Our Instructors
ALLY PELTON
Ally Pelton’s passion for the art of dance and her dedication to excellence are woven into the foundation of Seaside Dance. Establishing Seaside Dance was an opportunity for Ally to give back to her community, while training and changing the lives of the next generation of dancers.
Ally has extensive training and professional experience in the world of dance. This experience has taken her around the country to train with many high profile choreographers as well as some of the most prestigious dance studios in the world.
Ally spent multiple summers with the American Ballet Theatre. While living in Nashville, she joined a prestigious and competitive studio, where she performed in multiple shows, competitions and events in the Midwest and the East Coast.
She has performed in multiple music videos for various artists, including Country artist Danielle Bradbery. She continued intense training in California and also trained in New York City in precision tap and jazz with the Radio City Rockettes. Ally was also a part of an NDA multi-National Championship team. Ally is disciplined in several genres of dance, including Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Hip-Hop, Contemporary, and ACRO.
She is excited to bring SeaSide Dance to Southport and surrounding areas!
With a background in Dance since her toddler years, Donna has experience in many facets of the dance world. Tap has always been top focus, with Modern and Jazz following. New York City Masterclass training and a dance major at Rutgers University led her to placement in an off-Broadway Tap Dance Company, and several performances in Equity and non-Equity Summer stock theater productions. She took a break to get married, raise a family and start the business of Interior Design. “Once in the Arts, always in the Arts!” Donna stayed engaged with Dance in one form or another over the years and has happily returned to teaching.
She lives in Southport with her husband and is honored to be a part of the SeaSide Dance faculty. She currently performs with Forward Motion Dance Company in. their yearly Thalian Hall benefit.
DONNA GONZALES
GABRIELLE SHERMAN
Coach Gabby has danced her entire life and has dedicated more than half of it teaching and choreographing on a recreation and competitive level.
She has spent the last eight years in St. Louis, MO focusing on Early Education and helping grow and build several programs, as well as her own and directing her own programs.
She has a vast experience including assistant choreography for KidzBop, choreography featured on Dance Moms, and is currently working with NexStar National Dance Competition - a DanceOne affiliate.
HALEY HAYES BOLTON
Haley joins Seaside Dance after a career as an adjunct professor at Wofford College and professional choreographer and instructor in Spartanburg, SC. She is no stranger to the area, having taught at Southport's beloved On My Toes in the early 2010's, directing the Nutcracker and teaching children throughout the community. Her family and career moved her to Spartanburg where she taught theatre and dance at Wofford, choreographing Cabaret and teaching stage jazz, tap, ballet, and lyrical. She choreographed large-production shows for Spartanburg Little Theatre, including 9-5 The Musical, The King and I, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Disney's The Little Mermaid, and Mamma Mia, for which she was nominated for the upstate's best choreographer. She taught ballet and pointe for Ballet Spartanburg's pre-professional division as well as tap, jazz, lyrical, musical theatre, and ballet for the school's recreational students and choreographed for the professional company. She has a BA in Dance Performance and Choreography and nearly 20 years experience teaching students of a broad range of age and ability. Her students have danced professionally, performed on Broadway, danced on college dance teams, taught dance themselves, or moved on to completely different careers and lifestyles. Her hope is that the variety of lessons learned through taking dance classes will have a valuable, lasting impact on how her students interpret the world and live their lives outside the studio. She is thrilled to be a part of Seaside Dance since its inaugural year and looks forward to watching the studio flourish for many years to come!
Kelly began dancing in Illinois where she trained in ballet, tap, jazz and contemporary. She joined a competitive dance company that gave her the opportunity to travel and perform in various competitions, shows and events around the Midwest. Kelly is a graduate of the University of Iowa, where she continued her dance training and spent a semester working for Walt Disney World Entertainment.
Kelly received her Master’s Degree in School Counseling from Stetson University. She has taught recreational and competitive dance in the Charlotte area for 15 years to both children and adults, and has received top awards for her choreography at NC competitions. She has also enjoyed choreographing several area school musicals.
Kelly is a certified expert yoga instructor through Yoga Allicance, certified Zumba instructor and group fitness instructor through AFAA. She owns the Balance Boutique in Southport and is excited to be part of the Seaside Dance community.
