About Us
JENNIFER TYSON, owner of Georgia Dance Unlimited, began dancing at the age of four and has extensive training in Ballet, Jazz, Tap and Lyrical. She has performed in “The Nutcracker” with Rotaru School of Ballet and The Opening Ceremonies of the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. Jennifer has been teaching in the Atlanta area for 13 years. In that time she has taught Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Lyrical, Acrobatics and Hip Hop to ages 2 to adult. In 1998 Jennifer began choreographing numbers for dance competitions. Many of her students are title award winners and her groups have won multiple high score and choreography awards both regionally and nationally. Jennifer has been a judge for several regional and national dance competitions across the United States and Canada. Jennifer is the Georgia Representative for Dance Teachers Online. In 2004 she developed a coloring book for beginning ballet students that has been translated into 3 languages. In March 2009 Jennifer was awarded “Instructor of the Year” for Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation. Jennifer lives in Auburn with her husband and 2 kids.
LEAH PORTER (Dance and Pilates Instructor) has danced her entire life and has loved every minute of it. She grew up in North Carolina and attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She studied under many dance legends including Melissa Hayden, Trish Casey, Dianne Markham, Sean Sullivan, Brenda Daniels, and Christine Spizzo. After receiving a dance degree from UNCSA, Leah continued studying dance at Florida State University where again she had the honor of studying under some of the best instructors in the country including Suzanne Farrel, Anjali Austin, Lynda Davis, Shelia Humphreys, Rick McCullough, Anthony Morgan and Patty Phillips. While in school Leah danced in countless student and faculty pieces and concentrated her studies in choreography and composition. She also performed for two years with the Corazone Dancers, a salsa dance company. After graduation Leah took on various jobs in TV production but not as a dancer. She longed to be back on stage and accepted a contract at the Waterside Theatre in NC. She was cast as a dancer in the Lost Colony, Jesus Christ Superstar and Oklahoma. Soon realizing her body would not hold up forever, Leah renewed her passion for dance by teaching it to others. She enjoys teaching all forms of dance to anyone who wants to learn and believes Martha Graham’s words that “Dance is the hidden language of the soul.”
SHANNON MARTIN-CYR (Moving Tots and Dance Instructor) lives in Duluth, GA with her husband and two daughters. She has a Master’s Degree in Social Work and a Bachelor’s in Counsel;ing and Human Services/Child Development. Shannon has spent her entire professional career working with young children. At the age of 7, Shannon developed a love of dance and took lessons in Jazz, Tap and Ballet. In her teen years, Shannon participated in cheerleading and went on to cheer for the University of Maine. After the birth of her first daughter, Shannon retired from Social Work and returned to her love of dance. She taught Kinderdance, Ballet and Tap at various local studios. Currently Shannon is training to be Level I Certified Cecchetti Ballet instructor.