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Instructors

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Meet Our Instructors 
    
LORI ACHEY-DECKER - Instructing in Competition Team, Jazz, Hip Hop, Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Extended Combination, and Child Creative Movement.
Personal Quote: “These words have been a constant in my personal life, and in my teaching”…. It takes courage to go places we’ve never been before, to test our limits, to break through barriers.

For every day I have taught, I have also learned.

Lori is director of L.A. Dance Galaxy and has been teaching dance since 1973.  She has studied with Gus Giordano, Frank Hachett, Charles Kelly, Andrew Pap, Jean Sebatine and many others at Penn State, Temple University, Philadelphia Dance Academy, Broadway Dance Center.
 
Ms. Achey-Decker has instructed classes, choreographed, and/or directed programs for  Villanova Dance Camp, Pathway School for the Physically and Mentally handicapped, Eastern College, YMCA’s, Montgomery County Cultural Center, Rittenhouse Center for Performing Arts, High School Sports Teams, High School Musicals, and Pageants. Her Students perform in annual recitals, Community events, nursing homes, competitions, as well as 76er’s pre-game shows, Boscov’s parades, and theme parks.

Miss Amanda discovered a love of dance at age seven and continued to study, compete and perform Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Lyrical throughout high school and college in Lancaster, PA.  Amanda enjoyed competing in regional and national events, performing in Walt Disney World and choreographing for school theater productions and cheerleading competitions.  She began teaching for a local recreation center during college and her passion for both dance and working with children led her to open her own studio shortly after graduating.  Miss Amanda decided to close her studio in order to spend more time with her two young children and is now thrilled to be sharing her passion with the students at LA Dance Galaxy.  Miss Amanda's goals as an instructor are to teach the technical aspects of dance in a fun and inspiring manner and to instill confidence, an appreciation for one's body, and a love of movement in each of her students.

AMANDA PONZEK - Instructing in Ballet, Jazz, Tap and Hip-Hop 

Miss Amanda grew up in Philadelphia and has been dancing for over 20 years.  She started taking classes at Jeannette’s School of Dance in Roxborough under the direction of Jeannette Rawling-Julia.  While there, she studied tap, jazz, ballet, pointe and competed locally with the dance school.

In college, Miss Amanda danced with the Penn State-Abington dance company, under the direction of Dr. Kathryn Kearns. The company focused on jazz, ballet, modern and hip hop.  It was where Miss Amanda learned a love for Broadway jazz and respect for modern dance disciplines.

After college Miss Amanda began teaching children’s dance and teen hip hop classes. She has experience teaching tap, jazz, ballet and hip hop to students of all ages. Miss Amanda also enjoys taking classes and dancing in production pieces outside of the studio. In the past she has performed with the FanTAPulous in the Thanksgiving parade in Philadelphia.

Miss Amanda is thrilled to be teaching at L. A. Dance Galaxy.

Maggie Carlino – Instructing in Modern, Ballet, Lyrical, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Composition and Competition Team

Maggie Carlino had a love for dance from an early age creating dances for family and friends long before her formal training began. Along with studying ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, and hip-hop Maggie earned her BFA in Dance Theatre from Emerson College where she was first exposed to modern dance. At Emerson she had the privilege to work and study with Janet Taisey Craft, Nicole Pierce, Cheri Opperman, Marlena Yannetti, Rose Pasquarello Beauchamp, and other Boston based choreographers. She also trained with Elizabeth Waterhouse of The Forsythe Company founded by former Ballet Frankfurt artistic director William Forsythe. Maggie has choreographed works seen in the Boston area including a collaborative piece with a composer from Berklee College of Music entitled Take My Hand.

While teaching full time, Maggie simultaneously directed a local YMCA Dance Department.  Her other efforts focus on earning her master’s degree and starting her own performance company. Maggie is delighted to be on the staff at LA Dance Galaxy. She strives to teach her dancers to be aware of their body’s alignment and carriage as a way to improve movement and prevent injury. In addition to technical training Maggie likes to give her dancers a historical knowledge of dance to promote a strong understanding of the foundations of movement. By combining the disciplines of the mind and body Maggie hopes to give her dancers the strength and knowledge to become great technicians and individuals.

