Mrs. Raquel Whitehead, the Owner and Artistic Director of The Pike Road Dance Academy. Not only has she earned a double degree in Communication Studies and Dance from the University of Alabama, but she is also an incredibly accomplished dancer who has studied and danced with The Alabama School of Fine Arts, the prestigious Julliard School, the Kirov Academy of Ballet, and the Hungarian Dance Academy in Budapest. She was the youngest American ballet dancer to compete at the Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland. She also danced professionally in Italy, France, and Germany. She competed in the Miss Texas and Miss Alabama America Organizations for five years. During that time she was crowned Miss Dallas, Miss Fountain City, and Miss Wiregrass Area. Raquel has been teaching all genres of dance for 18 years. She has taught for C.J.’s Dance Factory in Prattville, AL , The Academy of Ballet and Jazz (ABJ) in Tuscaloosa, AL, and was the School Director for The Montgomery Ballet in Montgomery, AL. She has a great love for the arts and hopes to provide an artistic outlet for every child she encounters.

Britney Schremser began dancing at the Academy of Ballet and Jazz in Tuscaloosa, AL under the direction of Susan Prout and Pam Chancey when she was 3 years old. In 2002, she moved to New York on a Dance Scholarship and in 2006 she graduated with honors from Marymount Manhattan College with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. At Marymount, she learned from many great choreographers and teachers, including Twyla Tharp, where she performed in the making of the archival video of her ballet Torelli, as well as Martha Graham’s ballet Panorama staged by Denise Vale. While attending college she taught at Broadway Dance Center’s Children and Teen Program, was also a placement judge for the International Student Visa Program and Intern Program students, and worked closely with the Broadway Dance Center Faculty for their Summer and Winter Intensives. After graduating in 2006, she began working for The PULSE on Tour, a dance convention that allowed Britney to assist many choreographers from So You Think You Can Dance. Britney has drawn knowledge in the convention world while working along side prestigious faculty members such as Mia Michaels, Brian Friedman, Wade Robson, Laurieann Gibson, Cris Judd, Dave Scott, Tyce Diorio, Shelia Barker, Liz Imperio and Gil Duldulao. In 2007, she joined the New Dance Group Company under director Rick Schussel, and also began working with Handcart Dance Company. There, she worked closely with director Stacie Webster assisting her in the creation of many works. In 2009, after the death of her father, she returned to Alabama and taught at Academy of Ballet and Jazz as well as Jackie O’Neal School of Dance in Vestavia. She was a master/company teacher for 5 years at Jackie O’Neal. In 2014, she and her husband John moved to Montgomery and welcomed their daughter Davis. After her move to Montgomery and becoming a mom, she also began coaching gymnastics at United Gymstars and Titans in Weptumka. On March 22, 2018, Britney and her husband welcomed another child, their son Jack. Soon after she became head coach of the Trojanette Dance Team at St. James School.