Ashley Taylor
Clogging Team Instructor
Ashley was born and raised in Jackson County. She is happily married to her high school sweetheart, Travis Taylor. They have 4 beautiful children: Everett, Emma, Zaidee and Zander. Ashley graduated from Western Carolina University with a BSBA and been a work-from-home mom since 2015.
Ashley began clogging at age 4 as part of the Billy Bob Pee Wees in Haywood County. Her father was a member of the Southern Appalachian Cloggers at that time, and her favorite childhood memories included watching her dad dance with his team, and occasionally getting to join in with them. Clogging has always been her favorite form of dance. It is one way to pass on the heritage of our mountain area to the next generation. It has also been named North Carolinas “State Dance.”
Ashley joined the Southern Appalachian Cloggers in 2013, and performs with the team alongside her husband and her father. They perform at many festivals and events throughout WNC, including Folkmoot in Haywood County and Mountain Heritage Day at WCU. The team has performed all over the USA and Europe, and is the Retired Grand Champion of the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival.
It has always been a dream to bring the old tradition back to Jackson County. Ashley is excited to see where the Lord leads this new class and team in the near future!
Maria Murphy Lyons
Founder
Maria has been in the dance & theater industry for 35 years. With more than 28 years experience teaching dance in Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Modern, & Theater. Maria attended Meredith College in Raleigh where she majored in dance and theatre with a concentration in K-12 to teach. While Maria is great with any age group of dancer her gifting is preschoolers. She’s one of the BEST Preschool dance educators in the field today.
In 1996 Maria opened a successful dance studio in Bryson City called Tap-N-Toes School of Dance.
In 2003 Maria was asked to join the Swain County School's Art's Enrichment Program as their full time dance educator. She has been with the school system for 12 years before retiring in fall 2013.
In 2007 she was asked to teach a few classes at Angie’s Dance Academy in Clyde. She Left in 2009 to open Encore Dance Ministries.
In 2007 Maria received a vision of Encore Ministries while attending an Emmaus weekend. In that vision she is to put together a touring company that travels the world ministering through dance, theatre, and puppetry. One of her biggest goals is to do that with Encore Ministries. ENPAC Touring is now ready hit the road this fall.
Maria got married in 1999 to Loyd Lyons and together they have 2 children. She is a homeschool mom and has been working with homeschool families for years in different Co-Op programs.
Maria is also an Ordained Minister she studied 4 years with Servanthood Ministries. She an active Clergy for the Local Emmaus Communities.
In 2013 Maria reached another goal to become a life coach and help people who own their own businesses reach financial goals and long term business growth or look at different options of revenue all together. Maria also uses her coaching skills in her classes to empower her dance students to reach for their dreams no matter how big they may be. Maria is very passionate about ministry and her work in the Arts.
She is also a Key Note speaker for the John Maxwell Team as well as an ambassador for Compassion International. Compassion helps find sponsorship for children around the globe living in extreme poverty.
While Maria’s work in the arts are extensive she also has done a lot of charity work. She has a huge heart to serve others and to bring joy to everyone she meets. That’s why you can always find her with a smile on her face and a bounce in her step. She is extremely excited about the expansion this year with Encore. While the studio in Sylva and Cherokee continue to grow with leaps and bounds she's excited to share the love of Christ with her home town community where she grew up.
You can watch Maria's web show that airs on Facebook called The Lyons Den with Maria Lyons.
Maria believes that dance education is a vital role in a child's life because it builds confidence, trust, and leadership in young men and women. Maria is very passionate about teaching dance and her students walk away with a sense of self accomplishment and a true understand that God loves them. No matter what.
Crystal Akers
Ballet En Pointe Dance Educator
Crystal Akers is a homeschooling mother of 4, joyfully married to Chris Akers and planted in Jackson County since she came to Western Carolina University to pursue Nursing in 1993. Crystal was classically trained in ballet for over 15 years at Smalling School of Fine Arts, participating in Royal Academy of Dance examinations for many of those years.
