Meet the FLEET.

Lenai Wilkerson

Lenai Wilkerson is a professional dancer, educator, and fitness instructor with a BFA in Dance from the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. Her professional career includes international touring with Ballet Hispánico and performances with Cincinnati Ballet. She is currently a company member of Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre in Atlanta.

Throughout her career, Lenai has performed works by renowned choreographers including George Balanchine, William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Martha Graham, and Dwight Rhoden.

Beyond the stage, Lenai is passionate about dance education, fitness, and mentorship. She shares her expertise through teaching with Wabi Sabi Terminus, supporting emerging artists through the Dance Canvas Catalyst program, and serving as a fitness instructor at Pvolve.

At FLEET, Lenai leads ballet training for our Teen Trainee Cohort and provides individualized coaching in ballet, pointe-focused training, and conditioning. Her approach emphasizes technical precision, strength, alignment, and intentional development, helping aspiring professional dancers build the foundation, discipline, and artistry necessary to reach the next level.

Jay Jones

Jay Jones is an actor, acting coach, author, and creator of The Soul System: Acting From the Inside Out. With more than 25 years of experience in the performing arts, his work spans acting, teaching, and the development of an approach that connects performers’ inner experiences to authentic expression.

His teaching experience includes actors, dancers, youth programs, and adult workshops. At FLEET, Jay brings acting, storytelling, emotional intelligence, and body awareness into dancers’ training, guiding them to bring intention, character, and personality to movement. His work helps young artists communicate through performance rather than simply execute choreography.

Kiersten Brydie

Kiersten Brydie is FLEET’s Lead Pilates Instructor, with a Beginner Mat Pilates Teacher certification through Power Pilates (2023) and teaching experience at The Studio Pilates in Atlanta. Her instruction spans mat-based Pilates as well as Reformer and Tower classes, bringing both movement knowledge and hands-on teaching experience to her work.

At FLEET, Kiersten uses Pilates to help dancers improve strength, control, alignment, and body awareness. Her teaching combines precise cues, thoughtful modifications, and an encouraging environment, helping young artists develop movement habits that support their dance training.

Patrice Lee

Patrice Lee is a dance educator, choreographer, and competition adjudicator with more than a decade of experience teaching recreational and competitive dancers across the East Coast. She specializes in jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and musical theater and has created award-winning competition choreography.

Originally from Maryland, Patrice trained competitively before performing and choreographing in college. She later joined Georgia Southern University’s Southern Explosion dance team, performing at school events and competing in the Division I jazz category at NDA College Nationals. Her judging work keeps her engaged with evolving performance and competition standards, which she brings to her FLEET classes through musicality, technique, and expressive performance.

Charizma Lawrence

Charizma Lawrence is a professional performing artist and a 2023 BFA Dance graduate of the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, where she also studied psychology. A recipient of the Simms/Mann Family Foundation Endowed Dance Scholarship, she has performed repertory by Jiří Kylián, Justin Peck, and Ohad Naharin and worked with choreographers including Tessandra Chavez and Andrew Winghart.

Her professional work includes performing on tour with Moulin Rouge! The Musical, as well as commercial projects associated with Coca-Cola and Debbie Allen. As Co-Founder and Academic Director of Dance to Degree, Charizma brings both collegiate and professional perspective to dancers preparing for admissions, auditions, and the transition into higher education.