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Meet the Team

Jodi Franklin Kempany
Director & Instructor

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There is no doubt that "Ms. Jodi", has dedicated much of her life to the art of dance. There is nothing that she would rather do than help her students achieve inside or outside the studio. As the owner and director of both a dance and performing arts studio, Prodigy Performing Arts, established in 2006, as well as a mobile arts enrichment company, she excels at teaching and inspiring young students.

Being an accomplished dance instructor in the metro Atlanta area for over 30 years, she has given thousands of children their first introduction to the art of dance. Some of her students have become college dance majors, collegiate dance team captains, and dance studio owners. She has even been a dance coach for a professional child actor.
 
​Prior to becoming an instructor, Ms. Jodi has received extensive training in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern, and Acrobatics. She learned early on that being knowledgeable and capable in multiple styles made her a versatile dancer, athlete, artist. She was fortunate to get her start with teachers who loved colorful choreography, characters, and costuming. She chose to become a professional dancer when she was a child and dove into taking multiple classes, performing with the dance company, and even creating her own solo choreography along with creating her own costumes in her spare time. Fortunately, she was able to seek out the best instructors that Atlanta had to offer and also took private lessons to keep challenging herself for her future. This ambition for dance combined with her "way with children" led to her being a sought after dance instructor at many metro area studios over the years.

Ms. Jodi has been a member of multiple dance companies as well as a solo artist. She has performed in ballets: Paquita, Peter And The Wolf, and multiple productions of The Nutcracker. Her award-winning choreography helped her earn scholarships as a dance performance major at Brenau University. She has performed at dance festivals, won numerous dance and talent competition awards, and has taken master classes with world-renowned choreographers.

She was honored to be selected as a Southern Spirit dancer in the Opening ceremonies of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, under the direction of Kenny Ortega. In this milestone event, she had the opportunity to perform for the world alongside Gloria Estefan, Little Richard, and Wynton Marsalis in the Closing ceremonies. In 2000, she was chosen to dance for Super Bowl XXXIV with Tina Turner and Travis Tritt. She has danced for the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon and in a fundraising event for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She has also performed her Jazz and Modern solo works on many Atlanta stages. In addition to her performance credits, she has choreographed numerous musical theater productions including West Side Story, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Oliver!, among many others.

Each year, Ms. Jodi enjoys being a guest instructor at local school career days, for a celebration of the arts festival, or as a National Dance Week instructor. She also serves as a judge for arts or talent contests for schools or other organizations. She is an Acrobatics Arts certified instructor and a member of the National Dance Education Organization, and a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). She cares deeply about fostering an appreciation for the art of dance in our community, and strives to offer positive experiences for her students that will aid them throughout their lives.

Alternese Griffin
Dance Instructor

Alternese Griffin, also known as “Neasy”, was born and raised in Charleston, SC. Neasy started dancing at age 3 and started teaching at only age 12. She began ballet classes with Linda Harvey Ballet as a child and later attended Darlene's School of Dance where she was introduced to street jazz, hip hop, and acro dance. Neasy has trained with professionals: Darrin Henson, Christian Vincent, Nappy Tabs, Brian Friedman, Rhapsody James, Travis Wall, Sean Bankhead, Gil Duldulao, Luam, Mr. Wiggles, Kevin Meher, Laura Edwards, and Riquel Orlander of “We Are Heroes” dance crew. 

She has worked for and with MTV as a “MADE” Coach, and has been featured Season 2 and 3 of FOX's “So You Think You Can Dance”. She has performed with music artists: Hurricane Chris, Goody Mob, Big Boi of Outkast and more. She is a choreographer to music artists and an artist development teacher. She has also made her boot print in the competitive dance world as a teenager. She's a title winner of “Platinum First Place” as a Hip-Hop soloist at Dance Masters, Nextstar, and Showstopper dance competitions. Ms.Neasy's choreography has recently won Diamond Awards for her All Boys hip hop company classes in 2014 and 2015. Her large group hip hop piece in 2013, her teen jazz and contemporary pieces in 2015, along with a judges choice award for “Most Entertaining” at “Dance Machine” competition, 2017. She has received “First Place Overall” awards for her Acro Senior Duet piece and Senior Solo danced by Terry Nelson, one of her advanced students, along with dancer Lily Summers. Ms.Neasy is currently teaching at schools and studios around the metro Atlanta area. 

Prodigy Performing Arts is proud to have Ms. Neasy on staff with us at off-site preschools, after school programs, and arts center programs, as well as at the studio where our students love her stylish music, choreography, and most of all, her encouragement.

Danielle Lorentz
Musical Theatre Instructor & Voice Teacher

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​Danielle has been singing for as long as she can remember, first starting her musical journey in church choirs and school chorus groups. She was in All State and Honors Chorus in school, and earned several solos in different performances in school and church as a child. She began to gravitate towards musical theatre in her high school years, and performed with the school's theatre program in several shows, earning the "All Star Cast" award in a performance her junior year at district and state competition and continuing to perform solos onstage. She further pursued theatrical training at the Springer Theatre Academy, taking classes such as: Voice, Movement, Scene Study (Classical and Contemporary), Improv, Playwriting, and more. She continued to perform in Springer productions after her high school graduation, appearing in Charlotte's Web (Charlotte), Shrek the Musical (Young Fiona), and Grease (Jan). In addition to her onstage credits, she worked backstage in a myriad of technical positions with the Springer, including Run Crew, Spotlight Operator, Assistant Stage Manager, and Costume Assistant. She proceeded to assistant teach Playmaking at the Springer Theatre Academy alongside Natalia Temesgen.

 

In college, she continued to work both backstage and onstage. At Columbus State University, she appeared in Next to Normal (Dr. Fine/Dr. Madden) and Under a Red Moon (Dr. Ruth Covington). After she transferred to Kennesaw State University, she began her concentration in Musical Theatre and her Dance Minor, participating in local community theatre productions and college productions. She was seen in The Drowsy Chaperone (Ensemble), Ragtime (Little Girl), Beauty and the Beast (Babette), and Bring It On (Eva). During this time, she also began to expand her knowledge of the voice, receiving voice lessons from Timothy Ellis and Krista McCoy.

 

Since graduating with her degree in Musical Theatre, she has taught voice lessons at multiple studios, and currently works as the Chief Music Director and Production Manager for Mad Artists' Entertainment. Since graduating college, she has appeared in many productions: And Then There Were None (Vera Claythorne), Arsenic & Old Lace (Elaine Harper), Next to Normal (Natalie Goodman),The Wizard of Oz (Ensemble), and Heathers (Veronica Sawyer). Offstage, she has worked many shows as well, including Clue On Stage (Stage Manager), Much Ado About Nothing (Director), D*mn Yankees (Music Director), and A Christmas Carol (Director & Music Director). She also narrates audiobooks out of a home studio.

 

"My voice is my life, and it brings me so much joy to be able to help others to be confident with their built-in instrument!"

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