Faculty/Staff
Madison Darden
Studio Owner/Director
Madison Darden
Studio Owner/Director
Madison Darden has been involved in the dance industry for nearly 21 years. She began her dance training at the age of 3 and began her competitive dance career at the age of 4. While competing, she earned numerous awards including “National Dancer of the Year”, many first place title and overall awards for solos and group performances, selected to perform at the Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, and was selected to perform in the Opening Number at the “America Loves to Dance National Championship” with Showstopper Dance Competition. She is professionally-trained in Ballet, Jazz, Musical Theatre, Tap, Hip-Hop, Tumble/Acro-Dance, Lyrical, Modern, Contemporary, Latin Dance, and African Diaspora.
Madison is a Mooresville, North Carolina native. She is a graduate of Mooresville Senior High School, where she cheered for four years, and was captain. Madison also graduated from University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Performance. During that time she worked with artists, Kim Jones, Rachel Tucker, Tamara Williams, Martha Graham Company, E.E. Balcos, Missy Coyle, Karen Hubbard, Jose Limón Company, Dave Scott, and many more. She was also a member and captain of the UNC Charlotte Dance Team (Gold Dusters), where she danced and performed at Football, Basketball, and Baseball games at the university. She has competed and placed as high as third nationally in Open-Jazz and Hip-Hop with the Gold Dusters in Daytona Beach, Florida. After college graduation, Madison has been fortunate enough to teach dance and choreograph in the Charlotte area as well as local to the Lake Norman area. Her choreography has placed regionally and nationally, in all age groups! She is also the current coach for Mooresville High School Cheerleading Squad, and has been coaching for three years.
Madison’s dream has always been to own her own Dance Studio. She strives to make a difference in each person’s life whom she comes across, and inspire those to chase their dreams. Dance has made such a huge impact on her life, and she would love to provide those same opportunities for others. Dance truly is her passion, and she wants to share her passion and teach children to “Dance with Purpose”.
Instructors:
Nicole Rodriguez-Coyle
A native of Amityville, Long Island, Nicole is a mother of three who has been studying dance for 40 years. By way of The Venettes Cultural Workshop, The Broadway Dance Center, and The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre (just to name a few)- Nicole is professionally trained in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Modern (Horton, Dunham, Graham Technique), Contemporary, Lyrical, West African, Afro-Cuban, and Bangarra.
Upon graduating from Wheaton College in 2001 with a Bachelors in Psychology and Studio Art- Nicole became an Adjunct Professor of Modern Dance and Hip-Hop. She also served as the Assistant Director for the Wheaton College Dance Department.
In 2001, Nicole traveled to Cuba where she spent three weeks studying Afro Cuban dance and the Bata drum at the Universidad de Matanzas. Upon returning to the States, she was hired by the Miss Rhode Island Pageant as choreographer and performer for two consecutive years. She later moved back to NYC, where she back-up danced for various artists under Bad Boy Entertainment/Records, Roc-A-Fella Records, and Global Soul Entertainment.
Nicole is also a professional Production Make Up artist. She has had long-term contracts with CBS 6 News Albany, PBS, and Albany Talent Management. Over the past 23 years she has worked on countless local and national commercials, films, theatre productions, and print ads
Brynna Haddox
Brynna Haddox is so excited to be joining the Darden Dance Company staff! A recent graduate of Florida State University, she is a seasoned dance instructor with 18 years of dance experience. For 4 years, Brynna choreographed for a competitive team before furthering her own dance training as a member of Level Dance Company at FSU from 2020-2023. Brynna's choreography has been showcased in various performance settings such as a Charlotte Hornets' game and at Disney Springs! She is also excited to begin an internship with Audrey Baran and Baran Dance Company this fall where she will further her skills in choreography and modern dance. With a passion for mentoring and helping other dancers grow in their abilities, Brynna feels so blessed to be taking this step by joining in at Darden Dance Company
Allison Armstrong
Allison Armstrong has danced since the age of 2 training in jazz, tap, lyrical, ballet, contemporary, hip hop, and more. She attended Central Academy of Technology and Arts High School where she furthered her study of dance with a focus in modern, ballet, and African dance. She’s a graduate of UNC Charlotte where she minored in dance and was a member of the Gold Duster Dance Team. She continued sharing her love of dance by teaching at We’re Dancin’ and working PowerPak Summer Intensives. She has been able to pursue her passion as a NFL cheerleader for the past two years, and is looking forward to the opportunities to come!
