Artistic Staff

  • Piper Bonner is originally from Montgomery, Alabama and is currently a senior at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. She is also a Mount Laurel Ballet Ruby in the studio company and an ensemble member of Magic City Performing Arts. She has performed in both the Magic City Nutcracker and "Swan Lake" as a demi-soloist and a soloist, and she has competed with MLB's studio company at four competitions. Piper has had fifteen years of dance training, focusing on ballet, modern, contemporary, and jazz, and was a student teacher for youth ballet and jazz at the Alabama River Region Ballet for four years. She was also a teacher at TuTu School Montgomery for two years. She has spent her summers in ballet intensives across the nation, and her weekends are devoted to Saturday rehearsals and teaching Sunday School for elementary students at her church. Piper's passions lie in both performing and teaching, and she is so excited to spend her year with Mount Laurel Ballet doing both.  

  • Stephanie Frances Rangel began her training in Jacksonville, Florida under Mark Spivak. She then continued her tutelage with Beth Marks where she studied ballet, jazz, and modern. She joined Jacksonville Ballet Theatre at the age of 15 where she studied under Dulce Anaya. Shortly after moving to Birmingham, Alabama to attend Samford University, she began her professional career by joining Birmingham Ballet Repertory Company, under direction of Cindy Free and Alfonso Figueroa. While with the company she performed notable roles including Princess Florine in The Sleeping Beauty, Arabian Coffee in The Nutcracker, and the lead in Alfonso Figueroa’s Hues. The Birmingham News referred to the performance in Hues by Rangel and her partner, Cole Companion, as the “highlight” of the ballet. She joined Arova Contemporary Ballet in 2012, under the direction of Alison Page and ballet mistress Therese Laeger. She performed the role of Sorceress in the original ballet, The Snow Queen. Rangel has been teaching ballet, jazz, and contemporary to students of all ages since 2007. After she was married in 2016, she moved to the country of Panamá with her husband David, and taught ballet for Crossroads Bible Church and the Metropolitan School of Panama. She also choreographed and assisted with an annual Christmastime production called “Cantada” that involved over 150 singers, dancers, and actors. After returning to the states, she continued to teach at local dance studios in Florida. She has the honor of serving on the board of directors for the Community Nutcracker of Jacksonville. She is currently the Artistic Director and a founder of the Magic City Nutcracker and serves as the President for Magic City Performing Arts. She has a passion for creating opportunities for student and pre-professional dancers while enriching the local dance community. She is committed to creating a safe, loving, and kind environment for anyone who wants to dance and believes everyone is made in the image of God, and that creates the foundation for her teaching method.

  • Jamie Kilgore Foust is a founding company member and ballet mistress of the AROVA Contemporary Ballet. Jamie has been featured in works by international choreographers, such as Thor Sutowski and Jorden Morris, in AROVA productions of Pointe / Counterpointe, Signature Blend, and Star-Crossed. She began her ballet training under the guidance of Margaret Galloway. Later she continued to train at the Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA) under Dame Sonia Arova, Thor Sutowski and Therese Laeger. As a student, Jamie had the opportunity to work professionally with the Alabama Ballet in productions of the Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet. She also performed with the Alabama Dance Theatre as a soloist in La Bayadere, Cinderella, and Crystal Edge. She graduated from ASFA with the Prix D’Excellence de Danse Award in 1998 and immediately joined the San Diego Ballet. There she was best known for her role as lead Arabian in the Nutcracker and as a soloist in many of Javier Velasco’s contemporary works. Jamie is an adjunct faculty member of the ASFA Dance Department, and she teaches for ASFA’s Preparatory Dance Program. Photo by Fred Jemison.

  • Anna Gardner Herren is currently training under Qianping Guo at the University of Alabama. In the past, she has trained under Ilgiz Galimulin and Yoshie Narisawa at Yoshiko Takagi Ballet of Tokyo, Yumiko Asakura at Matsuoka Reiko Ballet, and Vlada Kysselova, and Victoia Yanchuck at International Ballet of Greenville. She first began her dance training, however, at Briarwood Ballet in Birmingham, and wants to give back to the city where she first came to love ballet! She has performed as a principal and company dancer with Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre with roles including Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty and Demi-soloist in Inspiration by Elder Aliev of Mariinsky Theatre. As an actress, she toured with the Logos Theatre in over 60 shows as the principal dancer and Older Lucy in the US premiere of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, as well as 40 shows as the principal dancer in The Scarlet Pimpernel (2023). Her work in film includes starring roles in SeaQueens (George Berry), Contes Des Quatre Saisons (Hiro Oda), and several projects in Japan. Anna was invited to perform for the Fukuoka Dance Exchange in 2024 and toured original works—including Reigaku and The Four Seasons (of the Soul)— in Tokyo, Fukuoka, and Ishikawa, Japan. She presented Women of the Word in Nagoya in 2025 and has been invited to present the work in Phu Quoc, Vietnam in 2026. Anna joined Magic City Performing Arts in 2024, debuting as the Dryad Queen in Don Quixote, and is now a member of the Performing Arts Ensemble II.

