Faculty

Madison Ellington

Owner & Studio Director

Hometown: Richmond, Virginia

______

Born and raised in Richmond, Miss Madison’s passion for dance began at West End Academy. From student, to faculty, to now studio owner, she is delighted to carry on the legacy that Miss Mary Munroe began in 1976.

After attending WEAD as a student for 13 years, Miss Madison attended the University of Virginia where she participated in a hip-hop group as a choreographer, dancer, and executive member.

After graduation, she moved back to Richmond and returned to WEAD as a part-time faculty member. Just a few short years later, Miss Madison found herself getting more and more involved at the studio. Between guest choreographing to directing hip-hop crew, to assisting with recital, it was clear what was becoming her number one priority again, dance. And not just dance, but West End Academy of Dance. 

She is committed to the success of WEAD and wants to ensure the experience for our dancers is as fulfilling as hers, so current and future WEAD students will choose to love the art of dance as much as she does.

Lisa Rumbauskas

Artistic Director

Hometown: Linden, New Jersey

______

Lisa performed with the Metropolitan Opera’s Armida at Lincoln Center under the direction of Mary Zimmerman and starring Renee Fleming. Her other credits include Swing! (Bway National Tour), Carousel (Louise), Brigadoon, West Side Story (starring Max Von Esson), Cats, Evita, The Most Happy Fella (starring George Hearn), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Hello Dolly, Annie Get Your Gun (starring Jenn Colella), Peter Pan, Saturday Night Fever, and the independent film Louis (choreographed by Hinton Battle). Lisa also performed with Opus Dance Theatre in NYC.

Choreographic credits: Footloose (WEAD+artstoall), Mary Poppins (RTCC winner Best Choreo., VaRep), Newsies (Broadway World Nominee Best Choreography, SPARC), Spelling Bee (MWVTC), A Chorus Line (MWVTC), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Associate Choreo., Fulton Theater), Arts for Autism (Gershwin Theatre, Hosted by Kelli O’Hara).

Lisa has been an adjunct faculty member for VCU’s theater department. She has also been a guest teacher for Revolución Latina, on faculty at MMAC in NYC, and is Co- Founder of Moving Youth Dance Company in New Jersey. She is a proud member of Actors Equity Association and is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 5.

Lisa holds a BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied with and performed works by Mark Morris, Anne Reinking, Seán Curran, Gus Solomons Jr., Ronald K. Brown, and Deborah Jowitt, among others. She received earlier training from The Joffrey School, American Ballet Theatre and CPYB.

Emma Horkan

Director of Studio Relations

Hometown: Virginia

______

Miss Emma is a graduate of Radford University with a BFA in Performance Arts with a concentration in Classical Ballet. She has spent the past 8 years working in corporate Human Resources. She is so excited to get back to her dancing roots by joining the WEAD family! In her free time, she loves to spend time with her husband, two dogs (Minnie and Patch), and her baby boy, Gussie.

Joe Seaton

Assistant Ensemble Director & Ballet

Hometown: London, UK

______

Joe started dancing at age 8 through the Royal Ballet's Chance to Dance and Junior Associate programs. He then went on to train at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts and at the San Francisco Ballet School. Joe has danced professionally with BalletMet, Oklahoma City Ballet, Dayton Ballet, Richmond Ballet, and Charlottesville Opera and has performed leading roles in works by internationally renowned choreographers such as Jiří Kylián, Nacho Duato, George Balanchine, Ben Stevenson, and Val Caniparoli, among others. When not dancing or teaching dance, Joe loves to teach and practice yoga, and to spend time with his Wife and their 3 cats.

Julia Mitchell

Ballet

Hometown: Virginia

______

Julia trained with The Academy of Ballet of Fredericksburg and the School of Richmond Ballet. She attended summer intensives on scholarship at ABT, Boston Ballet, Ballet Met, Suzanne Farrell, and Juilliard. She holds a B.S. in Ballet Performance and Public Affairs from Indiana University, where she performed in classical and contemporary works.

