Faculty & Staff
Caroline Calouche - School Director, CC&DC Company Director, Faculty (She/Her) has taught contemporary dance, Pilates, Gyrokinesis and ballet at UNC Charlotte, Winthrop University, The Belmont School of Ballet, Gaston Dance Theatre and The School of North Carolina Dance Theatre. Her dance and fitness teaching background has allowed her to become a sought after aerial dance instructor. Not only has Caroline developed a safe method and syllabus of teaching Aerial Silk, Sling, Trapeze, Lyra, Corde Lisse and Spanish Web, she is able to teach students how to incorporate floor work with their apparatus to seamlessly move from the ground up and back again. With her strong anatomy and physiology background, Caroline focuses on proper alignment in the air and on the ground to prevent injury and promote efficient movement. Caroline’s aerial and dance training is diverse. In the air, she has worked with Juliana Hane, Nicole Merman, Elsie and Serenity Smith, Christine van Loo, Caroline Wright, Jamie Hodgson, Tanya Burka, Cheetah Platt, Kevin O’Connor, Allie Cooper, Nancy Smith and Susan Murphy. While on the ground, Caroline’s influential teachers range from Leah Cox (Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company), Elizabeth Corbett (Forsythe Composition), Libby Farr (Ballet), Andrew Harwood (Contact Improvisation), Fernando Bujones (Ballet), Elizabeth Gillaspy (Ballet), Susan Douglas Roberts (Contemporary), Brenda Daniels (Modern Dance) to name a few on an endless list of amazing teachers!
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Special Teaching Skills: Understands ADHD (she has ADHD too)
Carlos Alexis Cruz - Faculty (He/Him or Ellos) holds an MFA in Physical Theatre (2007) from the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre where he studied a range of movement techniques including Commedia dell’Arte, Laban, Lecoq-based theatre dynamics, Alexander Technique, as well as an extensive voice training in the Linklater voice method. As part of his thesis project, Cruz went on to train Circus Arts and Chinese Acrobatics under the tutelage of Master Coach Lu Yi at the San Francisco Circus Center. He specialized in the disciplines of Aerial Straps (Sangles Aériennes) and Acrobatic Rope(Corde Lise), and developed his thesis on the study of the convergence between Circus and Theatre. In the professional realm, he was a fulltime company member of the Do Jump! Dance Theatre, and Imago Theatre, touring nationally and internationally, and was awarded a Princess Grace Acting Fellowship prize in 2011 for his unique physical acting work with the Miracle Theatre Group, the premiere Latino Theatre Company in the Pacific Northwest. Cruz is the 2014 Arts and Science Council McColl Award winner with which he developed a community powered contemporary circus company/show, the Nouveau Sud project, from and about the city of Charlotte and the evolving concept of what is often referred to as the New South. The Nouveau Sud project had its debut production in April 2016, and it has been an ongoing initiative, with shows in 2017 and 2018.
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Languages: Fluent Spanish and conversational French
Sergii Kudriavtsev - Faculty is an accomplished acrobatic coach and circus artist specializing in Cyr Wheel and Aerial Straps. With a background in gymnastics starting at the age of 7, Sergii brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his teaching. He recently relocated from Ukraine to Europe and is eager to share his unique skills and insights with his students. Sergii's innovative approach to coaching aims to inspire and elevate the artistic and technical abilities of his students, helping them achieve their full potential.
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Languages: Fluent in Ukranian.
Jadia Rorie - Faculty (She/Her) is a certified aerial instructor with a diverse background in cheerleading and dance. She specializes in Sling, Lyra, and Silk, where she explores advanced concepts such as spin theory, momentum, and seamless transitions. Jadia began her dance journey at South Buffalo Dance Academy, mastering contemporary, ballet, and jazz styles. Her passion for combining technical precision with creative expression informs her teaching, aiming to inspire students to push their limits and develop their unique aerial skills. With a focus on both technique and artistry, Jadia is dedicated to fostering a dynamic and supportive learning environment for her students.​
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Languages: Fluent in Sign Language
Phillip McRorie - Faculty (He/Him) is a North Carolina based dance educator and artist living in the Charlotte-metro area instructing dancers in release-based modern techniques, ballet, and choreographic processes, as well as generating new works as an independent artist and guest choreographer.
