| Elizabeth Tolis, Studio Director |
 Elizabeth
began her dance training at age 5 and has not stopped since. Her
training in jazz, tap, ballet, pointe, lyrical and modern quickly
became intense. She has studied with The Pennsylvania Ballet,
Princeton Ballet, and in New York City with various staff members of
the Broadway Dance Center and Steps. Her teaching career began at
age 14 when she was given her own classes, and it has continued for
over 16 years. A mother of 3, Elizabeth provides a nurturing but
structured environment at CSDA. Her choreography has been seen in
Elementary through High School musical productions and has won
various top awards on the competition circuit. Elizabeth is also a
trained vocalist, actress and model , who’s face has been seen on
the cover of Newsweek; she has been seen performing lead roles in
many regional theater productions. Elizabeth’s dance performances
include live industrial work for McNeil, Dance Captain for the Miss
Pennsylvania Pageant, Basin Street Follies at the Showboat Casino &
Hotel, and the world famous “Legends in Concert” to name a few.
Elizabeth is proud to share her love of dance with the community of
Hatboro and its surrounding areas. |
| Alicia Sehn |
 Alicia
Sehn is a graduate of Muhlenberg College, where she attended on
a dance scholarship, earning Bachelor of Arts degrees in both
Dance and Psychology. During her years at Muhlenberg, Alicia had
the opportunities to study with noted dancers and choreographers
such as Charles Anderson (Dance Theatre X), Garth Fagan (Garth
Fagan Dance, 'The Lion King') and Jacques d'Amboise (New York
City Ballet). Her regional performance credits include
productions of 'A Chorus Line', 'Miss Nelson is Missing' and
'Annie Get Your Gun'. She has performed with several
Philadelphia based dance companies including Artists in Rhythm
and Tara Madsen Dance. Alicia has also performed in the INFLUX
Concert Series, the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, the Philly
Collective at The Painted Bride, the Norristown Dance Festival,
and the Etc. Performance Series to name a few. In 2007, she was
the director of dance for the Arts After Hours program, a
state-funded grant designed to bring theatre arts to
underprivileged children and communities. Alicia is the
choreographer for Central Bucks East High School where she has
staged musicals such as '42nd Street', 'Footloose', 'High School
Musical' and 'Sweet Charity' to name a few. She continues to
further her dance education by attending the annual Dance
Teacher Workshop Convention in NYC and through regular classes
with Koresh Dance Company in Philadelphia. Alicia has been a
part of Center Stage Dance Academy since 2006. |
| Justin Gabriel Ballasy |
 Justin
Gabriel Ballasy is a professionally trained rhythm tap dancer,
honing his skills since age 4 when he asked for his first pair
of tap shoes. Today, he is a diligent dance student, studying
with leading tap dancers and regularly attending classes in tap
and hip-hop, as well as an emerging teacher and choreographer.
Dedicated to routinely studying all aspects of tap and learning
choreography, Justin taps 7 days a week and travels the east
coast to receive instruction by world-renowned tap masters,
including his mentors, distinguished tap dancers Omar Edwards
and Karen Callaway Williams. As a young “hoofer,” Justin is
known for his sensational improvisational skills and performing
his own choreography. Justin is a 4-year member of the Tap City
Youth Ensemble in New York City \ New Jersey Tap Ensemble,
NJTAP2, a pre-professional performance group of young people
ages 12 to 18 under the direction of Deborah Mitchell. He is an
Apollo Theater 2008 Star of Tomorrow and winner of the title
Philadelphia Tap Challenge Idol 2007, and has appeared on
Nickelodeon ME-TV, MTV-MADE, and America’s Got Talent. He has
danced at venues throughout New York City, New Jersey and
Pennsylvania; including The Duke and Symphony Space in NYC,
Skipper’s Jazz Club in Newark, NJ, as a featured performer, with
Omar Edwards at the Cotton Club in Harlem, and as a member of
Yvette Glover’s Tap Dance Sensations. Legendary tappers recognized his skill early on: In 2006, Dr. “Sir” Jimmy Slyde dubbed him “a young man to watch” and in 2007 LaVaughn Robinson commended him for his style, remarking “Your feet tell the whole story.” Tap Master Harold “Stumpy” Cromer encouraged Justin in his studies when he first saw him dance at NYC’s Swing 46 in early 2005. Justin is honored to have been awarded The Gregory Hines Youth Scholarship by the American Tap Dance Foundation multiple times, and also the Tradition in Tap Scholarship in 2008, enabling him to continue his studies in NYC. He has had the pleasure of training with international tap artists such as: Jimmy Slyde, Harold Cromer, Savion Glover, Jason Samuels Smith, Dormeshia Sumbry -Edwards, Omar Edwards, Brenda Bufalino, Jason Janas, Chloe Arnold, Ayodele Cassel, Michelle Dorrance, Mike Minery, Jimmy Tate, Joe Webb, Derrick Grant, Bakaari Wilder, Dianne Walker, Deborah Mitchell, Maurice Chestnut, Karen Callaway Williams, Ofer Ben & Avi Miller, Nicole Hockenberry, Andrew Nemr, Barbara Duffy, Barbara Phillips, Kendrick Jones, Rocky Mendes, DeWitt Fleming, Ardie Bryant, Robert Reed, Bril Barrett, The Nicholas Sisters, Jaye Allison, Robert Burden, Marshall Davis, Joe Wiggins to name a few… and has developed a style that is all his own. Justin hopes to follow in the footsteps of these tap icons, and other inspiring tap dancers; Bill “Bo Jangles” Robinson, The Nicholas Brothers, Gregory Hines, Honi Coles, Steve Condos, Sammy Davis Jr., and Gene Kelly - and is dedicated to keeping authentic tap alive. Justin describes tap as instinctive; “It’s like breathing to me.” Justin is also an accomplished percussionist, playing drums and piano, and enjoys hip-hop, singing, skim boarding, body surfing, and art; and is a 2-year member of the Broadway League’s Kids Advisory Panel in NYC. He credits Elizabeth Tolis, Center Stage Dance Academy Owner/Director, for recognizing his true potential, believing in him, and giving him the tap “alphabet” to make his dreams come true. |
| Susan Briggs |
 Susan
Briggs began her dance career at the age of 8 and trained at
CSDA since its opening in 2002. While at Center Stage she was a
student teacher for 4 years, assisting and at the age of 17, she
began teaching her own classes. Susan recently graduated from
DeSales University with a BA in Dance and a minor in Psychology.
