Nicole Onuszkanycz – Owner/Director/Instructor
Nicole began her ballet training under Loyd B. Tygett, Keren Gibb Hilliard, and David Herriott with Community Ballet (now Huntsville Ballet) in Huntsville. She also received instruction from well-known master teachers such as Shamil Yugudin (formerly of Bolshoi Ballet) and Mira Popovich (Birmingham Southern College). Nicole has danced leading roles with the Huntsville Ballet in their productions of “The Nutcracker”,” Romeo and Juliet”, “Les Sylphides”, “Les Patineurs”, and “La Bayadere”. She received a Wings Award for her performance as “The Sugar Plum Fairy” in “The Nutcracker.” Nicole’s students have been selected by audition to participate in many prestigious summer intensives and year round programs at American Ballet Theater, Dance Revolution, Ballet Magnificat, Joffrey Ballet, Boston Ballet and Alabama School of Fine Arts. Nicole has taught throughout the North Alabama and Atlanta area and has choreographed for several church productions. Nicole was blessed to be able to attend Ballet Magnificat’s Teacher Training Course in the summer of 2022 and 2023 where honed in on their syllabus and approach in teaching dancers ages preschool through advanced! Nicole’s vision for her students is to facilitate the best technical training possible, to reach their full potential as a dance artist and to see them use that art to bless their community and to glorify the Lord!
Meredith Black – Instructor
Meredith grew up dancing at Nancy Dance Studio in Jacksonville, Florida. She instantly had a love and passion for dance and being on the stage and worked diligently to pursue her dream of becoming a Radio City Music Hall Rockette. She competed and trained in cities all over the country including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Orlando. She began teaching and sharing her love of dance with young children in high school. While attending Florida State University, Meredith suffered an injury that took her life in a different direction. Instead of focusing on dance, she pursued a degree in Advertising and Graphic Design as well as graduate work in Elementary Education. Meredith continued to teach at local studios in the evenings during the early years of her teaching career because she just couldn’t fully give up dancing. After moving to Los Angeles she began staying home to focus more on her family. She moved to the Huntsville area three years ago with her husband and two girls. When she is not homeschooling her girls during the week, she is spending time at the studio. She is so thankful to call Adonai home and is excited to share her love of dance and Jesus with all of her new students.
Laney DeMaris – Instructor
Laney grew up in Atlanta, GA. She studied under Becky Brown and Nicolas Pakana from Ballet Philippines. She enjoyed dancing various roles but her favorite was Cinderella. She also toured with the Perimeter Ballet Company in the UK and India and loved every minute of it. Dancing with the University Dance Company throughout college she graduated and immediately started teaching. Her first love is ballet but also really enjoys pointe and contemporary as well! Laney likes to work hard and love hard-she will challenge her students to grow in their artistry and technique but always in an encouraging uplifting way. Laney and her husband Jake have two daughters, Addie (8) and RayRay (7). She is so excited to join the Adonai Family!
Ashley Dolloff – Instructor
Ashley Dolloff, Huntsville native, began her training in classical ballet at Huntsville Ballet School at the age of four. She joined Huntsville Ballet’s professional company under the direction of Artistic Director Phillip Otto after training with him and his wife, Rachel Butler, at Huntsville Ballet School. She has danced professionally with Huntsville Ballet for five seasons. Ashley has portrayed characters such as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Christine in Phantom of the Opera, and the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. Ashley has attended summer programs at Pacific Northwest Ballet, Ballet Chicago, Caroline Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and Indianapolis Ballet. Through these summer programs and opportunities at Huntsville Ballet, Ashley has trained under notable teachers such as Tim Fox, Darla Hoover, Daniel Duell, Patricia Blaire, Stacy Calvert, Keith Cross, and Dede Barfield. In the fall of 2018, Ashley began teaching in the Huntsville Ballet School. Ashley has also had extensive teaching opportunities through Huntsville Ballet’s Discover Dance outreach program under the direction of Cathy Curry. She also completed a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology at the University of Alabama in Huntsville May of 2024. Ashley is thankful for the opportunities she has been given to dance, perform, and learn, and she hopes to use these gifts as a blessing to others.
