela Floyd Dance Company Member
Olivia began her dance career with Angela Floyd at a very young age. She held her final performance in 2013 as Dorthy in the ballet, THE WIZARD OF OZ.
Olivia is a former graduate of Bearden High School and the University of Tennessee. She is currently an interior designer at ELEVEN 18 Architecture in Orlando, Florida.
Katherine Gross
Former Angela Floyd Schools Student And Angela Floyd Dance Company Member
Katherine began her dance career with Angela Floyd as a preschooler and held her final performance in 2013 as the scarecrow in the ballet, THE WIZARD OF OZ.
Kat is a former graduate of Bearden High School and the University of Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN. She is currently teaching 1st grade with the Metro Nashville Public School system.
Demetria Peroulas
Former Angela Floyd Schools Student And Angela Floyd Dance Company Member
Demetria began her dance career at a very young age with Angela Floyd and held her final performance in 2013 as the lion in the ballet, THE WIZARD OF OZ.
Demetria is a graduate of Bearden High School and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She is currently attending the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy in Memphis, TN.
Katie Sullivan
Former Angela Floyd Schools Student, Angela Floyd Dance Company Member And Angela Floyd Dance Staff
Katie is a graduate of Farragut High School and studied at the University of Tennessee. She is currently the director and franchise owner of Neighborhood Barre in Farragut, TN.
Heather Vandyke
Former Angela Floyd Schools Student, Angela Floyd Dance Company And AFS Dance Staff
Heather is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and is currently attending the Graduate Program in the College of Social Work.
Morgan Lovelace
Former AFS Student And Angela Floyd Dance Company Member
Morgan is a graduate of Hardin Valley Academy – 2011. She is currently studying Education and Dental Hygiene at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Morgan has also been a member of UTC’s dance team for 2 years, and the Sigma Kappa Sorority. She was formerly on staff at Alicia’s School of Dance in Chattanooga, TN where she taught ballet, tap, jazz, tumbling, lyrical, and acro. Morgan was also a co-teacher in the gymnastics department.
Morgan is currently employed at Durham Orthodontics in Madison, Alabama.
Lindsey Ferrell Watson and Lauren Ferrell Bobrowski
Former Angela Floyd Schools Students and Angela Floyd Dance Company Members and Angela Floyd Dance Staff
The twins started training with Angela Floyd in elementary school and graduated from AFS and Farragut High School in 2004. Both Lindsey and Lauren are graduates of the University of Tennessee. Lindsey has a degree in Finance with a collateral in Accounting and he currently lives in Houston, TX. Lauren is still living in Knoxville and after receiving her degree in Psychology she went on to attend LMU and has a Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling.
Emily Holmes
Former Angela Floyd Schools Student And Angela Floyd Dance Company
Emily studied dance under the direction of Angela Floyd from her preschool years until graduation.
Adonia Moore Adams
Former Angela Floyd Schools Student, Angela Floyd Dance Company Member and Angela Floyd Dance Staff
Adonia studied under the direction of Angela Floyd beginning as a preschooler and until she graduated from Farragut High School in 2004. She is also a graduate of the University of Tennessee college of Engineering. She has gone on to develop amazing dancers of her own not only as a former AFS Instructor, but also as the head coach of the national award winning Farragut Schools Dance Teams in Knoxville.
Laura Hammer
Former Angela Floyd Schools Student And Angela Floyd Dance Company
Laura is a graduate of Farragut High School and the University of Tennessee. She is currently the manager of Altar’d State and living in Asheville, North Carolina
Lori Forrester Castiglia
Former Angela Floyd Schools Student And Angela Floyd Dance Company Member
Elizabeth Floyd Salasin
Former Angela Floyd Schools Student And Angela Floyd Dance Company Member
Elizabeth is a graduate of Catholic High School in Knoxville and the University of Tennessee. She is currently a physician recruiter at Centra Medical Group Nationwide and lives in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Amber Vandyke McKay
Former Angela Floyd Schools Student, Angela Floyd Dance Company And AFS Dance Staff
Amber studied at Pellissippi State Community College and is currently a Customer Service Representative at Advance Financial 24/7
Julie Mayo Ruddy
Former Angela Floyd Schools Student And Award Winning Gymnast
Julie studied dance under the direction of Angela Floyd from her preschool years until graduation.
Sarah Woods
Former Angela Floyd Schools Student And Angela Floyd Dance Company Member And Captain
Sarah studied under the direction of Angela Floyd from elementary school until her final performance in 2014. Sarah’s amazing style captured the audience with her role as URSULA the witch in the ballet, THE LITTLE MERMAID.
Since graduating Farragut High School in 2012, Sarah has been working towards her BFA in Dance. She spent her first year of college at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. There she was given the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Yoav Kaddar in his piece titled “Standing Tall,” and Keigwin+Company in their piece called “Bolero.” That following summer she moved to New York to participate in the Broadway Dance Center Summer Professional Semester. It allowed her to take classes from their esteemed faculty and learn about the professional side of the industry.
Sarah is a graduate of Pace University in New York and has a BFA in Commercial Dance. She continues to pursue her professional dance career in NYC.
