Bonnie and Wesley Smith: Owners
Bonnie and Wesley became part of the Northwestern Family in 2019 and became owners in October of 2021. Their daughter Avery, has been dancing for thirteen years. The Smith family has been an active part of a dance studio and competition dance during those years.

Bonnie and Wesley are native to North Carolina, having grown up in Rutherford County and living in Cleveland County for fifteen years before coming to the High Country. They are a dance family who loves to see others excel and enjoy dance.

“We are excited for the opportunity to be the owners of this great studio. The awesome instruction and family atmosphere are what brought us to Northwestern. It is our hope to continue to carry on the great legacy that has been left here. We’re thankful for each dancer, family and instructor that make up our Northwestern family!”

Avery Smith, Artistic and STARZ Team Director
Avery fell in love with dance at a very young age and never stopped. She has been dancing since age 5 and has been a competitive dancer for over 10 years. Avery has trained and performed in many styles of dance. Her favorites are lyrical and Jazz. Through the years she has been very active in her dance studios with classes, assisting peers and younger students, teaching, choreography and helping with competitions. Avery earned many awards during her years of dancing. She has won regional titles. Judge’s and Choreography awards, scholarships, earned many high overall placements and national honors. Avery came to Northwestern in 2019 as a high school student. She graduated from Watauga High School and now attends Appalachian State University, majoring in Dance Studies.

Stacey Trivett: Head Instructor, Co-founder ME & U, Curriculum Developer
Ms. Stacey began her dance training in northeastern North Carolina. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in Dance with minors in Music and Education from Lees-McRae College. She has taught Ballet, Tap, Clogging, and Social Dance at Mountcastle School of Dance, Lees-McRae College, Crossnore Academy, Avery and Watauga County schools, Grandfather Mountain Home for Children, and the North Carolina Clogging Association. Ms. Stacey has participated in musical theatre productions as a dancer, dance captain, and assistant choreographer at Gallery Theatre in Ahoskie, NC, Lees-McRae Summer Theatre, and Blue Ridge Community Theatre. Ms. Stacey spent 18 years on the Performing Arts Faculty at Lees-McRae College and is currently still directing the LMC summer program Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA). Ms. Stacey is also the Music Director and a Children’s Minister at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Banner Elk, NC. Ms. Stacey has taught at Northwestern Studios for over 20 years(!) and teaches Creative Movement, Ballet, and Tap.

CYNTHIA HARLESS: Head Instructor, Co-founder ME & U, Curriculum Developer
Ms. Cynthia began dancing in northwestern North Carolina at a young age. She has trained in many styles of dance including ballet, tap, jazz, modern, clogging, hip hop, and gymnastics. Ms. Cynthia attended North Carolina Governor's School in the area of dance as a sophomore in high school. She applied her dance and gymnastics abilities to cheer competitively throughout high school and into college, later going on to coach high school cheerleading. Ms. Cynthia has taught gymnastics with her former instructor and she also enjoys choreographing and performing with the Ashe County Little Theatre. Ms. Cynthia teaches reading at her childhood elementary school and is has taught at NWS for 4+ where she teaches tumbling for dancers. She is delighted to share her passion for dance with her two little girls and enjoys dancing through life with her husband.

Jana Greer: Head Instructor, Co-founder ME & U, Curriculum Developer
Ms. Jana began studying dance at Flagler School of Dance in Florida focusing on Ballet, Jazz, and Tap. During this time she had special appearances with Daytona’s Civic Ballet and Dance Alive. She spent three summers training with Ballet Magnificat. She continued her dance studies at Appalachian State University while pursuing a degree in music. After graduation she moved to NYC and taught at Dance Source Studio in Queens. She now resides in the high country and enjoys watching her children grow at Northwestern Studios. Ms. Jana is a certified Montessori Guide for Birth-3. She is also the Logistic Coordinator for The Land of Oz. Ms. Jana enjoys teaching music at a local preschool and leads the children’s choir at her church. Ms. Jana has been a part of the NWS team for 5+ years and teaches Creative Movement, Ballet, and Tap.

Caroline Friend: Head Instructor and ACD Director

Caroline grew up in Holly Springs, North Carolina where she studied under Marilyn Chappell at Holly Springs School of Dance. She has trained in ballet, jazz, modern, contemporary, and pointe techniques for many years. She also has attended summer intensive programs at The Rock School for Dance and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA, as well as with the David Dorfman Dance Company at Ohio University. She began teaching when she was 16 and has taught classes of all styles from ages 3- adult. Caroline is now a senior at Appalachian State University pursuing a BA in Dance Studies with a minor in Psychology and will graduate in December 2022. She is teaching our Contemporary, Jazz and Ballet classes.