Elizabeth Freeze – Instructor (New for 2025/2026 season)
Elizabeth “Liz” Freeze grew up as a missionary kid in Svay Rieng, Cambodia. She discovered her love for ballet during one of her family’s visits to the U.S at Peoria Ballet Academy in IL. While in Cambodia, she trained with various international teachers. She has attended summer programs at Charlotte Ballet and Sacramento Ballet. In 2022 Liz trained at Oklahoma City Ballet in the Post Graduate program. The following season she was a trainee in the Sacramento Ballet’s Second Company. Liz has had the privilege of training under Jill Krutzcamp, Rhodes and Elise Elliot, Racheal Nye, Natasha Fielding, Bruce Steivel, Ian Thatcher, Molly Daly, Amanda Miller and Jorge Laico. Liz has performed in various showcases and recitals as well as Nutcracker, Cinderella, and Coppelia. She also choreographed for the Sacramento Ballet Second Company’s Choreography Showcase. Liz moved to Huntsville in 2024 to be an Apprentice at the Huntsville Ballet Company. Liz looks forward to teaching about ballet as a beautiful art form to glorify God.
Mary Graves – Instructor, Adonai Ballet Company Mentor
Mary started her ballet career at the age of 2 in the Huntsville area, and was trained under Keren Gibb Hilliard, and David Herriott, at Alabama Youth Ballet Theater. She began attending Adonai School of Ballet and Fine Arts in 2016 and has been on the staff since 2021. Mary has danced as several main parts in classical ballets including as a Little Swan in Swan Lake, as Clara in the Nutcracker, as a pas de trois member in Paquita, as a soloist in Stars and Stripes and has portrayed the roll of Cinderella in the classical ballet. She has traveled with the Adonai company to Project Dance, Dance Revolution, and Living Christmas Tree as ministry opportunities to share the love of Jesus and to improve dance technique by taking classes with the members on staff. She has also participated in Ballet Magnificat’s summer intensive, and with the Assemblies of God Fine Arts Convention. Teaching has always been her passion and she has had the opportunity to teach underprivileged children of the Boys and Girls Clubs in the Huntsville area and assisted with the special needs classes at Adonai. Mary has a desire to teach children how to use their gifts to glorify God and pursue excellence in the art form. She believes that dance should be used as a way to worship our Heavenly Father and strives to impart those same beliefs to younger generations.
David Herriott – Instructor
David received his early dance training with Loyd Tygett at the Huntsville Civic Ballet. He danced professionally as a principal soloist with Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet and North Carolina Dance Theatre, touring internationally, and working with noted choreographers including Agnes de Mille, John Neumier, Norbert Vesak, and Elliot Feld. Mr. Herriott has held the positions of Artistic/Executive Director of Huntsville Ballet Company, and Columbus Ballet, and Artistic Director of AYBT since its inception in 2006. He has choreographed for Fantasy Playhouse, ArsNova, Huntsville Community Chorus, and Around the Curtain Children’s Theatre – and won the contemporary division of the 1992 Panoply Choreography Competition. He has been an instructor at Santa Monica College and at The University of the South. Mr. Herriott’s former students have been invited to study and perform with Alvin Ailey, ABT, Joffrey, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Alabama Ballet, and Harrid Conservatory to name a few.
Kat Holley – Instructor (New for 2025/2026 season)
Kat began her dance training at the age of three at Noth Alabama Dance Center, under
the main teaching of Barbara Ellen Smartt, and Melony League, training in the
disciplines of Tap, Ballet, Modern, Jazz, and Musical Theatre. She competitively danced
for eighteen years earning multiple awards. Kat also attended many intensives where
she learned from awesome instructors like, Twitch, Ben and Miller, and Luba Gulyaeva.
She has had the opportunity to perform at panoply festivals, NADC’s story of ‘Noah’s
Arc’ and AYB’s rendition of the nutcracker as the ‘Mouse Queen’. Kat has been teaching
since 2012, with lots of crazy energy. She has won many high awards for choreography
at Rising Star, Primetime, and Next Star competitions, and taught an intensive
alongside the traveling tour of Riverdance. Kat absolutely loves sharing her love for
Christ through fun movement and music to all ages.
Jennifer Humphrey – Instructor
Jennifer Humphrey began dancing at the age of 10 at Civic Dance Center in Bakersfield, California where she was trained in ballet and pointe. Through high school she took a break from dance to focus on competitive swimming and marching band until she rekindled her love for dance while at Tulane University where she danced for two semesters under Alice Pascal Escher and Barbara Hayley. Jennifer received a bachelor’s degree from Tulane with a triple major in French, Classics, and Medieval Studies. Jennifer and her husband Curtis have three sons, Zachary, Daniel, and Eli. In 2011, a few months before their third son, Eli, came into the world, Jennifer began volunteering as a VBS (Vacation Bible School) leader in their church, a role that she has reprised every summer since, working with children ages 2 through 2nd grade. Jennifer has found such joy in sharing the love of Jesus with preschoolers that she continues to work with them in various capacities including Sunday School teacher, Mission Friends teacher, AWANA Sparks Leader, Mission Friends Director, and a volunteer in the church nursery. Jennifer began dancing with Adonai in 2015 when Zachary began his second year of dance and Eli began his first. The following year the rest of the family (including Curtis!) jumped in and they have been dancing together in the Family Tap class for three years. Jennifer continues her training in ballet, pointe, and tap and is excited to combine her love of dance and her joy of sharing Jesus in working with her students.