Since 2006, Julia has taught ballet, pointe, and variations at the West End Academy of Dance. As a master teacher and choreographer, she has guest-taught and staged original works for various regional schools and companies, including the Charlottesville Ballet and Appomattox Regional Governor’s School. Ms. Julia is dedicated to teaching classical pedagogy to students of all ages in a nurturing environment that encourages joy in movement. She is looking forward to another wonderful season with the West End Academy of Dance.

Miguel Perez

Jazz & Contemporary

Hometown: Tucson, Arizona

______

A product of the University of Arizona School of Dance, Miguel has over 20 years of experience dancing in the concert and commercial world. He has had the privilege of touring and dancing with some of the world’s most amazing stars, including Shania Twain, Celine Dion, Taylor Swift, Leona Lewis, and Donny & Marie Osmond. Miguel has performed on Dancing With The Stars, America’s Got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance, the American Music Awards, Kennedy Center Honors and many more. Miguel moved to Richmond, Virginia a few years ago and is happy to call this city his home. Along with teaching at other studios around Virginia, Miguel has also taught at VCU and University of Richmond. He is very excited for another season at WEAD!

Deandra Clarke

Hip Hop

Hometown: Richmond, VA

______

Deandra Clarke, a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, has been dancing professionally for over 23 years and working in dance education for more than 16. Her performance credits include work with artists such as Ne-Yo, Alicia Keys, and Hilary Duff, as well as appearances on the Disney Channel. She currently serves as an adjunct instructor of dance at the University of Richmond, where she teaches Hip-Hop dance. Deandra is also the owner of Studio 4 Dance Agency and the founder of the Virginia Dance Awards. In addition to her teaching and entrepreneurial work, she is an active freelance choreographer, coach, dance agent, and advocate. She continues to champion the growth of the local dance community through volunteer work across Virginia, including serving as vice president of the board of directors for Dogtown Dance and as a member of the advisory board for the Virginia Commission for the Arts.

Danica Kalemdaroglu

Modern

Hometown: VA

______

Danica has been a Pilates practitioner and movement educator for over twenty years. Guided by the methodology of Joseph Pilates, she teaches to educate each body of their individual movement potential. She is a licensed NCPT and an advanced graduate of the Pilates Center, Boulder where she studied closely with the Taylor sisters. You can train virtually or in person with her at her fully equipped studio, Pilates 804, where she specializes in restorative Pilates. Danica also offers continuing education and mentoring for Pilates and movement professionals.

Danica holds an MFA from the University of Colorado and a BA from Goucher College; both in Dance Performance/Choreography and body Somatics. She has had the privilege to share the stage with numerous choreographers and has been a collaborative creator of multiple award-winning dance companies. Dance has always been her passion but injury-plagued her performance career early on drawing her to teach.

Danica is currently faculty within the dance department of Old Dominion University teaching functional anatomy for movement practices. She has held teaching positions with Virginia Commonwealth University, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, The University of Colorado at Boulder, and various other esteemed organizations over the last two decades. She is proud to rejoin the WEAD faculty and pass on her joy of movement.

Kristina Edwards

Contemporary & Ballet

Hometown:  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

______

Kristina Ancil Edwards, originally from Pittsburgh, PA, received her formal training with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, where she completed both the Schenley High School and Graduate Programs. She is also certified in Progressing Ballet Technique.

She has performed professionally with Louisville Ballet, Chicago Ballet, Nomi Dance Company, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Winifred Haun & Dancers, ClancyWorks, Company E, and Motion X Dance DC, among others, and currently performs with one of Richmond's newest companies, Conflux Dance Theater. Her choreography has also been featured in Chicago, Washington DC and Richmond.

Prior to joining the faculty at WEAD, Kristina had the pleasure of teaching extensively throughout the Washington D.C. and Chicago metro regions including at The Washington School of Ballet, BalletNova, George Mason University, and Visceral Dance Center.

