Cory Douylliez-Willis

Choreographer

Spring 2025 Season:

Dance Choreographer for Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, adapted by Erin Riley.

OTHER THEATRE:

Principal Dancer, Aida (Atlanta Opera); Choreographer, Sweet Charity, White Christmas, A Chorus Line (Piedmont College); Choreographer, Merrily We Roll Along (North Georgia Theatre); Various stage productions, music videos, television, flash mobs, and commercials in Atlanta.

EDUCATION:

Studied Dance at Brenau University. Certified Acrobatic Arts Instructor.

Pronouns:

He/Him

Biography:

Cory Douylliez-Willis has extensive experience in contemporary, jazz, ballet, and tap techniques and is a certified Acrobatic Arts instructor. His professional career began in Atlanta, Georgia, when he booked his first tour at the age of seventeen. From there, he continued working as a dancer for six years in the Atlanta area, doing music videos, television, flash mobs, commercials, and other stage productions.

He went on to perform as a principal dancer for the Atlanta Opera’s Aida at the Cobb Energy Centre, choreographed by Rosa Mercedes. After studying dance at Brenau University, Cory taught and choreographed for several local dance schools around the northeast Georgia region, including Oconee Youth School of Performance, Southern Dance Connection, The DanceLoft, Dance FX Athens, and many others. He has fifteen years of experience with pre-primary, primary, elementary, middle school, high school, and college-level students.

One of the highlights of his teaching career has been serving as an adjunct professor at Piedmont College in Demorest, Georgia. He has also choreographed several shows with Piedmont, including Sweet Charity, White Christmas, and A Chorus Line. One of his fondest memories of Piedmont was having the honor of choreographing North Georgia Theatre’s production of Merrily We Roll Along under the direction of Kathy Blandin.

Cory takes pride in teaching students proper and safe dance techniques and helping them feel confident in their abilities and themselves. He believes teaching technique through progression-based skills alongside creative movement and improvisation allows for exciting exploration while maintaining structure, proper alignment, and form.

Cory currently lives in Staunton, Virginia, with his husband and fur babies. When he isn’t teaching or choreographing, he enjoys hiking, art, running, and all things spicy food! He is also very active in community theatre in the Shenandoah Valley. He is humbled to be working on Little Women for his first production with the American Shakespeare Center.