Meet The Team
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Ashley Davis
Competition Team Director
Ashley began dancing at the age of 3 at Creative Dance Center. Throughout her dance career she was trained by many talented and respected choreographers and teachers, to include Tokyo, and Mitchell Kelley. Upon graduating in 2009, she became a as choreographer and teacher at Creative Dance Center in Chantilly, Virginia. While there she choreographed numerous award winning dances many of which won national recognition. In 2016, Ashley moved to Axis Centre for Dance Education in Chantilly, Virginia, where she took the position of Competition Team Director, as well as continuing to choreograph. Since that time, her choreography has taken numerous first place titles across a wide array of competition platforms nation wide. For 10 years, Ashley has taught all ages and levels at various studios. She currently choreographs for ZD dance. Academy’s Competition Team in Landover, MD. Additionally, her choreography has won accolades throughout the DC, Maryland & Virginia area as well as Ohio, Disney World and the Bahamas. Back in 2018 Ashley and Amber were awarded the Technique award and First Overall at Turn It Up Dance Challenge for their Jazz piece “Sexy silk”. Ashley and her studio Axis Dance just Attended their season 2 Nationals where she and her twin sisters’ choreography was awarded many top ranking scores and first overalls in a variety of divisions. Recently her Co- Choreographer (Amber McAtee) and she attended their first Starpower “ Battle on The Seas” where they were awarded First Overall and the choreography award for their Teen/Sr Lyrical piece “Seasons” where this same piece was awarded first overall and was invited to re-compete in the Starquest Classic Dance-Off where they were awarded “The Grand Championship”. She has also attended “Worlds” where she and her team took second place in the Meadowlands, NJ back in 2014 for her choreographed routine “Sassy”. Her choreography has won her many accolades, such as: best choreography, most entertaining routine, and top scores at both regional and national competitions. Ms. Ashley hopes to continue to share her love of dance with her students, and above all, she believes that dance should be fun and accessible to all.
Emma Lawson
Emma started dancing at age five at a local studio and earned a place on the competition team at age ten. She competed in jazz, lyrical, tap, musical theater, and pom. She attended Christopher Newport University to pursue a degree in mathematics and earn a minor in dance. Emma was a member of the CNU Silver Storm Dance Team for all four years and a captain for two years. As captain, she choreographed routines for sidelines as well as football and basketball halftimes. Emma has studied under Heidi Schultz, Ashley White, Mark Goodman, Jaimie Goodwin, Caroline Lewis, Nicole Snelson, Tokyo, Alisha Captain, and more. Emma twice created award-winning choreography for the Silver Storm at regional competitions. Her contemporary piece, “The Wanting, ” was featured in CNU’s spring dance recital “A Delicate Balance, 2012.” She was one of six student choreographers to earn a space in that program. Since college, Emma has choreographed for studios in Northern Virginia. Her choreography has won many awards and is ranked both regionally and nationally. Emma is currently a high school math teacher at Robinson Secondary School where she is also the head coach for the Robinson Dance Team.
Amber McAtee
Amber began dancing at the age of 3 at Creative Dance Center. Throughout her dance career she was trained by many talented and respected choreographers and teachers, to include Tokyo, and Mitchell Kelley. Upon graduating in 2009, she became a as choreographer and teacher at Creative Dance Center in Chantilly, Virginia. While there she choreographed numerous award winning dances many of which won national recognition. In 2016, Amber moved to Axis Centre for Dance Education in Chantilly, Virginia, where she took the position of Competition Team Director, as well as continuing to choreograph. Since that time, her choreography has taken numerous first place titles across a wide array of competition platforms nation wide. For 9 years, Amber has taught all ages and levels at various studios. She currently choreographs for ZD dance. Academy’s Competition Team in Landover, MD. Additionally, her choreography has won accolades throughout the DC, Maryland & Virginia area as well as Ohio, Disney World and the Bahamas. Back in 2018 Amber along with with her twin sister Ashley were awarded the Technique award and First Overall at Turn It Up Dance Challenge for their Jazz piece “Sexy silk”. Amber and her studio Axis Dance just Attended their season 2 Nationals where she and her twin sisters’ choreography was awarded many top ranking scores and first overalls in a variety of divisions. Recently her Co- Choreographer (Ashley Davis) and she attended their first Starpower “ Battle on The Seas” where they were awarded First Overall and the choreography award for their Teen/Sr Lyrical piece “Seasons” where this same piece was awarded first overall and was invited to re-compete in the Starquest Classic Dance-Off where they were awarded “The Grand Championship”. Ms. Amber hopes to continue to share her love of dance with her students, and above all, she believes that dance should be fun and accessible to all.
