Faculty

Leanna Polk Bodnar

Executive Director/Artistic Director of Performing Arts

Leanna hails from the San Francisco Bay Area where she began her extensive training in the
performing arts. She studied under exceptional instructors including: Yehuda Maor and Kristine
Elliot (ballet), Ina Krause and Florence Riggs (voice) and Howard Fine and Jay Goldberg
(acting). She had the honor of being awarded a scholarship to hone her acting skills under the
incomparable Uta Hagen. A true triple threat, she made her professional debut at age 17 as Maggie in A Chorus Line. Her performing credits include principal roles in the Broadway National Touring companies of Cats (1991-1993), Jerome Robbins’ Broadway (1991) and Grease (1996), where she played Patty
Simcox, and understudied the role of Sandy, to an up and coming Sutton Foster. Favorite roles
performed with regional theatre companies throughout the country include Eva in Evita, Polly in
Crazy for You, Maria and Liesl in The Sound of Music, and Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof. Over
her 20 year career she had the pleasure of sharing the stage with many celebrities, and Tony Award Recipients including: Sutton Foster, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Bebe Neuwirth and Donna McKechnie to name a few. She also worked under the legendary Jerome Robbins. After retiring from performing she was inspired to teach. She has been in the studio ever since, passionate to create a nurturing environment while instilling strong technique and artistry. She has shared her expertise and experience in numerous ways, including: teaching dance in
multiple private studios, as the Associate Director of Worship Arts at First United Methodist Church, teaching private voice lessons, directing and choreographing for local community theatres and as Performing Arts instructor at both Hickory Day School and St. Stephen’s
Lutheran School. She became Executive/Artistic Director of Hickory Ballet & Performing Arts in January of 2018.

Adrienne Lowman     

Artistic Director of Ballet / Director of Educational Outreach

Adrienne Lowman, from Virginia, started dance lessons at a young age. She trained at Avery Ballet throughout high school under her teacher and mentor, Lisa Snape Avery. She also attended summer intensives at Richmond Ballet, BalletMet, American Ballet Theatre, and Joffrey Ballet. In 2003, she joined the Nashville Ballet 2 company performing in such productions as Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, and Sleeping Beauty, as well as the children’s ballets Jack and the Beanstalk, Degas and the Little Dancer, and the Singing Tortoise. In 2007, Adrienne moved to North Carolina, where she continued to perform and teach. In 2011, she graduated Summa Cum Laude from Appalachian State University with a degree in Spanish Education and taught Spanish at Bandys High School. Adrienne has performed the Nutcracker, Coppelia, Alice in Wonderland, and Cinderella with the New Art School of Ballet.  Mrs. Lowman choreographed the spring productions of Peter and the Wolf in 2016 and Coppelia in 2018 as well as pieces in several summer intensives.  In fall of 2018, Adrienne was named Artistic Director of Ballet and Educational Outreach for the Hickory Ballet and Performing Arts. She has enjoyed overseeing the school’s ballet productions ever since. Adrienne is also a certified PBT (Progressive Ballet Technique) instructor.  Over the past decade, she has taught each level at the school and has a true passion for teaching the next generation of dancers.

Nathan Ahlgrim

Ballroom

Originally from Illinois, it wasn’t until college that Nathan let himself explore the world of dance. He stepped onto the dance floor with the ballroom team at UNC Chapel Hill and never looked back. With the guidance of his incredible coaches, he went from newcomer to national finalist in the span of his degree.
Competing in Standard and Latin dances, Nathan grew to love the creativity of expression that ballroom dance allows in concert with a partner. That’s probably why he also grew to love his dance partner, too, and eventually got around to marrying her.
By day, Nathan works as manager and mentor to a global community of university students who are dedicated to building a sustainable, secure, and just protein supply. He’s a scientist by training and explorer by nature, and he brings that curiosity to his dancing. When he isn’t dancing, he can be found at his writing desk or exploring the forest.

