Sue Gilson has professional credits in jazz, tap, and Polynesian dance from performances in the Los Angeles area.  Sue choreographed musicals for the Palomar College Theatre, including Cabaret, Can-Can, Chicago, Fiddler on the Roof, West Side Story, Sweeney Todd, The Merry Widow, Quilters, and  Little Shop of Horrors, to name a few .  Her choreography for Palomar College’s 50th Anniversary Musical, Kiss Me Kate, received critical acclaim.  Along with Tom Hansen, she co-choreographed and co-produced productions of Gershwin in Revue , Ballads, Blues, and Boogie-Woogie, and  Stompin’ at the Brubeck.  She directed the Performing Arts Department’s Dance outreach program, which has presented numerous programs for local high schools and community organizations. She also directs Encore, a select group of dancers which have been the featured entertainment at numerous Palomar College Foundation Galas.  Sue continues to teach at Palomar College as an Associate Professor of Dance. Sue has choreographed community shows for the Rancho Santa Fe School District, the 75th Anniversary Gala for the Bishop’s School, the Rancho Bernardo Country Club, and for Leisure World in Laguna Hills. To maintain state-of-the-art dance skills and techniques, Sue regularly participates in professional dance workshops and master classes.  Sue has studied with Gus Giordano in Chicago and Frank Hatchett in New York City.  She also studied dance in London, England, and Stuttgart, Germany.

Sue had been a friend of and a teacher for Georgia Copeland for over 25 years.  On Georgia’s passing in 1999, Sue took over the Studio and continues Georgia’s legacy.  Georgia’s School of Dance is now teaching a third generation of students. Among the personal awards Sue has received are the San Diego Performing Arts League “Star” Award, the Company Dance Educator Award, and has been recognized twice in the Marquis “Who’s Who of American Women”. Sue is a member of the North San Diego Business Chamber and the Escondido Chamber of Commerce.  Sue’s motto is “Keep Dancing”.  

Philip Amer was raised in northern California, where he began his dance training at age four. His

early inspirations were Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, which prompted him to ask his mother to enroll him

in dance. His early training was in Eureka, California with the Redwood Concert Ballet. For several

summers he studied at the San Francisco Ballet School, under the direction of Richard Cammack. As a

young dancer, he danced with Ballet Celeste International in San Francisco and performed with them in

Tokyo, Osaka and Kobe, Japan.

Early in his professional career, Philip joined the Cleveland Ballet, under the direction of Dennis

Nahat, where he had the opportunity to be onstage with notable dancers, such as Cynthia Gregory.

After spending a season dancing with BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio, Philip was offered a position with

the Sacramento Ballet. He spent six years there, where he performed an extensive repertoire of

Balanchine ballets, including Rubies, Allegro Brilliante, the Four Temperaments and Prodigal Son, among

many others. While with the Sacramento Ballet, he also performed principal and soloist roles in Giselle,

Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, and The Nutcracker. Philip danced in Minneapolis with

the James Sewell Ballet, directed by James Sewell. He also danced with the Minnesota Dance Theatre,

directed by Lise Houlton, former soloist of the American Ballet Theatre and Stuttgart Ballet. Philip

performed with San Francisco Opera Ballet in “Aida,” with choreography by Donald Byrd. He also

performed a soloist role in the Russian comic opera “Betrothal in a Monastery.”

Philip moved to Southern California and performed with L.A Classical Ballet. He also performed

with Nancy McCaleb and the San Diego Ballet. Philip taught Ballet in many studios in the area as well,

including San Diego Civic Youth Ballet, Academy of Performing Arts, Scripps Dance Center, and SCPA in

Chula Vista High School. Philip choreographed as well, creating several pieces that have been

performed throughout California and Mexico.

After spending a few years in San Diego Philip found his way back up to the San Francisco Bay

area where he performed with Company C Contemporary Ballet and taught at several studios around

the bay area. During his time up north Philip also completed his degree in Computer Information

Systems through DeVry University.

Philip is excited to bring his 20+ years of teaching and his vast professional experience to the

teaching staff at Georgia’s School of Dance.

