Kelby Brown scored simultaneous achievements on stage, film and in the television world. Kelby has performed with some of the biggest stars in entertainment including Lady Gaga, Madonna, Usher and he choreographed the feature film, " Spring Breakdown", starring Parker Posey and SNL's stars Amy Phoeler and Rachel Dratch. Some of his most outstanding dance accomplishments include roles with Ballet Chicago, State Ballet of Missouri, Hartford Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet Company and the Metropolitan Opera in Lincoln Center. Kelby also danced a principal role in Los Angeles Opera's production of a Merry Widow, and as the "Oiseau", in Cirque du Soleil's Las Vegas production of "Mystere". The biggest highlight of his career came when he was asked to be a charter member of Celine Dion's highly acclaimed Las Vegas production of "A New Day", where he worked with Director, Franco Dragone and choreographer, Mia Michaels. He can be seen in the feature film, The Dance Flick, Transformers 2, SYTYCD, (dancing alongside Lady Gaga), Gossip Girl and the hit HBO series, Weeds. He has also worked with some of the top choreographers in the business including Mia Michaels, Dave Scott, Michael Rooney, Sonya Tayeh, Stacy Tookey and Tony Testa. Kelby has made appearances on MTV's House of Style, Good Day Live LA, the Today's Show, World Music Awards and Oprah Winfrey. Choreography credits include MTV’s “Awkward”, the opening number of the 20th anniversary Kid's Choice Awards, starring multi-platinum selling recording artist, Justin Timberlake and Opera Noire's homage to the legendary Arthur Mitchell, founder and director of Dance Theatre of Harlem. Kelby Brown began his professional dance and entertainment career at a young age, and successfully parlayed his experiences into choreography and teaching both nationally and internationally. Kelby has been on the dance faculty with Celine Dion, and at the infamous Edge Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles, Millenium Dance Complex in LA, the prestigious Broadway Dance Center in NY, as well as The School of Ballet Chicago, State Ballet of Missouri and Champs Charter High School of Performing Arts. He has taught on numerous dance conventions including Dance Masters of America, The Pulse, LA Dance Force and Urban Jamm. Kelby trained at Walnut Hill School of the Arts in Boston and continued his training at the School of American Ballet, (the official school of the New York City Ballet). At the same time, he also studied hip hop, jazz, tap and contemporary. Kelby went on to build a career that includes everything from principal roles with classical ballet companies to film, television, choreography and hosting credits.
Kelby continues to work as a dancer, actor and choreographer in numerous live industrials, commercials, stage and tv/film productions.
Jamie Salmon has over 35 years of experience as a professional dancer and educator. Jamie's classes are based on a fusion of the varied syllabus learned from her training at the finest dance academies in the USA. She trains and shares her passion for ballet with her students emphasizing details, alignment, kinesthetic awareness, musicality and phrasing, using imagery and physical, 'hands on corrections' throughout the class.
(* Current, ** Past)
Professional Teaching:
*Broadway Dance Center NYC Ballet and Pointe All Levels/ages
*Peridance Capezio Center NYC Ballet All Levels/ages, Certificate Program Faculty
*Ballet Academy East NYC:
All Levels Open classes
*Prestige Academy of Dance NJ Ballet and Pointe All levels 7-18 years
**The Ailey School,
**The Joffrey Ballet School, **Irine Fokine Ballet,
**For Dancers Only
Competitions/Conventions/Workshops
*Dance Theatre USA/International,
*Sheer Talent,
*Dance Educator Development, *The Pulse,
**DMA,
**DEA,
**Dance Caravan
**Professional Dance Teachers Association
**Stars of Tomorrow
Boards/Mentoring/Coaching
*Faculty Board Member , Mentor and Coach in all Education Departments, Masterclasses at Broadway Dance Center NYC
*Mentors and Coaches all genres for dancers
Competitive, novice and professional nationally and internationally.
Training:
Began with Melissa Hayden, Dana Kennedy Paul Mejia, Juan Anduze
*North Carolina School of the Arts ( now UNCSA)
*School of American Ballet
(Sponsored and mentored by Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon)
*The Joffrey Ballet School NYC
*Finis Jung, *David Howard
Acting/Theatre:
Betty Cashman
Professional career
Started with Joffrey Ballet Concert Group and continued extensive performance career dancing and acting in Industrials, Regional Theatre, Commercials and Film
Has danced classical, neoclassical, contemporary and commercial works in Ballet, Modern, Contemporary Jazz, Musical Theatre and with a range of Choreography by Fokine, Petipa, Balanchine to Luis Falco just to name a few.