While at DeSales, Susan performed in various student dance
concerts and was cast in the re-staging of Bob Fosse's "Sing,
Sing, Sing" and Alwin Nikolais' "Tensile Involvement." Along
with performing, she was also the production manager for the
Emerging Choreographer's Concert in 2009. She was also involved
as a Peer Mentor and a Certified Peer Educator. She attended the
American College Dance Festival and was an active member of the
DeSales University Dance Team. Susan also performed for two
Philadelphiabased modern companies; Vada Dance Collective and
coEXISTdance. She was also a member of the original Philadelphia
Fight Vixens Dance Team for their 2009 season. Upon graduating,
Susan has been spending time working with the Pennsylvania
Ballet in their internship program to discovering the inner
working of how the ballet company is run. When Susan is not
dancing she enjoys going to concerts, reading, and going to the
movies, along with spending time with loved ones. Susan's other
passion is working with animals and she is currently working at
the Philadelphia SPCA. |
| Gail Oldfield |
 As
a dancer, choreographer and teacher, Gail has come full circle.
From touring the country in her early career to becoming a Radio
City Music Hall Rockette she has many memorable experiences. She
was dance director at Cabrini College for several years as well
as choreographer for over sixty musical stage productions across
the tri-county area. In recent years, Gail has returned to the
stage in a production company that has traveled from Atlantic
City Casinos to dinner theaters throughout the country. Gail
created and choreographed the popular tap production
“Fantapulous” in the annual ABC Thanksgiving Day Parade in
Philadelphia. Gail is currently Vice-President of the Rockette®
Alumnae in New York City and successfully recreated two original
Rockette routines for the association’s 2009 Gala. |
| Darcy Lockman, Irish Dance Instructor |
 Darcy
began dancing at a very young age and cannot actually recall a
time in her life when dance and music did not play a major roll
in her education. Her father is from a musical background having
a degree in music and her mother is from Ireland so dance,
particularly Irish Dance and music performance made perfect
sense. She began ballet at the age of 4, added some tap and jazz for a short time before becoming involved in Irish Step Dancing at the age of 6. She continued in both ballet and Irish Dance until she was 12 when she decided to focus solely on competitive Irish Dance. She began competition at the age of 9 and moved quickly through the levels arriving at the preliminary championship level in less than a year enabling her to compete at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships. She has been competing for 16 years now and continues to compete at the Open Championship level. She has placed as a top finalist in both the regional and national level many years in a row and has qualified and competed many times at both the All Ireland and World Championships, usually held overseas. Darcy has also performed with her dance school in many well-known venues as well as performing and playing Irish Dance and Irish music with her family for many years. Darcy is a prolific pianist and a graduate of Temple University in Music Education and is currently in her third year as a middle school music teacher in the Methacton School District, Norristown, PA. There she teaches music theory, music technology and directs several choirs. |
| Sean |
 Sean bio coming soon |
| Amanda |
Amanda began dancing when she was three years old and hasn’t
stopped since. She has danced locally since she was young doing
competitions, Christmas shows, and was a member of the Boscov’s
Thanksgiving Day Parade’s “Fantapulous”. Amanda went on to
continue her dance education by getting her BA in Dance and
obtaining a minor in Business at DeSales University. At DeSales,
she participated in multiple student choreographed tap pieces,
faculty modern and ballet pieces, as well as working with guest
choreographers Kip Martin, Louis Bravo, and the most
influential, Trinette Singleton. During her college years,
Amanda was teaching at a studio local to her school and started
as a dancer at Sesame place doing shows and parades for the
everyday thousands of guests. Before finishing her first year
there, she was promoted to Dance Captain and put in charge of
the dancers and shows at the park. |
| Allison Finkelstein |
| |
|
|
| Additional Staff |
Allison
began her dance training at the young age of two, and fell in
love with it from the very start. Continuing through college,
she graduated with a BA in dance performance with a minor in
health from Hofstra University. In the summer of 2006, was
accepted into the American Ballet Theater's collegic program.
Through out her 4 years of dance she was able to choreograph for
the student run club Danceworks for 6 semesters. While at
Hofstra she was able to work with well known choreographers from
the new york area such as, Amy Marshall, Nathan Trice, Robin
Becker, Karla Wolfangle, and many more. Allison is excited to
work with young and eager talent and plans to help them grow as
both artists and technicians while instilling her passion for
dance and movement.Danielle Morocco
Lyndie Towle
Molly Woytowicz
Dana Hackel
Elizabeth DeAmbrose
