Our Staff – Dance Project

Anne Morris cares deeply about dance, dancers, and making dance accessible as widely as possible. Originally from Decatur, GA, she holds an undergraduate degree from Smith College, an MFA in Dance from UNC-Greensboro, and a certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke University. A life-long dancer and dance educator, Anne danced professionally with Brazz Dance Theater in Massachusetts and Miami, where she also was Director of Development and Public Relations for the company, before moving to Greensboro in 2008 for graduate school. She met Dance Project’s founder Jan Van Dyke at UNC-Greensboro, and joined the Dance Project staff as an administrator and dance teacher in 2011. Anne took on the Co-Executive Director role with Lauren Joyner from 2015-2024, and also continues to direct Dance Project’s annual NC Dance Festival. She is an active participant in the Greensboro arts and nonprofit communities, and loves to introduce people of all ages and experience levels to the joy and fun of dance.

Lauren Trollinger Joyner has a BFA in Dance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Lauren has worked with Queen City Jazz Company, Nosi Dance Theater, and helped start and run Blank Slate Dance Company of Durham. She has performed in the North Carolina Dance Festival, North Carolina Dance Alliance, and the Greensboro Fringe Festival. She was privileged to also be a part of the Equity test run of the Broadway Show “The Notebook” the musical. She also ran the dance company at CC & Co. Dance Complex. At CC & Co. she had the honor of working with choreographers such as Travis Wall and Stacey Tookey. Lauren is so happy to be giving back to the community that has given her so much!

Currently she is dedicated to providing the best dance programming at Dance Project’s School. This includes master classes, student classes, summer camps and the annual Dance Marathon fundraiser!

Magalli Morana, a Triad local, has danced all of her life, cultivating a passion for choreographing, performing, and sharing the joys of dance with others through teaching. Magalli went on to pursue dance at UNCG and graduated with her BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography with K-12 Teaching Licensure and a minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She became involved with arts administration and dance nonprofit work during her years at UNCG, growing her love for serving her community. She has had the opportunity to present research at the National Dance Education Organization Conference, and to perform at the Greensboro Fringe Festival, Greensboro Project Space, NCDEO, and in Cortona, Italy. When she’s not dancing, Magalli enjoys traveling, visiting art museums, and exploring nature.⁠

Fay Poindexter brings 40 years of accounting experience to Dance Project. She attended Rockingham Community College in Wentworth, NC, where she was in the Associate of Arts Program for Business/Accounting. She received her Broker/Accounting License from Dan Mohr School of Real Estate in Greensboro, NC. Fay loves people and is very active in her community and church in Reidsville, NC. Fay said she is “too uncoordinated to be a dance instructor for Dance Project, but she loves the staff and loves when the “books” balance each month!”

Maxwell Gilles graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a degree in Communications and a minor in Sustainable Community Development. He is passionate about the arts, and has experience in television production, event planning, and social media management. Max is an avid naturalist, and keeps a variety of plants, insects, and fish as pets.

Amiyah is a passionate multi-hyphenate creative, arts advocate, and Greensboro local who is happy to bring her years of administrative experience to the Dance Project team. She began her career in hospitality, working for several hotels throughout the south, cultivating her strong sense of guest service. She enjoys volunteering for several local performing and visual arts organizations such as the Carolina theater, Greensboro Opera, and Center for Visual Artists. Amiyah finally took a leap into the professional world of the arts in 2023 with Dance Project now as her second arts administrative position. She is proud of Dance Project’s mission of keeping dance accessible and elated to now be a part of the dance community.

Amiyah is a self taught pianist, illustrator, composer, and spoken word artist. She also has a love for theme parks, tourism, entertainment, film score, and musical theatre. If she’s not working or volunteering, you can find her at a bookstore, museum, open mic, yoga, watching a performance, or in dance class!

Our Teachers

We are incredibly honored to have such an amazing and talented teaching staff here at Dance Project, all of whom believe in our mission and go above and beyond to make our ideas a reality. They build strong bonds with our students, helping them to reach their dance goals, and meeting each student’s needs individually wherever they are in their journey. Coming from a wide range of dance training backgrounds and cultures, there’s bound to be a teacher you will love to dance with.

Anne Morris

Lauren Joyner

Magalli Morana

Fay Poindexter

Maxwell Gilles

Amiyah Johnson

Our Teachers

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