Staff & Faculty

Miranda Haywood - Executive Director & Dance Instructor

Ms. Miranda is a Choreographer, Ballet Mistress, Instructor, and Dancer for FRDC. Miranda is a native of Ada, MI, she received her dance training on scholarship with the Grand Rapids Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School in Seattle, WA. Miranda has also studied at the School of American Ballet in New York City, New York. As a senior in high school in 1999, she joined Grand Rapids Ballet as an apprentice in the company. She has performed professionally with the Grand Rapids Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre (now Charlotte Ballet), Pacific Northwest Ballet, Charlotte Total Theatre, Chautauqua Dance Company and the Moving Poets Theatre of Dance. She has also been a guest artist for Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey and Ablemarle Academy of Dance.  While performing with professional companies throughout the country, she had the opportunity to dance Balanchine Works such as Western Symphony, Stars and Strips, Concerto Barocco, and Divertimento.  In the summer of 2000 she joined Pacific Northwest Ballet's tour of A Midsummer's Night Dream to Hong Kong, China & Istanbul, Turkey.

Ms. Miranda was the first dance team coach for Providence Day High School (Charlotte, NC) in 2003. From January 2011- 2015, Ms. Miranda Haywood was a professor of dance at Grand Valley State University. Since 1998, she has taught on the faculty for many of North Carolina and Michigan's finest ballet schools: the school of the North Carolina Dance Theatre, Charlotte School of Ballet, Community School of the Arts, Charlotte City Ballet, Miller Street Dance Academy, Weir Dancin', Las Americas, Turning Pointe School of Dance and Classic Pointe.

Most recently, Miranda was a member of the Education Foundation of Greenville from 2019 - 2026 as a Trustee. In just five years as the director and producer, along with her Dancing with the Locals Stars Entourage, they raised over $289,000 for mental health services and programs for the Greenville Public Schools.  Pertaining to this achievement, as of May 2024, Ms. Haywood is the recipient of the Womans Action Network Woman of the Year. She has two children Isadora and Cyrus and resides in East Grand Rapids, MI.

Joseph Curry - Artistic Director & Dance Instructor

Mr. Curry is originally from Greensburg, PA. He carries the title of Choreographer, Teacher, Ballet Master, and Studio Owner. He originally attended Laurel Youth Ballet, Pittsburg Ballet and Point Park Conservatory (all in PA) before training at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, under the tutelage of Dr. Duncan Noble and Gyula Pandi. Mr. Curry’s professional career spans nearly two decades where he danced for The Charlotte Ballet (formally known as North Carolina Dance Theater) under Salivtore Aiello and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux. He was a founding member of  the Moving Poets Theatre of Dance. Directed by Till Schmdt-Rimpler and is also in Charlotte, NC.  Mr. Curry also performed, choreographed and taught dance classes for, New York City Opera, Mia Ballet (Japan), Kunami Ballet (Japan), Augusta Ballet (GA), Greenville Ballet (SC), Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance (NC), Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre (MA), Fairfax Ballet (VA), Roanoke Ballet (VA), and Charlotte Youth Ballet (NC).

Throughout his career, Joseph performed dances by and worked with such notable choreographers as Maris Petipa, George Balanchine, Agnis DeMile, Jiri Kylian, Alvin Ailey, Arthur Mitchell, Alonzo King, Paul Taylor, Edward Stierle, Salvatore Aiello, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, Till Schmidt-Rimpler and many others.

Joseph has also dedicated his life to working with children in dance by teaching and creating outreach programs for a number of schools which include North Carolina Dance Theatre, Moving Poets Theater of Dance, Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance, Roanoke Ballet, Savannah Dance Theatre, West Michigan Youth Ballet, Young Peoples Ballet (Flint, MI), and the Charlotte School of Ballet to name a few.

Since taking the lead as Artistic Director of the Flat River Dance Mr. Curry has created a number of stand out ballets and other choreographic works. His full length ballets for Flat River Dance Company including The Nutcracker, 12 Dancing Princesses, Good Night Moon, The Magical Doll Shoppe, The Grinch in Whoville, Peso’s Bill and the Cyclone, and The Wizard of Oz,  Other works of standing are, "Red, Hot and Bluegrass", "Wicked Whatever !" , "Carmina Burana", and "TRIBUTE (conversations with soldiers)", a tribute to Sept.11and all its fallen.

Joseph would like to thank all his students, their parents (Past, Present and Future), the Greenville and surrounding communities, their schools and organizations for giving him the opportunity to give back what he hold most dear to his heart... The Love of Dance. He would also like to thank his children Cyrus James Curry and Isadora Rose Curry for all their love and affection. "You are the true source of my inspiration" - Love Dad