BDC Milonga - April 5, 2025

Emilie, Owner and Senior Instructor at Ballroom Dance Center, is a professional ballroom dance teacher, choreographer, performer, competitor and business owner. She attended Davidson College earning a Bachelor’s in History Degree with graduate work at the University of Virginia in Student Personnel Administration. Early in her career she worked as a college administrator in international and business education in Virginia and Boston.

Her love of dance began when she was five years old after seeing a ballet. She toured as an actress for three years with the Children’s Theatre Company out of Boston, Massachusetts, and studied Mime at The Mime Center in London. She began her ballroom dancing career as an amateur in New England. With partner Shawn Smith, they eventually became the New England Latin Dance Champions.

In addition to performing with the Augusta Symphony, she toured in the United States, Argentina and Brazil as a professional Argentine Tango Dancer with Washington-based QuinTango. As a professional ballroom dancer, she and partner Val Ganiev are United States professional finalists in the American 9 Dance Division and have competed and performed throughout the United States.

With an early career in higher education coupled with a performing arts background in theatre and dance, Emilie brought her vision for academic excellence into the creation of The Ballroom Dance Center. “Anyone teaching dance should be both teacher and dancer, always getting better themselves so they can inspire students,” stated Emilie.

In 1998, she directed the building of the current 5,000-square-foot studio. With a huge, floating, “leg-friendly,” hardwood dance floor, featuring a large and small ballroom, it is the premier dance facility in the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA). The Ballroom Dance Center is also the longest operating partner dance studio in the CSRA with a full staff of accomplished and professionally certified instructors.

Today Emilie uses her unique background and skill set to present ballroom shows that transcend a routine ballroom dance recital. Few studios in the country offer creative, themed showcases that incorporate music, dance, film, storytelling, history and theatre. She draws on her lifelong love of history and humanities as she writes and directs shows for The Ballroom Dance Center.

Emilie is also the founder of the Glory Dancers, which exist to glorify God through the beauty of dance and the power of dramatic storytelling. Using dance, theatre, film and music, the troupe seeks to touch hearts and open minds to the greatest story ever told, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Her professional certifications include the following:

• Grand Master, Master and Associate of Dance Degrees, American Style Smooth, High Honors, DVIDA
• Master and Associate of Dance Degrees, American Style Rhythm, High Honors, DVIDA
• Master of Dance Degree, American Style Bolero, Mambo, Merengue, Samba and West Coast Swing, High Honors, DVIDA
• Master and Associate of Dance Degrees, International Style Standard, High Honors, DVIDA