Mary Beth Cauthen
Owner & Director
Mary Beth, a cum laude graduate of Berry College, formed The Dance Centre in 1983. Her dance background includes study in New York at the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, the Broadway Dance Center and the School for Ballet and Theatre Dance. In Atlanta she has studied with the Atlanta Contemporary Dance Company, the City Center Dance Theatre, Terpsichore and with Ruth Mitchell Dance Studio. She has also trained with Rockette Sandi Friedman and Jason Kalish, a former Tap Dog. Mary Beth trained under Susan Robinson and served as an instructor at The Art of Dance in Rome from 1978-1983 and studied with the notable ballet teacher Stanley Zompakos at Shorter College. Mary Beth has served on the audition committee for the Georgia Governor's Honors Program in dance as well as Dance Coordinator for the Rome Area Council for the Arts.
She holds many choreography credits including The Nutcracker for RACA, Cabaret for Berry Players, many musicals including Quilters, Tintypes, Bound for Broadway, Fiddler on the Roof and Man of La Mancha for the Shorter Players, Godspell for Darlington Players and Twelve Dancing Princesses, The Littlest Angel and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever for the Creative Playhouse Children's Theatre. She also created and produces our original bi-annual production of The Night Before Christmas at the Rome City Auditorium.
Mary Beth served many years as an executive officer on the Board of Directors for the Rome Area Council for the Arts and was rehearsal co-coordinator for the Rome Symphony Debutante Ball for 10 years. Mary Beth has two grown children, Anna Claire and Hampton.
Amie began dancing at the age of 2 and hasn’t stopped since. She has a love for pulling out the artist in dancers and finds great joy watching students find their own beat within a rhythm. Amie started dancing in Colorado then moved to Marietta, GA at the age of 10 when she started to dance competitively with Centre Stage School of Dance under the direction of Cheri Fustino. She fell in love with the stage and alongside her dancing performed as a lead actress in many productions such as The Wizard of Oz, Anything Goes, Hello, Dolly! and her favorite role as Anne Reilly in 42nd Street, where she got to utilize her fast tapping feet.
Amie attended Jacksonville State University on a full scholarship for performing arts and was a core dancer under the direction of Susan McCain. She was also selected for Disney World's "Kids of the Kingdom" program. She has choreographed for high school show choirs, Darlington School's winter musicals and Rome High School Color Guard. She continues her own dance education by attending master classes and dance conventions. She has had the opportunity to train under Mia Michaels, Mandy Moore, Mike Minery, Jason Kalish, Giancarlos Solinas “Gianks,” Nick Lazzarini and Teddy Forance.
Amie is very excited about Synergy Dance Company and looks forward to bringing this accelerated group of dancers to perform for community events, workshops, master classes and dance conventions. Outside of dancing, Amie is the President of the Darlington Fine Arts Booster Club, dances for the Sexual Assault Center's "Rome Celebrity Dance Challenge,' and plays taxi driver for her three dancing daughters.
Amie Sauborin
Artistic Director of Synergy
JoAnna Parker has been dancing since the age of 2. She started ballet and tap at The Dance Centre and has been here ever since. JoAnna has studied all dance disciplines and has studied ballet under Pavel Rotaru and Kay Whiffen at the Rotaru International Children's Ballet.
Mrs. Parker has choreographed and performed in numerous musicals such as Cats, Annie Get Your Gun (in which she played the lead role), Fiddler on the Roof, Lil Abner and all the Broadway Spectaculars for Rome Little Theater. She also performed in Pepperell High School's show choir.
JoAnna was a member of Allegro Dance Company, under the direction of Georgie Riegel, for 10 years and now teaches all levels of tap, ballet, jazz and musical theatre as well as instructs for Synergy Dance Company. JoAnna has been teaching at The Dance Centre since 2004. JoAnna is the proud mother of her son, Kaydon.
JoAnna Parker
Lucy began dancing at the age of 3. She studied dance at The Dance Centre under Mary Beth Cauthen and Susan Robinson until graduating from high school in 1990. Lucy attended the University of Georgia and in 1994 completed her Bachelor of Science in Child Development and Early Childhood Education.
