Meet Our Instructors

Macey Strickland Butler

Artistic & Business Director

Macey is a native of Rutherford County and a honors graduate of East Rutherford High School. She started dancing at age 4 and has been trained in numerous styles including tap, jazz, contemporary, hip-hop, ballet, pointe, clogging, modern, and ballroom.

In all her years of dancing, Macey has…

• Been a Carolina Panther TopCat Cheerleader where she performed at Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, California

• Been a member of Carolina Dance Masters certified in ballet, jazz and tap since 2016

• Completed a program at EDGE Performing Arts Center in Hollywood, California

• Performed in showcases on Carnival Cruise Ships

• Worked for Celebrity Dance Competitions

• Choreographed the opening number for the National Beta Club Convention 2018 held in Savannah, Georgia, which included over 300 top dancers from across the United States

• Been a 2012 member of the Appalachian State University Dance Team, where she pursued a degree in dance with a minor in communications

• Trained with top choreographers from around the world

• Won numerous choreography awards

• Taught at DreamWeavers for the past eight years and looks forward to continuing to teach/mentor students for many years to come!

Jessica Medford

During her school years, she tried all types of dance, but loved hip-hop and clogging the most.

After her time at DreamWeavers, Jessica went on to Mars Hill University and was a member of the award-winning Bailey Mountain Cloggers. While a member of BMC, she was able to expand upon her clogging knowledge, as well as other styles of dance. She was part of the team as they won three more national titles and numerous other awards. She also traveled with BMC to international folk dance festivals in England, Greece, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Colombia. She has performed with various bluegrass bands such as Balsam Range and the bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs. Jessica is also the Gear Up Coordinator at Isothermal Community College.

Leah Pressley

Leah has been dancing since the age of 3, training in Ballet, Lyrical, Jazz, Contemporary, and Hip Hop.

She is a native of Spruce Pine, North Carolina and received her bachelor’s degree from Appalachian State University. Leah has participated in multiple dance conventions, taken master classes with top choreographers, and received overall awards at numerous regional and national competitions. At the age of 13, she was chosen to perform in New York City’s “Be Discovered” through Broadway Dance Center. Throughout her years of dancing, she has found her passion in teaching others and encouraging children to pursue their dream in dance. She hopes to one day open her own dance studio.

Madison Keaton

During her early years, Madison displayed her love of dance and won many awards such as the Passion for Dance Award and the Dedication Award. She began teaching at DreamWeavers following her graduation in 2019. 

Since then, she has found that her true passion is teaching the next generation. Madison's sweet and compassionate heart sets her apart from the rest. She is truly a great role model for all that look up to her. During her time as an instructor at DreamWeavers, Madison has won choreography awards and has had several dances place in overalls. She has taught a variety of dance styles such as tap, jazz, lyrical, and ballet. Madison is a current Special Education Teacher. Outside of the dance studio, she is currently pursuing a Master’s of Education in STEM Curriculum at Western Carolina University and plans to pursue a Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction. 

Talita Rubio Byrnes

Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Talita has been dancing since she was 3 years old.

 In 2001, she graduated from the Municipal Theater of Sao Paulo where she perfected Classical Ballet and Modern Ballet. Then she furthered her studies in Jazz dance at Garra & Harmonia Dance Studio graduating in 2004. After graduation she did some specialized courses in different ballet techniques such as the Vaganova, Royal, and Cuban technique. She also experienced other types of dance throughout her life such as Contemporary Ballet, and Tap. 

She participated in the International Seminar of Dance in Brasilia years of 2006 and 2007. She was accepted to dance at the International Dance Festival of Joinville in 2008 and 2009. She has won many awards in renowned dance festivals such as ENDA, Joinville International Dance Festival, Ballace, Elite Festival and Brasilia’s International Seminar. She has performed in famous works such as Paquita, Cinderella, La Bayadere, Le Corsaire, The Nutcracker, Harlequin, Don Quixote, Napoli, Coppélia, The Sleeping Beauty, Etudes, Graduation Ball, and Carmen.

She was a member of the Ballet Chicago Company, primarily focusing in Balanchine technique for 3 years where she had the privilege to perform Balanchine’s master works such as Serenade, Rubies, Who Cares?, The Nutcracker, Concerto Barocco, and Swan Lake

. Talita is a member of Carolina Dance Masters since 2017 earning her certification in Ballet & Jazz. In 2018 Talita became a licensed massage therapist and in 2020 she graduated from an accredited physical therapy assistant program. She works as a Physical Therapist Assistant during the day and teaches dance in the evenings. She loves what she does and is very passionate about it. 

Charise Champion

Charise started tumbling at 6 years old. Her junior year of high school she became a gymnastics instructor and then started her journey in cosmetology. She has been a hairdresser for 22 years, but her passion is working with kids .

She has been at DreamWeavers for over for 4 years and really enjoys teaching gymnastics. When she is not teaching, she is at work cutting hair or spending time with her husband Jonathan and their daughter Julia, who has been dancing/ tumbling at DreamWeavers for 4 years now . Together her and Jonathan have 6 children and 8 grandchildren.

Tia Scruggs

Tia has more than 20 years experience teaching Acro and Tumbling. She has taught cheerleading camps and judged competitions all over the United States for Cheer Ltd, Cheer Sport, and United Spirit Association.

Tia has been an Acro instructor at DreamWeavers for the past 9 years. She graduated from Gardner-Webb University with a Bachelor of Science in Human Services . During her time at Gardner-Webb she was a cheerleader and competed at the NCA Nationals in Daytona Beach, FL. Tia is very creative and is an amazing choreographer. She is a former cheerleading coach at RS Central High School and continues works with our local schools on cheer choreography.