Creative Team

ESO School of Dance has been performing the regions largest production of the The Nutcracker since 1990..  Founded in 1989 the ESO School of Dance is the Eastern Shore of Virginia's premier Classical Ballet training program.   With classes for ages 6-18 ESO School of Dance has a rigorous 12 year curriculum.

Ballet Mistress Dana Floyd Attended Atlanta Ballet School as a young child and was accepted in the Joffrey School of Dance Scholarship program in New York City at the age of twelve.  She performed professionally with the Atlanta Ballet Company in Atlanta, Georgia and Virginia Ballet Theatre until the mid 1990's.  Miss Dana was accepted as one of twelve professional dance instructors to attend The Paris Opera Ballet workshop for dance instructors at New York University in the summer of 1997. She is an ABT Certified Ballet Instructor and she has taught ballet and modern dance at the ESO since 1989. In addition, she has choreographed more than 68 Ballet productions and is Dance Director for two ESO student productions annually.   

Production Manager Ashley Aigner Antunes Is  an alumna of the ESO School of Dance, where she danced for 13 years under the direction of Miss Dana Floyd.  Spending summers studying with the Richmond Ballet, Interlochen Arts Camp, Virginia Ballet Theater, and the Virginia Governor School for Visual and Performing Arts enhanced her early training.  She graduated from Hollins University and later, moved to Sao Paulo, Brazil where she taught Dance and Theater in a bilingual setting and studied  Musical Theater at the Wolf Maya School. After several years abroad she and her family returned to the Eastern Shore. Ashley served on the ESO Board of Directors before she was hired as the Assistant Director and in 2020 was promoted to ESO's Executive Director. She has served as Production Manager for the ESO School of Dance since 2016.   

Costume Mistress Kathy Kellam is a Ballet Mom turned Ballet Aunt, who dedicates countless hours in the costume shop and back stage for the ESO School of Dance and beyond.  Her creativity is unmatched and her dedication unwavering.  She has been working as the Costume Mistress at ESO since 2019 and also serves as the Secretary on the ESO Board Of Directors. When she is not in the costume shop she can be found volunteering for Broadwater Academy, the Hospital Auxiliary, Exmore Rotary and the Wounded Warrior Project to name a few.