Staff

Cynthia Lahey-Whittle, Director
Cynthia holds a BA in ballet from Virginia Intermont College and has been teaching dance since 1986. She has received various teaching accreditations over the years, including the Vera Volkava Teaching Award. Her career has spanned from the southeast regions of Virginia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas to the Midwest. She has taught ballet, pointe, modern, jazz, ethnic, character, and tap. Cynthia has been teaching in Crawfordsville since 1992 and established Crawfordsville Academy of Dance in 1998. Under her direction multiple students have gone on to study dance at the collegiate level.

Stefanie Deaton, Instructor
Stefanie is a native of Crawfordsville and has studied dance since she was three years old. From 1995 to 1997 she taught tap and jazz classes for Steven Dance Academy. During those two years she also initiated an after-school program for elementary students called Discovery Club, where students learned the fundamentals of jazz technique. She has been a staff member of Crawfordsville Academy of Dance since it was established.When she is not in the studio she can often be found on the stage of the local theater where she performs in multiple local theatrical productions a year.

Georgia Taylor, Instructor
Georgia has been training as a dancer since she was three years old.  Her studies began in ballet, and through the years she has studied every discipline including Junior Dance Company and Dance Company.  She has worked as a demonstrator and has worked with young children in many capacities.  She has been teaching children dance since 2020.  Georgi’s other performing endeavors include Dancing With The Stars locally and performing on stage with local theater establishments.

Riley Whittle, Front Desk Attendant
Riley has been assisting at the dance studio since 2014. His skills include customer service, data processing, costume orders, and maintenance of the lobby. Besides working at the front desk of Crawfordsville Academy of Dance, he attends Ivy Tech Community College and works part time for Timberland Lumber.