Whitney Huynh – Instructor
Whitney Huynh began her dance training at age 10 in Madison, AL. She has studied ballet with Carrie Rothwell (Academy of Classic Arts), Huntsville Ballet, and Nicole Onuszkanycz. She has also attended and performed at Project Dance and Dance Revolution workshops. She taught at Melodies Dance School and Steps of Faith Performing Art Center before joining Adonai in 2014. Whitney holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and worked in missile defense prior to having her 3 children (Eleanor, Henry, and Vivienne). She and her husband, Huy, are swing dancers and have taught together locally, regionally and internationally (Rome, Italy). Regardless of the dance style, Whitney promotes a blend of technique and artistry. She loves teaching students of all ages by encouraging them to develop their abilities to the fullest and to use their talents to bless others and glorify God.
Erin Johnson – Instructor
Erin began her dance training at age four at the Tolbert-Yilmaz School of Dance in Roswell, Georgia. Erin had an opportunity to dance in a church musical production at age 8, and has had a passion for worshiping the Lord through dance ever since. She continued her training with the Atlanta School of Ballet and Capital City Ballet, and had opportunities to perform with Atlanta Ballet and Chattanooga Ballet. She studied ballet and modern dance at Butler University’s Jordan College of Fine Arts, and pursued degrees in dance and elementary education. Erin received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Georgia. She and husband Steve have three children: Matthew, Ryan, and Katie. She has taught both public and private school, ballet, tap, and worship dance, and enjoys using dance and sign language to participate with the praise team at The Grove Baptist Church.
Hayley Keir – Instructor
Hayley Keir started her ballet training at the age of 3 at San Ramon Valley Dance Academy & Lamorinda Dance Center in California. At the age of 13, Hayley had the opportunity to continue her training at North Carolina School of the Arts under Melissa Hayden (from New York City Ballet) and Fanchon Cordell (American Ballet Theatre). When Hayley was 16, she was asked to further her pre-professional ballet training at the Nutmeg Conservatory in Connecticut under the direction of Sharon Dante. In 2005, Hayley began her professional ballet career with the Atlanta Festival Ballet in Georgia. With the Atlanta Festival Ballet, Hayley danced soloist roles such as Snow Queen and Dew Drop in the Nutcracker and Tiger Lily in Peter Pan. In 2011, Hayley join Georgia Dance Theater under the direction of Sherri Davis. There she danced leading roles such as the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker, Giselle in Giselle, Odile (Black Swan) in Swan Lake, and Jane Eyre in Jane Eyre. In 2016, Hayley retired from the stage and was promoted to Ballet Mistress with Georgia Dance Theater. As Ballet Mistress, Hayley trained students and professional dancers. She helped choreograph and set full length ballets like The Nutcracker, Romeo & Juliet, and La Bayadere. In 2018, Hayley & her husband moved to Florida. There she taught early childhood ballet classes at the Brevard Ballet Academy before welcoming their 2 girls, Sarah & Lydia. In August of 2023, Hayley and her family relocated to the Huntsville area. Hayley is very excited to get back into the studio and work with all the wonderful students at Adonai School of Ballet.
Maggie Lamey – Instructor (New for 2025/2026 season)
Maggie began her dance training with Linda Soule at Covenant Dancers in 2015 when she was eight years old. She attended Covenant Dancers through the company’s merge with Hawthorne Conservatory, going on to dance in many workshops and classes including lyrical and contemporary training, taught by Annie Rankin. She also had the privilege of training under Ballet Magnificat at their intensive course hosted at Adonai in 2023. Maggie has a love for creating original choreographies; her works have appeared in Hawthorne’s recitals, entailing a contemporary ballet duet and solo alongside three ballet dances. Becoming a teacher’s assistant only increased her love of teaching dance, and she began pursuing that career in 2024 under Linda Soule’s guidance. Maggie is excited to continue teaching and worshipping the Lord with Adonai this year!
