Meet the Staff
Molly Robinson serves as the School Manager, and she is a ballet and tap instructor. Molly found her love of dance at the age of 3 at Oak Ridge Academy of Dance in East Tennessee. She spent 15 years studying ballet, tap, jazz, modern dance, and even hip hop. Molly moved to Nashville for Belmont University where she was a member of the Belmont Dance Company for 3 years. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelors in exercise science (pre-physical therapy) and a minor in nutrition. She is a personal trainer, fitness instructor, and a Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT). Molly loves to work with children to help teach them healthy lifestyle choices for later in life while also encouraging them towards a life with Christ. Teaching at Rejoice School of Ballet helps her to combine her love of dance, fitness, and teaching. Molly hopes to encourage young dancers to appreciate the art and athleticism of dance by treating their hearts and their bodies with respect and love.
Kayla Rowser Tazik has been involved with Rejoice since 2012 as a teacher and mentor, and she now serves as the Interim Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator. During a 14-year performance career as a professional ballet dancer, Kayla Rowser performed principal roles including Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, among others. She also performed featured roles in works such as George Balanchine’s Western Symphony and Serenade, Christopher Wheeldon’s Ghosts, and many original roles created by Paul Vasterling. Rowser was featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Pointe Magazine, and Huffington Post, and she was named one of Dance Magazine’s “Top 25 to Watch.” She performed at the Kennedy Center with Nashville Ballet, in the Kansas City Dance Festival, Spoleto Dance Festival, Spring to Dance in St. Louis, and the Big Ears Music Festival with musician Rhiannon Giddens. She has taught across the U.S including master classes at Yale University. Since retiring from her performance career in 2020, Rowser has continued to speak, teach, and mentor students. She is currently finishing her degree in communications from The University of Arkansas.
Jo Ellen Werking Weedman serves as Director of Marketing, Communication and Public Relations. A faculty member at Trevecca Nazarene University, Jo Ellen has been a parent and volunteer at Rejoice for several years. She oversees all internal and external communication at Rejoice, and she is currently serving as Rejoice's Interim Executive Director.
Tammy Thatcher serves as Tuition Manager and Administrative Assistant at Rejoice. After being an elementary school secretary and bookkeeper for 27 years, her organization skills and knowledge of registration practices help make Rejoices’ registration process run smoothly. After being a dance mom for 27 years, knowing about ballet and tap allows her be able to help parents choose the right class for their dancer. Tammy and her husband, Karl, live in Clinton Tennessee. They are both retired and love camping and traveling. They especially love to travel to visit their daughter, Molly Robinson, in Nashville.
Imani Sailers was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, beginning her dance training at the Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center at age three. During her early years, Sailers had the honor of dancing at the White House for Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s 2010 Inaugural White House Dance Series and performing in Alvin Ailey’s Memoria with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Sailers attended various summer courses including Pacific Northwest Ballet, Charlotte Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and The School at Jacob’s Pillow. For advanced training, Sailers attended and graduated from Indiana University’s (IU) Jacobs School of Music in 2017 with a B.S. in Ballet with an Outside Field in Political Science. At IU, Sailers performed works by George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, and more.
Sailers joined Nashville Ballet’s second company in 2017 and was promoted to company apprentice after one year. In 2018, she was named one of Pointe Magazine’s “Stars of the Corps”. After a season as a company apprentice, Sailers was promoted to company dancer in 2019. During her time at Nashville Ballet, Sailers has performed roles in Nashville’s Nutcracker, Artistic Director Paul Vasterling’s Lucy Negro Redux and Carmina Burana, Christopher Stuart’s Seven Deadly Sins, Val Caniparoli’s The Lottery, and more.
Named in 2019 one of Nashville Lifestyles’ Magazine’s 25 Most Beautiful People, Imani Sailers has taken to Nashville and has enjoyed teaching aspiring dancers at Rejoice School of Ballet since 2019. She has served as assistant director for The Little Engine That Could and Saam Psalms, two of Rejoice School of Ballet’s original pre-professional productions. She is looking forward to choreographing and directing an original production of Carnival of the Animals and African Suite, set to be performed by the pre-professional students of Rejoice School of Ballet in February 2022.
