Faculty

The heart of our studio.

Christy Wood

Owner & Artistic Director

Christy Garner began dancing at the age of four, drawn in by the excitement of leotards, legwarmers, and the chance to make new friends. What started as a joyful pastime quickly blossomed into a lifelong passion as she explored new styles, attended conventions, and stepped into the world of competitive dance.

For Christy, dance has always been more than just movement — it’s an outlet for emotion, focus, and self-discovery. In her words, “When the music starts and my body moves, I can feel outside pressures release their grip.” Her desire to share that sense of freedom and empowerment with others inspired her to create Christy’s DancExplosion — a space where dancers of all ages can be themselves, grow in confidence, and discover they are capable of more than they ever imagined.

Christy pursued her degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing, beginning at East Carolina University and completing her studies at North Carolina State University. Along the way, she also minored in Dance and taught for a non-profit organization in the Garner area. Christy has danced with both the ECU Dance Team and the Wolfpack Clogging Team.

Today, she continues to pour her passion into the studio and the community. In addition to running CDE, Christy serves as a preschool teacher and co-director of the dance ministry at her church, reflecting her heart for mentorship, creativity, and service.

Lynda Rodriguez

Office Manager

Andra Thomasson

Accounts Manager

Andra grew up in the Garner area and began dancing at the age of 6. She has studied a variety of dance forms including modern, ballet, jazz, hip hop, and clogging. She studied under and worked with Christy at a non-profit organization in Garner prior to the opening of CDE where she continued as a dancer, assistant, and an instructor. She attended NC State University and was a member of the Wolfpack Clogging Team while she continued to teach at CDE and earn her degree in Biochemistry. She was assistant director for Feet on Fire until she moved to Boston with her husband in 2008. Andra returned to North Carolina and teaching at CDE in 2010, adding the role of Accounts Manager in 2018.

Carissa Bishop

Company Program Director

and Social Media Content Creator

Carissa Bishop was born and raised in Upstate New York where she trained competitively at Empire Center of Dance in Marcy, NY under the direction of Charlene Topor, Cristina Topor, and her mother, Leah Bishop. Graduating from The State University of New York College at Brockport receiving a Bachelor of Science in Health Science, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, Carissa had the opportunity to be cast and perform works by multiple prominent contemporary choreographers. Throughout her collegiate career, she performed and represented her college at the Rochester Fringe Festival and the American College Dance Association. Carissa also became the elected captain of the Brockport Dance Team, and is noted for her national title-winning choreography.

Upon graduation, Carissa moved to Tampa, Florida working as a full time instructor and choreographer with West Florida Dance Company. During her time in Florida, she danced with contemporary dance companies Project Alchemy and MKRep, where she performed throughout the Tampa Bay area as well as New York City. Carissa’s award winning choreography has been commissioned by multiple studios across the country, and is featured throughout Florida, New York, Texas, and Colorado.

After four years in the sunshine state, Carissa returned to her hometown in 2022 where she taught and choreographed for her home studio, Empire Center of Dance. Throughout her time at Empire, her choreography has received numerous awards, and many of her students have moved on to dance both collegiately and professionally. In addition to her work in the studio, Carissa was also the head coach and choreographer of the Utica Comettes, the professional dance team for the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League.

Carissa is beyond excited to begin her journey with Christy’s DancExplosion as both teacher and company program director. She is greatly looking forward to the opportunity to help the company excel both in and out of the studio.

Karyn Abell

Instructor

I began dancing at 2.5 years old. I studied at the Locker School of Dance in New Jersey. I was trained in tap, jazz, and ballet under the instruction of Susan Locker, a retired New York City Rocket. I moved to NC in 1996 where I attended the University of the North Carolina School of Arts. There, I was classically trained in ballet primarily under Nina Danivola. Upon leaving NCSA I picked up belly dancing.

I’ve been able to sub at CDE a few times and am looking forward to sharing my love and passion for dance with your little ones!

Alex Blackmon

Instructor

Alex Blackmon began dancing when she was 5 years old at Christy’s DancExplosion, and has continued to dance here for the past 12 years. She has performed many different styles including ballet, jazz, contemporary, clogging, lyrical, tap, hip hop, jazz fusion and acro. She has been competing with the CDE company team for 7 years and is so thankful for the community of dancers at CDE. Alex has also assisted in many classes over the years at the studio and is overjoyed to bring her love of dance to the next generation of dancers. Alex is a senior in high school and hopes to always have dance as a part of her life.

Kimmie Ellis

Instructor

Kimmie has been clogging since the age of five and comes from a long family line of traditional cloggers. Growing up, she was fascinated by the stories of her mother, aunt, and uncle performing with the infamous Little General Cloggers of Kennesaw, Georgia. They danced multiple times at the Grand Ole Opry and even traveled to Washington D.C. to perform at the White House. Her family eventually created their own competitive clogging team called the Southern Travelers that earned numerous national titles. These stories developed Kimmie’s passion for clogging before she ever put on her first pair of clogging shoes. Following in her family’s “double-steps,” Kimmie spent many years performing and competing with Rhythm & Class Cloggers of North Augusta, South Carolina before relocating to the Raleigh area. Here she has been an avid member of the Hemlock Bluff Cloggers and CDE’s award winning competitive adult team. As a clogging instructor at CDE, Kimmie strives to share the enjoyment of dancing and to build confidence in dancers of any age. She is also dedicated to preserving the traditional drag-slide style of clogging that has brought great pleasure to both cloggers and audiences for generations.

