SCC Staff
Director/Owner
Jill Kohnle-Kirby
Jill has worked with SCC since 1997. Jill and husband AJ Kirby were married in September of 2006. Jill has been clogging for 24 years and teaching clogging officially for over 10 years. Jill gave many informal lessons on the dancefloor with newcomers at Sims BBQ for many years before! She formed the Sims Country Cloggers in the Fall of 1996 at Sims Country BBQ. Starting with a dozen or so students, the studio has grown and recently we opened our new facility in April of 2006. Jill is a member of the America's Clogging Hall of Fame where she also serves as the Newsletter Editor, on the Scholarship Committee, and serves as a liason for the younger community of cloggers that wish to preserve the heritage of clogging while incorporating the contemporary aspects of the dance. Jill is also the Founder and President of the North Carolina Clogging Association. This organization promotes fellowship of all NC Cloggers and promoting clogging in our state. Jill is also an Elementary School Teacher and helps out many nights at the BBQ.
Clogging Instructors
Angela Causby is a ten year veteran of SCC. She is 20 years old and teaches all ages and levels of classes and does duties above and beyond a teacher. In 2005, Angela was selected for the ACHF All American Clogging Team. Angela dances with the SCC Adult Team and the SR Traditional and SR Contemporary Team. She currently attends Caldwell Community College and hopes to work with children after graduation. Angela is pictured above on the right with Jill and Jessica Oder at Jill & AJ's wedding!
Clogging Instructor
Amber Bentley - Amber is a high school junior and has clogged with SCC for over ten years. Amber is a very talented dancer and teacher. She attends SCHS where she is active in theater. She is a member of the SR Traditional and SR Contemporary Team. She has won numerous individual and team awards. She was also named to the 2007 NC All Star Team and won Overall Traditional Female Solo at the NC State Clogging Convention in 2007. We are proud to have her on staff at the studio.
Clogging Instructor
Erica Starnes is 17 years old and has danced with SCC for over nine years. She has also taken many other kinds of dance. She is a sophomore at SCHS where she is also a member of the Dance Team. She is very active in her youth group at DSBC. Erica has won numerous duet awards and danced with award winning SCC teams. We are fortunate to have her working with our groups.
When we aren't at the studio, we do find things to do to have fun together as a clogging family. Here we are at the Pirates ride at Disney!
Hip Hop Instructor - Amber Cope
Amber Cope is 23 years old...she grew up in Morganton and now lives in Hudson, NC. She is a 9th grade English Teacher at South Caldwell High School and also the coached the Dance Team at SCHS. Amber graduated from Freedom High School and attended College at Mars Hill. She will be getting married this June! Her dance experience includes: began at 3 years old with tap, jazz, and ballet, focusing mainly on ballet and jazz until her teenage years. From there she took other classes such as swing, hip hop, modern, ball room, etc. Throughout Amber’s high school career, she choreographed for local elementary, middle, and high school dance teams and cheerleading squads. She also choreographed for a competition cheerleading team in South Carolina. After graduating, Amber made the dance team at Mars Hill College. Amber also has cheerleading experience, beginning at 5 years old. She cheered at Salem Elementary, Liberty Middle, and Freedom High School. When she graduated high school, she also made the Mars Hill College cheerleading squad. She has been recognized and has performed nationally as a cheerleader. In addition to Amber’s cheer and dance experience, she also has a strong gymnastics background. She has taken gymnastics since around age 5 and competed in and taught gymnastics as well. We are very fortunate to have Amber join our staff at the SCC Dance Studio!