John Hood

Mr. John Hood grew up in the Charlotte area, where he studied dance for 15 years at the Grose School of Dance, including years of ballet training with visiting faculty member Gyula Pandi from the N.C. School of the Arts. Mr. John later taught tap and ballroom at Grose while also performing extensively with the Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, the Charlotte Opera, the Charlotte Chorale, and local theater companies. He and his twin brother David also toured North Carolina and beyond as a song-and-dance team and with the North Carolina 4-H Performing Arts Troupe. Later, Mr. John helped found the Triangle’s Teen Arts Program, an innovative summer camp that staged original musicals at Raleigh’s Theatre in the Park, Meredith College, Ravenscroft, and Cary Academy. His TAP roles included teacher, composer, and playwright. Mr. John is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and currently works as a foundation president, journalist, leadership trainer, and Duke University instructor. He is married with two grown sons and a stepdaughter, all former or current TAD students.