Maria Mitchell – Instructor
Maria Mitchell earned a Short-Term Certificate in Dance Pedagogy and a Short-Term Certificate in Dance Choreography while dancing at a pre-professional level in the Allegro Dance Company and dance program at Wallace State Community College under the direction of internationally acclaimed master teacher, Brooke Desnoes. She completed extensive dance training and coursework in classical ballet, pointe, modern, jazz, dance pedagogy and dance choreography, was a dance pedagogy intern at BD Ballet Academy & Ballet South (Brooke Desnoes), and directed an original choreographed contemporary group piece “Dream” at the WSCC Spring Showcase 2023. Maria was individually recognized for her pointe solo performance as the “Sugar Plum Fairy” in the WSCC Nutcracker 2022, for instructing an original choreography technique at the WSCC Day of Dance, and for winning first place in the WSCC Talent Show 2023 for her original choreographed contemporary solo performance “Turmoil”. Maria performed and trained at the Youth American Grand Prix 2023 (Nashville, TN) and at the AL Dance
Festival (Birmingham), as well as performed at numerous community outreach programs throughout central Alabama. Maria began dancing 15 years ago at Melodies Dance School (Harvest / Athens) and then danced under the direction of Nicole Onuszkanycz at Steps of Faith Performing Arts Center (Meridianville) and Adonai School of Ballet & Fine Arts (Harvest / Madison). Maria has performed various pointe solos as the “Snow Queen” in the Nutcracker, “Paquita” in Paquita, and the “Raven” in Noah’s Ark. She has completed intensives with Luba Gulyaeva and weekend intensives with Ballet Magnificat and Renovate Ballet. As a member of the Adonai Dance Company for the past six years, she has had additional opportunities to share the love of Christ with the community by performing in The Living Christmas Tree (Huntsville) and the Carol Candlelight Celebration (Nashville) as well as perform and train at Project Dance (SC) and at Dance Revolution (NC). Maria has assisted or taught various levels of classical ballet, modern, and tap for the past 8 years including assisting or teaching those with special needs since 2018. In addition, she taught intermediate and advanced level classical ballet, pointe and modern classes at Elyon’s School of Dance & Performing Arts (Madison). Maria is excited to continue to challenge, inspire, and nurture each of her students to know, love, serve and glorify God with grace and humility through the ministry of dance!
Lauren Raum – Instructor
In 2014, Lauren began her dance training and has since gained knowledge in various forms of dance, including Ballet, pointe, and modern. Throughout her dance journey, she has participated in numerous dance workshops, such as Ballet Magnificat! weekend intensives. Lauren has preformed many different roles, including the corps of Swan Lake, Stars and Stripes, and Paquita. She has portrayed “Mordicai” in Ester, “Mary” in The Nativity, and “Jadis” in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Lauren has been an Adonai student since the school’s beginning and was appointed as a company member in 2021. Ever since, she has actively spread the gospel through performances, such as First Baptist’s “Living Christmas Tree” and multiple of Adonai’s “Night of Worship” events. Lauren aspires to impart her love for ballet to her students and guide them to worship Christ through their dancing.
Rebecca Sims – Instructor
Rebecca began her dance training at Kelly’s Studio of Dance when she was 6 years old. After dancing there for 5 years, she came to Adonai and has been here since. Rebecca has been trained in Ballet, Pointe, and Modern, and has taken Worship Ballet classes since her Freshman year of high school. She is now pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at The Alabama Center for the Arts, in Decatur. Rebecca has had the opportunity to dance in several amazing performances and enjoyed being different characters in each. Some of her favorites are “Maugrim” in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, the “Enchantress” in Beauty and the Beast, and a “Herald” in the Nutcracker. Rebecca started to assist with classes when she was about 14 and fell in love with it. She continued to be an assistant until she was able to teach a class of her own. Rebecca strives to inspire her students, as her teachers did, and still do, for her. She looks forward to teaching for many years to come!
Elizabeth Smith – Instructor (New for 2025/2026 season)
Elizabeth Smith has a heart for performing, choreographing, and teaching the art of dance. A summa cum laude graduate of Troy University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, she trained under Dominique Angel, James Boyd, Adrienne Hicks, and Jerome Stigler with focuses in ballet, contemporary, and modern technique. She also enjoyed performing in works by guest artists like Take Ueyama, Daryl Gray, and Lloyd Culbreath. After college, Elizabeth was grateful to work as lead dancer for Adventus at Majestic Caverns, where she also got the opportunity to choreograph two pieces for the show. She has loved working as a dance instructor since she began during her sophomore year of college. Elizabeth is enthusiastic about encouraging and loving others through dance, and she aspires to glorify God in all things.
