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About the Joy Ensemble
Step into the Joy of Dance
We are a dance community that focuses on sharing joy with others through dance. Our mission is to bring together people of all ages and abilities, creating together, dancing together and serving others as we build a stronger community. Everyone is welcome at The Joy Ensemble!
Meet The Team
Margaret Sikes
Margaret Sikes began her dance training at Tennessee Ballet and Memphis Classical Ballet. She studied and performed with Chattanooga Ballet and graduated from Chattanooga High School for the Performing Arts (CCA) as a dance major. Margaret spent several summers studying at The Lexington Ballet in Kentucky and American Dance Festival in North Carolina. While at ADF she was able to study under teachers from Liz Lerman Dance Exchange that forever changed her perception of dance by participating in a community crossover class. She danced and worked with people from group homes, Multiple Sclerosis patients and teen moms while discovering that all people benefit from dance! She also was Governor’s School for the Arts scholarship recipient and holds a BFA in dance pedagogy from Brenau University. Margaret danced professionally with Howard County Ballet in Ellicott City, MD and Full Circle Dance Company in Baltimore, MD before returning to Chattanooga, TN. After coming back home Margaret continued to share her passion for movement teaching various styles of dance at several studios and Project Dance in the schools. Margaret has expanded her community work by helping people live a healthier life by teaching fitness and working with several of the healthy living programs at the YMCA. In 2020 she founded The Joy Ensemble, a dance project that brings people of all ages and abilities together to dance, create and serve others as we build a stronger community.
Emily Sapere
A native of Mayfield, Kentucky, Emily received her early training with Joan Crawford School of Dance in tap, ballet and jazz. At age fourteen she became a teacher’s assistant for the family dance studio. She received a summer intensive scholarship in Los Angeles with Dupree Dance USA at age sixteen. After high school, she attended Columbia State Community College in Franklin, TN on a commercial entertainment scholarship. Her passion for teaching, brought her back to Kentucky were she assumed ownership of her family's dance studio. As the principal instructor, owner and operator for 10 years, she choreographed annual recitals, performance events and top award winning competition routines. Many of her students have receive scholarships through convention circuits such as L.A. Dance Force and Dupree Dance USA. She spent summers training at The Edge Performing Arts Center in West Hollywood, California to hone her craft.
In 2002 Emily moved to Los Angeles to pursue her career in dance. She has danced professionally in the television series "American Dreams" and was a principal dancer and choreographer for "The Rick Alviti Elvis Tribute Band". While living in LA, she was on faculty at Dance Dimension Performing Arts Center. After the birth of her first child, she and her family moved to Chattanooga. The last six years she has been the tap instructor for Ballet Tennessee. Her choreography credits include the Newsies production in 2016, Singing in the Rain 2017 and Teen Beach Movie 2018, just to name a few. Emily’s experience in working with children is vast and she is respected by dance parents for her ability to challenge and motivate her students to achieve their personal best.
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