Our Staff
Rhoda Burns, Founder
You mention “Rhoda” in Aiken, and everybody knows who you are talking about. In 1982, she began transforming the dance landscape in Aiken to have the only studio offering comprehensive instruction in tap, ballet, and jazz. She began Burns Dance Studio in 1982 after many years of teaching in northern Ohio and central South Carolina. After 7 years with the well-known Freed School of Performing Arts in Sumter, SC, a move to Aiken inspired her to open her own studio.
For over 30 years she was director of Burns Dance Studio. Under her leadership the studio has taught thousands of children and been responsible for placing many in dance careers. She has been able to attract high quality instructors for classes and maintain a great reputation among convention, costume, and competition companies.
She has instilled the love of dance, discipline, time management and life skills to dancers and parents with her meticulous organization of the recreational classes, basketball halftime-shows, performing company events, and charitable functions that students from the studio participate in each year.
She loves traveling to Myrtle Beach and spending time with her grandchildren.
Tatum Hanna
Burns Dance Studio’s Assistant Director, Tatum Hanna, is entering her fourth year on staff. She was a student of the studio from ages 3 to 18, and began teaching shortly after. Born and raised in Aiken, she is very active in the community. She is a choreographer for the Aiken Women’s Heart Show, and for the Aiken Community Theatre. She also works for Strom Thurmond High School, choreographing their Fall and Spring musicals.
Weekly, you will find Tatum teaching STARS, Superstars, Jazz, Musical Theatre, Tumbling and Hip Hop. She also choreographs numerous routines for our Squads and Company. Tatum also offers private lessons in all styles. She works on our social medias and day to day operations. Tatum has an extreme passion for dance and performance and loves to watch the kids learn and grow.
Caroline DiDio
Caroline Miller DiDio grew up in the studio as a young dancer, eventually joining Performing Company. She competed in several competitions with the team for 9 years and after graduating from Aiken High School, began teaching her own classes. She has a degree in Elementary Education and is currently a 5th grade teacher at Warrenville Elementary.
Caroline specializes in preschool, musical theater, and tap classes. Her energetic style of teaching and class preparation make for great experiences with our students. She has also worked on audio/visual projects and competition statistics for the studio.
She is married to Nick and has a daughter.
Corey Burns
Now starting his 13th year full time at the dance studio, Corey brings an incredible background of dance and organizational management to the studio.
Corey began dancing at age 3 in Sumter, SC and continued his training as he grew up in Aiken. In high school he was the first male jazz company dancer at the nationally known Southern Strutt Dance Studio.
In addition to dance, he was active in soccer, basketball, and football here in Aiken. He went on to choreograph and perform on live TV as well as teach and perform at dance conventions all over the United States.
He has choreographed for high school and college dance teams, pageants, plays, halftime shows, studio competitions, weddings, banquets, and televised fundraisers. He is one of the original founders of the USCA-Dance Team, now known as the Spirit Squad.
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He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from USC-Aiken and a M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from USC. From 1996-2013 he enjoyed a career as public school teacher, assistant principal and principal.
In his spare time, he can be found at Lake Murray with family and friends. His favorite part of the job is creating structures and opportunities for kids to grow, learn, and excel using dance as the vehicle for their future success.
Michael McManus
Michael McManus was born and raised in Bennettsville, South Carolina. He received his training at Crystal McInnis School of Dance in Laurinburg, NC. Michael graduated from the University of South Carolina with his Bachelors in History and a minor in dance.
As a student, Michael received training from Thaddeus Davis, Dale Lam, and Susan Hancock. Michael also had the opportunity to perform at the American College Dance Festival at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, DC. His self choreographed piece Recrudescence earned him recognition by university faculty and was also selected to perform in the American College Dance Festival regional event.
Michael teaches hip hop, jazz, and contemporary. He also takes every opportunity he can to guest choreograph at studios throughout the Southeast. Michael was fortunate enough to be a mentor at the University of South Carolina Summer Dance Conservatory where he fostered the growth of over 100 children and had the opportunity to partner with Artists for Africa in training 11 dancers from Nairobi, Kenya. Most recently, Michael toured with the Wideman-Davis Dance Company debuting “Migratuse Ataraxia” in Birmingham, Alabama.
Michael has also performed with Unbound, a professional dance company under the direction of Caroline Lewis-Jones and Morgan Holton and was a special guest performer with Salt Lake based company Divinity, under the direction of Krissie Edwards and Nikole Black.
Jordan Rice
Born in Columbia, South Carolina, I received my training from The Southern Strutt in combination with studies of another local studio in the area, Columbia City Jazz.
I have grown up training in the dance industry for the past 16 years, studying styles such as ballroom, ballet, modern, musical theater, contemporary, hip- hop, jazz, pointe, and lyrical. During my time studying, I performed in various competitions and showings with my competitive team, along with community productions through my dance team.
A former alumnus from Dutch Fork High school, I lead as captain of the Dazzlers dance team for two consecutive years.
Currently, I am a teacher at a nearby studio, Mrs. Jenkins Dance Academy, where I teach Musical Theater, Lyrical, Jazz, Contemporary, and technique to young eager learners ready to dance! I hope to continue my efforts of inspiring through teaching this beautiful art we call dance, while continuing to explore my own style of movement of dance through my acceptance to the UNBOUND Dance Company.
Sophie Hunsicker
Her movement quality and stage presence reflect both technical precision and expressive range. Her performance credits include the 2024 World of Dance competition in Los Angeles with Motiv Dance, as well as appearances connected to the North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA) and collaborations with the South Carolina Philharmonic. She is currently a company dancer with Unbound Dance Company, where she continues to push her performance and artistic boundaries.
Sophie will bring energy, discipline, and passion to her classes.
Madelyn Morrin
Madelyn grew up in Evans, Georgia where she studied at the Columbia County Ballet under Renee Toole and Lia Daniele. She was a regular performer in ballet productions such as Nutcracker, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland and Beauty and the Beast. She is trained in the Cecchetti style of ballet. Her teaching experience ranges from kids ages 5-18. She enjoys working with community outreach programs in the medical field. She will be focusing on ballet technique and variations for performances.
Stephanie Safford
Stephanie Safford brings more than 15 years of experience as a dance educator, choreographer, and fitness professional. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion from Coastal Carolina University and a Master of Science in Youth Development Leadership from Clemson University.
Stephanie is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Coach, Performance Enhancement Specialist, and Group Personal Training Specialist. She also holds ACE Sports Conditioning and Youth Fitness Specialist
certifications, a NETA Yoga specialization, National Dance Coaches Association Levels 1 & 2 Coaching Credentials, a Dance Safety Credential, and CPR/AED certification.
As a high school Strength Training Coach and Health Teacher, Stephanie is passionate about helping dancers build strength, confidence, and healthy movement habits that support both performance and injury prevention.
Stephanie is honored to currently serve as the President-Elect of the South Carolina Dance Association, where she continues to advocate for dance education and support opportunities for dancers and educators across the state.
She is excited to share her love of dance with every student at Burns Dance Studio while helping them grow both in and out of the classroom.