Erin Billingsley is a long-time lover of the arts. Throughout her life, she trained as a dancer in both Arkansas (East Arkansas Dance Academy) and Tennessee (Dance Dynamics). As a teen, she performed in multiple theater productions, as well as the traveling production Fire and Ice. She also danced in college for Arkansas State University. In recent years, you may have seen her dancing in Memphis Symphony Orchestra’s Magic of Memphis, alongside several of the Mid-south’s finest performers. Erin has been an off and on again competitive cheerleading coach for 13 years. She finds great joy in teaching athletes technical skills and watching them grow as performers. Erin graduated Summa Cum Laude from Los Angeles Film School, where she was inducted into the National Honor Society of the Arts. She currently works as a graphic designer for her husband’s business Xtreme Graphics. She is starting her second season with the Hot Foot Honeys and is very grateful for the acquaintances she has made to get her to this point! Thank you all for encouraging and encompassing her with friendship and open arms! 

Katie Cowden is a newcomer to Memphis who began dancing at Amanda's Dance Express in Grand Prairie, TX at age 6. She trained in ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, lyrical, modern and contemporary, and participated in competitions with the studio's company. In middle and high school, she attended Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy as a dancer. She joined Rhythmic Souls Tap Company during her senior year and stayed with the company through college, performing in several shows a year under the direction of Katelyn Harris and Meghan Way Stinson. After high school, she attended the University of North Texas and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in New Media Art. In 2022, her family moved to Memphis, which led to her joining the Hot Foot Honeys. She currently works as a substitute teacher at Crosstown High School and continues to look for opportunities to teach, perform, and spread her love for dance.

Susan Elswick is an avid lover of the arts. She has always enjoyed visual arts, dance/movement, and music. She danced for 15 years, her foundational years were with Patricia Williams School of Dance, before she took a pause to raise her 3 wonderful children (now 20, 17, and 15), and to pursue a career as a social worker. She is currently a professor at the University of Memphis in the School of Social Work, she runs a small private practice in the region serving children and families, and she is an affiliate faculty member of the University of Memphis Institute for Arts in Health. Susan often teaches social work students and community partners about the power of expressive arts in practice. She combines the arts with therapeutic interventions to engage her participants in the healing process.

K. Brooke Jerome began her dance training in 1999 at Performing Arts of Germantown, where she extensively studied tap, ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and musical theatre until 2014. During that time, she performed on stages across the Mid-South - most notably, the Orpheum Theatre. From there, she attended the University of Southern Mississippi where she graduated with Honors and a BFA in K-12 Dance Education, emphasizing dance pedagogy and composition. While at USM, Brooke danced and choreographed for USM’s Repertory Dance Company (2014-2018), was a Co-Director for USM's RDC II (2017), served as President of the Student Dance Organization (2017-2018), and was awarded "Outstanding Dance Educator" (2018). Currently, Brooke is a K-12 Dance Educator for Memphis-Shelby County Schools and is an award-winning teacher and choreographer in the private sector at numerous dance studios, schools, community theaters, and arts organizations throughout the Mid-South. She is a featured dance educator in Human Kinetics's Dance Appreciation, by Dawn D. Loring and Julie L. Pentz. Most recently, she performed in the Hot Foot Honeys’ On the Upswing! and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra’s Magic of Memphis. In 2023, she was awarded "Best Choreography" for Disney's Newsies JR (DFT) at the NWMTA Allie Awards and “Outstanding Choreography” for Kiss Me, Kate (ECS) at the Orpheum Theatre’s HSMTAs. Brooke joined HFH in 2018 as a Dancer, and was promoted to Choreographer and Company Manager prior to being named Co-Artistic Director of the Hot Foot Honeys, alongside Sara Sims, in December of 2022.

Meredith Keaton is a native Memphian who started dancing at age 2 under the tutelage of Dotti Patterson at Dotti’s School of Dance in Germantown, Tennessee. She trained in ballet, tap, and jazz and participated in dance competitions and workshops throughout her time with the studio. She was also a member of her high school’s dance team for four years. Following her graduation from Hutchison School in 2008, she matriculated at Saint Louis University and sought out opportunities to continue dance through classes at the university’s recreation center in hip hop, belly dance, and Zumba. Upon returning to Memphis in 2012, she attended The University of Memphis, receiving a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling in 2015. Meredith auditioned and became a company member of the Hot Foot Honeys in the fall of 2017. Meredith currently works for the Memphis City Council as Senior Legislative Analyst and is a current student at the University of Memphis in the master’s program in city and regional planning.