Ashtain Rothchild
Former Angela Floyd Schools Student And Angela Floyd Dance Company Member And Captain
Toured: Japan from November 2013 – February 2014 with Hinton Battle American Variety Bang
Graduate: Webb School of Knoxville 2009 & Pace University 2013
McDonald Selznick Associates – Dancer New York, New York
Certified – Pure Barre Instructor, New York City
Touring Shows – Ashtain was formerly under contract as “Captain Marvel” in the US touring show Marvel Universe Live, she is appeared in the NYC show SHAKEN NOT STIRRED (Direct from Reno) The Music of James Bond. And toured as a performer in Seychelles, East Africa. In addition, Ashtain is a former instructor for “MIRROR” and Lululemon. She now hosts her very own fitness company. Check her out at https://www.ashtainrothchild.com.
Ashley Menestrina
Former Angela Floyd Schools Student And Angela Floyd Dance Company Member And Captain
Ashley started her training with Angela Floyd after moving to Knoxville in elementary school. She continued to train with her and her staff until she graduated from high school.
Ashley Menestrina currently is a freelance artist performing her own work around the United States.
She graduated with a BA in dance from Point Park University and has further studied with international companies such as Batsheva, LEV Dance Company, Hofesh Shechter Company, Luke Murphy: Attic Projects, and dancers from Peeping Tom. She has performed works by BARE Dance Company (Mike Esperanza), Dante Brown, Julia Ehrstrand, Alex Amirov, Brice Mousset, Shawn T. Bible, and Maleek Washington. Her self-choreographed solo, Always a Creature, has been seen at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, the CURRENT SESSIONS’, Peridance’s Salvatore Capezio Theater, Center for Performance Research, 14th Street Y, and the Hudson Guild Theater. Her newest work, The Human Condition: Absent Presence premiered at The Martha Graham Theater in NYC in April 2018. This solo made its debut on the West Coast in Los Angeles in October 2018 and will make its international debut in Mexico City in August 2019. Ashley is very excited to premier a new solo, which will serve as the second installment of “The Human Condition” platform in NYC in January 2019.
Graduate: – Farragut High School 2010 & Point Park University 2013
April Lazarus
Former Angela Floyd Schools Dance Student and Office Assistant
April Lazarus took dance under the instruction of Angela Floyd from 1992-2003. She worked at Angela Floyd School for the Dancer from 2001-2003. She received her bachelors in Child Development from the University of Tennessee. She earned her certification in Elementary Education and Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from Lincoln Memorial University. She now lives in Nashville, TN where she is finishing up her 6th year teaching elementary school.
Dr. Sarah Williams Smith
Former Angela Floyd Schools Student And Angela Floyd Dance Company Member
Sarah is a graduate of Webb School of Knoxville.
Dr. Smith, MD is a practicing Internist in Maryville, TN. She graduated from University of Kentucky College of Medicine in 2010 and has been in practice for 9 years. She completed a residency at University of Kentucky Medical Center. She has also been serving as a clinical professor for Lincoln Memorial University, DeBusk College of Medicine since 2016. Teaching patients, students and her community is her passion. Dr. Sarah has many other names here in Knoxville including: Wife, Mom to three, Daughter, Sister, Cousin, gardener, hiking and biking enthusiast.
Abby Stooksbury
Former Angela Floyd Schools Student, Angela Floyd Schools Dance Company And AFS Dance Staff
Mia Mencer Oxendine
Former Angela Floyd Schools Student, Angela Floyd Dance Company Member and Angela Floyd Dance Staff
Mia is currently a certified massage therapist at Heavenly Flower Massage in Knoxville, TN.
Diana Bundy Warner
Former Angela Floyd Student And Angel’s Kickline Member
dianawarnerstudio.com
Artist and jewelry designer Diana Warner has been creating art since her childhood in Tennessee.
In 2011, NBC-affiliate WBIR conducted an interview with Diana, on an episode of East Tennessee’s “Home Grown.” The feature chronicles the growth of Diana Warner from her Tennessee roots through 2011. Diana’s episode of “Home Grown” received such high ratings that it is still frequently aired.
Her designs have graced the red carpet at nearly every major award show and countless movie premieres. Her extensive client list from Blake Lively to Natasha Bedingfield, and appearances on hit TV shows such as ABC’s Nashville and all six seasons of the CW’s Gossip Girl, have made Diana’s designs highly sought after. Her jewelry can also be found on the pages of high end fashion magazines like Marie Claire and Lucky Magazine.
In 2012, Diana broke into the music world by creating jewelry lines for the legendary rock band STYX, singer/songwriter Hope Sonam, and country music superstars Tim Mcgraw and Faith Hill.
Diana has personally appeared on MTV Made, American Gypsy, Curvy Girls, and most recently touched millions with the story of her personal physical transformation on Ten Minute Trainer with Tony Horton.
The Diana Warner store was most recently featured on a new pilot starring America’s Next Top Model Whitney Thompson. Diana’s Jewelry was most recently featured in VOGUE Magazine’s Top 100 pieces under $100.00.