Michelle Gerrald

Instructor / Branding & Marketing Design

Michelle started clogging as a young child under the direction of Christy Wood at a nonprofit organization in Garner. She then started dancing at CDE upon its opening. Her love of clogging grew even more as she became a founding member of CDE’s competitive clogging team, Feet on Fire. While on FOF she took master classes and workshops under many accomplished clogging instructors from across the nation. When she started teaching in 2007, she realized her love of choreography and creating relationships with her students. During her time as a FOF director, she choreographed many award-winning routines and discovered just how much joy it brought her to watch her students succeed and reach their goals. She has always had a love for Hip Hop and loves to even incorporate it into her clogging choreography. Michelle is very passionate about being able to share her skills and experiences with her students. She hopes that she can help create an environment where students can grow, push themselves, and BE themselves! CDE welcomes Michelle back for another year!

Dayleigh Martin

Instructor

Dayleigh Martin is from Clayton, North Carolina and began dancing at the age of 3. For the past 19 years she has trained in many styles of dance, including ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, musical theatre, and clogging. Dayleigh started competing at a young age and she became a dance instructor in 2015. Her choreography has won many awards including “Most Entertaining”, many overalls, and multiple highest scoring routines of the day. At 16 she became a national CCI (Certified Clogging Instructor), and has been a guest choreographer for many other studios. She is a recent graduate of Mars Hill University, with a B.A. in Elementary Education. Dayleigh was a member of the Bailey Mountain Cloggers, the 28 time national championship clogging team. During this time she has served as the dance team leader and co-captain. As a member of this team, she enjoyed many opportunities including traveling overseas each summer to represent the United States at international festivals. Also, Dayleigh was inducted into the America’s Clogging Hall of Fame All-American Team in 2019. She is very excited to be a part of the CDE staff!

Marcos Roque

Instructor

Marcos Roque, born and raised in El Salvador, began his ballet training at age 10 under the Royal Academy of Dance. He performed with the National Ballet Company of El Salvador from 2005 to 2014, taking on various roles in ensemble and soloist performances. At 13, he expanded his training into other styles and joined the National Contemporary Dance Company of El Salvador. This opportunity allowed him to learn from renowned teachers and choreographers from Latin America, Europe, and the US, while also performing and gaining experience in countries like Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, and Ecuador. At age 18, Marcos moved to New York City to train at Ballet Academy East, Steps On Broadway, Broadway Dance Center, and Peridance. He performed with the Metropolitan Ballet Repertory at Symphony Space and taught ballet and contemporary classes at the Bridge for Dance. In 2015, he relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina, pursuing a career as a dancer, teacher, and choreographer. Marcos became the main dance teacher and choreographer at the Academy for the Performing Arts in Apex and a guest teacher for multiple studios in the Raleigh area. He also embarked on a freelance career, traveling across the US to set up choreography for various studios, many of which competed in dance competitions. Marcos received numerous awards for his choreography, achieving recognition at both regional and national levels in prestigious competitions and conventions such as NYCDA, Radix, Jump, Nuvo, 24Seven, OnStage, and Hall of Fame. In 2022, he was personally invited to create choreography for the Festival de Dança de Joinville in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where his work received significant accolades, including 1st Place Neoclasico Senior Group Set, 2nd Place Contemporary Senior Female Solo, 1st Place Contemporary Junior Male Solo, and a Special Choreography award.

Taylor Wood

Instructor

Taylor has been dancing at CDE since she was old enough to walk. She competed with both Feet on Fire and Company at the studio. For the past 18 years, she has trained in many styles of dance, including ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, musical theatre, pointe, and clogging. Taylor was honored to be inducted into the Clogging Hall of Fame as a member of the Team of the Decade from 2011-2021. She has earned numerous awards and certifications through dance, but most importantly, Taylor continues to dance, coach, and mentor alongside her mother Christy Wood.

Meredith Finch Hardy

Instructor

Meredith Finch Hardy grew up in the Charlotte area and has studied tap with Gil Stroming, Mike Minery, Brenda Bufalino, Henri LeTang, Dianne Walker, and Savion Glover. She graduated from The Southern Strutt and started their competitive tap program from 2004-2007. While attending high school and college, Meredith performed in several Off-Broadway shows in New York City: Break the Floor, Shake ‘n Break, Slide with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and Gil Stroming’s – The Producers Showcase. After graduating college from NC State, Meredith has been teaching tap around the Raleigh area and started the award winning Center Stage tap team. She has won many awards with her choreography including making it into the finals at Showstoppers Nationals every year and receiving multiple You Rocked Jump Awards and Best of Jump Awards. Her students have won numerous tap scholarships and awards including a Team USA gold medalist at the World Tap Championships in 2019, members of the NC Youth Tap Ensemble, and five Rockstar Awards at Jump. Meredith loves teaching an upbeat style of tap that introduces old tap styles with up-to-date music.

Breanne Kohler

Instructor

Angela Dineen

Instructor

Kerry Brown

Instructor

Donna Petherbridge

Instructor

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