Allison Hardee began her dance training in ballet and tap at five years old, adding jazz, pointe, and modern in later years. Just as her knowledge of each style grew with time, so did her love and passion for dance, leading her to continue her dance studies at Belmont University as a math major with minors in dance and education. While there, she performed in the Belmont Dance Company, received the Outstanding Dance and Dance Legacy awards, and was given the opportunity to volunteer as a teacher’s assistant at Rejoice. Since graduating, Allison has continued to seek experiences that support her growth as a dancer and teacher, attending the Gus Giordano College/Pro Summer Intensive on scholarship (2018) and becoming a certified beginner Horton technique instructor through the Ailey School (2021). Outside of her work at Rejoice, Allison can also be found teaching modern dance, jazz dance, and assorted math classes at Belmont University; dancing with di Mossa under the direction of Lisa Valeri; and working as a freelance dancer and choreographer around Nashville.
Allison is passionate about the transformative power of dance and the spiritual, emotional, and mental depth it can facilitate. She loves sharing this passion with others and helping her students grow in their own passion for dance.
Ashlyn Hall has been part of the Rejoice community since 2012, teaching ballet, modern and tap, and partnering with Gerald Watson to assistant direct Rejoice's annual classical ballets from 2015-2017. Meanwhile, Ashlyn has danced with di Mossa, Epiphany, Blue Moves, and others, performing locally and throughout the southeast. She is an adjunct instructor of dance at Belmont University, her alma mater, where she earned a BA in Spanish and minors in Dance and Journalism. In the San Francisco Bay Area, Ashlyn spent a few years curating and planning a quarterly artist showcase for LEVYdance; teaching at Alonzo King LINES Ballet's community programs, Bay Area Children's Theatre, and Adda Clevenger School; and performing with Stephanie Unger & Artists. Ashlyn hopes all her dance students discover how persistent, smart and creative they are as they learn technique and artistry.
Erin Williams, a Tennessee native, has a relationship with dance and the Nashville community are deeply intertwined. She began her training with the School of Nashville Ballet in 2006 and has remained in Nashville Ballet’s studios since. As a student, Erin honed her craft and developed her versatility by training in various styles of dance such as ballet, modern, jazz, and character. Over the years she has climbed Nashville Ballet’s ranks and is now a company dancer. Having had the pleasure to work with many well know choreographers and teachers, she is excited to share her knowledge with Rejoice School of Ballet.
Daniel Rodriguez began dancing through the renowned non-for-profit organization National Dance Institute as a young child. Through his years in that program, he discovered ballet and began his formal ballet training. After finishing his training from Manhattan Youth Ballet and Laguardia High School, he began his professional career at North Carolina Dance Theater II (Now Charlotte Ballet) and joined the main company the next season. Having since danced at The Sarasota Ballet, The Dayton Ballet, The Kansas City Ballet he arrived in Nashville in 2018. His favorite roles include George Balanchine’s Emeralds and The Four Temperaments Paul Vasterling’s Appalachian Spring, and Jiri Bubenicek’s Le Souffle de l`Esprit.
Shabaz Chijoke Ujima is a Nashville native whose formal dance training began at the Nashville School of the Arts and the School of Nashville Ballet. He continued his education at the New World School of the Arts in Miami, FL and began training in the Martha Graham Technique. His professional career spanned over a decade, and during that time Ujima danced with NB2 (Nashville Ballet 2nd company), Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Jeanne Ruddy Dance, and Graham II (Martha Graham Dance Company’s 2nd company) New York, NY. During his career, Ujima worked with many notable choreographers including Donald McKayle, Ronald K. Brown, and Paul Vasterling in addition to performing the works of Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham, Jose Limon, and Anna Sokolow.
As a choreographer, Ujima has created and collaborated with the artists of the Nashville Ballet, Nashville Opera, Nashville School of the Arts, and VSA Tennessee in addition to having musical theater choreographic credits in “Hairspray”, “In the Heights”, “Once on this Island”, “The Wiz”. In 2017, Ujima founded shackled feet DANCE, which is Nashville’s Black Dance company.
Ujima has had the pleasure to teach Graham based modern dance, contemporary, and improvisation at the
South Dayton Dance Theater, North Cincinnati Youth Ballet, Stivers School of the Arts (Dayton, OH), Rejoice School of Ballet,
The ProTrac, DTC/Dancing Through the Curriculum, I.T Creswell Arts Magnet, Franklin School of the Arts, and the Nashville School of the Arts. He is currently a full-time faculty member at Nashville Ballet, a teaching artist with the Global Education Center, and an adjunct dance teacher at Belmont University.
