Our Instructors

Beth Barnette
​Ballet, Pointe, Conditioning, and Progressing Ballet Technique
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Certified:   Cecchetti Ballet Instructor, Progressing Ballet Technique Instructor, Pilates Instructor (APPI), Personal Trainer (ACE)

Beth Barnette is a South Louisiana native with a rich and varied dance background. Her early dance experiences included Folk Dancing with her mother, which instilled in her an appreciation for dance as a form of cultural expression. Throughout grade school, Beth trained in ballet, tap, jazz, baton twirling, and gymnastics. In high school, she joined a local clogging group, performing at community events and teaching younger dancers.

Beth earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Loyola University, where she was a member of the Loyola Dance Team and studied classical ballet under the direction of Gayle Parmelee. She performed in productions such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Paquita with the Loyola Ballet. During her college years, Beth also began her fitness career, earning her Group Exercise Instructor certification and organizing fitness events for students.

Post-college, Beth has continued to study, teach, and perform with several dance institutions, including the Baton Rouge Ballet Theater (Baton Rouge, LA), Tara Rodi School of the Dance (Florence, AL), and Gay Whitt School of Dance (Jonesborough, TN). She has passed four graded ballet teacher examinations with merit through the Cecchetti Council of America (CCA) and is a Certified Progressing Ballet Technique Instructor. Additionally, she completed a three-day intensive Dance Teacher and Health Professional Training led by renowned Australian physiotherapist Lisa Howell. Beth is also a certified Pilates instructor through the Australian Physiotherapy and Pilates Institute (APPI).

As a certified personal trainer, Beth focuses on building strength and perfecting movement quality. She has been with Bristol Ballet since 2010, teaching students of all ages, from 12 months to adults. Beth is passionate about helping dancers understand their bodies and how to move efficiently and safely to prevent injury, ensuring a lifetime of dance enjoyment. She believes that dance provides an opportunity for people of any age to practice movement that enhances physical, mental, and emotional health. Beth looks forward to many more years of learning, teaching, and appreciating the art of dance with Bristol Ballet.

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Hailey Byington
Contemporary Dance

Hailey began her dance career under Melita Brock Warner at Studio One at the age of three, where she studied ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, lyrical and contemporary dance. By age 11, she was a member of Studio One’s Elite Competition team, winning multiple awards throughout her career there. While on the competition team, she was awarded a scholarship to The Broadway Dance Center in New York City.

After high school, Hailey attended Radford University’s dance program studying under Rachel Rug, Amy VanKirk, James Robey, Ji-Eun Lee, and Inessa Plekanova. Her studies there included jazz ballet, modern and contemporary. While at Radford, she was in Dance on the Edge, where she performed a contemporary piece choreographed by Rache Rug and at the Women’s Empowerment conference. She was also an understudy for Amy Vankirk. Hailey choreographed and danced in the freshman seminar, light board operator for senior seminar, and was the Assistant Stage Manager for the Nutcracker as a freshman. After Radford, Hailey attended Southwest Community College where she continued her dance education.

Currently, Hailey is attending King University studying Elementary Education and is a member of King’s dance team, where she choreographs game time dances and their competition pieces. She has gone to UCA Nationals for the last two years with King’s cheerleading team. Throughout her years of dance instruction, she has been fortunate to be instructed by some of the industry's top professionals including Tyce Diorio, Sonya Tayeh, Bridget Burke, Francisco Gella, and Joy Spears just to name a few. Hailey is excited to bring her love of dance to Bristol Ballet.

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Wayne Burritt
Ballet
​Certified Vaganova Teacher Training Program Instructor

Wayne began training at age 12 in Miami, Florida as a ballroom dancer and eventually earned a scholarship to the Orlando Ballet School (formerly Southern Ballet Theatre) in Orlando, Florida. For SBT he danced a variety of classical and modern roles for the School as well as serving as company manager and financial controller. In 1985 he married his wife Debi and enrolled in the School of San Francisco Ballet, continuing his studies with some of the finest teachers in the country. Wayne also took time to earn his MBA in Arts Management in 1987. He moved to Naples, Florida shortly thereafter and joined Naples Ballet Theatre, where Artistic Director Kim Salgat created a number of roles for him in contemporary and classical works. In 1991, Wayne joined the critically acclaimed Demetrius Klein Dance Company and rose to the position of Assistant Artistic Director before retiring from the stage in 1993.

