Charlotte Foster Williamson
Founder/Artistic Director
Graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of Georgia with a B.A. in Dance, Charlotte Williamson currently serves as founder and artistic director of SIDEWAYS Dance. Her work, Being (Interpretations of Interpretations), represented UGA at the American College Dance Festival in March 2006, where it received impressive feedback from Ann Reinking, Steve Rooks, and Wendy Perron & was one of 10 selected to perform at the Gala Showcase. Her work was presented at UGA’s Center for Undergraduate Research Organization Conference (CURO) and featured in the UGA’s Journal of Undergraduate Research (JURO). Knowbody, created in 2007 toured to New York where it was recognized by Mia Michaels and Brian Freidman. Michaels deemed the piece “timeless” and commented on the honesty of both the choreography and the performers.. Charlotte has created over 100 pieces for SIDEWAYS over the past 15 years, challenging her dancers to perform with honesty & authenticity
Eli Coker
Director of FSDC
Blackout Dance Captain
Season 9 Company Member
Eli Coker joined SIDEWAYS in 2012 when she danced as a student apprentice her senior year of high school. She graduated with a degree is Psychology and Therapeutic Recreation from Georgia Southern University. She began volunteering with the Foster-Schmidt Dance Academy for Down syndrome in 2009. This is where she found her passion for working with people of different abilities. She is pursuing a career as a Recreational Therapist where she hopes to continue spreading a love for dance to every community. She has been employed at Atlanta Dance Central since 2011 & loves being a part of the ADC family!
Alainna Evans
Season 5 Company Member
Alainna Evans (Batchelor) has been training in dance for the past eighteen years. Alainna began her training at Fancy Dancer in Dublin, Ga under the direction of Laura Carswell and continued dancing under the direction of Abby Avery, Gilda Loyd, and Mario Mitchell, where she developed her skills in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, and Hip-Hop and won various awards at numerous competitions. Through master classes, she has had the opportunity to take from many renowned teachers and choreographers. After graduating high school, Alainna was honored to become the Hip-Hop Director at Fancy Dancer., where she discovered a love for teaching dance and for creating award-winning choreography. Nuvo Dance competition awarded her Hip-Hop dance “Studio Pick” and “Best Nu Group”. Alainna continued her training at Valdosta State University where she graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. While in college, Alainna performed as a member of VSU’s repertory dancers. It was in college that she fell in love with Modern dance and began to study it in depth. She performed and presented choreography at the American College Dance conference and VSU awarded her with the “Creative Research Award” in dance. She is now taking Master classes and training out of the Atlanta area. Alainna is now sharing her passion of teaching dance at Giselle Diblasi School of Ballet and Peachtree Academy and is enjoying her fifth year with SIDEWAYS Contemporary Dance Company.
Megan Foose
Season 4 Company Member
MEGAN FOOSE, a native of Waukesha, Wisconsin, began dancing at the early age of three and has been trained in ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, and pointe. She attended Valdosta State University where she received her BFA in Dance, graduating Summa Cum Laude in May 2018. While at Valdosta State she had the opportunity to perform in the Modern Atlanta Dance Festival and the American College Dance Association. She spent the last three summers performing professionally with Peach State Summer Theater, and she recently attended the Rockette Summer Intensive. Megan is so excited to be apart of the SIDEWAYS dance family.
Megan Long
Season 4 Company Member
MEGAN LONG, a native of Rutherfordton, North Carolina, has been dancing for 20 years and began her pre-professional training at Winthrop University in the Fall of 2013. Performances during her time at Winthrop University include The Wiz, Winthrop Dance Theatre, Winthrop Repertory Theatre, Senior Choreography Showcase, Junior Choreography Showcase, Charlotte Dance Festival, and American College Dance Association. She worked with Jennifer Archibald in the ArchCore40 program, as well as The Syncopated Ladies in the Syncopated Ladies Bootcamp. Choreography experience includes two modern pieces at Winthrop University and many competition routines at studios nationwide. Megan graduated Summa Cum Laude in May 2017 with a BA in Dance and Psychology from Winthrop University. She lived in New York City following graduation, where she worked as a Center Intern and Training Fellow at Gibney Dance. While in NYC, she danced with Marie Christine Giordano Dance Company and danced as an extra in short films. Megan recently moved to Atlanta, Georgia to dance as a company member of Sideways Contemporary Dance Company. She looks forward to starting her performance and teaching journey in The Peach State.
