HOLY CITY DANCE CENTER
CHARLESTON'S MOST ELITE DANCE EXPERIENCE
Meet Our Staff
Morgan Bennett
Morgan Bennett is originally from Boston and has been a part of the dance world since she was 2 years old. She found her love of dance through her aunt who owns her own studio in the Boston area. Her love for competitive dance began at the age of 7. The rush of the competition experience excited her from day one and she performed her first
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tap solo at the age of 8. Continuing with the experience of competition, she also dove head first into the competitive cheer world for most of her teen years. There she was able to compete locally as well as across the country. This helped her further her confidence on stage in front of thousands of spectators. She eventually came back full circle her senior year in high school, doing just competitive dance.
Morgan attended Dean College receiving her BA in Dance and her AA in Sports Fitness/Exercise Science. Her training at Dean College consisted of ballet, modern, contemporary, tap, and jazz. Though her time at Dean confirmed her love for dance, she found a new love in working with the athletic trainer of the dance program. She was able to learn how to help each dancer better themselves and help get the dancers stronger to do the rigorous schedule of a college dance major. Morgan has always had an interest in how the body moves and works especially for people in the arts. She is currently working on receiving her Personal Trainer certification and is working towards going to grad school for Physical Therapy.
Throughout her time at Dean she was on the performance team for Sophisticated Productions, performed with the Impact Dance Company, and joined the Boston Tap Company. Morgan never quite saw herself as a teacher but learning a lot through the Boston Tap Company inspired her to try it out. She taught master classes after graduating college and found her love for teaching. She had the pleasure of teaching classes at a variety of studios in the greater Boston area prior to moving to Charleston in 2020. She is currently a part of the local tap company Holy City Hotfoot. Morgan’s favorite part of teaching is seeing her students succeed and her pieces come to life on stage.
Maya Everett-Wilson
Maya Everett-Wilson is originally from Boston Massachusetts. She has been dancing from the age of two in styles ranging from ballet, contemporary, jazz, ballroom, and many more. Maya is a senior dance major at the College of Charleston with a concentration in performance and choreography and a minor in women and gender studies. She started
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teaching at the age of 14 and recently choreographed in CofC’s spring show. Involved with many different dance companies she is very immersed in the Charleston dance scene. Maya is very exited to be at HCDC!
Izzy Byers
Izzy Byers, originally from Greenville, SC, has been living and dancing in Charleston for four years now. At six years old, she started dancing and training at a competitive level and soon found her favorite styles to be contemporary and hip hop. She continued her dance training in the classical styles of Modern and Ballet as well as
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dancing in musicals at the local professional theatre while she was in high school. College of Charleston gave her the opportunity to major in Dance, perform, and present choreography in main stage shows as well as the American College Dance Association annual conference. Recently, Izzy performed her Capstone work from her undergraduate studies at the Alumni Concert presented through the Spoleto Festival. As her chapter of performing comes to a close, Izzy has found a true passion for teaching over the last three years at local dance studios. Helping kids build their confidence, passion, and artistry through dance is her mission in every class she has the opportunity to teach. Izzy is excited and grateful to join the team at Holy City Dance Center and can’t wait to watch her students shine!
Kelley Denton
Kelly Denton received her initial pre-professional ballet training at the affiliate school of Atlanta Ballet, during which time she had the opportunity to dance in John McFall’s Nutcracker and receive instruction from such notable teachers as Carol Szkutek, Robert Barnett, and Ruth Mitchell. Kelly furthered her studies at Georgia School of Performing Arts in the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus under certified teacher Perry James;
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she was later introduced to the French method of classical dance by Christine Fehr at Ballet North, where Kelly danced the title role in Cinderella. She received additional coaching at Ballet McCaffery from directors Masayo and Steven McCaffery and has also been awarded scholarships to summer intensives at Texas Ballet Theater and Festival Ballet Providence.
Kelly performed in various ballets while a dancer with Kentucky Ballet Theatre and Carolina Ballet Theatre before pursuing her studies in dance pedagogy. She has completed various courses with Classical Dance Alliance under Janet Springer and also with The Conservatory of Classical Ballet under Peggy-Willis Aarnio; through both organizations, Kelly has studied the method of teaching classical dance developed by Agrippina Vaganova and her protégé Vera Kostrovitskaya. She holds additional teaching certifications in Pilates as well as “Vaganova Method, Pre-Ballet” by Bolshoi Ballet Academy and has completed all levels of Giordano Technique Training under Nan Giordano. Kelly continues to expand her knowledge as a teacher, aiming to provide her students with the best dance education possible. She is excited to be joining Holy City Dance Center as ballet teacher in its premiere season.