Meet FMD - Forward Motion Dance Company

Tracey Varga

Tracey discovered dance at age five in her first Tap class. Her performance, teaching and choreographic experience includes works in Maryland, Washington, Idaho, Illinois and New York. As Founder and Director of Forward Motion Dance Company, Tracey is the program coordinator for the annual benefit concert Arts Sensation! and has performed and presented at Dance-a-lorus, NC Dance Festival, Wilmington Dance Festival, UNCW’s Lumina Festival and on local stages including Thalian Hall, City Stage, the Community Arts Center and Cameron Art Museum. Tracey teaches Modern/Jazz and Tap classes at The Dance Element and is a licensed Physical Therapist. She is the recipient of the 2013 YWCA Women of Achievement Award for the Arts and the 2018 Arts in Wilmington Individual Arts Advocate Award. Tracey is honored to serve as a member of the Thalian Hall Board of Trustees.

Kara Abbott

Kara, originally from Ohio, grew up mostly in Charlotte before moving to Wilmington to attend UNCW. While at UNCW, Kara danced with the university’s dance company, Seahawk Dance Force. Kara graduated with an Elementary Education degree with a concentration in Fine Arts and minor in leadership studies. She is currently a teacher for New Hanover County schools. Kara is excited to be dancing with Forward Motion as a core member of the company.

Savannah Brooks

Savannah was born and raised in Wilmington NC where she began dancing at the age of 41/2 at The Wilmington School of Ballet. She started off with ballet, tap, and jazz, but quickly realized that ballet was her passion. Savannah has performed in many productions including The Nutcracker from 2006-2020, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Paquita, and other local showcases. Savannah participated in The Southeastern Regional Youth American Grand Prix 2016; she performed a variation from Raymonda coached by Stella Vives (studied at the National Ballet of Panama) and an original contemporary piece choreographed by Kevin Green (founder of TechMoja Dance Company). Over the years, Savannah has attended various summer intensives including CityDance at Strathmore where she was instructed by Anatoli Kucheruk and Madame Markovina; Manuela Navarro, Svetlana Osiyeva, and Oscar Gomez are a few other renowned artists she’s had the privelege to be taught by. In 2019, Savannah was accepted into the conservatory program at The Wilmington School of Ballet- taught by Walter Angelini and Ines Albertini who are now artistic directors at The E’toile Ballet Theatre in Italy. In the summer of 2020, Savannah graduated the conservatory program and was promoted to second company member with The United States International Ballet. Shortly after being accepted, she decided to step down from dance for a bit. In January of 2023, Savannah was invited to join Forward Motion Dance Company.

Nicole Dalier

Nicole was born and raised in Charlotte, NC where she studied at the Charlotte Ballet, as a part of their pre-professional division, under the advisement of Patricia McBride, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Mark Diamond. Later she attended Texas Christian University, in Fort Worth Texas, where she completed her BFA in ballet and modern dance. Nicole was able to access many avenues through Texas Christian University where she choreographed several dances, both classical and modern. Nicole’s training at TCU and various Summer intensives, such as Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet and Milwaukee Ballet, have provided her with a vast background in classical ballet and modern dance. Her experiences have opened her to all varieties of techniques including but not limited to Cunningham, Horton and Graham. Nicole is a litigation specialist with Allan Brandon Tise, PLLC and has been worked for Mr. Tise since 2014. Nicole has been a core member with Forward Motion since 2015 and is happy to call Wilmington her home.

Trilby Shier

Originally from Chapel Hill, Trilby Shier has been part of the dance community in Wilmington for the past for 17 years. She toured with Amy Smith Pierce and dancers for the 2007 North Carolina Dance Festival. She has performed for local choreographers in the Cucalorus Film Festival, Wilmington Dance Festival, Art Sensation, Thalian Association and appeared in the film Bolden. She has had the pleasure of dancing with Tracey Varga and Forward Motion Dance Company since 2010. When she is not dancing, Trilby works as a Physician Assistant in Dermatology and spends time with her son Liam and their pets.

Becky Spivey

Becky Spivey grew up near Charlotte and moved to Wilmington when she started college at UNCW. She began dancing at age 10 and has danced ever since. During high school, she attended summer intensive sessions at the NC School of the Arts. While at UNCW, she performed in various productions including the Nutcracker Ballet for many years. Becky started dancing with Tracey Varga in the 1990s and has been a core member of FMD since 2012, as well as a board member. Her daughters Parran and Kate have also performed with Tracey over the years as teens. Becky has worked as a realtor for Landfall Realty since 2001 and is part owner in the company.

Susan Turner

Susan became passionate about movement and performance when she first began ballet, tap, jazz, and acrobatics classes at the age of 5 in Charlotte, NC. By high school, she had added pointe, gymnastics, and theater to her repertoire. Doris Levy introduced her to modern dance during college at UNCW and Cindy Mason inspired her with African, Persian, and Latin American dance styles. Susan began taking Tracey Varga’s modern jazz and tap classes, as well as performing locally in 2006. She was a guest dancer with Forward Motion Dance Company in 2008 and a core dancer thereafter. She feels blessed to be part of such a wonderful dance community and grateful for the support of friends and family. During the school year, Susan enjoys being the office manager, teaching kids’ yoga, and taking adult classes at The Dance Element, as well as leading service trips and subbing at Friends School of Wilmington.