Carol Delisio Hebert – Instructing in Tap, Jazz and Musical Theater

Carol Delisio Hebert is a graduate of the Hartford Conservatory of Music and Dance and received her BFA in Dance with honors from UMASS Amherst. While at college she performed with the University Dancers. After graduation Carol furthered her dance studies in New York City and performed with the Deborah Carr Theatre Dance Ensemble, Soundance, and several independent choreographers. She has attended many workshops and festivals throughout the Northeast including the Portsmouth Percussive Dance Festival, White Mountain Summer Dance, and Jacob’s Pillow. Carol has studied with many master tap teachers including Brenda Bufalino, Josh Hilberman, Pam Raff, Diane Walker, Jeannie Hill, and Nicole Hockenberry. Her Teaching credits include the New England Dance Conservatory, The Hartford Conservatory, Springfield College, Elms College, the Hartt School, Mount Holyoke College, and the school of the Hartford Ballet. Her choreography has been performed by the UMASS University Dancers, Springfield College Dancers, and the New England Dance Theatre, where she was also a performing member. Since moving to Pennsylvania in 2004, Carol has performed in National Tap Dance Day Celebrations in Allentown and Bethlehem, and in the University of the Arts 60th Annual Alumni Dance Celebration at the Merriam Theater in Philadelphia. She presently teaches dance throughout the Delaware Valley, and participates in workshops and performances with Tap Ties in Bethlehem, PA.  Carol is happy to share her love of tap dance with the students of LA Dance Galaxy.

Tiana Juarez  -  Instructing in Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Jazz, and Child Creative Movement

What makes a great dancer is not just how well they execute the steps, but in how you are able to see their passion and love for dance through their steps. Dance from your heart and never let that fire from within diminish!

Tiana began taking ballet classes at the age of 7 at a local recreational center in Southern California. At the age of 9 she was enrolled in the Imperial School of Russian Ballet.  While there, she progressed quickly until she was made a member of the Taggart Ballet Theatre Company. She was the youngest in history to be made a member. Later she joined the Riverside Ballet Arts, home of New York City Ballets Principal Dancer, Darci Kistler. She studied under the direction of Glenda Carhart-Hensley of the National Ballet of Toronto and David Allen, an internationally known choreographer. After a year at the school she was asked to be an apprentice of the California Riverside Ballet, thus beginning her professional career. She performed such works as Giselle, Swan Lake with Darci Kistler and Igor Zelensky of New York City Ballet and the Nutcracker among many outreach programs and various In Studio Concert Performances. Her roles with the Nutcracker included Doll, Snow Queen, Waltz of the Flowers, Marzipan Soloist, and Spanish Soloist. She also studied privately with a former Principal Dancer of the Royal Danish Ballet. Later in the summer of 1995 she was accepted on a full scholarship to the Pennsylvania Ballet School. After attending their summer program she was among the few who were asked to stay for the invitation only year program on full scholarship. She has performed for various charities around the Philadelphia area. She was a demi soloist in the production of Price Igor with Paloma Herrera and Angel Corella of ABT. She performed the role of grandmother and Spanish in Nutcracker with the Pennsylvania Ballet at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. In 1999 she studied under the direction of Alaine Hubert, Magalie Messac, Anthony Edwards along with the Ballet Master and Mistress of ABT in Detroit. She was selected among hundreds of students to perform the solo role of Grisi in Pas De Quatre at the Detroit Opera House. This was a compilation of excerpts for ABT. She later returned to the Philadelphia area to continue dancing. Tiana has been teaching for various schools in the Philadelphia area. She has also started a dance program for Westfield Friends Select School. Miss Juarez was one of the 70 people who made it past the first major round of 2010 So You Think You Can Dance TV show in the NYC audition. It then lead her to the second round in front of the celebrity judges Nigel Lythgoe, Mia Michaels and Adam Shankman. Tiana's latest accomplishment is the starting of her company S.T. Horizons, LLC. She is very excited with the launch of her book The Pointe Shoe Manual. A step by step how to picture guide for everything a dancer should know about Pointe.
 

Barbara Mycek and Casesy Catherine Kolunie - Instructing in ZUMBA

Hi, we are Barbara Mycek and Casey Catherine Kolunie and we love teaching Zumba classes. The reason is simple: Every class feels like a party! Come join us and you'll see what we mean. You don't even have to know how to dance. Just move your body and follow our lead. It's easy! Currently, We are licensed to teach .  Come try it, I guarantee you will have a blast! We look forward to meeting you!