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Our Staff
Donna Kelly
Director and Spiritual Advisor​
Donna Kelly is a native of Savannah, Georgia. She is a graduate of Savannah State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation. She is a 30 year retiree from Chatham County Public School System where she taught English, Health, Physical Education and coached basketball, track and volleyball.
Before New Birth, Donna was not a stranger to teaching or writing. Writing was a passion she held since she was a child. She wrote everything: from stories to poems to "to-do-lists". Bored with the repetitiveness of typical dance recitals, Donna decided that all of One Spirit's performances will be designed around the stories that she writes: Snarls, Growls and God; The Real Superman; The Christmas Star; All God's Music; The Devil Takes a Holiday; Christmas Then and Now; If I Could Rewind My Life; The Devil Takes a Holiday and The 7 Temptations of Eva.
In 2005 she took the helm of One Spirit Dance Academy as Director and Spiritual Advisor. She would go on to become the production writer; and costume supervisor. With writing and children being her passions it was easy to take One Spirit to new heights, always remembering
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"The Anointing Makes the Difference"
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Kelly Reed
Assistant Director/Ballet Instructor
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Kelly Yvette Reed, daughter of Donna Kelly. She began her dance experience with Ballet and later
explored different genres of dance: Tap, Jazz, Modern, and Hip hop. At the age of 13, Kelly studied
Pointe at Madeline Walker’s School of Dance.
Kelly is a graduate of Savannah Arts Academy (SAA) where she was a dance major. At Savannah
Arts she was the only freshmen to perform a Pas de Deux at the school’s performance. Incorporated
into the dance curriculum, Kelly studied unique forms of dances: Ballroom, Tango, Salsa and Belly
dancing. She studied the history of dance, became a member of the National Dance Association,
won the Savannah Arts Academy “Oscar” for Best Choreographer and performed with the National
High School Dance Festival in Miami, Fl.
Kelly attended the Performing Arts Academy of Savannah (PAAS). She explored voice, theatre
lessons and danced in roles such as Mama Rat, Lead Snowflake, Spanish Hot Chocolate, Chinese
Tea, and Flower in the Nutcracker. She was also a performer in Swan Lake and Don Quixote. She
joined the PAAS Competitive Dance Team where she had the opportunity to study the world of
dance through competition. She traveled to many cities with her team and won many awards.
In 2005, under the Spiritual training of New Birth Christian Center, One Spirit Dance Ministry was
established with Kelly as the Principal Dancer. With guidance from her mother who is the Director of
the company, Kelly’s teaching and choreographic skills were nurtured. Kelly began teaching dance
classes for participating children of the New Birth Christian Center Summer Camp. One Spirit Dance
Academy was born.
Kelly ventured to Atlanta to study under Nena Gilreath and Waverly T. Lucas II of Ballethnic Dance
Inc. (both former members of Dance Theatre of Harlem and Atlanta Ballet).Multiple times she has
visited New York where she studied at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Broadway Dance
Center and Dance Theatre of Harlem. She has studied under professional dancers, such as Ingrid
Silva of Dance Theatre of Harlem and Khalia Campbell of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre.
Anetra Reed
Hip-Hop Instructor and Choreographer
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Anetra Reed was born on September 4, 1990 in Savannah, Georgia and is the daughter of Donna Kelly. Along with her mother, she became a member of the New Birth Christian Center family at a young age. She has always had an interest in dance and all athletic activities. After participating in gymnastics from the ages of six to thirteen, Anetra began testing the fields by participating in other athletic sports.
With a passion and thrill for performing on stage in front of large audiences, she majored in chorus while in high school. She also focused on sports such as volleyball and track. Although Anetra’s main interest was sports, she grew up around dance.
“Dancing, at first, was just something to keep me busy but now it has truly become my life. Without it, I honestly don’t know how I would survive. Because my experience as a dancer has grown, I now have the privilege to choreograph dance pieces and teach classes with One Spirit.”
Anetra has been the Hip Hop specialist for One Spirit Dance Academy for 10 years. She also choreographs the hip hop dances for the company. Anetra is a graduate of Georgia Southern University with a degree in interdisciplinary studies and working on getting her degree in nursing to become an RN.
Kalaysia Robinson
Tap, Ballet, Modern Instructor
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Kalaysia Robinson was born on May 10th, 2001, and has been dancing and training with One Spirit Dance academy for 19 years, beginning her dance journey at the age of three. She began with private lessons with Kelly Yvette Reed, and by the age of ten was performing en pointe. By the age of 14, she began assisting and teaching advanced tap classes. Kalaysia has completed her dance training at Esther F. Garrison School of the Arts, along with her high school dance career at Savannah Arts Academy, graduating in 2019 where she participated in the Dance Honors Society. In her senior year, she was granted the opportunity to choreograph the high school’s rendition of Chicago: The Musical, and was asked to return in 2022 to choreograph for Aida: The Musical. She has been a guest artist and choreographer for Esther F. Garrison School of the Arts, her piece “Late, Late, Late!” performed by the dance department for the Winter Showcase. She has participated in the Savannah Dancing with the Stars, a charity event hosted by CASA that advocates for children and families in crisis. In those two years, she and her dancers won the “Best Dancer” award and the “Crowd Favorite” award. She is now focusing on her studies at Savannah State University, majoring in Journalism and Mass Communications.
Kiara Bryant
Coteaches Ballet, Modern, and Jazz​
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Kiara Bryant, born May 22, 1989, began her dance experience at 8 years old in a church ministry in Savannah where liturgical dance was prominent. Kiara attended then Shuman Middle School where she obtained a foundation in ballet, modern, and jazz techniques. She continued training as a dance major at her Alumni, Savannah Arts Academy (SAA).
After high school, she attended Valdosta State University majoring in American Sign Language Interpreting where she took a break from dance to pursue this career. She returned to the dance world after getting the role of Barbie in One Spirit Dance Academy’s Christmas 2017 production, “The Christmas Star”. From that production, Kiara joined the women’s class and couldn’t resist the pull of dance. She continued to take classes, improve her technique, and learn the art of One Spirit Dance. Kiara is a part of One Spirit Dance Academy’s Senior Company and she continues to learn and know that God is the reason.
Kiara is also a dance teacher and coteaches with Ms. Kelly Reed training young dancers in Ballet, Modern, and Jazz. She continues to develop teaching techniques under Ms. Kelly and by attending national dance teacher conferences such as Dance Teacher Web Expo in Las Vegas, and Jazz on Tap and Ballet Fest in Buford, GA. Kiara is currently pursuing her Yoga 200 RYS Certification. She loves this organization and can't wait to see it prosper even further...all because of God!
Justin Parker
Marketing Director ​
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Savannah native who has a passion for motivating our youth to grow and inspire on and off the dance floor. Mercer University Graduate with a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and Business. He performs with our Men's Group, and handles all booking and scheduling for One Spirit Company members.