Our Faculty
CCJ Conservatory features a diverse all adult faculty, each with years of experience in their specific field of dance. We are proud of the nationally recognized expertise that each of our instructors bring into their classes.
Dale Lam
CCJ Conservatory Artistic Director
Dale was named "Top Private Studio/Conservatory Teacher" by Dance Teacher magazine, and was also appointed as an ambassador to the The Dance Teacher Summit in 2015! Formally a professor of dance at USC in Columbia, S.C., Dale has taught internationally at the Kiradjiev Cultural Center in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Danz Studio in Costa Rica, and the Singapore Dance Association at Lasalle College of the Arts in Singapore.
Shannon Manning
CCJ Conservaotry Assistant Director and Children's Programs
Shannon Manning comes to us from Las Vegas, where she performed nightly with world renowned Siegfried and Roy at the Mirage for eight years. Her professional career began at 17, when she was hand picked by Paula Abdul to be in Janet Jackson's first music video What Have You Done for Me Lately? Her training includes San Francisco Ballet School, Marin Ballet School, and Dupree Dance Academy with scholarships at the later two.
Bonnie Boiter-Jolley
Ballet
Bonnie Boiter-Jolley has been on the CCJ Faculty since 2011. She began her ballet training at the Columbia Conservatory of Dance before going on to be a scholarship student at the North Carolina School of the Arts. Bonnie graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Honors College at the University of South Carolina with degrees in Dance Performance and Choreography. In 2011, Bonnie joined the Columbia City Ballet and was promoted to Principal 3 years later.
Abby McDowell
Ballet
After attended the Professional Division of Pacific Northwest Ballet School and went on to dance for the Atlanta Ballet. She later received a company position at The Georgia Ballet where she performed many soloist and principal roles. Abby is currently a soloist with the Columbia City Ballet, where she enjoys performing roles such as The Snow Queen and Arabian Coffee in his production of The Nutcracker.
Regan Baker
Modern - Youth Programs
Regan Baker is a graduate from the Dance Education Program at the University of South Carolina. She has danced with the Chesapeake Ballet Company, and the Ballet Theatre of Maryland. Regan has a passion for dance that she utilizes to teach, choreograph and direct in public schools, home studios, summer camps, U of SC dancers and for collegiate peers in other departments.
Joshua Alexander
Jazz - Acro
Josh is a graduate of CCJ Conservatory, and has toured Europe for two years with Rasta Thomas' Bad Boys of Dance. After returning to the US, Josh performed in a variety of roles, including as a back-up dancer for Vocal Adrenalin on the last season of Glee, as featured dancer in NBC's Hairspray Live, performed with The Weekend in Superbowl LV, and was a member of Jacki Roya's Royal Flux, and much more. We are very please to have Josh as an instructor at CCJ Conservatory.
Ariel Mack
Jazz
Ariel is a South Carolina native who began dancing with Miss Libby’s School of Dance and Gymnastics in Sumter. Ariel attended Oklahoma City University as an Entertainment Business major and had the opportunity to work with Oklahoma City University’s American Spirit Dance Company. Ariel is currently Artistic Director of the Rising Stars of Sumter as well as the choreographer for the Sumter High School Show Choir and Sumter High School Dance Team.
Lauren Herring
Pre-Company Director
Lauren Herring is a CCJ Conservatory alumni and currently, a student at the University of South Carolina. She is a Cardiovascular Technology major. She received her dance training under the direction of Dale Lam at CCJ Conservatory. She has attended many programs such as Ballet+, Francisco Gella’s Pre-Professional Dancer Institute, Flux Factor, CCJ Summer Intensive, etc. She was a member of Spring Hill High School Dance Team and Furman Dance Team. She is currently a member of Carolina Club Dance.
Tierney Denny-Lybbert
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