Destination Dance Studio of Performing Arts

Be the change, be kind, do what is right. It only takes 1 to make difference. Happy MLK weekend

Leaping into 2021 and not looking back!

From my family to yours. Wishing you Happy Holidays!

See you in 2021! We wish you a Blessed Holiday Season and a Healthy New Year!

LOGOWEAR ORDERS DUE IN BY NOV. 2nd. Check out our 2 NEW items.

Teacher Spotlight Miss Katie- Director- Choreographer-Teacher Born in Queens, Katie found her passion for dance at a very young age. Her desire to share this passion with others, lead her to the front of the dance room. This summer Katie celebrated teaching dance for 22 years! Katie is a proud mother of 2 and takes pride in showing her students that they too can live their dreams.... Miss Katie carries a Bachelor’s Degree in Business with a Minor in Dance from Adelphi University. Katie acknowledges that her students safety comes first and holds certifications in: Child First Aid/CPR certified, Acrobatic Arts, and YAPAD; Youth Protection Advocates in Dance. Katie has been dancing professionally since was 17 around the U.S. and Canada. She has attended and continues to attend dance teacher’s conferences, where she has the pleasure of taking class with renowned choreographers and teachers. Miss Katie has been featured in the November 2007 Dance Teacher Magazine. She has been associated with and choreographed for the Scilla Dance Studio, Dance Innovation Inc, Public School 107, Saint Agnes Academic H.S and several entertainment companies. Her award winning choreography gave her the opportunity to choreograph the opening number for Broadway Dancers Over 40 in 2006, where her choreography was performed in front of many Broadway vets. Katie has received choreography and entertainment awards as well as co-choreographed the 2015 World Dance Champion routine. Miss Katie is particularly proud of her student’s achievements; she has many students that are now spreading the love of dance through teaching as well as performing. Some of Miss Katie’s students can be seen performing off Broadway, National Tours, contemporary dance companies and for professional sports teams. Miss Katie founded Destination Dance in 2008 with the goal to instill the passion and love of dance, music and the performing arts in all of her students.

Miss. Gianna This is Miss. Gianna’s 5th year at Destination Dance! She started out as an assistant for 3 years and is now in her 2nd year teaching. Gianna has been coaching gymnastics for 6 years and competitive gymnastics for 2 years. She is also USAG, CPR and AED certified in order to ensure that her students are learning and having fun in a safe environment. ... Gianna loves to be able to incorporate tumbling and contortion in with dancing to challenge our dancers both competitively and recreationally. Gianna graduated from college in May and is now going back to school to specialize in Radiology. Miss. Gianna strives for a fun yet disciplined atmosphere with the priority of making sure her dancers are having fun and learning their skills with the appropriate technique. We are so happy to have Miss Gianna back in the dance room and can’t wait to see what trucks her dancers will have for us this year.

NEW INSTRUCTOR! LET’S GIVE A WARM WELCOME TO MISS ALLISON! Miss Allison’s energetic, warm, structured and light hearted teaching style has made from our youngest ballerinas to our seasoned seniors feel right at home. ... Miss Allison started dancing in Northern, VA, at Dancesations Dance Center. By the age of 12, she realized she was ambitious and passionate about dance, and went to Ballet Boarding school at The Kirov Academy of Ballet, in Washington, D.C. As a child, she performed in Debbie Allen Productions at the Kennedy Center, and competed nationally and internationally. Allison changed her mission from Ballet to Commercial work and then later Concert Dance, while receiving her BFA in Dance Performance from the University of the Arts, Philadelphia, graduating with Honors and Excellence Awards. While in college, she performed at events in Atlantic City, with a small Philadelphia Ballet Company, for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week LA and traveled to Santiago, Chile for a Jazz Dance Festival. After college, Allison signed with MSA dance agency and moved to NYC. She has since performed in Vancouver, B.C. with Zoe I Juniper using multimedia with movement, Cali, Colombia with Earl Mosley, and nationally with numerous small NYC dance companies; most frequently with Dancelquail! Bennyroyce Dance Productions, and Alexis Convento & Artists. Allison has been a consistent Dancer for the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center for the past 7 years. There she performs all dance genres in Repertory Operas and new productions allowing her to use her range of training; with Pointe work in Manon, Ballet in Aida, Jazz in Cendrillon, Contemporary in Prince Igor, and Character & Acting in Don Giovani, etc! Miss Allison has enjoyed consistently teaching, choreographing, and judging dance competitions for young artists in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area. Allison has completed the first level of American Ballet Theatre’s National Teacher Training, and continues to train daily in Ballet classes and multiple genres of fitness. We welcome Miss Allison into our dance family and are so excited for her to be working with our dancers!

Calling all 2 year olds!!! We are so excited to bring back our babies! Don’t wait, class sizes will be very limited!