As a transplant to Richmond and mother of two Kristina is passionate about instructing functional technique and incorporating her love of performing and experience across genres to her students.

Patty Mochary

Ballet

Hometown: Michigan City, Indiana

______

Patty began her dance training in her hometown of Michigan City, Indiana.

After attending Point Park College, she joined Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, where she performed with the company for 8 years.

Some highlights of her career include working with many ballet luminaries such as Frederic Franklin, Ruth Page, Leonide Massine, Edward Villella, and Natalia Makarova.

Patty has been teaching ballet throughout the Richmond community for 20+ years. She also teaches Dance for Parkinsons, a Mark Morris based program that offers internationally-acclaimed dance classes for people with Parkinson's disease.

Patty wishes to pass on her passion for dance to younger generations, with a focus on expression and technique.

Angelica Rivera

Ballet

______

Angelica Burgos Rivera is of Dominican-Armenian heritage. She has earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from LEAP Program with Saint Mary’s College of California and is an ABT Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed all of ABT Teachers National Training Curriculum and is a 2nd year MFA in Choreography candidate at Jacksonville University in Florida. Over the 16 years of her performing career she has danced with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, Sacramento Ballet, Ballet Hispanico and in the West Side Story on Broadway revival in 2010. She has worked with artists such as Pedro Ruiz, Margo Sappington, Ramon Oller, John Clifford, Annabelle Ochoa Lopes, Val Caniparoli, Trey McIntyre, Septime Webre, Dwight Rhoden, Graciela Daniel, Sergio Trujillo and Ron Cunningham. Additionally, she has taught for Western Kentucky University and University of Richmond. She has choreographed for WKU spring performance and VCU Freshman Repertory course show. She is also fluent in Spanish, Russian, Armenian and English languages.

Mallory Wigley

Ballet, Jazz

______

Mallory began dancing at age 3 and trained in Jazz, Tap, and Ballet, Pointe, and even a few years of Irish Step Dancing! She had a passion to perform, and continued her dance training in college, where she graduated with a B.F.A in Musical Theatre from Shenandoah Conservatory.

She is a professional musical theatre actor/singer/dancer, and has performed in many regional theatres, summer stock theatres, and children’s theatre tours. Mallory has performed locally on stage in numerous musicals at Virginia Repertory Theatre, Virginia Musical Theatre, and Richmond Triangle Players.

Before coming to WEAD, Mallory was teaching camps, workshops, and training classes to students ages 4-18 at SPARC. She also choreographed mainstage and touring productions for the organization. Mallory has choreographed children’s theatre productions for Virginia Repertory Theatre, and continues to teach pop-up classes, audition prep, and choreograph for local schools, studios, and private lessons around the Richmond area as time allows. She’s excited for another fantastic year at WEAD!

 

Paul Ghiselin

Ballet

Hometown: Richmond, VA

______

Paul Ghiselin recently engaged as ballet master and dancer with Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, the all-male, comedy, ballet company where all dancers perform both the male and female roles of a diverse classical repertoire. Paul enjoyed touring the world performing to sold-out theaters across the globe including; Japan, Australia, South Africa, China, Turkey, and European countries to name a few. He danced iconic roles such as Von Rothbart in Swan Lake, Myrta in Giselle, Marie Taglioni in Pas de Quatre, and Dying Swan. The company brought its brand of humor to
impressive theaters such as; Chatelet in Paris, Sadler’s Wells of London. Joyce Theater of New York City and the Bolshoi in Moscow. Paul began training in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia where he now resides, and later moved to New York, New York to train on scholarship at the Joffrey School of Ballet. His first professional experience began with Ohio Ballet in
Akron, Ohio under the direction of Heinz Poll, where he danced for thirteen years. The repertoire differed greatly from Trockadero as it was a contemporary dance company that did work from choreographers such as; George Balanchine, Paul Taylor, Lynn Taylor Corbet, and Merce Cunningham. Paul is now teaching and choreographing at schools in Richmond Virginia.