Jessica Carpinelli began dancing in the San Diego area when she was three years old. She trained in classical ballet for 10 years before meeting Sue Gilson, who encouraged her to add jazz, tap, lyrical, and musical theater to her repertoire at Georgia’s School of Dance and Palomar College. Miss Jessica has had the opportunity to take master classes around the country with some of the most prominent names in dance. She earned a Bachelor of Economics at San Francisco State and during her time became a teaching apprentice at a local ballet academy. She further developed her passion and talent for teaching children after graduating, taught dance full-time and performed with several Bay Area dance companies. Miss Jessica moved back to San Diego in 2008 and began teaching at Georgia's shortly thereafter. She combines her 20 years of teaching experience with her passion and joy for the art of dance. She has developed and implemented the curriculum used for our children's classes and has created a program that flows seamlessly into our Ballet, Tap and Jazz curriculums. Miss Jessica continues to further develop her knowledge and skills as a member of the National Dance Education Organization, the California Dance Education Association, and the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science. In addition, she is actively pursuing a Certificate in Dance Education through NDEO. Since joining our staff, Miss Jessica has helped the children's dance program flourish and continues to dedicate herself to building and improving it. 

Rachel Catalano (she/her) is a dancer, choreographer, director and educator based in Southern California. Her work mixes rigorous physicality, music and screen dance in collaboration with other artists.  She is currently a teaching artist for The Old Globe and Malashock Dance and where she teaches, choreographs, and directs the junior company. Along with her 18+ years in education, Rachel has appeared in numerous commercials, music videos, and live performances. Some of her performance credits include Jason Mraz, The Shadowboxers, Audio Technica and Heidi Laskey. Rachel is the artistic director of pick-up dance company Fresh Congress, which she founded in 2021. She is passionate about connection and is endlessly curious about finding and/or creating spaces where relationship and collaboration are at the forefront.

Alyssa Frost studied the Vaganova Method under Hanna Karacic in Orange County. In 2005, she debuted in the Joffrey Ballet's Nutcracker at the Hollywood Bowl. She competed throughout high school and attended Holly Johnston’s Ledges and Bones Co. Choreographic Intensive in 2012. Frost earned her Bachelor of Science in Dance in 2015, graduating with performance honors from the University of Oregon. While in Eugene, she performed with companies such as Dance Africa, DanceAbility and Harmonic Laboratory.

The following summer, Frost was given a character lead in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast in Las Vegas. During her time in Nevada, she served as an assistant teacher at The Rock Center for Dance. She earned a certification in CardioBarre© and continued to teach ballet at David King’s The Ballet Clinic in Phoenix, AZ. In 2017, Frost began her San Francisco dream as a lead ballet instructor at Presidio Dance Theatre. She traveled to NYC to perform her collaborative creation Enough at the Women in Dance Conference in 2018 and authored a University of California A-G accredited curricular course titled Kinesiology in Ballet. She served on faculty at San Francisco High School of the Arts, Performing Arts Academy of Marin, and the San Francisco Ballet School from 2019-2022. She has since returned to Southern California and continues to perform and teach classical ballet in the North and Southwest.

Windy Gale was a competitive gymnast for 11 years competing as a Level 10 for Mission Valley YMCA. She was the National Champion on Uneven Bars & Regional all-around Champion. In addition to gymnastics, Ms. Windy was very involved in acrobatics. She started Acro at 4 years old and continued to do it long after she joined the gymnastics team. At the age of 7, Ms. Windy started her gymnast career, but she still had a very strong presence in Acro classes at her dance studio. Ms. Windy danced at San Diego Dance Center where the Acro group and solos won title at Showstoppers 4 years in a row. Ms. Windy has coached Gymnastics throughout San Diego and Southern California. She coached at Mission Valley YMCA for 7 years, where she taught all levels from age 3-18 years old, was a competitive coach for compulsory and optional level 10 gymnasts, and choreographed all floor and beam routines. She coached at Cuyamaca YMCA for 5 years, where she taught all levels ages 3 to 18 years old, was a competitive coach for levels 6-10, and choreographed all beam and floor routines for levels 6-10 gymnasts.