Miss Marisa Marisa has been a part of our dance studio since the doors opened in 2008. Under the guidance of Miss Katie, Marisa went from being a student teacher, assistant teacher, co-teacher, and is in her 3rd year of teaching. Marisa is a 1st place soloist earning special judges awards and consecutive invitations to the Power Pak dance tour. Miss Marisa was on the Plainedge Kick-line team for her 4 years of High School and was Captain in her senior year. Marisa earned the... 2018 All American award for the NDA summer kick-line camp; acknowledging her leadership, showmanship, spirt, and technique. Miss Marisa is currently attending LIU Post as a dance major, with scholarships in both dance and academics. Miss Marisa says seeing my students’ progress from September to June has made me realize that I have one of the most rewarding jobs. See more

Miss Nicole’s has been teaching at Destination Dance since 2013. She has been a substitute for the past 3 years while living in NJ, but is now back in dance room on Saturdays. Nicole has been teaching dance to toddlers for over 13 years! Nicole grew up dancing in Queens where she also had Miss Katie as a teacher. ... Nicole continued her dance journey in college where she lead her dance team at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Miss Nicole graduated with honors, receiving her Bachelors in Psychology and Masters in Elementary Education. Nicole continues her dance teacher training by attending the Dance Teacher Summit in NYC. Her passion for dance lead to creating a unique Toddler Dance Program in New Jersey. This program focuses the mind, builds calisthenics, helps learn and execute footwork patterns and so much more! We welcome Miss Nicole back into the dance room! Nicole’s love for teaching little ones is truly magical. The excitement and confidence she leaves her students with has them wishing they could come to dance class every day!

TEACHER SPOTLIGHT Miss Sam This is Miss Sam’s 2nd year teaching at Destination Dance. Sam grew up on Long Island as your typical competition dance kid, earning titles and special recognitions. She is well trained in all genres of dance. ... Samantha is a 2019 graduate from Roger Williams University with a BA in Dance and psychology minor. While in her studies she had the opportunity to work with professionals from companies all around the world, as well as study/dance in London for a semester. Post graduation, Samantha moved back to NY to pursue and push her love for movement and dance even further. Right now she is a part of CLOUDE.NYC, a non profit organization movement collective produced by artist Emily Greenwell. Samantha also teaches/ educates young minds to explore their movement and creativity. In order to pursue the artistic dream, Samantha also has an office day job as an administrative assistant to keep her on track to her next destination, especially during these times. We welcome Miss Sam back into the dance room. Our team girls absolutely love working with her!

TEACHER SPOTLIGHT: Miss Colleen This is Miss Colleen’s 5th year teaching at Destination Dance, but has been part of our dance family for the past 8 years!Colleen grew up in Queens, where she started dancing at the age of 5. She trained in Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Lyrical and Pointe. At the age of 8 she joined a dance team where she danced competitively for 15 years. Acknowledging her passion for dance and teaching, she became an assistant dance teacher at the age of 12. Miss Collee...n then went on to become a full dance teacher at the age of 17, teaching ages 3-7. Straight out of high school, Colleen became the Head Dance Instructor for an after school socialization program, specializing in helping children overcome their social anxieties through dance.Colleen is a mom to 3 beautiful girls who share the same love and passion for dance that she does.Her experience teaching little ones and raising her own little dancers, is one she truly cherishes. The enthusiastic smiles, curious minds, great potential, and growth she sees in all her dancers, has made her realize that she has one of the most rewarding jobs there is. We are so happy to have Miss Colleen and family back in the dance room. She has become a true asset to our studio and dancers. Miss Colleen will also be teaching our team dancers this year. We can’t wait to see them grow with her!

TEACHER SPOTLIGHT: Miss Ashley This is Miss Ashley’s 7th year teaching Contemporary at Destination Dance. Miss Ashley grew up dancing on Long Island. She trained in all genres of dance; extensively in Lyrical,and Contemporary. Miss Ashley considers herself a "competition kid" holding many titles, such as Miss Starpower and Miss Starquest Long Island. As a proud teacher, Miss Ashley has had her studentswin titles both regionally and nationally. Many of Miss Ashley’s students ...have moved on dancing in top dance programs in college as well as performance companies. She truly enjoys choreographing numbers that tell a story and invoke a feeling. Many of these pieces have been recognized by being awarded with the highest honors as well as choreography awards on the regional and national levels.Ashley has a Bachelors Degree from Dowling College in Communications. Miss Ashley strives for a fun yet focused working environment with a priority to give her dancers a strong dance foundation while passing along her passion and appreciate for the art of dance. In her spare time, Ashley also judges dance competitions. Having our very own competition judge on staff is a true asset in the dance room. We truly love watching Ashley’s visions come to life on stage. WELCOME BACK MISS ASHLEY! WE LOVE YOU See more

We would like to remind our dance families that our studio will be closed this Monday, September 28th, in observance of Yom Kippur. Those of us for whom this is a day of atonement will hang up our dance shoes for some quiet reflection. We invite you all to take this day to create some special moments.

Introducing your 2020-2021 teachers. I am so lucky to be working beside these amazingly talented women. Teacher spotlights will be posted next week!