KELLY MULLER
Lindsey Hanna
Lindsey began dancing at the age of 3 in Charleston, West Virginia. She later moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania at the age of 11 to train at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet in their pre-professional ballet program under the direction of Marcia Dale Weary. While a student at CPYB, she performed in many productions, including Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker , Serenade, Giselle, Swan Lake and others. She attended many summer programs with some including School of American Ballet and American Ballet Theatre in New York City. She has studied under many profound instructors, including David Howard, Katrina Killian, Sheryl Ware, Kevin Mackenzie, Johnathan Stafford, Susan Jaffe, Suki Schorer, and Adam Hendrickson. She was a guest performer at studios in both Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Lindsey has taught master classes and ballet technique at various studios and choreographed many performance pieces for Greenbrier Dance Academy in West Virginia. She specializes in classical ballet, technique and pointe classes.
She is excited to be joining the staff at SeaSide Dance and looks forward to implementing the art of ballet into the local community.
MACKENZIE BOLT
Mackenzie began her dance journey at 2 years of age, showcasing her passion and talent at a very young age. She begin competing at the age of 5 in New Jersey, where her love for dance truly flourished. Moving to North Carolina in 2007, she continued her competitive career at various local studios. At the age of 14, she discovered her passion for teaching and found joy in nurturing her students and creating a supportive environment where everyone felt valued. In 2013, she transitioned to a studio in Wilmington, NC where she trained until her high school graduation, also serving as captain of her high school dance team during her senior year.
Her extensive training includes various genres such as tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, contemporary, lyrical, musical theatre, hip hop and pom, with hip hop, pom and contemporary being her favorites. Mackenzie also participated in pom and hip hop classes at UDA Dance Camps at Wake Forest University during her high school career, further honing her skills.
Passionate about fostering a love for dance in her students, she is excited for the upcoming season and eager to witness the growth of each dancer under her instruction.
MEGAN WELLS
Megan has danced over half of her lifetime in both the recreational and competitive world. This has fostered a deep understanding of both dance technique and dance performance. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication and a Minor in Dance from Appalachian State University. She is well-versed in Classical Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Jazz, Contemporary, Modern, Interpretive, Hip-Hop, Tap, Clogging and Irish Step Dance.
Megan is very excited to join the staff at SeaSide Dance, but she is no stranger to the area. She grew up in Oak Island, where she began her dance training locally. She was a key component to both South Brunswick’s dance team and her collegiate dance teams. She is a multi-award and overall high school winner at numerous competitions. Megan holds past titles of Miss Dance North Carolina, best all around dancer and most dedicated dancer and has auditioned for movies and has been featured in many pieces including “A Cinderella Story”, “Phantom of the Opera” and Wilmngton’s “Dancelourous” festival.
Megan joined the Wilmington School of Ballet landing lead roles in “The NUtcracker” including lead Arabian, lead Chinese, lead Russian, lead mouse and Harlequin doll. Megan has trained with the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and attended numerous master classes and conventions throughout the country. She has studied under famous names such as Misha Tchoupakov, Ashley Canterna, Jerry Rose, Loree Russeau, Barry Youngblood, Mary Beth Hansohn, Sonya Tayeh, Joey Tarwater, Tyce Diorio, Lacey Schwimmer, Travis Wall and Stpehen “Twitch” Boss to name a few. After years of training, Megan took time to start a career was a News Producer for WECT, marry her high school sweetheart and start a family. Brian and Megan share two beautiful children together, Audrey and Noah. She is excited to step back into the dance world and share her love and commitment to the art right here with us!
STACEY BOSTWICK
Stacey joins our team from New York! She has been dancing since she was a young child, and has a strong love for Ballet. As an adult, for 13 years, she performed The Nutcracker as a “Snowflake” at the beautiful St. George Theatre located in Staten Island, NY.
She is a professional Sign Language interpreter, and has a passion for performing music in Sign. Stacey believes that creative movement has the ability to heal the mind and body. Through dance, we are able to better channel our emotions and release what no longer serves us, while welcoming joy and inspiration into our lives. She looks forward to introducing our youngest students to the power of creative movement, so as they grow, they can conquer anything!
