Instructors
Brooke Whitfield
Owner
...the owner of Artistry in Motion, was a Teaching Fellow at East Carolina University and graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in Dance Education.
Her dance career began at age 4 at Lane Dance Academy and developed as she trained with numerous professionals and choreographers such as Frank Hatchett, Michelle Dorrance, Dena Rizzo, Gene Medler and many more.
She has performed with various dance teams and continues to attend conventions to broaden her dance technique and dance experience. After college, Brooke received her DIVIDA Ballroom Certification at the North Carolina Ballroom Teachers' College. She then lived in New York and taught preschool creative dance at New York Kids Club while interning with Parsons Dance Company and dancing with bnw:dance Company.
Being a native of Smithfield, she is delighted to bring back her knowledge and experience to share with children of the area and keep her passion for dance alive. She looks forward to sharing her love for dance and the arts with all of her students.
Kara Marks
Instructor
Kara Marks began dancing at the age of 3 at Myrick‘s School of Dance in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. While there she developed her dance skills in clogging, tap, jazz, and ballet.
While at Myrick’s School of Dance, she was a member of a competitive clogging team starting at the age of 8. A 2006 graduate of North Carolina State University with a Bachelors Degree in Biological Sciences, she is employed by GlaxoSmithKline as a chemist. In 2010, Kara became a licensed Zumba instructor. She has been teaching Zumba at AIM since March 2011 and in charge of the Clogging Program since 2012.
Kara was born and raised in Roanoke Rapids, NC. She is a member of a large family with two sisters, one brother, 4 nieces, and 2 nephews. She currently lives in Zebulon, NC and is a proud boy mom to Bryson & Easton.
Miranda Magro
Instructor
Miranda Magro began dancing in the Philadelphia area at the age of 2, competitively since the age of 8. After graduating, Miranda went on to dance under Sea World Parks and Entertainment, specifically with Sesame Place, where she was given publicity and performance opportunities across Philadelphia and New York City. She then was hired by V-Star Entertainment, where she spent 2 tours dancing internationally with Sesame Street Live. Miranda has also spent years traveling with the Star Dance Alliance where she mastered all aspects of the competitive dance industry, including directing. Miranda has been teaching since the age of 15 and continues to receive choreography, entertainment, and technical excellence awards for her work in numerous styles of dance. Miranda is a committed teacher, mentor and coach to all of her students, taking immense pride in being a part of their journey and successes.
Bonnie O’Neil Mayo
Instructor
Bonnie is a native of Johnston County and a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She studied dance for 19 years with concentrations in tap, jazz, ballet and acrobatics.
Bonnie worked as an acrobatic instructor at Lane Dance Academy in the 1990’s and began teaching again last year at Artistry in Motion. She sees acrobatics as an extension of dance and feels that the flexibility and strength that come from acrobatic skills enhance your dance abilities. Bonnie knows each child learns at his/her
Tracy McWilliams
Instructor
Tracy McWilliams is a versatile teacher, choreographer, and dancer who has been immersed in the world of dance since the age of one. She began competing at the age of five and joined the competitive ensemble team at Wake Forest Academy of Fine Arts at the age of ten. This early foundation in competitive dance paved the way for her to perform pre-professionally at East Carolina University. Tracy graduated from ECU’s Honors College with a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography and a minor in Composite Natural Sciences.
During her time at ECU, Tracy had the opportunity to perform in pieces choreographed by a range of esteemed artists, including Claudia-Lynn Rightmire, Donna Vaughn, Britt Juleen, MeganAnna Griffin, Dirk Lumbard, Tommi Galaska, and John Dixon. These collaborations allowed her to deepen her technical skills and expand her artistic expression across multiple dance genres. She was featured in several notable university productions, such as Fall Dance, Spring Dance, and Dance at Wright, where she worked alongside talented dancers and choreographers to bring diverse works to life.
In addition to her academic and performance experience at ECU, Tracy has also had the privilege of guest choreographing and teaching masterclasses at various dance studios across North Carolina. Her broad experience in both choreography and performance allows her to offer a well-rounded and inspirational perspective to her students.
Currently, Tracy teaches and choreographs at Artistry in Motion Performing Arts Center, where she continues to inspire and cultivate the next generation of dancers. Her passion for dance makes her a respected and influential figure in the dance community.