Julie Fenske is a current Senior at Belmont University studying Public Relations and Dance. Originally from the Dallas, Texas area, she grew up training in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, and contemporary dance and attended summer intensives with American Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, and Nashville Ballet, where she danced as a Trainee for 2 years upon graduating high school. While studying at Nashville Ballet, she had the opportunity to perform in Nashville's Nutcracker and the Future Artists Showcase. She is currently a member of the Belmont Dance Company and is excited to share her love of dance with the Rejoice community.
Kayla Rowser Tazik has been involved with Rejoice since 2012 as a teacher and mentor, and she now serves as the Interim Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator. During a 14-year performance career as a professional ballet dancer, Kayla Rowser performed principal roles including Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, among others. She also performed featured roles in works such as George Balanchine’s Western Symphony and Serenade, Christopher Wheeldon’s Ghosts, and many original roles created by Paul Vasterling. Rowser was featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Pointe Magazine, and Huffington Post, and she was named one of Dance Magazine’s “Top 25 to Watch.” She performed at the Kennedy Center with Nashville Ballet, in the Kansas City Dance Festival, Spoleto Dance Festival, Spring to Dance in St. Louis, and the Big Ears Music Festival with musician Rhiannon Giddens. She has taught across the U.S including master classes at Yale University. Since retiring from her performance career in 2020, Rowser has continued to speak, teach, and mentor students. She is currently finishing her degree in communications from The University of Arkansas.
Jo Ellen Werking Weedman serves as Director of Marketing, Communication and Public Relations. A faculty member at Trevecca Nazarene University, Jo Ellen has been a parent and volunteer at Rejoice for several years. She oversees all internal and external communication at Rejoice, and she is currently serving as Rejoice's Interim Executive Director.
Tammy Thatcher serves as Tuition Manager and Administrative Assistant at Rejoice. After being an elementary school secretary and bookkeeper for 27 years, her organization skills and knowledge of registration practices help make Rejoices’ registration process run smoothly. After being a dance mom for 27 years, knowing about ballet and tap allows her be able to help parents choose the right class for their dancer. Tammy and her husband, Karl, live in Clinton Tennessee. They are both retired and love camping and traveling. They especially love to travel to visit their daughter, Molly Robinson, in Nashville.
Imani Sailers was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, beginning her dance training at the Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center at age three. During her early years, Sailers had the honor of dancing at the White House for Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s 2010 Inaugural White House Dance Series and performing in Alvin Ailey’s Memoria with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Sailers attended various summer courses including Pacific Northwest Ballet, Charlotte Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and The School at Jacob’s Pillow. For advanced training, Sailers attended and graduated from Indiana University’s (IU) Jacobs School of Music in 2017 with a B.S. in Ballet with an Outside Field in Political Science. At IU, Sailers performed works by George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, and more.
Sailers joined Nashville Ballet’s second company in 2017 and was promoted to company apprentice after one year. In 2018, she was named one of Pointe Magazine’s “Stars of the Corps”. After a season as a company apprentice, Sailers was promoted to company dancer in 2019. During her time at Nashville Ballet, Sailers has performed roles in Nashville’s Nutcracker, Artistic Director Paul Vasterling’s Lucy Negro Redux and Carmina Burana, Christopher Stuart’s Seven Deadly Sins, Val Caniparoli’s The Lottery, and more.
Named in 2019 one of Nashville Lifestyles’ Magazine’s 25 Most Beautiful People, Imani Sailers has taken to Nashville and has enjoyed teaching aspiring dancers at Rejoice School of Ballet since 2019. She has served as assistant director for The Little Engine That Could and Saam Psalms, two of Rejoice School of Ballet’s original pre-professional productions. She is looking forward to choreographing and directing an original production of Carnival of the Animals and African Suite, set to be performed by the pre-professional students of Rejoice School of Ballet in February 2022.
Allison Hardee began her dance training in ballet and tap at five years old, adding jazz, pointe, and modern in later years. Just as her knowledge of each style grew with time, so did her love and passion for dance, leading her to continue her dance studies at Belmont University as a math major with minors in dance and education. While there, she performed in the Belmont Dance Company, received the Outstanding Dance and Dance Legacy awards, and was given the opportunity to volunteer as a teacher’s assistant at Rejoice. Since graduating, Allison has continued to seek experiences that support her growth as a dancer and teacher, attending the Gus Giordano College/Pro Summer Intensive on scholarship (2018) and becoming a certified beginner Horton technique instructor through the Ailey School (2021). Outside of her work at Rejoice, Allison can also be found teaching modern dance, jazz dance, and assorted math classes at Belmont University; dancing with di Mossa under the direction of Lisa Valeri; and working as a freelance dancer and choreographer around Nashville.
