Professional Instruction in a Friendly Environment

Originally from England, Laura Hanson started her dance training at three years old at The Florian School of Dance. Discovering her passion for dance, she attended The Royal Ballet School in London Senior Associates Program at 14 years old. At the age of 16, she received two scholarships to attend full-time dance school Central Ballet School in London and Elmhurst School for Dance in association with The Birmingham Royal Ballet. She chose to attend Elmhurst School for Dance and graduated in 2005 with a National Dance Diploma in Classical Ballet and Contemporary and A-Levels in Dance and English Literature. In 2010, Laura gained her Bachelor of the Arts Degree in Dance and Arts Management (Honors) from Middlesex University in London, England. Her dissertation received the Gerry Fowler Award for Achievement in recognition of progress and outstanding result of the Professional Practice Program. Laura has had an extensive dance career performing in entertainment venues worldwide.

In 2011, Laura married Statesville native Eric Hanson and began teaching dance. She has instructed ballet, pointe, lyrical, jazz, tap, and more. Soon after her son was born Laura started teaching fitness classes at The Statesville Family YMCA. In September 2015 Laura began a dance program at the Statesville Family YMCA, which quickly started growing. She expanded the program to The YMCA Dance Academy.

Laura loves sharing her passion for dance with all her students and is excited to build a sense of family and community to Statesville Dance. Laura says, “Dance is for everyone. It is good for the mind, body, and soul. I can’t imagine a day without dance!”

Ally Capehart, originally from Statesville NC, started dancing at three years old and began teaching at 16 years old. She danced competitively for eight years of her training and cheered on her high school varsity cheer team for four years. Once Ally graduated High School from Terry Sanford High School she began teaching full-time while earning her business degree. She began to travel across the east coast to teach and take part in many conventions to broaden her teaching and choreography abilities.

After earning her business degree, Ally got married to her husband Casey Capehart and moved back to her hometown of Statesville NC. Ally has a passion for teaching dance and loves connecting with her students. She loves teaching, sharing her love for dance, and helping her students reach their goals!