Artistic Staff
JoAnn Fryrear – JoAnn has owned and operated the dance studio in the Louisville area for over 68 years, and in her current location for 29+ years. She has choreographed for Clarksville Little Theater, Mummers and Minstrels, Kentucky’s Junior Miss, Miss Louisville and Miss Kentucky pageants, Southeast Christian Church Easter Pageant, and various local high school musicals. She taught on the faculties of various national dance conventions, including NADAA (National Association of Dance & Affiliated Artists), Dance Masters of America, and Dance Olympus. As a teen, JoAnn danced in the first Louisville Ballet production of The Nutcracker as the cherry blossom fairy, and in numerous musicals in the Iroquois Amphitheater. Her former students dance professionally in New York, teach in college dance departments, and operate their own dance studios. JoAnn is currently teaching adult tap dancing, tap therapy to people having balance issues, and those who have suffered a stroke. As the Family Matriarch, she is ecstatic with the JFSOD artistic staff who work with our students of all ages and the office staff who deal with the non-dance issues.
Julia Ayau - Julia is a passionate dancer and movement teacher. She specializes in contemporary and hip hop dance as well as being a certified Yoga instructor. Julia began dancing at age 5 in her hometown of Amherst, Virginia in Sweet Briar College’s youth dance program. She continued her training throughout high school at Seven Hills Dance Studio and Central Virginia Ballet in Lynchburg, Virginia. During her high school years, Julia enjoyed competing and performing in show choir and theatre shows with several Amherst County High School groups and trained on scholarship at the Virginia Governor’s School for Visual and Performing Arts hosted at Radford University in 2012. Julia earned her B.F.A. in Dance, Summa cum laude at The Ohio State University in 2017. Throughout college, she danced in several hip hop and Indian dance groups on campus such as 3D Urban Dance Crew and Kaustavi Movement Center, she traveled to Costa Rica in 2014 and India in 2016 to perform and to learn from contemporary Costa Rican and classical Indian dance teachers, and she performed in multiple faculty and graduate student repertory pieces and new works. She also made regular trips to New York City and Los Angeles to train at Broadway Dance Center, with New York-based company Doug Varone and Dancers, at Millennium Dance Complex and Monsters of Hip Hop Conventions, and with Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company. In 2015, Julia became a certified Yoga and meditation teacher through the Yoga on High Teacher Training and Ayurveda Institute, and she began teaching Yoga and dance at various studios in Columbus, OH such as Lit Life + Yoga, Yoga Six, Artisan Dance Studio, and For the Love of Dance School. Beginning in 2017, she performed several years with Columbus Modern Dance Company, Tru Kingdom Megacrew, and Hixon Dance Company, choreographed music videos for local musicians Booty&theKidd and Meghna Mahambrey, and choreographed for Columbus theatre program CATCO is Kids. Julia moved to Louisville in May of 2020 to live with her sister, Leah, and to begin work doing movement therapy with patients at a chiropractic office. She is thrilled to be here, joining JFSOD and continuing the joy of moving and grooving with fellow dancers, and we are thrilled to have her in the Family!
Jessica Bizianes Sutter- Jessica is the daughter of Ms. Lynn and granddaughter of Ms. JoAnn, so she has been at the studio her entire life. She danced there 15 years, from the age of three until she graduated high school, and still loves a good dance party to this day! Jessica is a graduate of Western Kentucky University with an elementary education degree and in August, 2019, she received of her Master of Arts in Teaching Degree from the University of the Cumberlands. Jessica is a 4th Grade Reading/Literacy Specialist at Freedom Elementary in Bullitt County and she teaches REFIT at the studio. Jess is also JSFOD Family times two and we're happy she is working it out!
Lynn (Fryrear) Bizianes – - Lynn danced at JoAnn Fryrear School of Dance for 18 years and also danced with Tommi Choate. She earned a BS in Biology from Centre College in 1987. She returned to the dance studio after the birth of her first child in 1992 and is in her 28th year of teaching dance at the studio. As an instructor, Lynn continues her dance education by participating in dance workshops including Musicworks, DMI, Dance Olympus, Dance Caravan, and Debbie Dee Tap Intensive. Lynn has had the pleasure of working with many students over the years, all of whom have left a lasting impression. She is now teaching the grandchildren of her friends and children of her early dancers! Lynn would like to welcome everyone back for another great year and is one of the JFSOD Family leaders!