Phillip began his dance training under the faculty of Appalachian State University and Western Carolina Youth Ballet/SG Dance Theatre, studying modern dance techniques, movement composition and improvisation, ballet, pointe, and jazz. Upon graduation, Phillip moved to Asheville, NC, to work with the Asheville Ballet and Terpsicorps Theater of Dance, as well as complete anatomy and bodywork training. While working with these companies, Phillip was able to continue his training in ballet techniques, choreograph and perform in new contemporary works, and assist with the instruction of school programs.
After relocating to Charlotte, Phillip began to pursue teaching more fully and has trained students of all ages in ballet, modern dance, choreography, conditioning, pointe, and jazz. In addition to his work as a teacher, Phillip has presented works at the Carolina Aerial and Dance Exchange and the Shadows Showcase by Bloom, performed in Caroline Calouche and Co’s annual “Clara’s Trip,” and furthered his knowledge in ballet pedagogy by completing teacher certifications in the Cecchetti method.
Currently, Phillip is pursuing the completion of his MFA in Choreography from Jacksonville University and instructing dancers around the Charlotte area.
Kim Melohn - Faculty (She/Her) is a multi-disciplinary circus performer and coach with a specialty in bending gravity to her will. She chooses to triumph over that overwhelming force via contortion and vertical apprarati. Ever since she learned how to climb fabric, in 2014, she has hardly been able to come out of the air. While living in the Chicago suburbs, Aloft Circus Arts was her circus home. There she worked with aerial and flexibility coaches: Hayley Larson, Natalie Abel, and Julie Marshall. In 2021 she started training full time at the renowned New England Center for Circus Arts, where she switched her focus to contortion under the guidance of Stephanie Abrams.
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As an adult sized child, Kim just wants to have fun and do cool stuff! To her that means big dynamic movements, death defying drops, intricate wraps, and splits for claps (ha that rhymes)! She enjoys creating high energy acts with a lot of personality and a healthy helping of corny humor.
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When this bendy babe doesn’t have her feet over her head, she enjoys spending time at home with her husband and their dogs. Their activities include but are not limited to eating food, watching reruns, and “attempting photosynthesis.”​
Nicole Muse-Dennis - Faculty (She/Her) Nicole has worked with CC&DC for the past 3 years. She loves working with the students and faculty at the center. Nicole is originally from Queens, New York where she began dancing at the age of 3. Nicole has studied tap, jazz, ballet, modern/contemporary, pointe, and African forms of dance. Nicole’s teaching and choreography first began as a teenager where she was given the opportunity to choreograph & instruct a class of her peers at her high school. Nicole continued this into college where she was the principal dancer and choreographer for the Association of Rhythmic Talent on the campus of Winston-Salem State University. Nicole also served as the assistant to the director of The Artistic Studio in Winston-Salem, NC. She taught for the Performing Arts Center in Charlotte, NC. Nicole’s resume is full of guest teaching tenures at studios, schools, churches, and workshops. Her performance experience includes theatrical dance performances including being cast as Mary in the National Black Repertory Theater’s production of the Black Nativity and Chris Thompson and the Cultural Ensemble. Nicole is the mother of two daughters. She is a licensed teacher for the State of North Carolina. Her passion is in helping dancers reach new heights by actualizing the beauty and power that they have in themselves.