  • Kristen Hunsucker majored in Kinesiology and Psychology at the University of Tulsa. She obtained her MS in Kinesiology with a concentration in Sports Psychology at the University of TN Knoxville. Kristen started gymnastics at the age of 3, was selected for competition team at age 5, and continued for the next 10 years. She was an elite level gymnast and won Junior Olympic titles. In high school she switched to competitive cheer. She cheered collegiately at the University of Tulsa, and was an assistant cheer coach at the University of TN Knoxville until she married her husband, William who moved her to Memphis.

    Since then, Kristen has been a lead coach for Iron Tribe Memphis, middle & high school cheer coach, kids coach in various sports and activities, and started her own company focusing on prenatal/postpartum fitness training. Kristen has her certification in Precision Nutrition, Functional Movement Systems, and Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization.

    Kristen recently moved to Birmingham from Memphis, TN with her husband, William, for his job. They have three children and a dog. She is extremely passionate about empowering women throughout their motherhood transition as well as teaching kids functional movements that are the foundation to an overall healthy lifestyle.

  • Fitness has always been a part of Leslie’s life. Starting as a competitive gymnast during her childhood then later moving on to competitive cheerleading in both high school and college, the value of a healthy lifestyle took root in Leslie’s life. Continuing in her love of fitness, after college Leslie became an avid runner completing several half marathons. At the same time Leslie began participating in group fitness classes in order to supplement her existing running regimen. As her love of fitness grew, she developed a passion for helping others reach their own fitness goals. In 2009 Leslie received her primary group fitness certification through the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America. Leslie’s journey of fitness continued to evolve when she discovered the benefits of yoga and introduced it into her exercise routine. She never pictured herself a “yogi,” because the practice seemed boring, foreign and only for the most flexible. After only a few yoga classes, however, she realized the practice of yoga calmed her mind and strengthened her body because it connects breath with movement. Since Leslie became a yoga instructor in 2013, she has discovered that yoga is not just for the flexible but for the willing.

  • Katie Kimbrough began her dance training at Vestavia Dance at 4 years old and continued for another 15 years. During this time, Katie was a member of Pizitz Middle School dance team for 2 years, and Vestavia High School Rebelettes for 4 years. Katie was also a cast member of the first ever Magic City Nutcracker in 2013. Since then, Katie has been a performer, rehearsal assistant, and choreographer for Magic City Performing Arts. After graduating from Auburn University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and a minor in Psychology, Katie attends Samford University’s Doctor of Physical Therapy school and plans to graduate in May of 2023. Katie hopes to one day serve her community as a PT by helping its members optimize their movement and stay strong and healthy. Katie currently lives in Birmingham with her husband, Hardie and their dog, Roux

  • Gradie Lowery is from Birmingham, Alabama, and is currently a student at Vestavia Hills High School. She is an apprentice at Vestavia Dance, where she's been training for 11 years. She has performed competitively with Vestavia Dance Performance Company in Jazz, Contemporary, and Ballet. She is also an ensemble member of Magic City Performing Arts where she's spent 8 seasons in the cast of the Magic City Nutcracker. Gradie attended American Ballet Theatre's Summer Intensive in 2021 and just completed a two-week intensive with Next Generation Ballet in Tampa, Florida, at the Stratz Center for the Performing Arts. She enjoys balancing her own training with teaching young dancers ballet and jazz.

  • Originally from Vestal, New York.  Kathryn was a principal dancer with the Alabama Ballet from 1999-2011. She joined the Alabama Ballet, under the artistic direction of Wes Chapman, after graduating from the Boston Ballet School in 1999. She received her early training from Tina Christina-Price in Binghamton, New York; Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. Kathryn’s featured roles include the principal roles of Kitri in Don Quixote, Swanhilda in Coppelia, Lucy in Dracula as well as Le Corsaire, Spring Waters, Flames of Paris, and Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs. She has also performed many principal roles in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Tarantella, Donizetti Variations, Stars and Stripes, and Serenade. Kathryn was a member of the Gotham’s Bluff Residency and on faculty of the Alabama Ballet School from 2006-2011. She was a guest artist with the Tuscaloosa Community Dancers from 2006-2011 and served as Artistic Director from 2012-2016. Kathryn is currently on the artistic faculty at Mt Laurel Ballet and Magic City Performing Arts. 

    Kathryn has certifications from the Royal Academy of Dancing (RAD) and Revolutionary Principles of Movement (RPM).

  • Sarah Moyers is currently a student at Samford University studying biochemistry & dance. She is a member of the Samford Dance Company under the Direction of Alisa McCool. Sarah is originally from Chattanooga, TN where she received most of her training from Chattanooga Ballet, training under Brian McSween and Nena Widtfeldt. Her most memorable ballets from her time at CB are Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia, Cinderella, and the Nutcracker. Last season Sarah was a part of MCPA’s Nutcracker and Swan Lake. This will be Sarah’s second year on staff at MLB and adores absolutely teaching and creating a welcoming environment for all dancers!