Jill Brown - Jill is delighted to join the JoAnn Fryrear School of Dance as a REFIT instructor. As a little girl, Jill danced as a student in Mrs. Lynn’s class and loves the opportunity to be back at the studio. Despite only spending a few years of her youth in dance lessons, Jill picked dance back up via salsa lessons in 2013. Since then, Jill has become a Zumba instructor and is currently a REFIT instructor. When she’s not teaching a REFIT class, Jill can be found teaching sixth graders at Portland Christian School.
Taylor Clements-Smith - Taylor (right) began her dance training in Novi, Michigan when she was three years old. After moving to Kentucky, she studied dance at several studios before finding JFSOD where she spent six years training in ballet, tap and jazz techniques. Throughout high school, Taylor transitioned from being an assistant teacher to a co-teacher. She assisted Lavelle Smith and Eddie Garcia at the Lavelle Smith Dance Camp for three consecutive years. Taylor attended the University of Kentucky, majoring in journalism and minoring in dance. At UK, she studied modern, jazz, ballet improvisation, choreography and dance history. In 2015, Taylor co-choreographed "Five Steps from a Picnic," which was selected to be shown at the 2015 American College Dance Festival. Taylor has been teaching at JFSOD since 2011 and is thrilled to continue to spread her love of movement to help educate the next generation of dancers. We are excited to have Taylor in the JFSOD Family with her enthusiasm and joy of dance.
Sarah Goud - Sarah was a Kentucky State Gymnastics Champion at age 9. She trained extensively at University of Louisville Dance Academy, with summer sessions at the School of the Pennsylvania Ballet (current School of Philadelphia Ballet), School of American Ballet, San Francisco Ballet School and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School. As a student, she was awarded the Celine and Whittenberg Scholarships and was selected to dance in the corps of numerous Louisville Ballet productions, including Balanchine’s Serenade. Sarah’s professional career began with the Louisville Ballet in 1995, directed by Alun Jones and Helen Starr, where she promptly performed soloist roles in many classical ballets, and a remarkable repertoire of Tudor, Balanchine, Bournonville, Parsons, Taylor, Humphrey, Choo San Goh, Septime Weber, Val Caniparoli, Stephen Mills, Adam Hougland, original ballets by Alun Jones; and historical ballets such as Firebird, Billy the Kid, Gaite Parisienne, The Grand Tour and Cakewalk. She was featured in Pointe Magazine in 2001 for Kitri in Don Quixote. In 2003, she began traveling nationwide, teaching ballet with husband David Goud, and continuing to dance as a Guest Artist. In demand, her new experiences were vast, from California to Key West: performed Principal roles and avant-garde dance events, taught at summer ballet intensives, performed countless educational programs in Kentucky schools, judged dance and choreography competitions, co-directed a ballet school, and choreographed. She danced internationally (England) in Jones' Tristan and Isolde. Sarah gladly shares her knowledge gained from many wonderful teachers, directors, choreographers and dancers, with students at JFSOD.
Amy Haley - Amy Haley grew up in the Elizabethtown, KY area and began her dance training at Allegro Dance Theatre at the age of six and later had our own Miss Kathy as one of her own teachers and mentors. She is a 2003 alum of the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts in ballet, attended The Harid Conservatory in the summer of 2004, and danced pre-professionally through the Louisville Ballet School. Amy graduated from the University of Kentucky with a BA in Arts Administration in 2009. She continued to dance throughout college, including with the UK Dance Ensemble.
Amy first joined the JFSOD family in 2016 and taught ballet here for two years. She then took a two year break from us while working and teaching full time with Bluegrass Youth Ballet in Lexington. Amy is thrilled to be back with JFSOD - she loves teaching ballet and passing her love of dance along to others of all ages. She began her teaching career as a student teacher in 8th grade and hasn’t stopped since. She has been a guest teacher at several schools throughout Kentucky and has been teaching in various capacities for 20 years. She lives in Lexington with her husband Adam and their dog Whiskey. When free time exists, she loves traveling, eating sweets, shopping, and anything to do with ballet or musical theatre. We are so happy to have Amy back with the JFSOD Family!