In 1994 Wayne formed Florida Dance Conservatory (FDC), where he served as Artistic Director, resident choreographer, and general manager. From 1994 to 1996, FDC provided an opportunity for numerous choreographers and dancers to flourish. During his tenure, Wayne choreographed 15 ballets, managed a professional school and company, and guided gifted young artists in their pre-professional careers.


In the spring of 1997 his work Water was presented at the 1997 Florida Dance Festival and was critically acclaimed. Also in 1997, he joined Dance 10 studio as Ballet Department chair and Director of the Pre-professional Ballet Program. During his tenure with Dance 10, he directed and choreographed Coppelia, Giselle, and The Nutcracker. In 1998, Wayne was appointed Ballet Master and Artistic Director for Vero Beach Ballet, where he was responsible for the entire school’s curriculum and classes, as well as choreographing his first Sleeping Beauty.


In 1998 Florida Dance Theatre of Lakeland, Florida commissioned Paradise, a contemporary ballet made to the music of Shirley Horn. Also in 1998, Wayne helped found Millennium Dance Syndicate (MDS), a professional modern dance company in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The company performed extensively at some of the most visible dance venues throughout Florida, including Bailey Concert Hall, Fort Lauderdale; New World School of the Arts, Miami; the Willow Theatre, Boca Raton; and the University Center for the Performing Arts, Davie. For MDS, Wayne premiered numerous new works including Illumination, a 2003 multimedia work for which Wayne provided the dances, lighting design, costume design, and film direction and editing. In addition, Wayne also managed all financial aspects of MDS operations until 2005.


In 2005, Wayne joined the faculty of the Asheville Ballet of Asheville, North Carolina where he taught and coached pre-professional and professional ballet dancers. In 2007, he formed Wayne Burritt Dance – a cutting-edge contemporary ballet company in Asheville, North Carolina – and produced a series of concerts at the Diana Wortham Theatre, one of the most celebrated dance venues in the U.S.
From 2007 to 2009, Wayne was appointed Ballet Master for Angie’s Dance Academy and Director of the Mountain Ballet Company (MBC), a pre-professional training company and program in Clyde, North Carolina. Wayne also staged his second Sleeping Beauty for MBC in 2009.
In 2009, Wayne joined forces with Angie Lynn and helped found Ballet Conservatory of Asheville in Asheville, North Carolina. Wayne served as Ballet Master for the Pre-Professional division, which during his tenure grew from 0 to 64 students. He taught the Vaganova syllabus is all four tracks of the Pre-Professional division.


Wayne’s also choreographed for the school’s productions. Since 2009, he has choreographed The Nutcracker, Giselle, Coppelia, La Fille Mal Gardee, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, A Midsummer’s Night Dream and many others. Wayne has also created contemporary works, including his 2015 She Walks in Beauty to music by Chad Lawson, who also accompanied the ballet.


Wayne is a dedicated ballet teacher with a keen sense of what makes a dancer successful. His students have won year-round or summer scholarships to many of the most prestigious ballet schools and academies in the U.S., including Bolshoi Ballet (CT), Boston Ballet, Charlotte Ballet, Gelsey Kirkland Academy, Houston Ballet, Kirov Academy of Ballet (DC), Miami City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and School of American Ballet, among others. In addition to these scholarship winners, his students have also gained admission to American Ballet Theatre (NY), Ellison Ballet, Lines Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Rock School, to name but a few.


In addition, Wayne’s students have been accepted to top-ranked university ballet programs, including Indiana University, Butler University, University of Oklahoma, University of Utah, Pointe Park University, New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Marymount Manhattan University and Florida State University, among others. Wayne’s students have also gone on to dance for highly regarded professional companies, including Alabama Ballet, Ballet Austin, Carolina Ballet, Charlotte Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and Nashville Ballet as well as on Broadway and Walt Disney World.


Wayne successfully completed the entire Vaganova Teacher Training Program (Years One through Five) directed by U.S. Vaganova expert John White. Wayne has also completed the two-year Professional Ballet Teacher Training with nationally acclaimed pedagogue Ruth C. Petrinovic – “the ballet teacher’s teacher.” He holds an MBA in Arts Management from Golden Gate University and a BA in English and Philosophy from Indiana University. Wayne makes his home in Jonesborough, TN with his wife Debi.

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