Francesca Nieves began her training as a young girl under the tutelage of Zelma Bustillo, Lisa Lockwood and later Leslie Browne. She grew up studying Tap, Jazz, Modern, Flamenco, Ballroom Dance and Ballet. Ms. Nieves is a graduate from the University of Michigan (UM) where she received a BFA in Dance and a BA in Sociology. At UM she studied with Amy Chavasse, Bill DeYoung, Daniel Gwirtzman, Judy Rice and Sandra Torijano. As a pre-professional she performed with the Ballet Hispanico Ensemble under the direction of Zelma Bustillo where she performed for Mayor Blumberg, City Hall in NYC, Good Morning America, the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, JP Morgan Chase, Plaza Hotel, Grand Hyatt, the Walk to Cure Diabetes (Queens, NY and Battery Park, NY), the National Museum of the American Indian, and the Hispanic Society of America. As part of the UM dance company, she performed works such as Merce Cunningham's Minevent, Carolyn Dorfman's Cat's Cradle, Laura Dean's Impact as well as other faculty pieces. In 2009, Ms. Nieves traveled to Costa Rica to perform for the nationally renowned band, Editus in the Auditorio Nacional de Costa Rica. Francesca Nieves started her professional dance career at at age 16 at Ballet Hispanico in 2006; in 2008 she became full Company member. With Ballet Hispanico, she has performed works by Tina Ramirez, Willie Rosario, Pedro Ruiz, and Alexander Magno. She joined New Jersey Ballet in 2011 and has performed in Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Don Quixote, Death and the Maiden, Giselle (Full length), Nutcracker, Pinocchio, and Sleeping Beauty. Francesca is currently freelancing and devotes much of her time to teaching in studios in and around the tristate area.
Alexa, a Native of Wayne New Jersey, has been dancing since the age of 2 in styles such as tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, ballet, modern, musical theater, and hip hop. By 5, she was competing across the US and won various awards and was recognized for her many technical dance abilities.
A proud student of Dina Crupi, she was not only taught the fundamentals of the art of dance, but also was inspired to become a teacher and choreographer. At age 12, she began assisting, learning and growing under her guidance.
Her dedication & passion to dance continued into college, where she was a member of the Monmouth dance team and had the incredible opportunity to perform at prestigious venues across the US.
As an academic achiever, she earned a degree in Business from Monmouth, which further enhanced her skill set and opened doors for professional growth in a corporate setting.
She surrounds herself with all aspects of living a healthy, fit lifestyle & actively participates in various fitness classes from Pilates to boxing, yoga, and conditioning. Alexa is honored to be a staff member at Prestige Academy of Dance, and looks forward to sharing her love and passion of dance with young dancers.
Yvonne Setlock, a New Jersey native, graduated from Montclair State University with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Dance with a minor in Business. While at Montclair State University, Yvonne studied many different modern techniques such as Limón, Taylor, Horton, and O’Donnell. She also performed in works by various choreographers such as Jessica DiMauro, Lynne Grossman, Christian Von Howard, Nancy Lushington, Frederick Earl Mosley, Mark Morris, Antony Tudor, and an original work by Larry Keigwin. In 2015, Yvonne had the opportunity to perform José Limón’s A Choreographic Offering at The Joyce Theater in New York City. In 2016, Yvonne had the opportunity to perform Martha Graham’s Panoramaat the Martha Graham Studios. In 2017, Yvonne accepted a performing contract with Norwegian Cruise Lines to join the Norwegian Gem vessel. She performed in three main stage shows: Swing! The Broadway Musical, Get Down Tonight, and Blazing Boots. Yvonne was fortunate enough to even work with the director and choreographer of Swing, Lynne Taylor-Corbett. While in rehearsals, Yvonne also trained in being a Bungee Dancer for Swing as well as being the “West Coast Swing” feature couple. Yvonne is now a NJ Certified Teacher of Dance for grades K-12 for public schools. She currently teaches middle school students in East Rutherford, NJ. Yvonne continues to teach and choreograph all styles of dance such as Tap, Jazz, and Contemporary/Lyrical. She is the choreographer of Candance’s Junior National Champs 2019 group “Hanuman”. Yvonne loves teaching at Prestige Academy of Dance, and it will forever be her home.