Allison is passionate about the transformative power of dance and the spiritual, emotional, and mental depth it can facilitate. She loves sharing this passion with others and helping her students grow in their own passion for dance.
Ashlyn Hall has been part of the Rejoice community since 2012, teaching ballet, modern and tap, and partnering with Gerald Watson to assistant direct Rejoice's annual classical ballets from 2015-2017. Meanwhile, Ashlyn has danced with di Mossa, Epiphany, Blue Moves, and others, performing locally and throughout the southeast. She is an adjunct instructor of dance at Belmont University, her alma mater, where she earned a BA in Spanish and minors in Dance and Journalism. In the San Francisco Bay Area, Ashlyn spent a few years curating and planning a quarterly artist showcase for LEVYdance; teaching at Alonzo King LINES Ballet's community programs, Bay Area Children's Theatre, and Adda Clevenger School; and performing with Stephanie Unger & Artists. Ashlyn hopes all her dance students discover how persistent, smart and creative they are as they learn technique and artistry.
Erin Williams, a Tennessee native, has a relationship with dance and the Nashville community are deeply intertwined. She began her training with the School of Nashville Ballet in 2006 and has remained in Nashville Ballet’s studios since. As a student, Erin honed her craft and developed her versatility by training in various styles of dance such as ballet, modern, jazz, and character. Over the years she has climbed Nashville Ballet’s ranks and is now a company dancer. Having had the pleasure to work with many well know choreographers and teachers, she is excited to share her knowledge with Rejoice School of Ballet.
Daniel Rodriguez began dancing through the renowned non-for-profit organization National Dance Institute as a young child. Through his years in that program, he discovered ballet and began his formal ballet training. After finishing his training from Manhattan Youth Ballet and Laguardia High School, he began his professional career at North Carolina Dance Theater II (Now Charlotte Ballet) and joined the main company the next season. Having since danced at The Sarasota Ballet, The Dayton Ballet, The Kansas City Ballet he arrived in Nashville in 2018. His favorite roles include George Balanchine’s Emeralds and The Four Temperaments Paul Vasterling’s Appalachian Spring, and Jiri Bubenicek’s Le Souffle de l`Esprit.
Shabaz Chijoke Ujima is a Nashville native whose formal dance training began at the Nashville School of the Arts and the School of Nashville Ballet. He continued his education at the New World School of the Arts in Miami, FL and began training in the Martha Graham Technique. His professional career spanned over a decade, and during that time Ujima danced with NB2 (Nashville Ballet 2nd company), Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Jeanne Ruddy Dance, and Graham II (Martha Graham Dance Company’s 2nd company) New York, NY. During his career, Ujima worked with many notable choreographers including Donald McKayle, Ronald K. Brown, and Paul Vasterling in addition to performing the works of Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham, Jose Limon, and Anna Sokolow.
As a choreographer, Ujima has created and collaborated with the artists of the Nashville Ballet, Nashville Opera, Nashville School of the Arts, and VSA Tennessee in addition to having musical theater choreographic credits in “Hairspray”, “In the Heights”, “Once on this Island”, “The Wiz”. In 2017, Ujima founded shackled feet DANCE, which is Nashville’s Black Dance company.
Ujima has had the pleasure to teach Graham based modern dance, contemporary, and improvisation at the
South Dayton Dance Theater, North Cincinnati Youth Ballet, Stivers School of the Arts (Dayton, OH), Rejoice School of Ballet,
The ProTrac, DTC/Dancing Through the Curriculum, I.T Creswell Arts Magnet, Franklin School of the Arts, and the Nashville School of the Arts. He is currently a full-time faculty member at Nashville Ballet, a teaching artist with the Global Education Center, and an adjunct dance teacher at Belmont University.
Julie Fenske is a current Senior at Belmont University studying Public Relations and Dance. Originally from the Dallas, Texas area, she grew up training in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, and contemporary dance and attended summer intensives with American Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, and Nashville Ballet, where she danced as a Trainee for 2 years upon graduating high school. While studying at Nashville Ballet, she had the opportunity to perform in Nashville's Nutcracker and the Future Artists Showcase. She is currently a member of the Belmont Dance Company and is excited to share her love of dance with the Rejoice community.