Keren Gibb Hilliard
Keren Gibb Hilliard began her dance training in Mobile as a child and continued to study during her college days in Montgomery, performing with local dance companies and theater groups in both cities. She taught dance classes at Huntingdon College while a student there and completed her degree at UAH in Huntsville. She held various positions with Community Ballet in her 40+ years with them, including dancer, teacher, choreographer, ballet mistress, school director, and both associate and interim director of Huntsville Ballet Company. She has twice won the ballet division of the Panoply Choreography Competition and became certified to teach the Zena Romett Floor Barre Technique in 2002. Her community service includes serving on the Arts Council Board, Community Ballet’s Board, and setting choreography for Community Chorus, Fantasy Playhouse, Ars Nova, and Bob Jones High School presentations.
David Herriott
David Herriott received his early dance training with Loyd Tygett at the Huntsville Civic Ballet. He danced professionally as a principal soloist with Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet and North Carolina Dance Theatre, touring internationally, and working with noted choreographers including Agnes de Mille, John Neumier, Norbert Vesak, and Elliot Feld. Mr. Herriott has held the positions of Artistic/Executive Director of Huntsville Ballet Company and Columbus Ballet, and Artistic Director of AYB since its inception in 2006. He has choreographed for Fantasy Playhouse, Ars Nova, and Huntsville Community Chorus, and won the contemporary division of the 1992 Panoply Choreography Competition. He has been an instructor at Santa Monica College and at The University of the South. Mr. Herriott’s former students have been invited to study and perform with Alvin Ailey, ABT, Joffrey, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Alabama Ballet, and Harrid Conservatory to name a few.
Paula Osmer
Paula Osmer began dancing as a small child at Community Ballet School under the direction of Lloyd Tygett, Keren Gibb, and David Herriott where she joined the Huntsville Ballet Company. She also participated in the dance magnet program at Lee High School. After high school Paula continued her studies at The University of Alabama where she obtained a BA in Dance and, upon graduation, began her professional career in the Washington, DC metro area. Her dancing credits include: Bosmadance, City Dance Ensemble Early Arts, Bowen-McCauley Dance, Crossroads Dance Company, and several independent projects with various choreographers. She also taught ballet, jazz, and modern classes at several schools including, City Dance Center, Crossroads Academy of Dance, and Metropolitan Fine Arts Center, as well as for Headfirst camps and DARE Dance. Paula has been teaching for Alabama Youth Ballet since 2012 and became the outreach director for The Dance Connection in 2013. She has enjoyed getting to know all of her students and looks forward to watching them grow as dancers in the years to come.
Rebekah Frank
Rebekah Frank is a Huntsville native who started her dance education at age 8 with her first jazz class and steadily branched out into other disciplines of dance. As her dance training progressed, she mainly studied ballet, tap, jazz, pointe and lyrical with Melissa Barnett. She also took master classes and attended conventions to stay updated with recent trends in the dance community. She has taken classes from Joe Tremaine, Keri LaGrand, Gregg Russell, Judy Rice and Barry Youngblood and other reknowned teachers, all of whom challenged and inspired her. In 2005, Rebekah became a teaching assistant for Ms. Barnett and eventually started teaching her own classes. She has been teaching ballet, tap, jazz and preschool classes to the Huntsville area for the last 9 years. She continues to take classes of her own and attend workshops and master classes to hone her skills. Rebekah is excited to be a part of the Alabama Youth Ballet family and looks forward to spending many years with AYB.
Payton Campbell
Payton Campbell teaches Jazz and Theatrical dance.
Meg Hall
Meg Hall is one of our Ballet Teachers & our Dance Fun Teacher.
Kat Holley
Kat Holley is one of our Ballet & Tap Teachers.
Whitney Hunter
Whitney Hunter began her dance training at the age of 5 in LaGrange, Georgia and continued it through college while attending Auburn University. During her time at Auburn, she also taught dance classes at Auburn Ballet School. After college, she briefly continued her training at Community Ballet in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2008, Whitney and her family moved back to Auburn, Alabama where she taught dance at Rising Starz Performing Arts Center and independently through the Auburn Parks and Recreation Department. While at Rising Starz, she started and directed Auburn Youth Ballet Company. As director, Whitney restaged productions of Coppelia, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, staged her own production of Alice in Wonderland, and created numerous original pieces that have been performed in festivals in Alabama and Georgia. She also spent 8 years volunteering as a dancer, choreographer, seamstress, costume designer, and served as both board member and president with East Alabama Community Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker. Whitney served as Guest Ballet Mistress of the Montgomery Ballet during their 2012 production of The Nutcracker. She joined Alabama Youth Ballet as an instructor in 2018 and is excited to share her love of dance with her students.