While attending UGA, Lucy took college level ballet and modern classes and performed in the Young Choreographer's Series in 1993 and 1994. Upon returning to Rome, Lucy joined the faculty of The Dance Centre and performed with Allegro Dance Company. During this time she received her Masters in Education from Berry College.
Lucy is our ballet instructor for the younger members of Synergy Dance Company. Outside of dance and teaching elementary school Lucy stays busy with her husband, Tony, and their three children.
Bambi Waters
Lucy Burnes
Bambi Waters has been an employee of The Dance Centre since 1991. She has taught all levels of ballet, tap and jazz, but now enjoys teaching pre-schoolers and beginning students.
Bambi started taking dance at the age of 5 in Birmingham, Alabama at the Frances Keeton School of Dance. She began teaching as a student assistant while in high school and ran a dance school through an after school program during her senior year. Bambi attended Berry College for 2 years and then transferred to the University of Alabama in Birmingham and graduated with a sociology major. While attending college, she took a variety of classes and was in the modern dance club at UAB.
Along with teaching at The Dance Centre, Bambi also teaches creative movement in pre-schools around the area. Bambi is married to Gary Waters and they have 4 adult children.
Hannah Camacho
Dance, literature, and motherhood are three of Hannah's greatest passions. Hannah Camacho has been a student at The Dance Centre for 17 plus years. Hannah has assisted many classes and recitals during her time at The Dance Centre as well as taking classes in ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, and contemporary during her dance career.
Hannah participated in the pre-professional modern company Allegro for eight years and also participated in The Dance Centre's company Synergy. Hannah is trained to accommodate the needs of a wide range of dancers. She taught ballet and tap in Cherokee county for the company Creative Movement and Dance enjoying the ages four to eight. Hannah has also served as a substitute and assistant for many other levels of dancers.
Hannah wishes to continue studying dance to become a better dancer, teacher, and choreographer. Her hopes and dreams are to take her greatest passion and embellish it into her students hearts and minds, growing them into talented and beautiful dancers. Currently, Hannah has been a college student at West Georgia College and is enrolled at Berry College this academic year. She has her middle grades and early childhood education associates degree and will continue working toward her bachelor's degree for early childhood education. She eventually wishes to teach literature at a university while continuing pursing her passion as a dancer.
Katie Kiser
Katie Kiser graduated from Shorter University in 2008 with a B.S. in CPA track Accounting and from the University of West Ga in 2011 in Middle Grades Math and Science Education. During her college years Katie taught at Baird Ballet and worked as a teacher’s aid at Rome First School.
Katie has been studying dance at the Baird Ballet School since 1994 and was a nominee for the Governor's Honor Program in dance in 2004. She has taught ballet, tap, jazz and contemporary for 6 years and dances with the Majestic Ballet Company.
Katie loves any opportunity to share her love for dance with the community including line dancing classes and ballroom lessons. She has participated in the Rome Celebrity Dance Challenge fundraiser 2011-2016.
Tessa Weimorts
Tessa's love for dance began at the age of three when she "visited" a dance studio in Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. She began taking lessons at the age of three with Expressions Dance Studio in Calhoun, Georgia. At the age of six she joined the performance team at Expressions and began performing at fairs, festivals, nursing homes, and etc..
When she was eight she moved to City Ballet under the direction of LaRae Dean. While with Ms. Dean she traveled with a group of fellow dancers to New York City where they had the privilege of visiting the Broadway School of Dance. They also got to enjoy the Broadway show 42nd Street. Tessa was inspired by this to further her dance education.
She joined The Dance Centre's program when she was ten; the following year she joined Allegro Dance Company, under the direction of Georgie Reigel. When she was thirteen she also began taking at Great Gig in Kennesaw, Georgia where she was enrolled in modern, tap, and ballet. She has also taken group and private lessons from tap star Jason Kalish. This is her fourth year teaching at The Dance Centre. She continues her own education under the wonderful teachers here and is currently enjoying being a new mommy to son, Kendon and daughter, Rhiannon.