Kelly Boggus

Ballet/Family Worship Arts/Tap

Kelly started her training at Jane Kohl School of Dance in Guntersville, AL, developing it further with master classes around the southeast. She studied with the Montgomery Ballet trainee program, and holds a minor in dance from Huntingdon College in Montgomery, AL. She is certified by Dance Masters of America to teach ballet, tap, and jazz. From 2003-2018 in southwest Michigan, she taught creative movement, ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, contemporary, modern, teacher training, and special needs for Hearts in Step (HIS) Dance Academy, Turning Pointe School of Dance, and For His Glory Ballet. From 2018-present in western North Carolina she has continued teaching at Hickory Ballet and Performing Arts and Betty’s School of Dance. Her passion is to develop dancers of all ages and abilities to glorify God with their gifts and talents.

Eloisa Jingle Enerio de Niet

Ballet/Yoga

Jingle started ballet at age 12 in Manila under the excellent tutelage of Felicitas Radaic. She was trained in the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) and quickly progressed to become a
company member with Dance Theatre Philippines at age 17. Her professional career extended to Canada and the United States and lasted for 21 years. She was known as a versatile dancer performing principal roles in contemporary and classical genres. After retiring from the stage, Jingle continued her passion in ballet as an instructor, a choreographer, and a coach. For the last 20 years, she has been guiding young dancers in reaching their potential as dancers and artists.
Her latest endeavor is creating Move NOW, a recreational program designed for older adults who are looking for a basic way to keep the body and mind in shape. In her decades of experience in dance she has always believed that movement is essential in mind and body wellness. She is certified in Yoga and Progressing Ballet Technique. In addition, Jingle received her degrees in Human Services, graduating summa cum laude, and Gerontology. She moved to Hickory, North Carolina in 2021 where she continues to teach. She enjoys the serenity that nature brings, often going on hikes with her husband and their loyal dog. She has been blessed with a daughter who brings her constant joy.

Aubrey Garcia

Contemporary/Jazz

Aubrey is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher who grew up dancing in Las Vegas, Nevada. She has a bachelor’s in dance with an emphasis in choreography and performance from Brigham Young University-Idaho. She has completed her yoga certification through Yoga Alliance. Aubrey has trained in ballet, jazz, modern, tap, and contemporary. She has participated in Brigham Young University-Idaho’s touring dance company, Dance Alliance, for four years and has toured through eastern Canada, the southern and southeast portions of the United States. She also has participated in other modern dance performances through her collegiate career as well as in the BYU-Idaho Christmas Concert. She has also had the opportunity to choreograph for Dance Alliance and other collegiate shows on campus. Aubrey was a Director for the Collegiate dance show in the Fall of 2019. She has had experience teaching the beginning modern and jazz classes at Brigham Young University-Idaho. After her collegiate career, Aubrey has gone on to choreograph many competition routines and have won multiple awards for best choreography at competitions. Aubrey loves pursuing dance and wants to continue investing in this passion.

Anyea Gibson

Hip Hop/Jazz/Lyrical

Ms. Anyea is originally from Mt. Holly, NC, but now resides in Charlotte, NC. In 2008 she graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne College, where she was a member of the cheerleading team, with a degree in Elementary Education. Ms. Anyea later received her Master’s in Education from Appalachian State University in 2012. She taught for 14 years at Viewmont Elementary School where she was the 2017 Hickory Public School’s Mathematics Teacher of the Year and the 2020-2021 Hickory Public School’s Teacher of the Year. Ms. Anyea danced for fifteen years and competed all across the United States for 9 of those years. She began dancing at the age of 21⁄2 at Dance Connection in Mt. Holly, NC. She later moved to Rhythm in Effect, now called Studio 73, in Huntersville, NC. Ms. Anyea has choreographed for several musicals which include: The Color Purple, Evita, 9 to 5, and Memphis as well choreographed many award winning competition dances. Ms. Anyea was the head coach of the Lenoir Rhyne Dance Team from 2018-2020 and along with the head cheerleading coach, helped the LRU Spirit team to their very first NCA National Championship in school history. Ms. Anyea was inducted into the Nu Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International for Women Educators in 2022. Ms. Anyea now teaches at Harding University High School and teaches dance.

