If you’d like to get in touch with any of our artists, feel free to contact us! We want to be an accessible resource and encouragement in any way.
Founder / Artistic Director
Rebekah Diaddigo
Rebekah’s passion is to bring hope and dignity through dance. From sitting mesmerized by the Nutcracker as a toddler to training at the Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education she has experienced the power, freedom, and joy in using dance to communicate.
Rebekah has appeared with companies such as The The Proia Dance Project, Southern Arc, and the Atlanta Opera. She’s also been a guest artist with Telluride Dance Academy and Sawnee Ballet Theatre. Some of her favorite roles include Swanhilda in Coppelia with Ballet Southeast and the Faun Couple in Alexandre Proia’s Four Seasons with Georgia Ballet. Her favorite projects include, the opener for Passion 2014, music videos for Victoria Canal and Amy Ray, the White Umbrella short film, as well as our annual stage production of Sterling’s Path, a multimedia fairytale of hope.
Rebekah loves using dance to serve internationally and has travelled to countries such as Panama, Cuba, and the Netherlands to perform and conduct workshops. In 2018, she curated the Uncaged Community Dance Festival where Atlanta’s leading dance companies converged for a week of collaboration. Rebekah also loves mentoring the next generation through teaching; she was a faculty member at the Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education for nine years and is currently a guest teacher around the US.
Rebekah holds a BA in Communications from Thomas Edison State University. When she’s not in the studio, Rebekah enjoys spending time with her family, reading, paddleboarding and pickle ball, or winding down with hand-embroidery.
Jane Kerley
Originally from Birmingham, AL, Jane began her dance training at the age of 6 at Briarwood Ballet. At age 14, Jane was accepted into Ballet Exaltation, the pre-professional ballet company of Briarwood Ballet’s intensive division. Through her experience in Ballet Exaltation, Jane learned how to use art to glorify God and to serve those around her with the beauty of dance. She was able to tour nationally and internationally throughout high school, including performances in the cities of Holguin and Santa Clara, Cuba.
After graduating high school, Jane was invited to dance with Ballet Magnificat in Jackson, Mississippi where she performed through their professional training program for 2 years. While at Ballet Mag, Jane deepened her love of using art as a tool for outreach and ministry, and was able to help counsel groups of young dancers through their annual Summer Dance Intensive.
Jane was offered a company artist position with Magnum Opus ballet company in Madison, Wisconsin as a founding member. She had the opportunity to perform both soloist and corps roles for 2 years in the Madison area, as well as throughout the Midwest. She also taught and choreographed regularly for a local studio, and was able to share her love of dance with her students.
Jane and her husband, Tyler, moved to Woodstock, Georgia after they got married in 2019. Jane continues to teach students the art of dance throughout the local community, and is grateful to still be able to perform and create through Bluebird Uncaged. In her spare time, she enjoys talking theology with her husband, practicing calligraphy, reading, and going antiquing.
Cara Celeste
Vaganova trained ballerina Valeria Sinyavskaya with Kingsport Ballet. These two teachers really believed in me! However, the world thought otherwise. I graduated high school and further my dance training at Kennesaw State University (KSU). This time, however, I would drop the pointe shoes (not completely) and change course to focus my energy on more contemporary movements. At KSU I was able to work with choreographers such as Ivan Pulenkala, Lisa Lock, John and Christine Welker, Ido Tadmor, Helen Pickett, and this is where I would also meet Lauri Stallings. After my graduation from KSU I dove right into the dance scene working with gloATL directed by Lauri Stallings and freelanced as a choreographer working on several music videos for people such as Chelsea Shag and Cory Smith. Though it seemed like the time of my life, I felt empty and alone. The summer of 2020 I accepted Jesus as my lord and savior and left the Atlanta dance scene to only be a teacher and evangelist of the truth. That same year I met Rebekah Diaddigo to dance in Sterling’s Path.
Now that my life is more put into perspective than it ever has been, I am a 1st grade teacher at Ethos Classical Charter School, and a dancer with Bluebird Uncaged and The Esthete Collective.