Lydia Ross

Ballet

Hometown: Richmond, VA

______

Lydia Ross, a native of Richmond, VA, discovered her love and passion for dance through Richmond Ballet’s Mind in Motion program. Soon after, she began her training at the School of Richmond Ballet (SRB) and rose through the ranks of the school. During her two years in the trainee program, she joined the partnership with the VCU Dance program and subsequently graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology. After graduating the trainee program, she danced professionally in Starr Foster Dance Company and is currently dancing with Conflux Dance Theater. In her opinion, her most memorable performances have been Swan Lake, Napoli, Angelica Burgos’s Tensegrity, and Ma Cong’s C’est pas d’Lamour. She is also a former Southampton Tiger and is now the Student Intervention Liaison at Southampton. It has always been a passion of hers to work with children from different backgrounds and she is living her dream at Southampton Elementary and West End Academy of Dance.

 

 

 

Allie Chase

Tap

Hometown: Alexandria, VA

______

Allie was born and raised in Alexandria, Virginia. She attended Metropolitan Fine Arts Center (now Metropolitan School of the Arts) from 9 years old until she graduated high school in 2011 where she received instruction in tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, and contemporary. Her favorite form of dance has always been tap - she now specializes in rhythm/street tap but has broadway tap experience as well! After high school, Allie attended Virginia Tech and obtained her bachelor's degree in Human Nutrition, Foods, & Exercise in 2015.  During her time in Blacksburg, she was a member of the Tap Ensemble at Virginia Tech and taught beginner adult lessons at the Center of Dance. Allie moved to Richmond in 2016 to pursue her doctorate degree in Occupational Therapy. Currently, she works as a school-based occupational therapist in Hanover County. Allie is a current member of RVA Tap Troupe (an adult group of tap dancers in the Richmond area) and is excited to share her passion for tap dance with students at West End Academy of Dance!

Lauren Morris

Ballet, Jazz

Hometown: Richmond, VA

______

Lauren is a dance choreographer, performer, and educator, as well as a yoga instructor and Mindfulness coach. She has presented her work throughout Ohio, Michigan, Virginia, West Virginia and San Jose, Costa Rica. Morris' solo work, Within Roots is the 2012 recipient of the Maggie Allesee New Choreography award. She has performed with Amaranth Contemporary Dance, Ann Arbor Dance Works, Gravity Optional, RADAR, and Starr Foster Dance Project. She has also instructed at the American College Dance Association, The University of Michigan, and Virginia
Commonwealth University. Morris served as a head instructor for Universal Dance Association and her choreography for high school dance companies won numerous awards at regional and national levels. This opportunity allowed her teach and perform throughout the United States as well as in Paris, France. Morris is certified in Elemental Body Alignment System and Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT). She received her BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and MFA from University of Michigan. For nine years, Morris served as a Lecturer of Dance at The College of William & Mary where she taught Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Dance Composition, Group Choreography, and the History of American Vernacular Dance as well as choreographed for the dance company, Orchesis. Currently, she is the dance teacher at Orchard House Middle School.

Mariannah Cooper

Hip-Hop

Hometown: Woodbridge, VA

______

Mariannah trained at the Metropolitan School of the Arts for 15 years in tap, jazz, ballet, contemporary, musical theatre, and hip hop. She then set her focus on hip hop, training with and choreographing for multiple hip hop teams on the east coast, namely Culture Shock DC, Blank Canvas, and Elevate Dance Co. She’s been fortunate enough to teach classes of all ages and numerous locations from Dogtown Dance, to ODU, to pop ups outside on the streets of Richmond. When not dancing, you can find Mariannah acting in plays around the city, appearing in short films across the DMV, and spending time at the yoga studio! She considers the performing arts, and specifically dance, to be a lifeline — she is very grateful for the opportunity to dance and share with WEAD!

