Our Staff

Meet our wonderful staff!

Miss Hayley, Owner & Director:

Hayley Justice, owner/director of Legacy Dance Center, was a student at Angie’s Dance Academy for 10 years where she studied Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Lyrical, Hip Hop and Modern. At the age of 14, Hayley became Student Teacher for the Academy and has enjoyed working with children since. In 2007, Hayley joined the faculty of ADA and has choreographed routines earning “Best Choreography”, “Champions of Champions”, “Creative Concept” and many “Highest Score of the Day” awards. Hayleys students have danced on numerous college dance teams and some have become dance teachers themselves. David Ferguson, a long time student of Justice is now currently on Tour with Fiddler on the roof. Her Student Dalli Hensley is the reigning America’s Teen Miss Dance. Hayley is certified to teach through Dance Masters of America, Inc. and has an Entrepreneurship degree from Haywood Community College. She has also worked as a judge for Star Systems National Talent Competition. Hayley Justice, a long time student of Angie Henley, and her husband Heath Justice, are excited for the tremendous honor and duty of carrying on the traditions and excellence of Angie’s Dance Academy by creating a new Legacy to be remembered in our community. Hayley shares her life with her husband Heath & son Holt. There’s a quick and easy way to help your kids become happier.

Miss Angie, Teacher & Director:

Angie Henley studied with Beale Fletcher from childhood and began teaching at an early age. She graduated King’s Business College in Charlotte and quickly came home to become the manager of the Fletcher School of Dance in Clyde. With more than seventeen years teaching experience, she opened Angie’s Dance Academy and was it’s Director from 1991-2019. She is certified to teach by test through Dance Masters of America, Inc., an organization comprised of professional dance teachers across the United States and is proud to be a part of the Legacy Dance Center team. Angie has performed both locally and on the national level and has choreographed many award winning routines. Angie’s students have been awarded cash scholarships toward their continued dance education and many have continued to study dance during and after their college years. Her students have been crowned Master Dance of N.C., Petite Miss Dance and Miss Dance of N.C. representing our state in the National Master and Miss Dance of America Scholarship Pageants. Angie’s students grow from a positive classroom experience where they nurtured to express themselves through their dancing. She is married to Matt Henley and they have a son in college, Landon.

Coach Will, All-Star Director & Tumbling Instructor:

Will Hutchinson started out as a teenager taking gymnastic classes and quickly found of love for the art. He soon became the lead instructor for an all boys gymnastics team. Will moved on to teaching girls gymnastics level three four and five. After focusing mainly on gymnastics for 7 years he then started coaching cheer teams. Will has coached for Premier Cheerleading, Fearless All-Star Gym, Rocks Star All- Star Gym. He did his work at those gyms and had a great time. Will is invested in the training he provides his students and provides excellence to all that take with him. Will also coaches at spirit revolution all star gym and Legacy Dance Center. He is excited to be the lead Tumbling & Cheer Coach at Legacy and looks forward to creating memories with his students.

Miss Ciera, Teacher:

Ciera began dancing at Angie’s Dance Academy when she was 2 years old. She trained in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Hip Hop, and Contemporary for 16 years at the Academy. She joined the Aces Performing Troupe at the age of six and has been dancing ever since! Competing in groups, duets, trios, and solos. Ciera was also a member of the studios liturgical team performing in various churches throughout the county. Ciera carried a role as student teacher for 8 years which she has thoroughly enjoyed. Ciera has performed with the Asheville Ballet Company for the past four years in their annual Nutcracker, along with the summer and fall performances. After graduation, she attended Western Carolina University for the first year and has now chosen to transfer into the Nursing Program at Haywood Community College. Ciera continues to dance today because of the joy and excitement of knowing she is making a child’s love for dance that much stronger. Even as an adult, dance will always be apart of her life. Ciera is fulfilling this with her roll as teacher for Legacy Dance Academy.

Miss Abby, Teacher:

Abby Bearden joined the Legacy Dance family in the summer of 2021. She grew up dancing at a studio in Tallahassee, Florida for most of her life and then transitioned full-time up to Waynesville after graduating from WCU. Abby has been dancing for about 22 years and has been teaching on and off for about 12 years for ages 3 all the way up to adults. While she has experience teaching ballet, musical theater, ballroom, and contemporary, ballet is definitely her first love! She is so excited to be back in the classroom teaching students about what she loves most!

Miss Abria, Teacher:

Abria Pelka grew up in Southern California, where she danced competitively from the ages of 5 to 17. Abria began her dancing career in competitive hip hop, and then branched out to other styles, such as contemporary, jazz, musical theatre, ballet and lyrical. She danced in top-of-the nation routines, and has won countless awards at several well known competitions and conventions.Abria then found her passion in teaching dance so she embarked on her new career. She has taught and spread her love for dance not only in the US but also in Costa Rica and Chile. She currently resides in Western North Carolina where she teaches and choreographs for three competitive dance studios, Legacy Dance Center, Tri Cities Dance Company, and Dimensions Studio, and at one adult studio, Uphora Dance Fitness. She teaches hip hop, jazz, musical theatre, jazz funk, contemporary, and high heels dance. She also teaches for West Ridge High School Dance Team and does special choreographies for studios around the state. Abria’s choreography has won countless awards at both local and out-of-state competitions.Abria is a member of an adult hip-hop dance crew, known as Fuego AVL. When Abria isn’t dancing or choreographing, she enjoys being active, hiking with her dogs, spending time with her husband and family, and spending time on the farm.