Kathy Sawyer Holtgrave - Kathy began her training with the Academy of Tidewater Ballet in Norfolk, VA. She attended and graduated from North Carolina School of the Arts and continued her training with the School of American Ballet and the Joffrey Ballet School. She danced with the Joffrey Concert Group, the San Antonio Ballet and the Louisville Ballet. During her sixteen year career with the Louisville Ballet, rising to the rank of principal dancer under the direction of Alun Jones and Helen Starr, Kathy performed lead roles in works of such renowned choreographers as Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, John Cranko, Eugene Loring and Antony Tudor. She has danced title roles in most of the major classical ballets, including Coppelia, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. Since retiring from the stage in 2001, Kathy has focused on teaching and coaching dancers of all ages both locally and nationally. We are excited to have Kathy share her love of dance with everyone who knows her and appreciate the commitment she has shown at JFSOD as one of our dance family!
Caitlyn Kowalski - Caitlin began training in dance at the age of four. She attended Allegro Dance Theatre in Radcliff, Kentucky, studying ballet, tap, jazz, and modern for twelve years. She attended the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts in 2016, where she was a dance major, and then traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio to continue studying ballet with De La Dance Center. In 2017 she joined Louisville Ballet as a trainee. Now a level 10 in the Louisville Ballet Studio Company, she has performed a range of repertoire including a Mirliton in Val Caniparoli’s The Brown Forman Nutcracker, a can-can dancer in Ronald Hynd’s The Merry Widow, demi-soloist in George Balanchine’s Serenade, Peasant Pas De Deux soloist in Giselle, and other roles in full length classical ballets. Caitlyn loves sharing her passion for dance with her students and we are happy to have her in the JFSOD Family!
Brittany Muldoon - Brittany began teaching dance in high school after dancing at JFSOD since she was 3 or 4 years old. After graduating from college with a Nursing Degree, she returned to keep teaching "the littles" whom she dearly loves. Her love of children and people is apparent as a Labor & Delivery nurse and as a wife and mother of one son and one daughter - who also takes dance at the studio. We love Brittany's bubbly and outgoing nature as she enthusiastically works with out youngest dancers as well as her dedication to the JFSOD Family!
Brittney Maslowski –Brittney began her training at Dance Images in Bowling Green, KY, when she was 5 years old. At Western Kentucky University, she danced as a scholarship member of the dance company, earning a BA in Mass Communications with a minor in Dance in 2003. While pursuing a Master of Arts in Communication at WKU, Brittney also taught at Dance Images and interned as a Production Assistant at Walt Disney World. Brittney earned a Master of Arts in Media Studies at LaTrobe University in Bundoora, VIC, Australia, as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. After completing her studies, it was Brittney’s turn to follow her husband. She has followed him to Massachusetts, Ohio, back to Bowling Green, Michigan, and finally to Louisville. At each stop on their journey, Brittney has pursued her love of dance, taking classes and teaching whenever possible. She loves all styles of dance and musical theater and has participated in Dance Olympus and Danza dance conventions as a teacher. Her daughters joined the JFSOD family as students last year, and Brittney is thrilled to be joining the JFSOD teaching family and we are thrilled she's here!
Lilli Nelson - Lilli has been dancing with the JFSOD family since she was eight years old. In high school she was an assistant teacher and co-teacher for 3/4 year olds and is so excited to be teaching again now that she is back in Louisville. Lilli graduated from the University of Kentucky in May with a degree in Integrated Strategic Communication and dual minors in Sociology and Criminology. Throughout college she stayed active with dance through events and competitions with her sorority Pi Beta Phi. Her favorite part about teaching is watching her students show off all they’ve learned at the end of the year in the recital! We could not be happier to have Lilli back in the JFSOD Dance Family!
Lauren Bizianes Roy - Lauren (left) has been a part of the JoAnn Fryrear School of Dance since birth. She started dancing at the age of three and began her teaching career at 16. Lauren's passion for dance motivated her to pursue a variety of professional education and training. She is a 2011 alumna of the Governor's School for the Arts and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and Communication Studies from Western Kentucky University in 2015. She continues to expand her dance portfolio and practice through annual dance conventions like DanceMakers, Inc., and Music Works. Lauren loves the enthusiasm and passion her students bring to the studio and looks forward to their continued growth. She's JFSOD Family times two!
Office Staff
Beth Fryrear Kinney - Business Manager. Beth danced with her Mom for 15 years has a double BA degree from DePauw University in Classical Harp Performance and Music Business along with a Juris Doctor from the University of Louisville. After practicing law for over 15 years, Beth took over the business management of the studio in 2002 and we love having her manage the JFSOD business and planning operations.
