Faculty | Emerald Coast Dance Conservatory

Meet the Team

Ursula Pegg

Ursula’s teaching career began at the age of 15 as a teacher’s assistant. While a student at Fort Walton Beach High School, she was a member of the renowned STARS National Dance Team. She was selected as an “All-American” award recipient by the American All-Star organization. She went on to serve as a choreographer and coach for several local school dance teams. After graduating Summa Cum Laude from high school, she was asked to take a teaching position at her childhood studio. Ursula enjoyed teaching classes while enrolled as a full-time student at Okaloosa Walton-College, where she had the privilege of continuing her dance training under the late Francis Herron. In 2007, Ursula moved to Pensacola to continue her education at the University of West Florida. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations with a minor in Advertising in 2009.

After college Ursula planned to pursue a career in the Public Relations field, but dance still had her heart. After teaching part-time for a local studio in Pensacola for a season, Ursula returned to dance full-time taking a position as the studio’s Office Manager and Competition Team Director. Even then, she had more to give and a bigger vision for her future in dance. In 2014, she was blessed to open Emerald Coast Dance Conservatory to share the talents and passion her teachers instilled in her with today’s youth. She continues to fulfill her own love of performing as a member of Swerve Dance Company, under the direction of LaVonne French.

Ms. Ursula has watched dance change so much in her young lifetime. She believes continuing education is of utmost importance for today’s dance educators. She attends many conventions, classes, and seminars throughout each year to stay current on the field’s best practice methods for teaching and the most relevant trends and styles in effort to produce exceptionally-trained, healthy, and competitive future dance professionals.

Classical Ballet Instructor

Dorothy Lister

After leaving the Ballet Russe, she continued to pursue, develop and expand her talents, and made guest appearances with numerous Civic Ballet and Opera Companies. She performed many of the famous pas de deuxs from various ballets and such roles as The Firebird with the New York Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony and the Hartford and New Haven Orchestras.

Her varied talents led her into musical theater where she performed on Broadway and Off-Broadway. She also appeared in summer and winter stock companies, Dinner Theaters and at the renowned Radio City Music Hall. She has worked in several theater positions advancing from the chorus of a musical to performing leading roles and to assisting directors and choreographers.

She began her teaching career at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. For two years she was on staff at the Kingsboro College of the Performing Arts, a college dedicated to the training of boys and girls at the college level. She was invited to join the teaching staff of the American Ballet Center, the official school of the Robert Joffrey Ballet Company. For 25 years, she not only headed the Children’s Department, but also taught technique and variations classes to the advanced and trainee levels. She also found time to coach dancers for various jobs and competitions, and actors and actresses for dance roles in television and film work. Today, she has former students performing in all mediums of dance from classical ballet companies to Radio City to Broadway and television.

She considers correct training from the Beginner level to the Advanced level to be of the utmost importance and the teaching of children to be her forte. She developed a Pre-Ballet teaching syllabus that has been used at the Joffrey School for over 25 years. She is featured in two published books, Going To My Ballet Class by Susan Kuklin and And they Danced On by Waltraud G.Karkar. She is the co-author of the book, Conversations with Choreographers, published in 1996.

In 1997 Dorothy moved back to her hometown and is presently the Ballet Mistress and teacher for the Northwest Florida Ballet Company and is the dance coach for the Tate High School’s Chaparrals and Cadets. She has choreographed musical shows (Fiddler on the Roof, Annie Get Your Gun, Guys and Dolls, South Pacific) for Tate High School. She continues to teach for the Joffrey School’s summer session.

Mallorie Cole

Instructor

Mallorie was born and raised in Pensacola and began dancing at the young age of 3 where she trained in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Modern, Theatre, and Ballroom. She went on to compete, perform, and train with her studio’s company for 6 years at competitions and conventions such as NYCDA, Hollywood Vibe, Jump, and NUVO. She has won several high score and national awards as a solo dancer throughout her competitive and performance career.

As she continued her studies Mallorie found a greater love for Tap and began to focus more on learning a variety of tap techniques and styles influenced by Tap Dancers and Hoofers such as Fred Astaire, Gregory Hines, Gene Kelly, and Savion Glover. She considers herself a Hoofer with a Broadway foundation.

In 2012 Mallorie moved to New York to pursue her career in dance. She trained in programs at Broadway Dance Center and Ral’eau Salsa Dance Company where she was able to receive instruction from Germaine Salzburg, Ray Hesselink, April Cook, Michelle Dorrance, Chloe Arnold, Anthony LoCascio, and other talented dancers and instructors. She lived in New York for two years and decided to make the transition back to her hometown to share her passion for Tap Dancing with young dancers.

Amanda McKinnon

Bio Coming Soon.

As an experienced and professional Dance & Acrobatics Instructor, Ms. Amanda has been an integral part of our team since the beginning.

Mrs. Crystal began dancing at the age of 3. Throughout her youth she trained in all genres of dance and was a competitive gymnast and cheerleader as well. She was selected as one of 200 UCA National Allstars in 1998. Crystal has trained under many notable choreographers and teachers such as Patti Rutland, Vince Johnson, Mia Michaels, Kate Jablonski, Tyce Diorio, Laurie Ann Gibson, Dave Scott, Honey Rockwell, and

Ronn Stewart. Crystal was a Principal Dancer for the professional dance company, Patti Rutland Jazz, from 2009-2013.

