Faculty

Andrea Freed-Levenson, School Director, has been dancing all her life. A well-known dancer and choreographer, she majored in dance at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, where she served on the dance department faculty after graduation. She has studied and performed extensively in New York. She has also served as choreographer with summer stock as well as summer faculty at the University of Southern California. Andrea was selected as one of the outstanding Young Women in America. She has taught all ages of students, youth and adults in a wide variety of dance arts including tap, ballet, gymnastics, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and ballroom. She was chosen to be on the prestigious "Artist in Residence Roster" sponsored by the South Carolina Arts Commission. This enables her to teach dance residences in the public schools of South Carolina. Currently she is on the faculty of USC-Sumter, Head of the Dance Program at Thomas Sumter Academy, Artistic Director of the Sumter Civic Dance Company and owner of the Freed School of Performing Arts.

Erin Levenson graduated

from the University of South

Carolina with a degree in

Dance Performance and

Choreography. degree in

Marriage and Family

Therapy. In the Dance Department Erin followed a contemporary dance track where she studied and

Andrea Barras Govier graduated from the University of South Carolina with a B.S. Degree in Business Administration. She frequently trains in New York and is a member of the Sumter Civic Dance Company and has performed all over the US. Currently she is a teacher at the Freed School, on staff in the dance department at Thomas Sumter

Kelley Gibson graduated from the

University of South Carolina with a

degree in Retail Management.

Currently, Kelley is working towards b becoming a dental assistant.

She is the publicity director of the Sumter Civic Dance Company as well as a principal dancer. As a member of the Sumter Civic Dance Company, which is on the “Artist and Residence Roster” she is able to teach dance in South Carolina public schools.

Freed School of Performing Arts Teacher Assistants:

Kimberly Barrett, Jeremy Jackson, Beatrice Brown

Office Manager:

Sondra Tidwell

“Each dance instructor is selected carefully, both for technical skills and their ability to work with children. Our staff consists of trained professionals with extensive backgrounds in all our areas of concentration. All of our teachers have at least 5 years of teaching experience - some as many as 25 to 40 years. They also have a rapport with students and a desire to help them reach their full potential.”

-Andrea Freed-Levenson

Tia Robinson graduation

from the University of South

Carolina with a degree in

Early Childhood Education.

She is a former member of

the Sumter Civic Dance

Company and is still dancing as a teacher for many of our preschool dance and tot gymnastics classes.

Jim Mendicino is a local police officer with the Sumter County Police Department. He teaches Karate for ages 4 and up at the Freed School.

Academy and an active member of the Sumter Civic Dance Company. As a principal member of the Sumter Civic Dance Company, which is on the “Artist and Residence Roster” she is able to teach dance in South Carolina public schools.

performed the works of Martha Graham including Sketches from the Chronicles. She studies in New York where she frequently visits to take class at the Broadway Dance Center and The Martha Graham School. As a member of the Sumter Civic Dance Company, which is on the “Artist and Residence Roster” she is able to teach dance in South Carolina public schools. Currently, Erin works as a Licensed Professional Counselor, teaches at the Freed School, Thomas Sumter Academy and is a principal dancer with Sumter Civic Dance Company.