Kennedy McCaskill is a first-year company member of the Hot Foot Honeys. She began her dance training at the age of three. Since, Kennedy has continued her training in various genres of dance, including tap, ballet, jazz, contemporary, pointe, modern, lyrical, musical theater, hip-hop, and Horton technique. She graduated in May of 2023 with a BFA in Theatre, concentration in Dance, as well as a BA in Social Work, concentration in School. Kennedy has had the privilege of performing in several collegiate-level performances as well as professional. She is honored to have had her own choreographic works presented in collegiate-level and studio-level shows. Kennedy is a current dance teacher for children and adults in the Memphis area. Kennedy is excited to be a part of the Hot Foot Honeys and is eager to continue her dance career.

Born in Memphis but raised in Horn Lake, MS, Jelissa Myers began dancing at the age of 7. She received training in jazz, tap, hip hop, ballet, and lyrical at LRP Studios in Southaven, MS from 2001-2009. She was also a member of the HLMS & HLHS dance teams and show choir, competing in multiple competitions with both. After graduating from Horn Lake High in 2009, Jelissa continued seeking opportunities to dance and perform by becoming a founding member/choreographer for the Urban Dance Club and taking modern, tap, and ballet classes while pursuing a BA in International Studies at Belhaven University in Jackson, MS. After a 10-year hiatus, Jelissa jumped back into dancing by auditioning and becoming a member of the Hot Foot Honeys in 2023. Jelissa is currently a graduate research assistant at the University of Memphis pursuing a MS in Nutrition Science.

Graycie Pegram has been dancing since she was 3 years old. She danced with LRP Studios in Southaven, MS for 15 years and danced competitively for 8 years. This is her second year as a Hot Foot Honey. She works at Starbucks as a shift supervisor and plans on going to college to become an athletic trainer.

Sara Sims began her dance training at LRP Studios in Southaven, MS at the age of 5. She joined the Hot Foot Honeys in August of 2014 and was a dancer and choreographer before being named Co-Artistic Director in 2022. Sara attended the University of Memphis wherein she received her BA in German and Psychology. In 2022, she obtained her M.A. in Teaching from the University of Mississippi. Currently, she is a World Languages Educator for DeSoto County Schools where she teaches German at Southaven High School. When she is not teaching German, she teaches tap at multiple dance studios throughout the Mid-South. She most recently performed with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra in Magic of Memphis as a tap-dancing Santa. Sara has served as the primary tap instructor for LRP Studios for the past 8 years, as well as the primary tap choreographer for LRP Studios’ competitive team. Her choreography has earned awards for its “clean and clear sounds" and “kaleidoscopic rhythm.”

Elizabeth Smithers began dancing at age 5 in her hometown of Clarksville, TN. She studied tap, jazz and ballet with Rosemary Norris and Mandy Norris Smith before moving to Memphis to attend Rhodes College. In college, she danced and sang in musical theater productions including Cabaret. After graduation, Elizabeth began a career in writing and editing, married, raised a daughter and took a long break from dancing. That is until 2014, when she dusted off her tap shoes and joined the Hot Foot Honeys. She has been a troupe member ever since, and enjoys being a part of such a fun, talented and inspiring group of dancers.

Laura Testino started taking dance class and carrying a notebook around when she was four and she was still doing that at 17 and somehow she is doing that again now at 29. She holds dual degrees in dance and journalism from the University of Alabama (roll tide). Her journalism career brought her to Memphis in 2019, and she (finally) found her way back to dance with the Hot Foot Honeys in 2023. Laura lives in Midtown with her partner Henry and their dog Rita June.

Olivia Wilkinson is ecstatic to be dancing with the Hot Foot Honeys for another season! She danced from the age of three with Ms. Elizabeth Anne Brown’s studio - Performing Arts of Germantown. Olivia took a break from dance during her time at Centre College where she graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre with a specialization in direction and stage management. Now, she works in the IT department of a local brokerage firm and has recently become a certified Cybersecurity Analyst. Olivia is so thankful for the opportunity to dance again and is so excited to share time and space with these wonderfully creative humans!