Mary McIntosh
Season 11 Company Member
Mary McIntosh is a 2008 Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of Georgia with an AB in Dance and an ABJ in Public Relations. In 2017, Mary earned her Masters in Dance Education from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. While at UGA, Mary was a member of the Honors Program and performed and choreographed with a number of university and community groups. Her choreography was selected for the American Collegiate Dance Festival and featured in the Young Choreographer’s Series and Tap Dawgs Showcase. She graduated with High Honors, completing an Honors Thesis.Since graduation, Mary has performed with a number of Atlanta-based companies, including Gathering Wild, Notchyomamas Modern Project, Expressions Dance Company, and SIDEWAYS Contemporary Dance Company. In Macon, Mary has performed with Macon Moving Company and Hayiya Dance Theater. She currently performs with SIDEWAYS Contemporary Dance Company out of Roswell, and this is her 11th year with the company. Through her Master’s at UNCG, Mary had the opportunity to present research and teaching work at the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) Conference in 2016 and 2018. She is also a founding board member of Georgia’s state affiliate for NDEO, the Dance Educator’s of Georgia Society (DEGAS). Mary currently serves as the Treasurer of the Board.Mary has over fourteen years of teaching experience, nine within Georgia’s public schools. Mary currently teaches dance at Central High School in Macon, GA and Peacock’s Performing Arts Center in Bonaire, GA.
The Board of Directors
Jeremy Williamson
Chairman of the Board
Jeremy Williamson’s executive board experience began in college when he served as Treasurer and Director of Communications for the Residence Hall Associate at the University of Georgia. He joined the SIDEWAYS Board of Directors in 2007 and transitioned to Chairman in 2009. Artistically, Jeremy was a SIDEWAYS company member until 2014 but still performs in Once Upon a Holiday and guest roles. He is also the company’s technical director and assists with lighting design. Professionally, Jeremy is a Senior Architect at DirectTv with past experience at AT&T, Accenture and Northrop Grumman.
Cathy Lambert
Treasurer
Cathy Lambert is a CPA with experience in not-for-profit, private equity, and partnership audits. She has served on a number of not-for-profit boards including a home owners association, a high school band, and a private-school HSA. Far too clumsy to be a dancer, she is honored to serve on the board of Sideways and assist these talented story-tellers wherever possible.
Erika Varano
Secretary
Erika Varano graduated from Johnson & Wales University and works for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company currently as the Director of Revenue Management at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island. She has been involved in dance for the last 15+ years with her daughter dancing with Atlanta Rising Talent and now Sideways. She has always had a love for dance since she danced herself throughout high school. Erika is thrilled to be on the board and assist in growing Sideways Dance Company.
Aimee Foley
Aimee Foley is a native of Atlanta and has lived in Roswell since 2002. She grew up in Dunwoody and attended the University of Georgia where she received a Bachelor of Business Administration. Aimee spent most of her professional career in Human Resources Consulting, focusing primarily on the areas of Executive and Board of Director Compensation and Board of Director Governance. Currently, she spends most of her time looking after her three daughters and three dogs and volunteering. Aimee grew up dancing and cheering and still enjoys being active through exercise, water sports and home improvement projects.
Lauren Rasco moved to Roswell from San Antonio, Texas in 2015. She grew up dancing and doing theater at school and in the community. Lauren is creative and has a passion for the arts. She has been a stay at home mom since the birth of her son in 2004, but continues to create and volunteer in her free time. She prides herself in her out-of-the-box thinking and dedication to whatever her latest project is.
Other Board Members:
Erika Rodriguez
