MeET Our team.
Courtney OM
( founder and artistic director )
Courtney Owen-Muir (Courtney OM) hails from Toronto, Canada and is a full-time dance educator and choreographer. Her professional training includes Ryerson University (BFA Dance program) and the Conteur Academy, a contemporary conservatory under the direction of Eryn Waltman, where she graduated in 2013. She has additional training from The Alvin Ailey School, The American Dance Festival, L.A. Contemporary Dance Company and Steps on Broadway Exchange Program where she has trained with such notables as Andrew Winghart, Sidra Bell, Alexandra Wells, Gerri Houlihan, Abby Zbikowski, Shannon Gillen and Kate Hutter to name a few.
Courtney began producing work in the United States in 2014 at the annual SARUS festival in Wilmington, NC and has since spent the last 8 years teaching at local studios and setting work across the triangle and country.
Courtney established her contemporary dance company, OM grown dancers, in 2016 and with them- has produced 6 evening length premiers, held pop-up performances both around Durham NC and internationally. She and the company have hosted free community dance events, facilitated summer/winter intensives and collaborated with other local creatives on movement projects. The evolution of the OM grown dancers has played a vital role in her growth as a creative in North Carolina.
In 2016 Courtney opened and co-owned Threehouse Studios, a movement studio located in Durham, NC. In 2020, Courtney created a pre-professional, contemporary focused program called TRAIN: Dance at Threehouse. In 2023, she opened her very own dance training center, OM Grown Dance Studios, in Aberdeen, NC. Courtney is both a 200-hr RYT yoga teacher and a Progressive Ballet Technique instructor.
Courtney is an established dance choreographer, who has been recognized for her work on the competitive level and professional company level. She is currently working on and certifying a Floor-work Teacher Training called Floor3.
Her growing mission is to provide dancers seeking additional training opportunities, a platform to further develop their artistic voice and nourish their evolution as a contemporary artist. Courtney has a passion for dance education and is proud of the symbiotic offerings she has created as an educator.
ERINN OAKLEY DEAL
STUDIO OPERATIONS
MARY WATERS
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
SARA MORENO
FRONT DESK & ADMIN
PORSHIA HERNANDEZ
COMPANY PHOTOGRAPHER
WEEKLY COMPANY FACULTY
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Courtney OM
STUDIO OWNER &
COMPANY DIRECTOR -
BRITTNEY ALAYNA
FULL TIME COMPANY TEACHER
& CHOREOGRAPHER -
EILEEN JURIC
WEEKLY INSTRUCTOR
BALLET ECHNIQUE -
ERICA LITTLE
WEEKLY INSTRUCTOR
BALLET & POINTE -
BRE KALMETA
WEEKLY INSTRUCTOR
YOGA & MYOFASCIAL RELEASE
Meet our guest teachers
One of the attributes that makes OM grown dance studios so successful is our guest teachers. Their dedication to teaching our students the highest quality of dance techniques is extraordinary. Courtney invites teachers from all over the state to teach her dancers a variety of master classes in Technique, Jazz, Floor, Contemporary, Ballet, and beyond. Master classes are held every Friday.
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FounderIt all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.
Hannah comes from Los Angeles, CA with a background in competition, commercial dance, and industry work. Hannah places emphasis on health focused training, finding what sets them apart, and highlighting what makes their movement different from everyone else. Strong technique contributes to a young dancer’s confidence and sets them up with a strong foundation of knowledge and experience needed to find their own artistry.
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Design DirectorStazia was raised in Apex, North Carolina and trained pre-professionally for many years at the Academy for the Performing Arts, with a focus on contemporary dance. Since 2020, she has been a company member with the OM Grown Dancers under the direction of Courtney OM. After graduating high school in 2019, she began to explore her passion for teaching and choreographing at local studios and public schools.
She is currently focused on mentoring and training dancers of all ages, mostly within the company program at APA and the TRAIN program. Stazia is creatively driven through her personal exploration of intuitive and sensation-based movement. She encourages using tools like improvisation and yoga to develop body awareness and individualized artistry in her students. Her movement and choreography has been influenced through training and performing work by artists such as Emily Greenwell, Nancy Andrews Roque, Marcos Roque, Ashley Lindsay, Brooke Averette, and many more
Stazia was raised in Apex, North Carolina and trained pre-professionally for many years at the Academy for the Performing Arts, with a focus on contemporary dance. Since 2020, she has been a company member with the OM Grown Dancers under the direction of Courtney OM. After graduating high school in 2019, she began to explore her passion for teaching and choreographing at local studios and public schools.
She is currently focused on mentoring and training dancers of all ages, mostly within the company program at APA and the TRAIN program at Threehouse Studios. Stazia is creatively driven through her personal exploration of intuitive and sensation-based movement. She encourages using tools like improvisation and yoga to develop body awareness and individualized artistry in her students. Her movement and choreography has been influenced through training and performing work by artists such as Emily Greenwell, Nancy Andrews Roque, Marcos Roque, Ashley Lindsay, Brooke Averette, and many more
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Design DirectorStazia was raised in Apex, North Carolina and trained pre-professionally for many years at the Academy for the Performing Arts, with a focus on contemporary dance. Since 2020, she has been a company member with the OM Grown Dancers under the direction of Courtney OM. After graduating high school in 2019, she began to explore her passion for teaching and choreographing at local studios and public schools.