Michelle Bishop
Michelle is a Northern Virginia native who has trained in Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Lyrical, Tap, Musical Theatre, Hip-Hop, and Pom. She began dancing at the age of six and has competed all over the east coast with local studios receiving multiple awards for her performances in groups, productions, and duo/trios. Her first place winning solo performances earned her many scholarships while she was competing as well. Michelle graduated in 2011 as a member of the Lake Braddock Lady Bruin high school dance team where she received training from UDA (Universal Dance Association) and NDA (National Dance Alliance) staff. She has received intense training from and worked alongside multiple remarkable choreographers and teachers such as Roberta Dale, Chris Suchan, Johnna & Colette DeGrasse, Rasta Thomas, Sheryl Olecheck, Tokyo, Alisha Captain, Mitchell Kelly and much more. Michelle graduated from George Mason University where she earned a B.S. in Integrative Studies with a concentration in Natural Science Education. During her time at GMU she continued to study dance working towards a minor in Dance Appreciation and participating in dance workshops open to all students. Michelle began teaching dance in 2013 and has worked with children and adults of all ages and levels, she has taught and choreographed routines in the styles of Tap, Jazz, Open, Pom, Hip-Hop, and Lyrical. Michelle’s students and routines have received multiple choreography, technique, performance, overall, and first place awards at the regional and national levels in all categories and divisions. Most notably, in 2018 “Runaway Babies” placed first overall at all regional and national competitions making it undefeated for the dance season, in 2018 “Miss Jackson” received the Woodbridge Regional Platinum Power award, and in 2019 “The Chain” was invited to re-compete at the Sandusky VIP Dance Challenge Nationals Dance Battle where it won third place overall. Michelle continues to learn and grow through her craft and is motivated by her love for dance, the arts, and her students. While working at The Axis she also teaches at ZD Dance Academy in Landover, Maryland and assistant coaches the Dance Team at Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax, VA.
Corey Norwood
Corey Norwood has been dancing and teaching dance for numerous years. Throughout the years, he has enjoyed dancing the roles as the prince and king in “The Nutcracker” as well as the king in “Alice in Wonderland”. He grew up in the competition dance world attending nationals, conventions, worlds, and dance pageants while earning many titles and overall wins. Corey attended Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) for Dance and Choreography and has continued teaching dance ever since. Corey Norwood has trained in many styles including: Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary and Modern dance.
Veronica Plys
Veronica Plys is from Chicago and began her classical ballet training at Midwest Ballet Theatre. She continued her dance education at the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago as a trainee, and completed her BFA in Dance from Mercyhurst University. While studying for her degree, Veronica danced with Mercyhurst Ballet Theatre, SoMar Dance Works, and Lake Erie Ballet. After graduating, she danced with Manassas Ballet Theatre, Ad Deum Dance Company, and Ballet North Texas where she performed both classical and contemporary repertoires. Veronica enjoys teaching and choreographing in a variety of dance styles; her choreography was showcased at the Mercyhurst Performing Arts Center, the American College Dance Festival, and the Glenda Brown Choreography Project. Currently, she teaches ballet and performs with Manassas Ballet Theatre.
Office Team
Amanda Surface
Michelle Langley
Cindy
Crum
Our Story
Ryan Schaffer
CFO
Maximus
DOG
Get to Know Us
Kayce Schaffer received her classical ballet training from a myriad of accomplished teachers, including Dawei Zhang, a former member of the Shanghai Ballet who coached Rasta Thomas and others to the top prizes in international ballet competitions. She has also trained in pointe, jazz, lyrical, tap, hip hop, ballroom and musical theater and has been featured in a multitude of productions. She has danced practically every role in "The Nutcracker", including 'Fritz' at age 13 and the 'Sugar Plum Fairy' at age 17. Highlights of her musical theater career include 'Winthrop' in "The Music Man", and "Cassie" in "A Chorus Line". Kayce highly enjoys being a featured dancer/dance captain and/or choreographer for a show. A few of her favorites have been: "Pippin", "Aida", "The Pajama Game", "Kiss Me, Kate", "Victor/Victoria" and "Me and My Girl". She was invited to be part of the Broadway Theatre Project where she studied with Desmond Richardson, Ben Vereen and Ann Reinking. Along with having fantastic teachers growing up, a summer spent with BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio really shaped how Kayce views teaching. She believes in strong technique that works with the body's natural alignment in order to avoid injury and promote a healthy mind and body. Kayce was the Studio Manager of Joy of Motion Dance Center, Bethesda for many years. She has been passing along her love of dance by teaching and choreographing in the Metro DC area for the past 20 years.
Ryan Schaffer fell in love with theater in middle school, though started to be serious about the arts in high school where he was the president of his drama club and the Northern Virginia Representative for the International Thespian Society as well as performing in every show staged from his freshman to senior years including 'Billy' in "Anything Goes" and many other leading roles. He was also in show choir where he competed in many competitions. Continuing his love for theatre, he went to VCU to continue his study of the arts. Once out of college, he came back to his Northern Virginia roots. An accomplished singer, Ryan's favorite roles include 'Seymour' in "Little Shop of Horrors", 'Joseph' in "Joseph...Technicolor Dreamcoat", 'Snoopy' in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown", 'Bill' in "Me and My Girl" and many many more. Perhaps his most humorous moment was when he was cast as 'Troy' (a 16 year old) in "High School Musical" at the ripe old age of 32. His day jobs have included being the Regional Manager for a financial company and the CFO for a home improvement company. In his spare time he is a volunteer firefighter.
Combined, Ryan and Kayce have been in over 25 professional musical theater productions but perhaps their favorite show was when they met and fell in love during their production of "Show Boat". Kayce played the comedic lead 'Ellie' to her future husband's 'Frank'. Over 12 years of marriage and 2 amazing kids later, they have a strong desire to continue to make the arts a part of their lives.