Meet the Director: Miss Shaylyn

Miss Shaylyn has been involved in the performing arts her entire life, and she has developed a deep love for and extensive experience in many different disciplines as a result. Her first exposure to the performing arts was through baton twirling. Her mother is a decorated twirler and coach, so baton twirling was always a family affair. 

By elementary school, Miss Shaylyn was competing successfully in both individual and in team events nationally and in her home state of West Virginia. She went on to become her high school marching band’s “feature twirler” and won multiple “Best Overall Feature Twirler” awards. She moved to Kentucky for college in order to be a majorette for the University of Kentucky’s Wildcat Marching Band where she performed at many different venues including college and NFL football games. 

Though twirling is where she got her start, Miss Shaylyn’s passion has always been dance. She started dancing before she could walk, doing somersaults in her crib. She began her formal training at a local dance studio where she trained in ballet, tap, jazz, and pointe. In high school, she became a member of the Winfield High School Dance Team where she developed skills in hip-hop, pom, and acro. In college, Miss Shaylyn minored in dance where in addition to refining skills in the previously mentioned dance styles, added modern, musical theater, improvisation, and choreography training to her repertoire. In addition to performing in several dance concerts at the University of Kentucky, she was selected to travel to China to perform as a representative for the Department of Theatre and Dance in cultural exchange concerts and later at the American College Dance Festival in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. 

In addition to twirling and dancing, Miss Shaylyn also enjoyed performing in multiple theater productions with roles such as “Juliet”, and as a singer/dancer/actor in the General Admission Show Choir where she was awarded “Best Performer” in competition. 

As a student, Miss Shaylyn witnessed firsthand the impact teachers can have on their students in both positive and negative ways. There were teachers throughout her journey who became indispensable beacons of guidance and love and there were also some that contributed to an internal sense of shame and inferiority. All of these experiences have contributed to Miss Shaylyn’s desire to teach the performing arts in a way that promotes spiritual and emotional health. 

She has taught many groups and individuals of all ages through classes, clinics, private lessons, etc.  Some of her students have even gone on to perform at the collegiate level.