Meet Sarah and Brandon Lankford, owners of Encore Center in Southern Pines, a nonprofit 501c3 performing arts center (they are currently seeking board members!). The Lankfords hail from Charlotte, have been stationed at Fort Bragg since 2005 and made Moore County home in 2018.  They have four children that consume much of their time outside of running the studio and theatre. 

 

Sarah’s background is in Musical Theatre which includes dance, theatre, and singing and in 2015 Sarah and Brandon opened Carolina Performing Arts Studio in Cameron.  They quickly grew and were serving over 600 families! Requests came pouring in to open another location in Southern Pines that would also include opportunities for live productions.  That was the beginning of The Encore Center! They hired Greta Zandstra as the Artistic Director and opened their doors in Fall 2019. Greta is very well known within the region and around the country and she has brought on many professional and local actors to produce high quality productions.  Along with Greta, Encore employs over 40 staff members instructing in dance (ballet, jazz, tap, Irish dance, Hip-Hop, and contemporary), musical theatre, acting, visual art classes, and instruction in all instruments. They also serve students with special needs with licensed teachers and they offer Kindermusik that babies can start in as soon as they are born! 

 

Their instructors have years of experience working professionally around the country and hold degrees in their field of instruction. Encore strives to offer affordable instruction (classes start at just $55/month) with the best quality instructors. They also bring in broadway professionals for master classes throughout the year.  You can follow them on Facebook at The Encore Center and Instagram @encorebycpas.   We are so happy to have this amazing facility in our community!