Ashlynn Brooks

Ballet

Hometown: Richmond, VA

______

Ashlynn is an author and teacher who just moved to RVA after living in Atlanta, GA for 3 years. During her time there, she taught ages 6mo-9 years old, and her close relationships with them inspired her to publish her first children’s ballet book. She spends her time twirling, writing, and acting, and is very passionate about fostering little one’s big imaginations!

Celina Merrill

Ballet & Jazz

Hometown: Richmond, VA

______

Celina Merrill is a professional dancer based out of Richmond, VA. Celina started her dance training at West End Academy of Dance and went on to train with the School of Richmond Ballet as well. Upon high school graduation, Celina pursued a higher education at the University of Cincinnati where she earned a BFA in Ballet Performance. Celina has explored many avenues of dance, from training in classical art forms to commercial dance to luxury event entertainment. In the midst of pursuing her own performance career, Celina fell in love with teaching dance and sharing her love of movement with others. Today, Celina is a Conflux Dance Theater company member, continues to perform at luxury events and she is very excited to be returning to West End Academy to give back to the special place that poured so much into her!

Lindsay Benson Garrett

Ballet and Contemporary

Hometown: Richmond, Virginia

______

Lindsay  is an interdisciplinary dancer, educator, artist and designer who discovered her passion for dance at the age of three. She trained on scholarship with Richmond Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre and earned a B.F.A. in Graphic Design with a minor in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University.
She toured with Richmond Ballet as a trainee and has performed professionally with Conflux Dance Theater, Gin Dance Company, Starr Foster Dance Project, Virginia Repertory Theatre, rva dance collective, and other regional companies.
Lindsay received the 2024 Virginia Dance Award for Creative Digital Content and was nominated again in 2025. Her multimedia dance work with Motion X Dance Company has been presented at the Kennedy Center and arts festivals in Washington, D.C., and Richmond. Lindsay currently teaches screen dance at VCU and serves as the Partner of Strategic Creative at Copper Note. She is a proud mother to twins who don multiple tutus at once and choreograph spectacular living room shows.

Allie Miller

Tap

______

Allie Miller, originally from Forest Virginia, is a performer, choreographer, educator, and multi-disciplinary dancer based in Richmond VA.
Allie’s early love for movement inspired her mother to enroll her in tap and jazz at age 4. Her love for dance and devotion to training grew as she did. She began dancing competitively at age nine which introduced her to a variety of teachers, styles, and teaching methods.
In her high school years she trained under the artistic direction of Michelle Thomas at Forest Dance Academy in Forest, Virginia. She moved to Richmond in 2019 to pursue a degree in Mass Communications with a PR concentration at Virginia Commonwealth University. While in school she continued dance training and was a founding member of Elevate Dance Company in 2020. She discovered her love for teaching and mentoring dancers in the development of their craft and expression of their joy in 2021. In 2024 she began working with Manchester High School’s Lancer Theater as choreographer for their spring musical.
Tap dance has held a special place in Allie’s heart as long as she can remember, she is delighted to share her knowledge and reverence for the art with the current generation of dancers.

 

Alana Turflinger

Ballet

Hometown: Centreville, VA

______

Alana’s passion for dance began at a young age in her hometown of Centreville, VA. Beginning at age 6, she trained at numerous

studios across the Northern Virginia area receiving instruction in ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, modern, pointe, acro, and pom. After high school, she continued her dance training at James Madison University where she received her B.A. in Dance.

In college, Alana focused her training towards ballet, jazz, contemporary, and modern, and was selected to be a member of the Virginia Repertory Dance Company, a pre-professional dance company. While with JMU Dance, she had the chance to travel to Madrid, Spain to perform Rubén Graciani’s work For Kevin at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, and had chances to work with guest artists such as Kia Smith, Doug Varone, Lucinda Childs, Momar Ndaiye, Danceworks Chicago, Madeline Maxine Roman, and more. Alana also developed a strong passion for choreography during her undergraduate education, and had the opportunity to represent JMU by showcasing her work at the 2025 American College Dance Association’s Mid-Atlantic Conference.

