Meet the Directors
Lauren Kidd
Lauren is originally from Lynchburg, Virginia. She started dancing at the age of 3 at Seven Hills Dance Studio. After graduating high school, she moved to Norfolk, Virginia where she studied at Old Dominion University, earning her bachelor’s degree in Dance and Performance in December of 2015. During her time at Old Dominion University and post graduation, Lauren has performed throughout the Hampton Roads area with Amanda Kinzer, Megan Thompson, Katie Iacono, and Anastasia Charalambous for various festivals and performances. She was a magician’s assistant for Magical Solutions Inc. for five years and she regularly performs with The Right On Band, an internationally renowned ‘70’s show band, since 2012. She was a dancer for Harrison Opera House and she has had the pleasure of performing with Kista Tucker Insights in Washington DC. She has worked with Printz Dance Project in a residency program at the REACH Kennedy Center.
She continued her training and became an instructor at Todd Rosenlieb Dance Center in downtown Norfolk, Virginia and taught modern and contemporary dance for all levels. She became director of the pre professional program TRD Ensemble guiding dancers ages 14+ through the start of their dance careers. Lauren also had the pleasure of volunteering with the MIXMO program as an instructor and later became co-director for the mixed abilities adaptive dance program for autism and Down Syndrome students. She continues her teaching career at Studios, Evelyn Ott, Studio37 and now AMI Dance.
Jaime Simpson
Jaime started dancing at the age of six. She trained at the Virginia Beach Ballet Academy (VBBA), Maryland Youth Ballet, at summer programs with the Richmond Ballet and the North Carolina School for the Arts, and earned a Bachelor of Science in Music in Ballet Performance from Indiana University. While at IU, Jaime had the opportunity to study with renowned NYCB dancers Patricia McBride and Violette Verdy, and gain extensive performing experience, including performing in the classic full length ballets Don Quixote and The Nutcracker, and the Balanchine ballet Western Symphony. Jaime also began teaching ballet while at IU. After graduation, Jaime lived in Chicago for seven years, where she began her interior design career.
Since returning to Hampton Roads in 2005, she has taught all levels of ballet and pointe at several local dance schools, including VBBA, Arts Enter Cape Charles, and TRDance. She took on the role of the TRDance Academy Director for two years, and was the VBT Ensemble Director for almost five years. Jaime has choreographed original works for VBBA, Arts Enter, Generic Theatre, Little Theatre of Norfolk, the TRDance Academy, and the VBT Ensemble. She is also an American Ballet Theatre Certified Teacher for ABT’s National Training Curriculum in Levels Pre-Primary to Level 3. Jaime now teaches ballet and pointe at AMI Dance.
Jaime lives in Ocean View with her husband Nathan, and their three cats. She has her own interior design business, Creative + Curated, enjoys creating art and photography, and spends as much time at the beach as she can.
Get In Touch
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Email
amidance757@gmail.com