Bridget's Dance Academy
HAVEN COTTLE
Competition Company Director & Instructor
Maddy Carney
Haven Cottle has dedicated her life to her passion of dance through performing and educating students about the art of dance. She grew up dancing at Images of Dance Studio in Lewisburg, West Virginia. She has trained at multiple studios and schools across the United States including Dawn Meyer School of Dance in Ohio, Pacific Dance Center in California, and Broadway Dance Center in NYC. She trained extensively, competed, and performed in all styles of dance including everything from Classical Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Hip-Hop, Contemporary, and Acrobatics. She is a Certified Acrobatic Instructor through the Acrobatic Arts Foundation. She graduated from Marshall University in Huntington, WV with an undergraduate Business Degree and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA). While attending Marshall University she was a member of the University’s dance team, and captain for her senior year. Upon graduation she became the Marshall University Dance Team assistant coach, where she coached for three years. She has traveled across the Eastern United States judging competitions and teaching technique and choreography Master Classes. Her choreography has won multiple awards and recognitions, including best choreography and highest scoring routines at multiple events regionally and nationally. She judges for several competitions including On Point Dance Competition, On Stage America, and StarQuest International. Haven lives to dance, and aspires to instill her passion of the art in all those with whom she dances, works, and instructs.
Instructor
Maddy Carney teaches multiple genres at Bridget's Dance Academy, including the ballet program, jazz, acro, hip hop, and heads the petite competition company. She trained at Bridget's Dance Academy for her entire dancing career and upon graduation became a member of the teaching faculty. She has taught at BDA for the past several years, and loves sharing her passion for the arts with her students. Maddy just graduated from Marshall University in Huntington, WV with a teaching degree, she plans to attend graduate school to further her early education training.
Renee Pauley
Ballet Program Instructor
Renee began her love of ballet as a dance student at the tender age of three in Atlanta, GA. By the time she was in 8th grade she was studying with the Atlanta School of Ballet, where she was a member of the Atlanta Ballet Youth Ensemble. As a member of the Youth Ensemble she participated and performed in several South Eastern Regional Ballet Association (SERBA) around the southeast, as well as performing in several productions of the Atlanta Ballet’s, The Nutcracker.
In her junior year of high school, Renee attended a summer ballet program at the Royal Academy of Ballet in London, England. In her senior year, while attending a SERBA workshop she was selected to participate in a young choreographer workshop that same summer in New York.
Renee danced professionally as a scholarship apprentice with the Atlanta Ballet and performed in their productions of The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and Carmen. Then as a soloist with the Northwest Florida Ballet where she performed in The Nutcracker before an injury caused an early retirement.
Since then, Renee has been sharing her passion of ballet by teaching and choreographing pre-professional level ballet and pointe, in and around the suburbs of Atlanta, GA. In 2019, Renee and her husband moved to the Huntington area to be closer to his family. She joined the staff of Bridget’s Dance Academy as a Company Ballet Teacher.
Mikayla Hannahs
Instructor, Receptionist
Mikayla Hannahs teaches hip hop, acro, the competition company's strength and conditioning, and is one of our front desk receptionists. Mikayla started dancing at a young age at Nancy's School of Dance and continued her training at Bridget's Dance Academy. When she was in 9th grade, Mikayla joined BDA's debut competition team and has competed ever since. Even as an instructor she has spent time in other technique classes to keep her knowledge for dance growing. Mikayla has choreographed for the Chesapeake Colorguard and Winterguard in Chesapeake, OH for the past two years. Her work for this team has earned "Best Movement" and a silver medal at the TriState Circuit Winterguard Championships. While spending most of her time at BDA, Mikayla is also a full time undergraduate student at Marshall University to pursue her dream of becoming a physician.
Shea Goodrich
Instructor
Shea Goodrich teaches tap at Bridget's Dance Academy. She grew up dancing at Nancy's School of Dance in Huntington, WV. She then went on to teach tap for 9 years at Premiere Dance Studio also in Huntington, WV before coming to BDA to share her passion for tap. Shea graduated from Marshall University School of Medicine in Huntington, WV. Full time Shea is a pediatrician at Valley Health.
Natalie Riley
Instructor
Natalie Riley teaches tap and strength and conditioning at Bridget's Dance Academy. At ten years old, she started dancing at Nancy's School of Dance in Huntington, WV where she found her love of competitive dance. As a junior in high school, she made the transition to Bridget's Dance Academy to compete on the senior team. This upcoming year will make her fifth year at BDA where she has spent four of those years teaching/assisting. She loves teaching and is grateful for the opportunity to share her passion with her students. Natalie is an undergraduate at Marshall University in Huntington, WV where she is studying to be a nurse.
Marilee Hutchinson
Instructor
Merilee Hutchinson began dancing at the age of 4. Her specialties were tap, ballet, and jazz. For 6 years she also trained as a majorette. In high school she was a member of the State Champion Show Choir, Visual Volume, as well as a member of the Color Guard, Dance Team, and student assistant at her lifelong dance studio. After graduation, Merilee choreographed Poca Middle School’s Color Guard for 1 year before moving to Huntington full-time to attend college. Merilee graduated from Huntington Junior College with an Associate Degree in Business Management. Merilee currently works full time for Health Research Systems as the Operations Manager.