She has experience dancing with the Senior Company of her arts school as well as competition experience. When she started walking with the Lord as a teenager, she had the opportunity to use dance in worship and has focused on this in recent years. While she has been involved in an array of activities through her life, Crystal enjoys encouraging others to pursue excellence in their giftings, use their talent to bless others, and most of all bring Glory to God in all things. She looks forward to working with you at Encore Dance.
Holly Guyer
Director & Owner
Holly’s greatest passions and talents have always revolved around singing, playing musical instruments, marching band and dancing, there is no doubt that Holly’s greatest passion given to her by God has always been dance. Holly began her formal dance training at the age of 5 years old and has training in tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, clogging, and hip hop. However her greatest dance passion is tap dancing. Holly was a member of the multi-award winning In Motion Dancers Dance team at Stage Door Dance Studio under the direction of Jeanna Carswell as well as a member of the Dance Escape Dance team under the direction of Charae’ Stephens. She also competed in many dance competitions as a tap soloist. While in highschool she choreographed the annual musical “The Music Man” as well as choreographed multiple dance routines for her show choir/chorus class. Holly was also asked on multiple occasions to sing “The National Anthem” while she was a student at Smoky Mountain Highschool.
Holly has been teaching tap and jazz since she was a teenager. In 2002, she began teaching dance at Tap-N-Toes school of dance owned by Loyd and Maria Lyons. When Encore Dance Ministries opened its doors in 2010, Holly began teaching a dance/movement class at Encore geared toward children with disabilities. Beginning in 2011, Holly started transitioning into the position of Office Director for Encore. Holly feels very blessed to have the blessing of building positive relationships with all of the parents and students at Encore.
On September 12th, 2012 Holly married her husband Nathan. A couple of years later on November 11th, 2014, God blessed Holly and Nathan with a sweet baby boy named Josiah. Josiah has become the Encore/Legacy mascot and LOVES to be around all of the students, parents, and staff at Encore. Nathan and Josiah are God’s greatest blessings to Holly. Nathan’s job as a manager for Domino’s can be very demanding, so Holly is primarily a stay at home mom with Josiah. When Holly has free time, she enjoys family time, reading, going to yard sales, going to Dollywood/Splash Country with family, and spending time with friends. Holly looks forward to seeing what God has in store for Encore for many years to come
Christopher Horstman
Hip Hop & Break Dancing Educator
Christopher Horstman has been with Encore ever since it first opened in 2009. He was in beginner hiphop, tap, and jazz classes for 2 years before being advanced to Senior Encore, which was a Company class. There he found hiphop was his true calling and began taking part in only hiphop classes that continued to go to competitions.
They won 1st place and high gold ratings in all performances. He continued in hiphop classes, student teaching and helping with choreography. He pursued ,on his own ,dance theory and hiphop culture as well as breakdancing footwork, flow, power moves, and freeze basics and being steeped in dance theory and hiphop culture as well as continuing encores classes and summer dance camps.2 years ago he became faculty and began teaching and choreographing his own classes.In summer 2015 he attended a professional hiphop class in Charlotte.
Over all, he has been in dance for 7 years and been in over 20 performances including recitals, parades, competitions, events, and this last year had a solo breakdancing segment in a music video shoot. His philosophy is that the stage is an empty canvas and every move is a drop of paint one uses to create a masterpiece of expression and emotions, and that choreography and technique alone isn't enough to be a great dancer but when you put what you feel and your heart into it the crowd can feel it too and will never forget what you have to show and say to them through dance.
Bethany Brooks
Competition Dance Educator
Miss Bethany Brooks has been dancing since the age of two and started her competition career at the age of five. Bethany enrolled at Tonya's Acacdemy of Dance in 1999 and graduated with sixteen years of dance in 2015. While at Tonya's Academy, Bethany trained in jazz, lyrical, ballet, pointe, hip hop, clogging, tap, and modern. Throughout the years Bethany competed in many productions, small groups, large groups, solos, and duets.
Bethany's studio traveled to many competitions in North Carolina and South Carolina where her teams won many awards in all categories of dance. Bethany knew after her first time on a competitive stage that she wanted to someday be a dance teacher and share her passion with everyone she knew.