Meet The Instructors
Leigh (Ann) Tincher-McGuffey, Owner/Director, began her dance training at the age of 5 in her hometown of Charleston, WV. Over the years she was fortunate enough to study with Al Gilbert, Debbie Allen, Gus Giordano, Joe Tremaine, Darryl Retter and Janice Barringer, to name a few.
It was her exposure to great teachers which inspired her to want to share her love of dance. Miss Leigh began her teaching career after graduating from Marshall University where she double majored in Radio/TV Broadcasting and Theatre/Dance. After moving to the Atlanta area, she worked as a TV news anchor while also dancing and working with The Griffin Ballet Theatre.
Miss Leigh saw a need in her new home of Newnan for a choice in dance education. Miss Leigh opened Star Dance Studio in 1999, hosting an end of the year spring performance with just 30 students and 10 routines. In 2002, she left the news business for good to run the studio full time. Miss Leigh is now a member of Dance Educators of America having passed her exams with near perfect scores, and the Professional Dance Teachers Association.
Most recently, Miss Leigh performed as a dancer with Coweta's Dancing Stars. She and partner Brad Binion won 1st place in both the Judge's Choice and People's Choice categories. The annual event raises money for The Community Welcome House, a local charity that benefits women and children survivors of domestic violence in our area.
It was her exposure to great teachers which inspired her to want to share her love of dance. Miss Leigh began her teaching career after graduating from Marshall University where she double majored in Radio/TV Broadcasting and Theatre/Dance. After moving to the Atlanta area, she worked as a TV news anchor while also dancing and working with The Griffin Ballet Theatre.
Miss Leigh saw a need in her new home of Newnan for a choice in dance education. Miss Leigh opened Star Dance Studio in 1999, hosting an end of the year spring performance with just 30 students and 10 routines. In 2002, she left the news business for good to run the studio full time. Miss Leigh is now a member of Dance Educators of America having passed her exams with near perfect scores, and the Professional Dance Teachers Association.
Most recently, Miss Leigh performed as a dancer with Coweta's Dancing Stars. She and partner Brad Binion won 1st place in both the Judge's Choice and People's Choice categories. The annual event raises money for The Community Welcome House, a local charity that benefits women and children survivors of domestic violence in our area.
Angie Tally-McBurnett, Instructor, started dancing at the age of four. During her teens she danced with Southern Ballet of Atlanta and was an assistant for her hometown teacher, Jean Morris.
She danced with numerous stars in Theater of the Stars' Summer Stock Productions at the Fox Theatre. She performed in many cabarets including The Manhattan Yellow Pages, one of the first in Atlanta. She played a police officer in the television series Savannah and choreographed Diana, A Gift of Music. Miss Angie has also danced in various Vegas type shows here in the United States and Mexico as well as abroad in Japan, Italy, England and Bermuda. She was extremely fortunate to be mentored by Doris Russell, an original Radio City Music Hall Rockette. Miss Angie has been teaching children and adults since 1986. She has been with Star Dance Studio since the studio's second season.
She danced with numerous stars in Theater of the Stars' Summer Stock Productions at the Fox Theatre. She performed in many cabarets including The Manhattan Yellow Pages, one of the first in Atlanta. She played a police officer in the television series Savannah and choreographed Diana, A Gift of Music. Miss Angie has also danced in various Vegas type shows here in the United States and Mexico as well as abroad in Japan, Italy, England and Bermuda. She was extremely fortunate to be mentored by Doris Russell, an original Radio City Music Hall Rockette. Miss Angie has been teaching children and adults since 1986. She has been with Star Dance Studio since the studio's second season.
Ana Parnell, Instructor, was born with an innate passion for dance and began training at a young age in Newnan, Georgia, at Star Dance Studio. She danced competitively throughout her childhood, earning many accolades for her solo and group performances. She recently completed her B.A. in Dance from the University of Georgia with a minor in history and teacher certification in dance. Throughout her college career, Ana collaborated with many choreographers and performed in the UGA Dance Department’s various shows. She was part of the UGA Dance Company and performed in their 2022 spring show “Mergence” in works by Barbara Powers and Seyong Kim, in the 2023 UGADC Spring Concert in a piece by Nena Gilreath, and in their 2024 spring concert in pieces by Rebecca Gose and Lindsay Giedl. She also choreographed her first college piece, “Compathy,” and performed in the 2022 Young Choreographers’ Series show “Endure.” In the 2023 YCS show “Transcend,” she debuted her senior choreographic project, “Testimony,” and performed in many other pieces. She was a member of the UGA Red Hotz Competitive Club Dance Team in 2022 and 2023. Ana is currently dancing with Movement, The Co., under Abba Parrott.
Aside from her stage career, Ana is actively engaged in teaching, choreographing, and sharing her knowledge and passion with aspiring dancers and the community. Before teaching ballet at Star Dance Studio, she started her teaching journey at Alice Depass Studio of Dance in Watkinsville, Georgia. Ana’s passion lies in teaching dance and helping her students to express, create, and love themselves through the art of dance.
Aside from her stage career, Ana is actively engaged in teaching, choreographing, and sharing her knowledge and passion with aspiring dancers and the community. Before teaching ballet at Star Dance Studio, she started her teaching journey at Alice Depass Studio of Dance in Watkinsville, Georgia. Ana’s passion lies in teaching dance and helping her students to express, create, and love themselves through the art of dance.
Emma McGuffey, Instructor, began dancing at the age of three at Star Dance Studio in her hometown of Newnan, Georgia. She trained in multiple dance genres, sparking a lifelong passion for the art form. Throughout her youth, Emma competed in various international dance competitions and conventions, earning numerous scholarships and special awards. She recently graduated from Valdosta State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. During her time at VSU, Emma had the opportunity to learn from esteemed educators and choreographers, including Sarah Arnett, Interim Department Head of Communication Arts and Professor of Dance at VSU; Melissa Pihos, Professor of Dance at VSU; Elyn Collier, faculty member at Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway; and Eboné C. Amos, professor at Austin Peay State University, among many others.