She started setting choreography and teaching at the early age 15. Her teaching career evolved after graduation when she developed, created and directed programs of at many studios including Mann Dance Studio, Tonya Speed's Dance Connection, and OZ Dance Studio.

Crystal Wright

Instructor

Crystal has won numerous awards both as a performer and coach for competition teams in dance and gymnastics. She is a U.S.A.G. certified, professional gymnastics coach. Combining her love for dance with gymnastics she now specializes in AcroDance. She is married and has one son.

Genevieve Fortner

Instructor

Genevieve Le Gall Fortner began her dance training with the Princeton Ballet School. She also trained with The Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, Ballet Magnificat, and Le Centre de Formation Regional de la Danse in Nantes, France. She graduated magna cum laude from Belhaven College in Jackson, MS, with a BA in English and a minor in dance. She immediately joined the ballet company under the directorship of Kenn Tolle, Hosanna Sacred Arts in Nashville, TN and later taught and danced with Ballet Mississippi in Jackson, MS. Her performances include The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Coppelia, Carmina Burana, Mississippi Opera's Orfeo ed Euridice, and American Ballet Theatre's Don Quixote. She has taught ballet and modern at the University of Mississippi, is the founder of Oxford Ballet School and co founder of the non-profit, Oxford Ballet Association. She continues to guest perform and teach around the nation as well as abroad in France.

Genevieve recently moved to Pensacola and is currently a freelance ballet and modern dancer, choreographer and teacher with Moving Artists Project (MAP). She and her husband are realtors and have four sons. This is her first season as faculty with Emerald Coast Dance Conservatory.

Owner & Director

Ursula Pegg has been a part of the dance community here along the Emerald Coast for over 25 years. She started her dance training in Fort Walton Beach, FL under the direction of Beverly Stewart at the age of 3. From the very start, Ursula had a passion for dance. She continued to cultivate a love for the art throughout her childhood. She received training from many famed teachers including Scott Benson, Steven Boyd, and the late Al Gilbert. She became a member of a competitive dance company in 1998, long before competitive dance gained the popularity it has today. As a ‘competition kid’ she had a wealth of opportunities in dance. She was able to take class with many notable instructors and choreographers including Steven ‘Twitch’ Boss, Frank Hatchett, Paula Morgan, Mia Michaels, Michelle Dorrance, and Doug Caldwell. As a competitive soloist, she received many high-score and special recognition awards. She has performed onstage at an NFL Half-time show, in New York City, aboard Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, and multiple times at Walt Disney World.

Kathleen Carter

Instructor

Miss Kathleen Carter, a Pensacola native, began her dance training at Pensacola School of Ballet with Anthea Nader in 1995. She joined the sister company, the Emerald Coast Ballet, in 1997 and danced with the company at the Senior level until its closure in 2008. In 2000, she joined the Northwest Florida Ballet as an Apprentice to the Company and studied under Ballet Mistress, Dorothy Lister. She has attended several summer intensives including workshops at Pensacola State College, the Northwest Florida Ballet, and the Joffrey Ballet School in NYC. She has been teaching dance since 2005 and has had students of all ages and skill levels. She has experience in the Royal, Vaganova, and Cecchetti methods of ballet teaching, ballroom, jazz, modern, contemporary style dance, and ballet fitness. She has performed various roles in many productions including “Odile the Black Swan” (Swan Lake), “Carabosse” (The Sleeping Beauty), “Swanilda” (Coppelia), and the “Waltz of the Flowers” in Pensacola's Nutcracker. Miss Kathleen is a 200 hour Certified Hatha Yoga instructor (May 2015). She is also a Nationally Certified Pilates Instructor.

Miss Kathleen holds a Bachelor's degree in Writing with a minor in Public Relations from the University of West Florida. She is a staunch advocate for the physical and mental benefits of a regular movement practice and enjoys guiding her students in all disciplines of movement through a strong and steady flow that focuses on fluid transitions, powerful stamina, proper alignment, and injury prevention/rehabilitation. She is a strong supporter of local arts and believes that dance is not only a discipline, but a form of expression of the body and soul.

Ms. Lister received her early training at the Elvie DeMarko School in Pensacola, Florida. She continued her studies in New York at the Swoboda School, (later known as the Ballet Russe School), under the guiding hand of Madame Swoboda. Her other illustrious teachers included Frederic Franklin, Anatole Vilzak, Edward Caton, Boris Romanoff, William Dollar, Bill Griffith, Leon Danelian and Igor Schwezoff. She also attended New York University and Hunter College before joining the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo company.

She danced with the Ballet Russe for 5 years and worked with such renowned stars as Alicia Alonso, Maria Tallchief, Nina Novak,

Alexandra Danilova, Igor Youskevitch, Frederick Franklin, Leon Danelian and Leonide Massine.

Instructor/Assistant Director, ECDC Motion Company