Miss Josey, Staff:

Josey, mother of dancer Emma Waldrop, joined the dance family in 2007 when she became a dance mom to her oldest daughter Avery. What started out as one night a week dance class quickly became more than that. She has spent a lot of time preparing for competitions, recitals and just trying to understand what it means to be a dance mom. Fast forward several years, she was asked to work at the studio in Dance Express. That is where she learned about all the hard work that goes into dance life. From the first day of class to the season finale, it makes her appreciate what it takes to put on an unforgettable performance. She loves the time she spends at Legacy. She is always happy to help the families who come into Dance Express, whether it is blinging out costumes or doing hair and makeup she is all for it. The families & dancers she has met working at Dance Express will forever be lifelong friends and is proud to be part of the Legacy Dance Center family.

Miss Rebecca, Staff:

Rebecca, mother of owner Hayley Justice, began her journey in the dance industry when she became a “Dance Mom” in 1996. Since then she has traveled to many competitions and dance conventions supporting her daughter on her dancing dream. She is now working as Legacy’s Office Manager. She enjoys each day at Legacy. Her bubbly personality shines through when she gets to see families at the studio each day. Outside of the studio, Rebecca enjoys gardening, spending time with her family, playing with her two puppies and taking her grandson, Holt, for Ice Cream. Rebecca is proud to be a part of Legacy Dance Center and cannot wait to continue her knowledge as a Dance Mom with all the moms of Legacy.

Miss Cynthia, Teacher:

Cynthia Ridler has been teaching ballet for over 25 years all across the US. With a corresponding 13 year performing career with Ballet West and the Cincinnati Ballet, performing all of the traditional classical repertoire and many works by important choreographers of the 20th century. She performed in theaters from Anchorage, AL, to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. She is well respected by her colleagues and loved by her students for her energetic mentorship, her enthusiasm for ballet, and her meticulous attention to detail. As a professional student she attended both the Ballet West Academy and the University of Utah on full scholarship. She also holds a magna cum laude BS in Psychology from the University of Cincinnati. Cynthia was blessed as a student to be trained and mentored personally by Willam F. Christensen, founder of the San Francisco Ballet and Ballet West. Her pivotal training in Utah was done at the hands of Densie Schultze Godfrey, Louis Godfrey, Conrad Ludlow, Jan Fugit and Sharee Lane.

Cynthia took on the role of owning a ballet studio in Jackson, MS, in 2002. Seeing an opportunity in the Fondren neighborhood of that city, she rented warehouse space and proceeded to build all of the infrastructure needed for a studio. This included installing ballet barres, mirrors, and a specialized sprung floor. All of the graphic design and marketing was handled by Cynthia, and she opened her doors in August of 2002 with 45 students.

Over the next two years, her student body grew to over 150 students. She entered into a strategic partnership with an existing studio about 25 miles north of her location, in order to share the costs of producing performances. She also worked with the Mississippi Society for Disabilities to create a program of classes and specialized performances, providing an opportunity for dancers with spinal cord injuries to participate in the creation of a specially commissioned ballet. Her work with this organization also led to the creation of a weekly class for children with special needs, adapting the ballet curriculum to provide these students with both classes and performance opportunities.

Cynthia moved to Pittsburgh, Pa, in 2005, and shortly joined the faculty of Pittsburgh Youth Ballet. As a leading faculty member of that school, she oversaw casting, scheduling, repertoire choices, and the placement of students within the curriculum. She choreographed and rehearsed students in both stagings of The Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, Cinderella and The Nutcracker as well as creating her own version of a ballet adaptation of The Velveteen Rabbit. She served as rehearsal director for stagings of the works of George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Waltz of the Hours from Coppelia, Harlequinade, the Scherzo from a Midsummer Night’s Dream and Waltz of the Snowflakes from Balanchine’s The Nutcracker and Jerome Robbins’ Circus Polka. This work especially helped connect her to a network of dance professionals from the famous New York City Ballet, connections that she maintains to this day. While in Pittsburgh she also was adjunct faculty in the dance department of Point Park University Conservatory of Dance and served as the ballet mistress for Abby Lee Miller Dance Company.

In 2015, she moved to Salt Lake City, UT, where she became a member of the principal faculty at Ballet West Academy(BWA). In this capacity she helped to develop the Professional Training Division of the Academy, teaching across all 4 campuses, working to develop the curriculum for ages 6-18, recruiting and auditioning nationally for the summer intensive. She loved her opportunity to serve as rehearsal director for Balanchine’s Valse Fantasie, Concerto

Barocco, Walspurgis Nacht and Western Symphony. She also had the privilege to be rehearsal director for Viva Vivaldi choreographed by Gerald Arpino. An ongoing passion is the coaching and preparing of young performers for participation in international ballet competitions such as The Youth American Grand Prix, World Ballet Competition and ADCIBC. Her solo students have gone on to win scholarships to national and international schools. She served on the Juries of the Miami International Ballet Competition and Canann International Dance Competition.