  • Noble began training privately through the instruction of Michele LaMachio and continued her studies under Camilla Curran and the faculty of Children's Ballet Theatre in East Memphis, TN. Currently she is a senior dance major at the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham, AL, where she trains extensively in ballet and various modern techniques under Wes Chapman, Shawn Black, Germaul Barnes, and Margi Cole. She is also a member of Mt. Laurel Ballet’s Studio Company, competing at UBC, UBC Finals, and YAGP where she was awarded Top 24 at the 2025 Atlanta Semi-Final. She has also been highly involved with Magic City Performing Arts during her time in Alabama. To supplement her dance training, Noble has participated in numerous community theatre productions across Northwest Mississippi, most recently as a featured dancer in Kudzu Playhouse’s (Hernando, MS) Pippin. She was awarded Best Female Dancer for her portrayal of “Dream Laurey” in Kudzu Playhouse’s Oklahoma! by the Northwest Mississippi Theatre Alliance in 2025.

  • Abigail Petersen began her training with Mobile Ballet at the age of three. She then moved to Georgia, and trained at Dance Arts for five years. At age nine, she moved to Arizona and trained at Arizona Conservatory for Arts and Academics, Master Ballet Academy and Ballet Arizona. Abigail has performed in The Nutcracker with Phoenix Ballet/Master Ballet, IB Anderson's Nutcracker, and has been a guest artist for The Arizona Nutcracker for three years. Abigail has also performed in Cinderella, Don Quixote, Coppelia, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake. Abigail has competed at YAGP getting top 24 and Icon Dance Awards. She began her professional career with Convergence Ballet Company in Arizona, dancing Dew Drop, Little Red Riding Hood, and other choreographed pieces from Kevin Jenkins, Lainie Seretis, and Jennifer Cafarella. She is currently working to get her business degree. She always has taught different styles of dance from ages 4-18.

  • Laura began her lifelong love affair with costuming the minute she saw Scarlett O’Hara run down the stairs at Twelve Oaks in the classic film, Gone with the Wind. Walter Plunkett’s attention to detail in period garments had her writing “sewing machine” on her kindergarten Christmas list. Laura studied theater in high school and Shakespeare in college and in 2010 she put her 2 year old daughter in a ballet class. She was asked to assist with some costume alterations, and became obsessed with tutus.

    Laura was privileged to be taught tutu construction by Claudia Folts, founder of Tutu.com.  Over the next 15 years she would go on to work 5 seasons at The Alabama Shakespeare Festival as a Stitcher and Assistant to the Director of Costume Production, and do contract work for The Montgomery Ballet, Alabama River Region Ballet, Alabama School of Fine Arts, Andalusia Ballet, Alabama Youth Ballet, Symphony Q Academy of Dance, Mt. Laurel Ballet Studio, and Magic City Performing Arts. Her costumes have been worn for ballet competitions and pageants at local, state and national levels, including Universal Ballet Competition, Youth American Grand Prix, Distinguished Young Women, and Miss Alabama.

    While she loves running wardrobe and designing costumes, her favorite part of the process is sitting at the sewing machine. A close second to building costumes is vintage costume restoration, and her newest hobby is designing her own fabric to make ballet class skirts. Laura and her husband Paul have three children and live in Prattville.

    She is thrilled to be working with the MLB Studio Company dancers, ensuring that they have the highest quality professional costumes for their competitions and performances.

  • Angela Blake has been a professional photographer since 2010. She began her career photographing weddings and portraits, and for the past eight years has specialized in real estate photography throughout the Birmingham area. Her work combines artistry and precision, capturing images that tell a story while maintaining a polished, professional quality.

    Angela earned her degree in Biology with a minor in English, but her passion for creativity led her to launch a photography business and, more recently, expand into social media management. She currently manages the social media presence for both Mt Laurel Ballet and Magic City Performing Arts, helping share their artistry and connect their communities with the beauty of ballet.

    As both a ballet mom and a lacrosse mom, Angela values the dedication and joy that come with children pursuing their passions. She is proud to bring her skills in photography and digital storytelling to Mt Laurel Ballet, where she loves showcasing the dancers, teachers, and performances that make the studio such a special place.

  • Glendinning Paul has been a dedicated dance educator and choreographer for over 13 years, teaching a wide range of styles including contemporary, ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop. She earned her degree in Art and Dance from Auburn University, where she performed in numerous Auburn University Theatre Department productions such as Gotta Dance and Meaning in Motion—a collaborative performance uniting dance and visual art at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Art. She was also a three-year member of Auburn’s hip hop team, AU Rhythm, known for their energetic performances at campus events and competitions.

    Glendinning’s passion for dance began at the age of two. Throughout her formative years, she trained in tap, jazz, modern, ballet, and hip hop, performing as a member of the Spartanettes dance team at MBJH. Today, she continues her own dance training and professional growth as an active member of the Alabama Dance Council, performing locally with Gradient Dance Theatre and Magic City Performing Arts. Her recent credits include Spectra: Choreographers Series, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Ballet in the Park.

    In addition to her dance career, Glendinning is a visual artist specializing in murals and large-scale abstract canvases, with her work featured in both public and private spaces. She shares her artistry both onstage and in the studio, inspiring students through creativity, discipline, and expression. Glendinning lives with her husband and son, James, and continues to create and teach in her local community.