Melissa West has over 30 years of dance training in tap, jazz, hip hop, ballet, lyrical, contemporary and modern styles. She was a member of the New Jersey Tap Ensemble for six years and performed with the company at numerous theaters including New Jersey Performing Arts Center and New York City's Lincoln Center, in a tribute to Duke Ellington. At a young age Melissa has danced for Disney, Kmart, the New York Knicks and Liberty at Madison Square Garden, and has appeared dancing on the Queen Latifah television talk show. Melissa is a founding member of Nick DiNicolangelo’s Hands Down Tap Project, a tap company bringing together elite tappers from all over the U.S. She continues to train and perform with Hands Down Tap Project as acting dance captain of the company. Melissa has assisted classes across the nation at Adrenaline and Revive Dance Conventions and was a founding faculty member at former Syncopate Tap Intensive working among some of the industry's top teachers and choreographers. She has also studied dance throughout college and now has a BA dance minor degree from Montclair State University. With an additional BA degree in psychology, focus on elementary education, and teaching certification for grades K-6, she is well rounded in her teaching styles and techniques. Melissa currently teaches various styles of dance (specializing in tap) and choreographs high scoring competitive routines throughout the country. Currently, she is the tap director at Northeast Dance Project, located in East Hanover, New Jersey while also teaching and choreographing tap pieces at In The Spotlight in Waldwick, NJ. Melissa strives to make a positive impact on the dance world and loves to share her passion for the arts with others.
Skylar Rienert began her dance education at New Hampshire School of Ballet. She pursued her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance for 2 years at SUNY Purchase, and finished her degree at Montclair State University. At Montclair, she has had the privilege to dance in works by Ohad Naharin, Stefanie Batten Bland, Gregory Dolbashian, Maxine Steinman, and Christian von Howard. Skylar professionally performed at the Mckittrick Hotel in 2023, and has been teaching and choreographing for the past 7 years. She has choreographed numerous works for NH, MA, NJ, CT, and NY studios, as well as Montclair State University receiving the Choreographic Excellence Award. She is co-owner of Inception Dance Intensive, founded in 2019. Miss Rienert also has worked with Boston Dance Theatre Company trainees professional program. Skylar has won numerous choreography and performance awards, including American Dance Awards prestigious Young Choreographer of the Year in 2021. She continues to work as a growing artist throughout New England, New Jersey, and New York.
Riley Rienert is a freelance artist, choreographer, and teacher born and raised in New Hampshire. She began dancing at the age of three at her mother’s studio, New Hampshire School of Ballet, training in all genres of dance. In 2023, Riley earned her BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from Montclair State University, graduating summa cum laude and now resides in New York City! She has had the privilege of performing works by Ohad Naharin, Doug Varone, Stefanie Batten Bland, Paul Taylor, Roderick George, Brice Mousset, and many others. She is a company artist with Gaspard & Dancers contemporary company, most recently touring in Romania, Armenia, North Carolina, and Colorado. She also just recently joined Kizuna Dance, under artistic director Cameron Mckinney. She is thrilled to be performing with them in Kobe, Japan this August! Riley has been teaching and choreographing for 8 years, she’s also co-curated her own summer dance intensive with her sister for the past 6 years in NH! She is so excited to join Prestige this fall and work with all the incredibly talented students!
Michael Crawford is from Takoma Park, Maryland. He began dancing with prestigious schools, including the Maryland Youth Ballet and Kirov Academy, with summer intensives at The Rock School and San Francisco Ballet on full scholarships. In his senior year, he was accepted into the Kennedy Center’s
Mr. Crawford then moved on to the Washington Ballet where, in their top training program, he performed with the company under the direction of Septime Webre. Upon graduation, he went on to study and perform in the Professional Division of The Pacific Northwest Ballet under the direction of Kent Stowell and Francia Russell.
After Pacific Northwest Ballet, he danced with Dance Theatre of Harlem, Jose Mateo Ballet, Ballet Memphis, American Repertory Ballet, Connecticut Ballet, and Oakland Ballet. At these companies, he performed several ballets as a principal artist. Currently on SAB faculty.