She is currently focused on mentoring and training dancers of all ages, mostly within the company program at APA and the TRAIN program. Stazia is creatively driven through her personal exploration of intuitive and sensation-based movement. She encourages using tools like improvisation and yoga to develop body awareness and individualized artistry in her students. Her movement and choreography has been influenced through training and performing work by artists such as Emily Greenwell, Nancy Andrews Roque, Marcos Roque, Ashley Lindsay, Brooke Averette, and many more
Brianna Cooper was raised in Durham, NC. She holds a BFA in Dance Performance from East Carolina University. Her training also includes time at the American Dance Festival, Giordano Dance Chicago, and the Tuscan Summer Dance Intensive. Ms. Cooper’s professional work has taken her around the U.S. and Europe. She has performed with a variety of artists, most notably Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, La Bella Vita Arts, Code f.a.d. Company, Natalie Marrone & The Dance Cure, and KT COLLECTIVE. Brianna currently performs with OM Grown Dancers, a contemporary dance company led by Artistic Director Courtney OM.
Brianna has been teaching young dancers since 2010. She is currently the Co-Director at Destiny Dance Institute in Wake Forest, NC and works with young dancers through Little People’s Creative Workshop. She also freelances as a guest instructor and choreographer throughout the Southeast region. When she isn’t dancing, Brianna also works in group fitness and Pilates.
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Bre is a vivacious fireball of energy and avid motivator, working to empower her community to feel strong and free in their bodies. Fitness and movement have offered her an outlet to share her passions and experiences and to create and connect with others. Growing up, Bre danced and played volleyball competitively growing up, and both taught her practicing discipline in movement and teamwork. During her time in graduate school, she would take weekly fitness classes to balance the stress, and eventually became a Group Fitness instructor and Personal Trainer for Duke Recreation, teaching everything from HIIT to Kickboxing to Cycling.
Bre received her Ph.D. in Neurobiology in 2018 from Duke University. Her doctoral research focused on sensory molecules in touch and pain pathways in the body, however, her interests were more towards how different types of motor movements could improve cognition and brain function. Upon completion of her doctoral work, she began to pursue forging a connection between the fitness and science worlds. Bre personal trained and taught fitness classes at Threehouse Studios in Durham before launching B3 Wellness virtually. B3 Wellness was her brain child during her graduate studies to create a space to help other move freely in their bodies, improve their thought process and brain function, and to evolve in their most balanced and grounded sense of self.
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Erica is from the Central Florida area where she was raised and trained with several local companies, including Space Coast Ballet Academy. She was educated primarily in the Vaganova technique by Janna Kirova, who had graduated from the world renown Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia. At the age of 16, Erica began performing as a soloist with the Space Coast Ballet Company in Melbourne, FL. She performed soloist and principle roles from The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Les Corsaire, Les Sylphides, Le Bayadere, and several original contemporary works.
In 2007, Erica moved to New York City to study at the famed Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. While in NYC, she also attended classes at Broadway Dance Studio, Steps on Broadway and Peridance. In 2010, after graduating from The Ailey School, Erica returned to her home town to begin teaching at several local studios. Erica quickly discovered her love of teaching and of sharing her knowledge with the next generation of dancers. Her students have been awarded medals and scholarships in several regional, national and international competitions, including Youth American Grand Prix and the American Ballet Competition.
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Jesse is a performer, teacher, and choreographer that seeks to spark joy in the heart of each person she connects with through her dancing. She grew up in the Atlanta area, training with the Roswell Dance Theatre. Jesse then received a minor in dance from the University of Georgia, performing with UGA’s Ballet Ensemble and both teaching and choreographing for studios in the area. She moved to Colorado Springs, CO in 2019 and began performing with Ormao Dance Company. Jesse was fortunate to premiere original works by KT Nelson, Mike Tyus, Chung-Fu Chang, Rosely Conz, Ila Connolley, and Janet Johnson. She also became a founding member of Open Sky Colorado, a Christian dance company that performs and ministers around Colorado Springs and beyond. For Open Sky Colorado, Jesse choreographed “Amazing Grace” in 2022, which has since been performed in outreach events at correctional facilities, a local free breakfast program, and numerous churches in the area.
During her time in Colorado Springs, Jesse taught ballet and contemporary at both Ormao Dance Company and Turning Pointe School of Dance, and she became a trained Dance for Parkinson’s teacher, leading movement classes for people living with Parkinson’s disease. She moved to the Southern Pines, NC area in 2023 and is looking forward to whatever dance opportunities come her way. Her lively sons Andy and Luke keep her moving when she’s not in the studio, and her generous husband Will helps her get to the studio whenever she can.