Danielle Stark – Instructor
Danielle Stark began her dance training at age 4 at Community Ballet and has studied ballet at various studios throughout high school and college. She has taught baby-wearing ballet and preschool dance classes at Adonai in past years. Danielle holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and has worked as a RN for over 15yrs at a local hospital and most recently in dermatology. She is excited to be teaching little ones her love of dance again this upcoming year!
Hannah Swanner – Instructor
Hannah began dancing at age 3 with In His Courts Dance Studio. At 10 she began more intensive training at Steps of Faith Performing Arts Center. She has extensive training in ballet, pointe, modern, contemporary, jazz, tap, hip hop and tribal. She began assisting in and teaching classes at age of thirteen. She has performed, competed and received high honors in competitions and has participated in master classes with Dance Educators of America, Dance Revolution and Panoply Arts Festival and An Evening of Dance. She has performed in Adonai’s production of “Sleeping Beauty” as Aurora and in productions of “Narnia” as Peter Pevensie and Jadis, the White Witch. Hannah has received instruction from well known Master Teachers such as Gary Taylor, founderand artistic director of Winston Salem Festival Ballet, Marc Wayne, musical theater dance instructor and producer at Marc Wayne Productions and staff with Dance Revolution. Hannah is a Huntsville native and loves teaching and encouraging students of all ages to use their abilities to fully praise the Lord.
Riley Tanner – Instructor
Riley began dancing at the age of 4. Since then she has been able to participate in a yearly ballet recital at Adonai School of Ballet and the Nutcracker in 2022 and 2023. She has also gotten to perform with the Adonai School of Ballet Company at The Living Christmas Tree (First Baptist Church Huntsville), the Madison Street Festival, and a local elementary school. Riley has attended Ballet Magnificat!’s Summer Dance Intensive in 2022, 2023, and 2024. During the 2024 Summer Dance Intensive she was selected to train in the Pre-Professional Level and perform in a full-length Ballet Magnificat! production. She is excited to be teaching the next generation of worshippers!
Eva Thompson – Instructor
Eva began her dance training at the age of four at North Alabama Dance Center (NADC) in Madison, AL. During the thirteen years that she trained there, she received her primary instruction from Barbara Ellen Smartt, Melony League, and Jennifer Bernhard in the disciplines of ballet, pointe, tap, modern, and jazz. She also had the opportunity to perform multiple roles in Pointe Station’s original ballet Noah and was a junior company member for the 2003-2004 season. Eva also attended Pointe Station’s summer intensive for many years. In 2006 and 2007, Eva had the opportunity to attend Ballet Magnificat’s Summer Dance Intensive, where she received training from Kathy Thibodeaux, Jiri Voborsky, and other company members. After high school, she continued her dance training with The University of Alabama Department of Theatre and Dance in Tuscaloosa, AL, where she received pre-professional training from Sarah Barry, Cornelius Carter, Qianping Guo, and Rita Snyder. Eva graduated magna cum laude from the University of Alabama with a BFA in Dance and a BS in Physics in 2012. Eva has been teaching at Adonai since 2015. She loves sharing her passion for dance with others, and she encourages each of her students to train with excellence and for the glory of the Lord. Eva is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 5 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.
Madeline Watson – Instructor
Maddie started learning ballet when she was three years old and was trained by Keren Gibb Hilliard, and David Herriott, at Alabama Youth Ballet Theater. She has trained under Nicole Onuszkanycz at Adonai School of Ballet and Fine Arts since 2016. She has been a part of ballets such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Stars and Stripes, and Paquita. Maddie has attended several different events such as Project Dance, Dance Revolution, Living Christmas Tree, and Ballet Magnificat’s summer dance intensive. She has had the privilege of helping teach a workshop for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Huntsville called Dream Kids Camp, and has enjoyed assisting in a Special Needs Ballet Class since 2019. Maddie has participated in the Assemblies of God Fine Arts Competition and has won first place in the category of Worship Dance Solo at the State level in 2021 and 2022. She has been teaching at Impulse Dance Center for one year and was previously a substitute teacher there. She has taught a Beginner Acro/Creative movement class and a Ballet 1 Advanced class. Maddie loves teaching and sharing what she knows. She likes to make learning a fun experience and enjoys watching her students grow. She has a heart for worship and using dance as a way to glorify the Lord and make His name known.