Brianna Izquierdo is a 22-year-old dancer from New Jersey who studied dance at Passaic County Technical High School, was in the National Honors Society for Dance, and graduated in 2020. Brianna is the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships including the 2018 NJPAC Hispanic Youth Showcase Scholarship, the 2019 State of New Jersey Artistic Merit and Leadership Award, and the 2020 State of New Jersey Governors Award for Arts Education & Artistic Excellence in Leadership in Dance. She has performed on the stage of World of Dance championships in LA, Hamilton the Musical NYC, Sybarite Gramercy Theater NYC, performed as a backup dancer for PNB rock, Bhad Bhabie, and been cast in multiple music videos. Some notable training includes being a member of the Royal Thieves hip-hop crew, Nitrogen The Company and Ven15. Brianna graduated from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance with a degree in Emerging Leaders Program. During her time there she received 2024 Student Leader of the Year Award and 2024 Organization of the Year Award. At Uarts, she has started her own company “Chaos”. She is excited to share her love of dance and can’t wait to dance with you all!
For the past 23 years I have coached the sport of gymnastics and sports alike. I have had the pleasure to teach not just artistic gymnastics from recreational to level 9 but power tumbling (levels 4 to 9), sports acrobatics (level 4 to 9), beginning rhythmic gymnastics (floor only) Diving, Trampoline, powerlifting and olympic weightlifting. Due to my expertise and experience in the world of gymnastics, I have been teaching dancers for the past 18 years. This experience has allowed my skills and knowledge to grow, understand and create a curriculum specially for the needs of any dance level.
In addition to my experience as a teacher/coach I have worked as an Athletic Performance Enhancement Specialist for over 12 years, allowing me to be a more aware coach to an individual's physical abilities, creating a well rounded teaching experience.
Haley Connington is a New Jersey native, who started dancing at the age of three, and began competing at the age of seven. She trained in various styles of dance such as, ballet, contemporary, jazz, tap, lyrical, and hip-hop. Haley earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Florida State University. At FSU, she performed works choreographed by Anjali Austin, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Donna Uchizono, Yayun Li, and Aigars Larionovos. During her fall semester of senior year 2019, Haley interned at Broadway Dance Center working with the marketing team, learning the ropes of how to run a business. She is the fitness model for the 2020 Dance Spirit Magazine promoting exercises to help dancers, and athletes who have gone through a growth spurt, and also a model for the Broadway Dance Center’s 2020 marketing brochures for their upcoming summer professional semester. Haley choreographed a piece called Do You Remember for the BDC summer professional semester performance, showcased at the Dixon Place in New York City. Along with performing and modeling, Haley enjoys teaching dance to the younger generation of dancers. She has always been inspired by choreographers who test the limitations of gravity, and pushes dancers to be their very best by stepping outside of their comfort zone. She believes in the importance of dance education, and allowing her students to be creative and know how to represent their individuality. Haley is honored to be a staff member at Prestige Academy of Dance, and looks forward to sharing her love and passion of dance with young dancers.
Miss Andrea started dancing at age 10. Her passion for dance led her to dance competitively from the age of 11 until she graduated high school. Miss Andrea went on to further her education in dance at Montclair State University where she graduated in 2002 with Bachelors of Arts Degree in Dance and Bachelors of Science Degree in Food and Nutrition. She went on to further her education and holds Masters of Science degree in Health Systems Administration from Rochester Institute of Technology. Miss Andrea has continued to support her passion for dance and healthy living by been teaching the youngest of dancers for over 20 years. Miss Andrea believes in the artistic potential of each student. She encourages creative expression, hard-work, and FUN through every genre of dance!
“As a teacher I want to foster an environment that creates wonderful memories for you and your dancer! I am honored to be a part of the PAD family.”
Michelle Young was born in Freehold, New Jersey where she started dancing at the age of three years old. Michelle started her pre-professional training under the direction of Lisa Twamley and Melanie Kramer at the Fine and Performing Arts Center at Howell High School. Additionally, she trained and attended dance competitions with the Freehold Academy of Performing Arts. After high school, Michelle decided to pursue her dance career in Boston, Massachusetts. In May of 2019, Michelle graduated from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Contemporary Dance Performance. While at the conservatory, Michelle performed in mainstage works by Tommie Waheed Evans, Yury Yanowski, and Jon Ole Olstad. In addition to performance, Michelle took on the role of assistant rehearsal director for a piece choreographed by Uri Sands. This experience inspired her to explore possibilities regarding the coaching of movement for performance. Since graduating, Michelle has practiced her knowledge of dance by teaching and choreographing award winning pieces for dance competitions across New Jersey. Not only does she teach dance but she has further educated her understanding of the anatomy of movement by becoming a Pure Barre fitness instructor. As a teacher, Michelle feels that it is important for her students to feel confident, motivated and inspired at all times. Michelle wants to see all of her students succeed and empowers the children and adults she teaches to be the best version of themselves.
