Molly Koon Quist — Having grown up as a soloist for the Oak Ridge Civic Ballet, Ms. Quist is now in her 10th season as ORCBA’s Artistic Director. She studied under many talented teachers and directors, including Anna Marie Holmes, David Holmes, Suzanne Skeel, Steve McBride, Leslie Swazee, Cristian Adams, Jill Hollingsworth, Bruce Alan Ewing, Bill Martin-Viscount, and Southwest Ballet Center. Ms. Quist holds a B.A. from the University of South Alabama (where she attended on scholarship), and a M.S. from the University of Tennessee. She was a dancer on the University of South Alabama Dance Team. Ms. Quist is the owner and director of The Dance Centre of Knoxville and Oak Ridge. Her dancers have received many awards over the years in both regional and national competitions. Ms. Quist resides in Knoxville with her husband, Knoxville attorney Brian Quist, and their three children, Katrina (20), Andy (18), and Alex (12).

Sharon Nicklow-Cousins — Ms. Cousins trained with Anna Marie and David Holmes, Bill Martin-Viscount, Southwest Ballet Center, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Tennessee, Eda Krasova, and in Italy. She danced professionally with the Indianapolis Ballet Theatre, and performed as a soloist with ORCBA and the Tennessee Festival Ballet, dancing lead roles in La Fille Mal Gardée, Cinderella, Paquita, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, The Fire Bird, Aurora’s Wedding, and Giselle. Ms. Cousins is married to Hal Cousins and has two children, Andrew and Elizabeth. She has a BSN in Nursing from the University of Tennessee, and has previously worked in Neonatal Intensive Care at the UT Medical Center.