Sandy Jahn

Administrative Manager

Sandy Jahn is pleased to be joining the Hickory Ballet & Performing Arts family as an Administrative Assistant and is excited to have this opportunity to support the arts in the Hickory community.  Sandy is a summa cum laude graduate of Lenoir-Rhyne College (now University) with a Bachelor’s Degree in History.  Upon her retirement from First United Methodist Church, Hickory, she was named Director of Christian Education Emeritus, having spent many years as a certified Director of Christian Education in the United Methodist Church.  She has been an active  community volunteer, particularly through her work with the General Federation of Women’s Clubs of North Carolina and served as the organization’s state president in 2006-08.  Sandy and her husband Tom have three children and ten grandchildren with whom she enjoys spending time.  In her rare spare time, she also enjoys traveling, reading, golf, socializing with friends, participating in her church’s activities (especially the music ministry), and playing in the New Horizons Band.

Melody Martinez

Ballet

Melody Martinez is a 2023 Graduate of the East Carolina University Dance Program. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts and Communication with a concentration in Dance, Performance, and Choreography. Last summer, Melody was able to study abroad in Nairobi Kenya! There she taught at community outreach schools and learned choreography from well-known choreographers from Africa. Within this opportunity, Melody found her passion to travel the world and continue to spread the joy of dance.

Kate Mullis

Musical Theatre

Paul Sapp

Drama/Administrative Assistant

Paul Sapp first stepped (or possibly tripped) onto the theatrical stage in 6th Grade. Since then he has been involved with theatre productions and companies—as an actor, crew member, director, producer and writer—in Baltimore, New York, Norfolk, Raleigh-Durham, and now Hickory. Paul is delighted that his daughter is growing her skills as a performer, and grateful to his wife and son for their help with crew—all of which you may have seen in such recent HBPA productions as The Little Mermaid and The SpongeBob Musical. And he is especially grateful to all of the parents who encourage and support their children’s creative potential.

Cookie Samworth

Ballet/Pointe/Lyrical

Cookie Samworth, with a passion for sharing the arts and her gifts through teaching, has spent the last 22 years dedicated to teaching the art of dance in excellence and creating original works that are stunning and powerful. Cookie trained in numerous genres under an excellent faculty at Suncoast Academy in
Florida; which included Maureen McKenna of the Joffrey Ballet, Linda Humphries, who studied with NYC Ballet under George Balanchine and Artistic Director of the Atlanta Ballet, Audrey Cardona, Master tap and jazz teacher with Dance Olympus, and Joni Cantrell, ballet technician and founder of Suncoast Academy and Arts in Action WV, to name a few. After moving to West Virginia Cookie trained under Norma Gunter of the Mid-Ohio Ballet Company, Joni Cantrell and many others. Cookie spent her summers traveling to dance intensives across the US. Cookie, with her goal of becoming a highly skilled dancer and teacher, trained annually with Jerry Rose-Beckley Dance Theatre, David Howard-Master Ballet Teacher, Luigi-Master Jazz Teacher, Randall Flynn-Founder of Dance Ad Deum, Steve Rooks-Principal dancer with Alvin Ailey and Martha Graham Company,
Thelma Ward-Harlem Dance Theatre, and many more. Although teaching and choreographing have always been her focus, Cookie’s performance credits include touring with the “Nutcracker”, being selected to dance an original work that she choreographed in Times
Square New York with Project Dance, appearing in “Comic Relief” with “Radar” of “Mash”, touring with the well-known “Stars of Tomorrow” and performing on “Daystar Television Network.” Cookie choreographed and performed two original pieces at the Clay Center Gala with Landau Eugene Murphy, 2012 winner of America’s Got Talent. Cookie is also certified by Acrobatic Arts to teach acrobatic dance to all ages. Cookie began teaching for Masterpiece dance in 2001 and was appointed Artistic Director of Arts in Action in
2003. Cookie is known for her exceptional choreography with a teaching style that inspires and develops each
student to their fullest potential! Cookie resides in Valdese, NC with her husband and three children.

Shawn Tollefson

Acro/Ballet

Shawnie grew up dancing at Dance Precisions in Orange County, CA from faculty that included Shannon Mather, Francisco Gella, Leslie Kenfield, Eddie Strachen and more! She attended Appalachian State University in 2011- 2016 where she studied dance. In July 2019 she attended Dance Teacher Web Conference in Las Vegas, NV and attended various jazz, ballet, and acro classes. She became Acrobatic Arts Certified in June 2019. Since then she has continued to learn and master the Acrobatic Arts syllabus. She is excited to be a part of the HBPA community!