Kamryn Spagnuolo has been dancing since the age of 2 in styles such as tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, ballet, modern, musical theater, hip hop and some forms of ballroom. In addition to her dance training, she’s also been trained in singing, acting and is a self-taught contortionist since the age of 13. Kamryn spent some time training in NYC at a dance conservatory and has also done numerous workshops, drop-in/master classes and dance conventions. She has since choreographed/co-choreographed dances, co-choreographed musicals some in which she also performed in since the age of 12 and has been teaching for now 5 years. She’s also helped choreograph for up and coming artists as well as dance alongside them for music videos and performances amongst doing other dance performances for Honda and event at MetLife stadium. Kamryn continues her dance training today at places like Broadway Dance Center, Peridance Capezio Center, Steps On Broadway. She has even gotten to take from big name dancers like Guy Groove, Tiler Peck, Gianna Martello, Chantelle Aguirre, Eva Igo, Lisa La Touche and Chloe Arnold. Currently she is apart of a dance company called Transcendence Dance Company where they have performed at a variety of places one being World Of Dance. Kamryn hopes to bring the same passion she feels for dance to each of her students while building each and every one of them up!
Jillian Widmayer received her BFA in Musical Theater from Pace University in NYC and spent over a decade as a professional performing artist all over the globe. As a proud member of the Actors Equity Association she has performed in prestigious NYC and regional theaters including The Theater at St Clements (off-Broadway), Music Theater of Connecticut, and The Papermill Playhouse. Additionally, she was a National Anthem singer for the NY Knicks, spent a year headlining a luxury cruise liner, toured casino’s worldwide, and performed as 80’s popstar Debbie Gibson’s swing in a large scale Cirque production. Jillian is a certified early childhood educator and has been teaching musical theater for the past 8 years in NY and NJ. She is also a preschool teacher and mom of 2. Jillian is extremely passionate about using her talents and experience to work with children of all ages and help them experience the joys of artistic expression and performance!
Ashley graduated from Montclair State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Dance with a concentration in studio teaching. She has worked with various choreographers and has been in multiple pieces during her time there including but not limited to, Nancy Lushington, Karen Gayle, Earl Mosely, Jay T Jenkins, and Joao Carvalho. Ashley has danced professionally for five years as an NFL Cheerleader for the New York Jets and has performed at numerous media/promotional appearances and charity events. She also has performed on various morning shows such as Good Morning America, Fox and Friends, and CBS2 NY. She has also performed during pregame at SuperBowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium and Various events in Time Square during the week leading up to the big game. Ashley is the head coach for the Raritan High School Dance Team and is the Spring Musical Choreographer. She is an award winning choreographer and has worked with students of all ages ranging from 2-18. Above all, Ashley creates a positive and dynamic class, combined with her enthusiastic personality and heartfelt energy that shows off her passion for dance! Ashley is very excited to share her passion with the students at Prestige Academy of Dance!
Justine Capria Morrill a native of New Jersey, graduated from the University of the Arts in 2009, with a BFA in Jazz Dance Performance. Justine was a member of The Xhale Dance Company in Philadelphia where she choreographed and danced in numerous performances including the Philly Fringe Festival. Justine was a part of Marinspired the storyteller’s, under the direction of Marinda Davis, where she performed in the company’s NYC debut “Breakable,” and also performed at the Capezio A.C.E awards. She has also performed in two APAP showcases at Peridance Capezio Center in NYC, works by Michael Susten and Marinda Davis. Justine can be seen on season 5 of The Dr. Oz show as an OZ dancer, along side Stepp Stewart. Aside from performing Justine Capria Morrill has a passion for teaching and choreographing for award winning competitive dance studios, dance teams, and performing arts high schools throughout. New Jersey where her work has received numerous choreography awards.