Zaria (Zee) Franklin
Zaria (Zee) Franklin is a UNC Charlotte alum who studied Dance Education. She is currently a dance teacher at AL Brown High School in Kannapolis, NC and Fuzion Force Entertainment Academy in Charlotte, NC. She has performed with the Charlotte Symphony as well as winning the title of Miss Black and Gold in 2018. She was also a part of the Charlotte 49ers Gold Dusters. Her favorite dance style is Jazz-Hop a mix between hip-hop and jazz. She specializes in teaching all ages from adults to small children.
Arden Boyle
In May 2018, Arden graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a concentration in Performance, Choreography and Theory. Dancing since the age of 3, she grew up studying jazz, tap, ballet & musical theater at Rhythm Dance Studio in Matthews, NC.
She continued to study these dance forms throughout her years at UNCC. She was introduced to several other dance genres & performing arts as well, as she was actively involved in the university’s theater & music departments. She was a member of the Dance Team at UNCW her freshman year, & after transferring to Charlotte, was a member of the UNCC Dance Team her sophomore & junior years, acted in two plays, and performed multiple times with the musical theater program.
In college, she extensively studied West African, physical theater, including circus and aerial arts, ballet, jazz, and modern (Graham, Horton, Umfundalai, and Silvestre techniques). She has performed contemporary jazz under Troy Haywood, Guinea-based West African under Niche Faulkner, and physical theater under Carlos Alexis Cruz. She has also attended the Rockettes Summer Intensive & Martha Graham Winter Intensive. Alongside dancing, she has taught several styles of dance to children for years, & also is a certified Barre instructor.
What People Are Saying
“ Miss Madi is my favorite dance teacher ever!!! She's very nice but still strict. She tells us what we do well and what we need to work on. She makes dance class fun, she even Tik-Toks with us! She is a very talented choreographer, dancer and Tumbler and I love to watch her do her handsprings and tucks. Miss Madi makes me feel safe and helped me to not be scared to do my roundoff back handspring on the floor. Miss Madi has taught me so much and I can't wait to learn more. I love Miss Madi!!! ”
— AVERY S.
“Miss Madi showcases each and every child's talents no matter how large or how small. In her eyes and words, they are all equal in importance. This instills confidence and a sense of self worth in every one of her students. She goes above and beyond, spending her own time creating new ideas. She critiques each dance step that still needs work while still complimenting the steps done well, further inspiring the students to WANT to improve. She takes the extra time to speak to the students on their level where they can understand it instead of it going over their heads. She maintains positivity and compassion at all times while still conducting a strict and orderly class. She stresses team work and encourages the students to have positive team building experiences together. She continues to lead my child to become the best Competitive Dancer and Tumbler that she can be. Ms Madi's creativity, choreography skills, and genuine good hearted personality will take her very far. We love you Ms Madi!! Thank you for taking my shy girl and helping her have the courage to shine and show her true personality on stage. We are so excited to embark with you on this journey and we wish you the absolute best!!!!”
— DAWN S.
“Madison Darden has been teaching my daughter for the past year. Within the last year, she has had a major improvement in dance and tumble. Her choreography is top-notch. Madison dedicates so much of her time to her students, inside and outside of the classroom. I can’t wait to see what is to come, and embark on this journey with Darden Dance Company.”
-SHERRIE C.
“Madison is one-of-a-kind. Her hard-work and dedication to the art of dance is inspiring. I can’t wait to see her deep passion manifest into the dancers at Darden Dance Company. Great things are coming!”
— TYESHA O.