Ms. Windy loves Acro and gymnastics and would love to share her love and experience with her students.

Shannon has spent her life dancing up and down the coast of California. Raised in the Bay Area, Shannon started dancing at the age of 4. Tap was always her favorite form of expression and she quickly became a best of show winner in her county. She continued her dance education at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in Los Angeles with a semester in New York City, graduating with a BFA in Performing Arts with a focus in Musical Theatre. From there she has gone on to work professionally at a handful of regional theaters throughout California. Shannon has been featured in the following shows: 42nd Street, Anything Goes, Memphis the Musical, Grease!, Mamma Mia!, Miracle on 34th Street, Urinetown, The Drowsy Chaperone, How to Succeed in Business (Without Really Trying) and Thoroughly Modern Millie. The long-time tapper is thrilled to be teaching tap at Georgia’s Dance studio.

Reka Gyulai received her professional training at the Hungarian Dance Academy in Budapest, Hungary. She was a finalist at the International Ballet Competition in Vienna in 2004. In 2006, she received the prestigious Elvira Vecsei Prize and a Scholarship of the Republic from the Hungarian Ministry of Education.

Ms. Gyulai has performed with the Hungarian National Ballet, Columbia Classic Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, New Jersey Ballet Company, International Ballet Company, Dance Alive National Ballet in Florida and California Ballet Company in San Diego. She toured extensively with these companies to Russia, Transylvania, Brazil and throughout the United States. Her repertoire includes principal roles in Cinderella, Wizard of Oz, Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, Walpurgis Night, Swan Lake, Phantom of the Opera, and others, as well as contemporary works by Adam Hougland, Edwaard Liang, Ashley Page, Marcello Angelini, Ma Cong, Septime Webre, Jared Nelson and Kevin Jenkins. 

Reka is currently a freelance dancer and choreographer.

Michael found his love for dance at the age of 15 when he joined the All Male Hip Hop Dance Team at San Marcos High School. He later began training at New West Ballet exploring a variety of dance genres including ballet, jazz, tap, and lyrical. Shortly after, he received a scholarship to Georgia's school of Dance, training under the direction of Anthony Russell, Sue Gilson and Theo Ivey. He was a company member of Unity Dance Ensemble, founded by Tessandra Chavez; Opus Mixtus, under the direction of Heather Dale Wentworth; Axxiom Dance Collective, under the direction of Joei Waldron and Kaleidoscope Dance Company. In 2009 Michael was awarded the "Shining Star" award and was recognized as the 2010 "Choreographer of The Year" at Palomar College. Michael has been a positive influence and role model at the San Marcos Boys and Girls Club from 2008-2016 where he started a dance outreach program at various

Elementary’s and middle schools in the San Marcos School District. In 2013 the ASES People's Choice Award recognized him for his work with the San Marcos Middle School’s Dance Team. He is no stranger to the competitive dance scene for he has over a decade of experience coaching and choreographing for San Marcos High School, Orange Glen High School, Valley Center High School and many dance studios in San Diego. Michael choreographs for Georgia's Cometative teams and soloists. He aspires to further his knowledge in all aspects of dance and to share his passion with any willing audience.

France-Marie Stiewel began her early ballet training in San Diego, by the age of twelve was being accepted into many pre-professional summer intensive programs. She spent the summers training with the Joffrey Ballet, San Fransisco Ballet, Boston Ballet and Richmond Ballet. in 2003, Ms. Stiewel was asked to join the Richmond Ballet training program, where she performed many various roles with the company. In 2007, Ms. Stiewel moved to Princeton, New Jersey, to dance with the American repertory Ballet and teach for the Princeton Ballet School. Under the guise of school director, Mary Pat Robertson, and the seasoned staff of PBS, she gained the expertise and passion for teaching ballet at all levels. Most recently, France-Marie became a fully certified teacher with American Ballet Theater.