“Dance has the ability to change your life, build your confidence and transform your spirit. Allow music to move through your being, and leave it all on the dance floor.”
TAMMIE FISH
We are so excited to welcome Tammie to SeaSide Dance! She has 30 years of experience teaching Tumbling/ACRO, and has choreographed many ACRO routines for competitions and won many overall awards.
She owned her own studio, called Dance and Tumble Creations in Kernersville, NC for 14 years. She is currently the Tumbling Director at Hunter’s Dance in Garner. She has been there for 14 years.
TINA LEAK
Tina began her show business career as a Radio City Music Hall Rockette & completed it as a backup dancer for PINK. She has performed on stage in theatres throughout the entire U.S. and 14 countries, working with such notables as: Maurice & Gregory Hines, Ben Vereen, Mercedes Ellington, Gregg Burge, JudithJamison, David Cassidy, Randy Skinner & Muhammad Ali. She was a member of both the national & international touring companies of Balletap USA and DancEllington; a featured dancer at the Chinese New Year Celebration, Hong Kong Arts Festival, American Billboard Music Awards and in commercials for Honda Motorcycles, Sapporo Beer, Pepsi & Diet Pepsi. Choreography experience spans competitions, musical theatre, television, cruise ships & Super Bowl XXXII Halftime Show. She is listed in Who’s Who in Dance; has been awarded the American Dance Achievement Award, Reach Out Touch a Youth Award; Radio City Music Hall Rockette Showmanship Award; Wilmington Theatre Awards & numerous awards for Best Choreography.
After retiring in 1999 as featured showgirl in Spellbound Las Vegas, Tina joined MGM-Mirage Corporation as Director of VIP Marketing & Sales for Nightclubs & Entertainment. Since moving to Wilmington, Tina has served on the Board of Trustees for Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts; the Board of Directors for Thalian Association Community Theatre and as Executive Producer for Opera House Theatre Company. She has created Community Outreach Programs; aligned theatre curriculums with The National Standards for Arts Education, Essential / Common Core Standards & created more than 30 Teacher Resource Guides and Lesson Plans for musicals and plays. As Executive Producer for Opera House Theatre Company, she handled Donor Development, Sponsor Partnerships & Grant writing. Tina has served as co-chair for the Landfall Foundation Grants Committee and as a grant panelist with the South Arts Organization, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, supporting artists and organizations throughout nine southern states. Currently she is the Director and Choreographer for a Senior Citizen Dance Troupe “The Hi-Steppers” and a member of the Radio City Rockets Legacy.
TONY GRAVELY
We are so excited to welcome UFC Veteran, Tony Gravely to SeaSide Dance! Train one-on-one with a fighter who’s lived the grind from high school mats to the UFC octagon.
Tony has the following creditials:
UFC Veteran (2x Performance Bonus Winner)
25+ years of Martial Arts training
20+ years of Wrestling
Tae Kwon Do Black Belt
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Purple Belt
15+ years of teaching wrestling and martial arts
10+ years of teaching fitness class
Tony teaches a group fitness class ~ Combat Fitness ~ at the studio. He is also a certified personal trainer and can work with you one-on-one to get in the best shape of your life! Wrestling privates are also available for young wrestlers, as well as high school and college wrestlers - both male and female.
TUCKER NANCE
Tucker has been a competitive dancer since the age of 8. He began his training at a competitive studio, Performance Edge 2, in Boca Raton, Florida. The owner, Ricardo Pena, has been at the forefront of his training. Throughout his training, he has traveled all over the country to learn from world renowned choreographers. He dances in various genres, including Contemporary, Modern, Jazz, Ballet, Lyrical and Tap.
After graduating high school and moving on from his home dance studio, he decided to take his training to a collegiate level. He got offers from schools all over the country resulting in over $300,000 in scholarships. He chose to take advantage of the scholarship he was awarded from The University of Arizona. Since being at the university as a freshman, he has been casted to perform in works like “Diversion of Angels” as the Redman, choreographed by Martha Graham, and “Sombrerisimo” choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. He is furthering his training in modern, jazz and ballet and is learning everyday about what dance has to offer. He offers a lot of insight in not only the competitive side of dance, but in the professional side of dance.