Logan Jones: Head Instructor
Logan is from Wallace, North Carolina. She started dancing at the age of 2 and competing at the age of 6 with Dance Express Performing Arts Center in Wilmington, NC. She has trained in many different styles (contemporary, modern, clogging, lyrical, jazz, Latin styles, etc.) but she specializes in Hip Hop. Currently, she is pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work with a Minor in Dance at Appalachian State University. She is also an active member and President of the NC Dance Crew “Entropy” and Public Relations Chair of Momentum Dance Club. She has danced and choreographed in several Momentum and Entropy Showcases as well as App State’s Fall Appalachian Dance Ensemble. Logan is teaching Hip Hop and Contemporary.

Hailey Costar: Head Instructor
Hailey is a second year student at Appalachian State, majoring in dance, focusing in choreography. She has been dancing for sixteen years, having been trained in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip hop and musical theatre. Outside of studio work, some of her training includes classes through the Broadway Dance Center, and Alvin Ailey in New York City, and Titan Dance Conventions. While at App, she plans to join on campus dance clubs, and crews as well as participate in annual showcases. Though she has danced in many different styles, she loves tap and musical theater. Hailey has experience choreographing musical theatre and has been in many theater productions. She is teaching Musical Theatre and Ballet.

Katie Ballard: Guest Instructor, and ACD Consultant
Katie began her dance journey eighteen years ago in Winston Salem, NC. She has expansive training in many different styles such as Irish, Tap, Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Modern, Contemporary, and Musical Theatre. She took part in many musical productions in her early years, not only on the stage but also in the roles of Dance Captain and Assistant Choreographer. She began teaching dance six years ago, reigniting her passion for dance as she began to learn about the fields of choreography and improvisation. This led to her choice to pursue dance at the higher education level. She was brought to the Boone area in 2019 when she began attending school at Appalachian State University. She majored in Dance Studies and minored in Somatic Sustainability. Ms. Katie was introduced to Northwestern Studios in 2019 through the Anyone Can Dance Program. She started there as an assistant teacher and she now is serving her second year as the program Director. Ms. Katie had the opportunity to choreograph for the Spring Appalachian Dance Ensemble before she graduated from Appalachian with Honors in the Spring of 2022. She is hopeful to continue her education in the coming years with a Masters and a PHD both in related dance fields. She is so excited to continue her teaching here at Northwestern Studios and have the opportunity to grow with such an amazing studio!

Shauna Goodwin: Guest Instructor, Co-founder ME & U
Ms. Shauna received her early dance training from her mother, Teresa, at The Dancer’s Corner and at Northwestern Studios. After high school she moved to New York City where she completed the two-year training program at the prestigious Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre. She taught creative movement around NYC while studying dance at Broadway Dance Center and performing with many New York theatrical companies. Ms. Shauna has choreographed in many capacities including outdoor theatre, theme parks, competitive dance teams, musicals, and more. In addition to teaching dance at Northwestern Studios, Ms. Shauna teaches dance at Lees McRae College. She is also a certified personal trainer at Anytime Fitness and is the choreographer for Horn in the West and Land of Oz. Ms. Shauna has taught at NWS for over 12 years and teaches Contemporary, Jazz, Musical Theatre, and Hip Hop.

Chelsie Burks: Guest Instructor, Starz Team Choreographer
Ms. Chelsie grew up in Waynesboro, NC with a love for the arts. She was always on a stage, whether it be with Old Dominion Performance Arts Studio, the local community theaters, or the Waynesboro Concert Choir. She began dancing at the age of 3 and knew the stage was where she belonged. She was lucky enough to spend her teen years as a member of the ODPAS competition dance team. From her dance experiences she was able to advance her love for performing with exposure to singing, acting, and choreography. She went on to pursue her acting career at Shorter University where she received a BFA in Musical Theatre and a minor in dance. Since graduating in December 2018 she has worked as a Can-Can dancer at Tweetsie Railroad as well as a touring actor with the Virginia Repertory Theatre. She is currently back at Tweetsie Railroad for another season as a Can-can dancer!

Holly Rivers: Consultant, Guest Instructor, Co-founder ME & U, Founder Barre-Elevated
Ms. Holly began her training at the Carolyn Clark School of Dance and Cleveland (TN) City Ballet. She then studied under Karen Smith in her high school’s Fine Arts program and was a member of the dance group Verve’. During that time she was awarded the Jefferson Award for Dance and studied with members of the Martha Graham Dance Company, José Limon Dance Company, Mark Dendy, and Ann Law. She also received a scholarship and was an apprentice and rehearsal assistant at the Chattanooga Ballet. Her diverse training includes Ballet, Modern, Jazz, West African, Hip Hop, African-Brazilian, and many folk styles. She has even dabbled in low-flying trapeze dance! Ms. Holly continues to study other movement arts such as Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, Chi-Gong, and Krav Maga. She received a dance scholarship at Appalachian State University where she studied Psychology and Dance. She holds a Master’s Degree in Community Counseling with an emphasis in Body-Centered and Expressive Arts Therapy. Ms. Holly has been a guest dancer for X-Factor Dance Company, Jan Van Dyke Dance Group, and independent choreographer Emily Daughtridge. She was a member of the ASU dance faculty for sixteen years until she took over ownership of NWS 6+ years ago. She teaches Contemporary, Jazz, and Barre Fitness.