​Kaila Rhyne - Faculty - Training Program Manager - Student Company Manager (She/Her) has been dancing for 26 years. She has studied various dance styles, including Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip-Hop, and Contemporary. She attended Winthrop University where she received her Bachelor’s in Dance Education. Kaila’s aerial journey began shortly after graduating college at Caroline Calouche & Co. She performed professionally with Caroline Calouche & Co. for many years, performing in shows such as Clara’s Trip, Star Gazer, and Rouge. While performing, Kaila also taught at Charlotte Cirque and Dance Center, teaching Silks, Trapeze, Acro and Partner Acro. After performing, Kaila began teaching at Northwestern High School, where she started and developed the dance program there. She taught at Northwestern High School for 5 years and is now teaching at Alexander Graham Middle School in Charlotte. While teaching at Northwestern, she was also teaching at a local Rock Hill studio called New Attitude Performing Arts Center. There she taught dance as well as took over the aerial program there. Kaila is excited to return to Charlotte Cirque and Dance Center to teach Hip-Hop and Silks 1! ​
Matthew Sanchez - Faculty (He/Him) A Bboy from the Bronx NY that now resides in Charlotte NC. His classes are made to get you moving, build confidence, pass history, and to give students a new form of expression. He's been breaking since 2009 when he found his first community of dancers. He had rocked the floor before but it wasn’t until he met his first mentor that he learned the culture behind the dance. As he got older, he went on to compete, perform, and share the floor with amazing dancers across the country and even across the globe. In his journey, he found that sharing my love for the dance was just as exciting as the days when he first learned. So now his goal is to share that same feeling with the future bboys and bgirls of the world.
Sarah Small - Faculty (She/Her) has been performing with Caroline Calouche & Co. and teaching with Charlotte Cirque and Dance Center and others in the Charlotte area since 2012. Over the last decade, she has taken workshops from Tanya Burka, Susan Murphy, Amy Ell, and others from NECCA. She also attended Central Piedmont Community College for Dance Performance, taking ballet and modern dance instruction from Clay Daniel, Tracy Chan, and Katherine Horne and has taken dance workshops with Maria Caruso of La Roche University and the Bodiography dance company. Sarah started working with Elevate in 2015, traveling around the southeast to perform for corporate and private events on Silks, Sling, Trapeze, Lyra, Lollipop Lyra, and Stilts. She loves performing, sharing her love of aerial arts, and snuggling with her two cats.
Alex White - Faculty (He/Him) Originally from the south Bronx of New York City, Alex White is a Broadway World winning choreographer currently residing in Charlotte, North Carolina. Whether dancing in movies, commercials, creative directing photo shoots, being the assistant brand stylist to stars such as Lizzo and Bad Bunny, or executive producing variety shows. Artistic story telling is his passion. The former dance captain for the Charlotte Hornets got his start on Broadway, as an ensemble cast member of Monty Python’s Spamalot. Alex started his formal dance training at the age of 19, in the styles of Jazz, Modern, Hip Hop and West African. In addition to touring the east coast with the Mary J. Blidge Tribute band, Alex also throughly enjoys teaching in the public school system. Through Alex White Productions Alex has produced commercials, tours and live international shows but producing a new light in a young heart is truly his biggest accolade. Reputable companies include Coca-Cola, Target, Chicago, We are Hip Hop, Alvin and the Chipmunks, For the Love of Harlem, Petey Pablo, and Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child just to name a few.
Assistants
Maya Anavim
Mahalia Esposito
Sara Kellam
Sophia Maggio
Hanna Atkinson - Production Manager (She/Her) is excited to join Caroline Calouche & Co. and the Charlotte Cirque & Dance Center as production manager. She has previously worked with Caroline Calouche & Co. as the calling stage manager for its 2023 production of Clara’s Trip and is looking forward to joining the company for its full 2024-2025 season. Hanna is a Charlotte native and attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she received degrees in Theater Design & Technical Production and Business Administration. Trained as a stage manager & theater electrician, she has worked with a variety of theater, dance, and opera companies across the country. Most recently she has worked with Toledo Opera, Opera Carolina, and the Chautauqua Opera Company & Conservatory.
When not backstage, you can find her spending time outdoors or with her nose in a good book!
Production
Valerie Wheeler - Stage Manager (She/Her) has served as a Production Stage Manager at opera companies and festivals across the US, including New York City Opera, Portland Opera, Opera Carolina, Toledo Opera, Opera Grand Rapids, Wichita Grand Opera, Wolf Trap Opera Company, Opera Cleveland, University of Southern California/Thornton Opera, Opera Santa Barbara and Chautauqua Opera. With over 25 years of experience in the field, among her additional roles and credits, she served as Production Manager for the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival from 2010-2017.
