Our Staff

Caroline Le - Founder & Director

Caroline Le is currently a junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She began dancing at the age of five at Cary Ballet Conservatory. After doing ballet for five years, she started taking classes in jazz, modern, and contemporary. She was also part of the Green Hope Dance program for four years, dancing in the Honors program for two of those years. Now, she is on the officer board of UNC's Blank Canvas Dance Company, the largest student-run dance company on campus. Caroline loves Abilities Dance and she hopes that one day the program will grow large enough to have their own studio and expand to multiple locations.

Ideliya Khismatova - Volunteer Coordinator

Ideliya Khismatova is currently a freshman at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has been dancing since the age of five and Irish dancing since the age of seven. Ideliya has taught numerous Irish dancing classes where she developed a love for working with dancers. Alongside her passion for dance, Ideliya is a runner and spends her time volunteering in the community. After working with The Miracle League, Ideliya was ecstatic when she discovered Abilities Dance and is now thrilled to spread her love of dance with others.

Margo Hinnant - Instructor

Margo Hinnant is a rising Junior at Green Hope High School and was born in Cary, North Carolina. She started dancing at the age of six at Cary Ballet Conservatory. She has experience with jazz, ballet, and hip-hop but she mainly focused on ballet. At Green Hope High School, she is apart of the Dance Honors program along with the Colorguard. Through Key Club volunteering, she found a passion for working with others with intellectual disabilities. She loves making people smile every day and hopes to do the same with others at Abilities Dance!

Kate Brown - Instructor

Kate Brown is a freshman at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has been dancing since the age of three at Cary Ballet Conservatory. She was trained in classical ballet and contemporary dance but has long fostered a love for teaching. Kate teaches private dance lessons and has been a teacher assistant at Cary Ballet for seven years. She has a passion for working with the special needs community and helped found a club called Melodic Minds at Green Hope that provides a musical education to children with intellectual disabilities. She loves to dance and is thrilled at the opportunity to participate in Abilities Dance!

Sonia Rao - Instructor

Sonia Rao is a freshman at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She started dancing at the age of four at Cary Ballet Conservatory. She has experience in a variety of different dance types, including ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, and contemporary. She has also performed and choreographed Indian dances since she was 10 years old. In addition to dance, helped co-found a program that teaches music to the special needs students at her school called Melodic Minds with fellow instructor Kate Brown. She is extremely excited to continue spreading her love for dance with Abilities.

Janice Kim - Instructor

Janice Kim is a sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has been dancing since the age of four in Wisconsin. She moved to North Carolina and joined Cary Ballet Conservatory at age eleven. She loves being a teacher's assistant at CBC and has been teaching for three years. Janice realized her passion for working with the special needs community when her cousins were both born with intellectual disabilities; they loved learning how to dance with Janice and she can't wait to share her love of dance with others through Abilities Dance.

Katie Taylor - Instructor

Katie Taylor is a junior at Furman University and has been dancing since she was three years old. She was a member of L.A. Dance's Competitive team for the eight years, and is now a member of Furman Dance Company. In addition to being captain of her senior competitive team, she has also taught at L.A. Dance. Katie has a passion for helping others and inspiring them through movement. Several years ago, she began volunteering as a coach with Abilities Tennis and is excited to do the same with Abilities Dance.