Deborah Williams
Deborah trained at the Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance (TYSOD) in Roswell, GA. She danced in their student company and Pre-Professional divisions, where she studied under Kassandra Taylor Newberry, Orlando Molina, Daet Rodriguez, Tracey Bayly, Tracy Vogt, Roscoe Sales, and many others. Deborah is classically trained in ballet, pointe, modern, jazz, and contemporary. She has been accepted into numerous summer programs, including the Boston Ballet, Next Generation Ballet, and Burklyn Ballet Theatre. She has had the opportunity to dance in South Eastern Regional Ballet Association (SERBA) festivals as well as the 2017 Regional Dance America festival in Phoenix, Arizona. Deborah has danced many lead roles, including the Dew Drop Fairy, Spanish Lead, Arabian Lead, Mirliton Lead in the Nutcracker, and Fairy of the Crystal Fountain in Sleeping Beauty. She has worked as a choreographer for HUGS, a charity concert hosted by the students at TYSOD. She also has experience setting many recital numbers. Professionally, Deborah has taught with Core Dance and Acrobatics Studios in Alpharetta, Georgia, and she works as a substitute teacher in many schools in the metro Atlanta area. Deborah is a student at Georgia State University majoring in biology with a concentration in premedical studies. She works as a scribe in the Emergency Department at the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and her passion is to one day become a pediatrician.
Hideko Suzuki
Hideko began her training at Houyu Ballet in Japan in 1992 and went on to garner scholarships at such prestigious schools as the San Francisco Ballet School and Royal Ballet School .
Her accomplishments are : 2005 Prix de Lausanne ( semi-Finalist), 2005 Youth America Grand Prix In New York City (first place with Merit Scholarship), USA International Ballet Competition in 2010 as a semi-finalist. She has danced many notable choreographers works whose names are giants in the dance world such as George Balanchine, Steven McMahon, August Bournonville and Helgi Tomasson to name but a few.
She joined the Memphis ballet as a soloist in 2007 and danced with them professionally for 10 years. There she danced every dancers’ dream roles like, Swan Lake: Soloist, The Nutcracker: Clara Soloist, Sleeping Beauty: Bluebird Soloist, Flower Festival in Genzano: Pas de deux, Napoli Soloist, Allegro Brillante: Soloist, Serenade: Russian Girl , Cinderella: Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet: Juliet as well as a full repertoire of Contemporary pieces as well!
Leslie Shivers
a native of McDonough, GA, spent nine years touring and dancing professionally with Ballet Magnificat!, a professional Christian touring ballet company based in Jackson, MS. She traveled all over the world – spreading the Gospel through dance in the States, Europe, Canada, Israel, and Africa – performing in huge concert halls, state opera houses, school auditoriums, and even outside in open city squares. She has also taught ballet, pointe, and set choreography each year at Ballet Magnificat’s Summer Dance Intensive in Jackson, as well as in ballet schools all over the States. Leslie considers it a deep privilege to have served the Lord in this way. After retiring from full-time touring, Leslie moved back to GA and now is now a sought-after instructor all over the Atlanta area, primarily teaching at Perimeter Ballet in Johns Creek, as well as Westminster Ballet, Greater Atlanta Christian School, Artios Academies, Carla’s Dance Factory, Upstage Dance, Compass Dance, and Atlanta Ballet. Leslie also has enjoyed guesting in various performances and events in Georgia. She believes dance is one of God’s greatest gifts and has a passion to see younger dancers develop excellence in their technique to reach their fullest potential in their artistry.
Anna Grace Koehn
Anna Grace began her training in Lilburn at En Pointe School of Dance at age three where she immediately fell in love with dance. At age 11 she was accepted into Praise In Motion where she learned to combine her love for Jesus and her love of dance. At the age of 15 she started training at Ballet by Day where she trains under Kristine Necessary Loveless and Stacey Slichter. At age 17 she started dancing with Perimeter Ballet where she has had the honor of dancing the roles of Bluebird, also known as Princess Florine, and the Sugar Plum Fairy. She has attended several summer dance intensives including Joffrey South, the International Ballet Intensive, and Ballet Magnificat!. Next year she will be a Trainee 2 with Ballet Magnificat! while pursuing a degree in graphic design online at Liberty University.
In her spare time Anna Grace enjoys water coloring, drawing, curing up on the couch with a good book, and hiking.