Emma was also highly involved in leadership at VSU. She served as the President and Social Media Coordinator of the National Honor Society for Dance Arts, organizing various student-led events. Her performance experience includes notable roles, such as being the lead dancer in Sarah Wildes Arnett’s award-winning dance film Cose Dolce Nella Vita. She was also cast as a lead soloist in Melissa Pihos's A Love Lost, a piece that expressed Pihos’s emotions and her love for her late father, Pete Pihos, a professional Eagles football player. Emma also performed in Arnett’s Moulin Rouge, where she was both a lead dancer and aerialist. In 2023 and 2024, Emma participated in the American College Dance Association (ACDA), taking classes from George Staib, founder of Staib Dance, and performing in both the formal and informal adjudicated concerts. In addition to performing, she was selected as a choreographer to represent Valdosta State University in the ACDA’s formal concert with her piece, Dreamscape. During her time at VSU, Emma choreographed and showcased other works, including To Be a Woman is to Perform, 619, and the 2023 and 2024 editions of Valdosta’s Dancing with the Stars.
Beyond her academic and performance achievements, Emma also served as a faculty member at the Dance Xtension Dance Convention in South Georgia and the Colquitt County Winter Intensive. She taught and choreographed at several local studios, including A Time to Dance and Dance Arts in Valdosta, Georgia, as well as South GA Dance Company in Adel, Georgia. After graduation, Emma joined Movement, The Co., under the direction of Abba Parrott. She has since developed a passion for Barre and is currently an instructor at Neighborhood Barre.
Emma was also highly involved in leadership at VSU. She served as the President and Social Media Coordinator of the National Honor Society for Dance Arts, organizing various student-led events. Her performance experience includes notable roles, such as being the lead dancer in Sarah Wildes Arnett’s award-winning dance film Cose Dolce Nella Vita. She was also cast as a lead soloist in Melissa Pihos's A Love Lost, a piece that expressed Pihos’s emotions and her love for her late father, Pete Pihos, a professional Eagles football player. Emma also performed in Arnett’s Moulin Rouge, where she was both a lead dancer and aerialist. In 2023 and 2024, Emma participated in the American College Dance Association (ACDA), taking classes from George Staib, founder of Staib Dance, and performing in both the formal and informal adjudicated concerts. In addition to performing, she was selected as a choreographer to represent Valdosta State University in the ACDA’s formal concert with her piece, Dreamscape. During her time at VSU, Emma choreographed and showcased other works, including To Be a Woman is to Perform, 619, and the 2023 and 2024 editions of Valdosta’s Dancing with the Stars.
Beyond her academic and performance achievements, Emma also served as a faculty member at the Dance Xtension Dance Convention in South Georgia and the Colquitt County Winter Intensive. She taught and choreographed at several local studios, including A Time to Dance and Dance Arts in Valdosta, Georgia, as well as South GA Dance Company in Adel, Georgia. After graduation, Emma joined Movement, The Co., under the direction of Abba Parrott. She has since developed a passion for Barre and is currently an instructor at Neighborhood Barre.
Maddy Green, Instructor, started dancing with Star Dance Studio at the age of 3. She joined the performance company team in 2007 and competed with Star Dance Studio for twelve years. She was an assistant and substitute for dance classes for many years and has been teaching dance since 2021. She graduated from the University of West Georgia in 2021 with a bachelor's degree in psychology with a minor in sociology. In addition to teaching at Star Dance Studio, Maddy is also a kindergarten teacher at Newnan Presbyterian School. She spent a year in Orlando, Florida working at Walt Disney World, but has enjoyed her return as a teacher at Star Dance Studio.
Deanna Saunders, Choreographer, began her dance training at Star Dance studio when she was six years old. She danced at SDS for fourteen years, with eleven of those being an active member of the Performance Company. Throughout her career, she has received many honors and learned so much from her teachers and fellow dancers. In 2016, she attended the Broadway-Bound Dancer Workshop at the Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment at Oklahoma City University. In 2017, she was chosen to participate in the DTI National's Program as a Youth Dance Ambassador, Call Back challenge finalist, and star Title Performer. In 2018, she traveled with Platinum National Dance Competition as an Apprentice for their Platinum Dance Experience. Also, in 2018, she auditioned and was accepted as a dance major at Kennesaw State University, where she graduated Summa Come Laude with a BA in Dance in May 2022. During her college career she was a member of the KSU Dance Company for six semesters and performed in the "2019 KSU Senior Showcase," "Slang," the 2020 President's show "Mooniest," "Threshold," "Double Exposure," and "Forces of Grace." In 2020, she was overjoyed to be awarded the KSU Jo Ann Durham Modern Dance scholarship. Deanna has loved the opportunities to grow artistically by choreographing group routines, solos, and duets for the SDS Performance Company since 2019. In Fall 2022, Deanna accepted the Ballet teacher position at SDS and has thoroughly enjoyed teaching her students this dance year. In May 2023, Deanna started pursuing her dream of becoming a physical therapist by attending Georgia Southern University's physical therapy graduate school, where she will graduate with her doctorate in 2026. She is very thankful to be a part of the SDS family for all these years.
Audrey Fenton, Assistant
2017-Current: Star Dance Studio Performance Company Member
2017-Current: Star Dance Studio Performance Company Member
Elaine Endicott, Assistant
2018-Current: Star Dance Studio Performance Company Member
2018-Current: Star Dance Studio Performance Company Member