After creating six works while at JMU, she closed out her senior year by receiving her dance program’s Choreography Award. Additionally, Alana has four years of teaching experience through JMU’s Dance for Parkinson’s Disease (DFPD) program, and received her general DFPD training through the Mark Morris Dance Group in 2023.

Alana is brand new to the Richmond area, and is currently in school working towards her Doctorate in Occupational Therapy at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is eager to begin her first season with West End Academy of Dance and have the opportunity to share her passion for dance with her students.

Kate Zelensky

Front Desk Associate

 

______

Kate Zelensky has been in the performing arts since age 4 and is so happy to be a part of WEAD. She spent most of her adult life in New York City training in dance, theatre and writing.  She worked in musical theatre, comedy, producing, and acting (usually very poorly in commercials), for over 15 years for companies such as MTv, MTv Other, The Food Network, and 10 years teaching and performing at The Upright Citizen's Brigade Theatre.  She has two young dancers at WEAD and is so happy to be working for this special studio that encourages a love of the fine arts in children.

 

 

 

Casey Marshall

Customer Experience Manager

Hometown: Richmond, Virginia

______

I am a lifelong Richmond native and University of South Carolina alumna and you may recognize me from the Great Gatsby performance in the Living Library recital. I am incredibly passionate about dance and building strong community relationships, a love that grew across my various client-facing roles in finance and digital marketing over the years. When I’m not at the studio, you can find me writing, creating new recipes, and exploring the world of wine and coffee—I am so looking forward to getting to know each one of you!

Abby Quinn

Front Desk Associate

______

Abby brings a lifelong love of dance, connection, and community to the studio. Whether she’s cheering from the sidelines, helping behind the scenes, or finding any excuse to be in the studio, she loves being part of the energy, creativity, and friendships that dance brings.

With more than 20 years of professional experience in sales, operations, and relationship management, Abby is a natural organizer, enthusiastic team player, and—according to those who know her—a “bubbly powerhouse.” She also has a longtime passion for mentoring and supporting young people, making the dance studio community a perfect fit.

Abby especially loves watching dancers grow in confidence, build lasting friendships, and discover the joy that comes from working hard at something they love. She’s always ready to jump in, lend a hand, cheer loudly, and help make the studio a welcoming and positive place for dancers and families alike.

When she’s not at the studio, Abby can be found at her daily job at Virginia Tourism Corporation, spending time with family and friends, driving her girls somewhere, or curled up with a great book or movie.

Angie Allen

Front Desk Associate

Hometown: Virginia

______

Angie is a mom of two with a background in arts education and a lifelong love of the creative arts. I earned my BA from the University of Maryland, College Park, and my MFA in Painting from Pratt Institute. After 14 years teaching and working at VCUarts, she joined Art for the Journey, a nonprofit that uses art to support connection and well-being. She is grateful to be part of the WEAD team and look forward to supporting our dancers and helping the studio be a welcoming place for everyone.

Lily Hennesey

Student Teaching Fellow

______

Lily is a junior at Glen Allen High School in the center for Education and Human Development. She has been dancing for fourteen years at WEAD, it has truly became her home away from home! She takes ballet, jazz, pointe, contemporary, musical theater, and last, but definitely not least, hip hop. Since she started hip hop at age seven it has become a passion of hers. Hip hop at WEAD holds some of her favorite memories while navigating the transition from childhood to adulthood. Some other fun facts about her includes that she loves volunteering around RVA’s community and playing pickleball with her friends!

Hannah de Witt

Student Teaching Fellow

______

Hannah is currently a senior at Collegiate School and has been dancing at WEAD since she was three. She has trained in styles such as Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Musical Theatre, and Hip Hop. When she is not dancing or at school, Hannah enjoys going to Hot Yoga Barre and spending time with friends!