Emma Kenney
Instructor
Emma Kenney is originally from Lancaster, CA, but spent most of her growing up years in Colorado Springs, CO. She has been dancing for nearly 20 years and has trained extensively in a variety of styles including Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Hip-Hop, Ballet, Acrobatics and Modern. Though she loves all of the styles, Emma’s favorite has always been Tap. She has had the privilege of learning from some of the best in the country, such as Ryan Lohoff, Angela Carter, Gregg Russell and Donovan Helma.
Emma began teaching and creating choreography when she was 14, and became a full time dance instructor straight out of high school. Emma also danced competitively for 7 years, and performed for Davis Contemporary Dance Company: the Next Generation for 2 seasons. After her senior year of high school, she was promoted to Apprentice with Davis Contemporary Dance Company.
Emma moved to Clayton, NC in June of 2021. She is excited to share her passion with a new dance community, and is so grateful for the opportunity to inspire young dancers the same way her mentors have inspired her
Vanden Sharpe
Instructor
Vanden Sharpe graduated from UNCW in 2011 with a B.S. in Finance and Economics. Vanden started taking tumble at the age of 4 until she graduated from High School. She was a member of the Triad Tumblers at Dance and Tumble Creations where she won top awards in Dance/Tumble Competitions. She started assisting with tumble classes throughout high school. From 2007 to 2011, Vanden coached the Artistic Gymnastics Team at Carolina Gymnastics Academy in Wilmington, NC (levels 3-6). She also attended several USAG Spotting Clinics. Vanden has been teaching Tumble Classes and Tumble Teams at Hunter’s Dance since 2011. Vanden is married to Cliff Sharpe and has 2 daughters and one son, Scarlett, Reese and Banks. Vanden loves working with children and enjoys watching the students’ progress from year to year!
Meredith Sinclair
Instructor
Meredith Sinclair is a North Carolina native and began dancing at the early age of 3. She has studied in various styles including ballet, pointe, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, improvisation, modern, and hip hop. One of her favorite memories as a dancer was having the opportunity to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. Meredith graduated from Meredith College in 2020 with a B.A. in Dance Studies with a concentration in Private Studio Teaching and a B.S. in Business Administration. While attending Meredith College she was a member of the Meredith Dance Theatre and Meredith Jazz and Tap Company. During the 2019-2020 academic year she served as the Co-Manager of MJTCo. She has choreographed many pieces which were selected for Gala performances at Meredith College. Meredith has also interned for the American Dance Festival during the 2019 summer festival as the Dean’s Assistant in the School Office. Since graduating in 2020 she has been teaching and is excited to be a part of AIM! Her choreography has received several overalls and speciality awards, including being selected to perform at the standing ovation competition at Encore DCS Nationals 2022. She is excited to share her knowledge and love for dance with all of the students and families at AIM!
Raegen Sutton
Instructor
Raegen Sutton, a Johnston County Native has been dancing since she was 2 years old. She is an Artistry In Motion 2023 Alumni and is now apart of the NC State Dance Team. At NC State University she is majoring in Business Entrepreneurship and plans to minor in Marketing! Raegen has been teaching for the past 3 years and hopes to continue inspiring the next generation! She has a passion of teaching and learning from her students and loves watching their love of dance grow.
Brianna Spensieri
Instructor
Bri started dancing officially at the age of 3 with Power Explosion Studio of Dance in Southern Maryland. Throughout her tenure there, she became skilled in the styles of tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, hip-hop, contemporary, modern, lyrical, Cecchetti and musical theater. With Power Explosion, she mastered her first competitive tap solo at the age of 5, won countless first place positions, and was part of the National Champion team in 2012. After graduating High School, she has taught classes for over 7 years in Southern Maryland while also taking some college dance classes.
She worked professionally at Broadway at the Beach – Thriller, and Dance Spirit Magazine. She also loved being a back-up dancer for Kiara Simon and participating in numerous dance festivals in Hawaii. In addition, she danced recreationally for Disney – Dance the Magic, the Christmas Parade for ABC 7, and even trained with top choreographers from “So You Think You Can Dance:” She cherishes the memory of being in a flash mop charity event for Civista Hospital, as well as one at a local mall in Maryland. Within the last year she had the opportunity to perform with Reggie Rice, in some of his magic comedy shows. She has been recruited into the A-list Model and Talent Agency of NC.
Rosalba Lara
Instructor
Artistry in Motion is the Premier Performing Arts Center for Johnston County
© 2025 AIM Performing Arts.
INFORMATION
USEFUL LINKS
CONTACT
(919) 938-6210
1336 North Brightleaf Blvd
Smithfield
North Carolina 27577