Summer Apprentice
Anna Gardner Herren
Anna Gardner grew up in Birmingham, Alabama where she trained for 9 years at Briarwood Ballet. At age 14, Anna Gardner was accepted into the pre-professional performing company, Ballet Exaltation. For four years, she toured with Ballet Ex in the Southeast and in Lima, Peru. While in the company, Anna Gardner performed “Radiance” and “White Stag” in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and the lead of “Lucifer” in Briarwood Ballet’s Creation Sings. Whether dancing, choreographing or teaching, Anna Gardner strives to pursue excellence to the glory of God that others may witness the joy of the Lord through her offering.
Anna Gardner now dances at the University of Alabama where she is pursuing dual degrees in Dance and Chemistry. This past fall, she performed in Dance Alabama! and the Masters of Fine Arts Concert at the University of Alabama – while performing as a soloist in Druid City Ballet’s The Nutcracker. She has also choreographed for Capstone Christmas and for a joint concert with Bluebird Uncaged and Briarwood Ballet. This spring is the debut of her first short film, Hope, which she choreographed and directed in 2021.
Her multifaceted interests have led her to research the power of the arts. As a Christian, Anna Gardner believes that there is incredible power in art – and that healing can come through stories, dancing, music, and artwork. She continues to research the arts from a medical perspective in hopes of creating a more holistic approach to medicine by incorporating art into the healing process. In her free time, Anna Gardner leads RUF-International and seeks to make students from around the world feel welcome on campus.
Guest Artist
Darvensky Louis
Darvensky Louis, a professional dancer, choreographer, photographer and videographer, was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti but moved to New Jersey in 2000. After relocating to Georgia in 2009, he began his training with The Royal Dance Academy under the direction of Sarah Johnson and Jay Johnson during his freshman year of high school. Darvensky holds a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Kennesaw State University, where he was awarded the Outstanding Senior of his class. During his time at KSU Dance, he has had the opportunity to perform in works by choreographers Ella-Ben-Aharon from Tel Aviv, James Graham from San Francisco, Sean Nguyen-Hilton, Dr. Ivan Pulinkala, Lisa. K. Lock and more. His professional dance career includes dancing for Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre, staibdance, Annalee Traylor and Omar Román De Jesús from New York City, Dr. Ivan Pulinkala, Lisa K. Lock, Jon Carr and more. Darvensky teaches around the city and is also a freelance videographer and photographer. Darvensky is currently serving as Director of SequenceOne, a college alumni dance company, and with this leadership hopes to inspire future undergraduate creatives by bringing concert dance internationally through the collaboration of college alumni. He was also Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” for 2022.
Summer Faculty
Sarah Hillmer
An Atlanta native, Sarah Hillmer has dedicated over 18 years to the professional dance world as a dancer, assistant to choreographers, ballet master, stager, educator and creator.
Her company credits include the Atlanta Ballet, glo-as a founding member, and staibdance. During Sarah’s tenure as Ballet Master at the Atlanta Ballet, she worked alongside world-renowned figures in the ballet world, and coached dancers in seminal works by Ohad Naharin, Jiří Kylián, Wayne McGregor, Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, John McFall, Helgi Tomasson, Gemma Bond, Craig Davidson, Ricardo Amarante and Yuri Possokhov. It was during her time at the Atlanta Ballet that ongoing artistic relationships with Twyla Tharp and Helen Pickett were forged. She was instrumental in the building of their full-length ballets and continues to stage their work globally. Sarah’s work as a stager and assistant have taken her to Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Oklahoma City Ballet, Smuin Ballet, New York Theatre Ballet, UNCSA, UArts, Pennsylvania Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Alberta Ballet, Boston Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.
In 2017 Sarah formed ImmerseATL, a contemporary dance training platform designed to serve as a bridge between the pre-professional and professional world of dance. ImmerseATL provides classes, mentorships, performance opportunities, and professional connections for its Artists.
Sarah is an active member of the Atlanta dance scene, serving as a guest teacher and choreographer for Universities and dance schools. Sarah creates original works for ImmerseATL and has been commissioned to create work for Atlanta Ballet’s Wabi Sabi, Backside of the Tent Productions and Emory Dance Company. Most recently, Sarah collaborated with George Staib on his newest work for staibdance titled fence, which was funded by a grant from the New England Foundation for the Arts National Dance Project.
Since August 2019 Sarah has been the Managing Director for staibdance and is thrilled to be part of leading this extraordinary organization forward.
Bluebird Uncaged 