Mary Ellen Chapman

Student Teaching Fellow

Hometown: Richmond, VA

______

Mary Ellen has danced at WEAD since she was 6 years old and will be a senior at the Collegiate School this year. Mary Ellen first found her passion through hip hop and has enhanced her dance education through other styles such as ballet, jazz, musical theatre, and contemporary. She is also a member of the Ensemble Program at WEAD and has had additional outreach and performance opportunities in Twas’ The Night Before Christmas, Alice in Wonderland and Other Works, and Outro. Besides WEAD, Mary Ellen also dances in the dance program at Collegiate and will be a member of the Honors Dance Company where she will choreograph her own piece in the spring dance concert and is a co-chair of the Student Dance Organization. Outside of the dance studio, she volunteers with the Autism Society of Virginia and loves to volunteer within the Richmond community. Mary Ellen plans to major in Psychology in college and plans to attend graduate school potentially becoming a pediatric Occupational Therapist or Speech Language Pathologist. She is so thankful for the opportunity to have the role of Emerging Artist Teaching Fellowship and can’t wait to watch each and every one of her students grow and see her love for dance throughout the year.

Lizzy Stapula

Lorton, VA

______

Lizzy is an educator, writer, and dancer from Lorton, Virginia, whose love of movement began, as so many of ours do, in her childhood living room, choreographing dances with her sister. At age four, she began training in jazz, tap, ballet, contemporary, and hip-hop, primarily at Metropolitan School of the Arts. She took an unexpected detour when her family moved abroad to Heidelberg, Germany. There, she studied ballet and fell in love with community theater at Roadside Theater, where she and her family performed, directed, and worked behind the scenes.
When her family returned to the states, they opened Metropolitan Performing Arts Theater, dedicated to fostering community through the joy of creating theater. You could always tell which house was the Stapulas’ on the cul-de-sac by the giant sets in the front yard—once, a Pharaoh’s head stood as tall as the garage.
Throughout high school Lizzy would continue training across all areas of dance, but would find a special love for tap dance, joining a youth tap ensemble that performed all over the DC Metro Area, and getting the opportunity to train with incredible tap teachers including Chloe and Maud Arnold, and Jason Janas.
Lizzy continued her love of dance and theater into college at Longwood University, where she became a member of Longwood Company of Dancers under the direction of Rodney Williams. There, she also earned her bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in Children’s Literature and History.
She continued her education at George Mason University where she got her Master’s degree in Education whilst teaching middle school English in Fairfax County. During this time she was also performing improv theater and training at Washington Improv Theater in Washington, DC.
After moving into education technology, Lizzy relocated to Richmond, where she found a vibrant dance community and continued teaching and performing tap while expanding her practice into modern dance.
As a new mom, she has found a particular joy in discovering movement with her son and in watching him experience music and movement for the first time. She is excited to share that same sense of curiosity, creativity, and joy with her students.

Schuyler Corrigan

Marketing Manager

Hometown: Fairfax, Virginia

______

Schuyler started dancing at Buffa's Dance Studio in Burke, Virginia at age twelve to improve her competitive figure skating but fell in love with dance and instead joined their competition teams. During her time at Buffa's Schuyler studied Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical, Modern, Tap, and Hip Hop and volunteered her time assisting children's dance classes and camps. She also spent a summer studying Ballet and Jazz at The Joffery Ballet School in New York City.

In the Fall of 2017, Schuyler continued her dance career as part of the FreshDance Ensemble at Drexel University but transferred to VCU shortly after where she started VCU's first student-run dance club for individuals with previous dance experience, The Fan Dance Company at VCU.

As of May 2021, she is a graduate of VCU with a Bachelor's of Art in Fashion Merchandising and a Minor in Business. She loves being able to incorporate her love of dance into a new avenue and help WEAD grow!