My name is Samantha and I am 29 years old- I have been dancing since I was three, like many of us and I have been teaching for 11 years. I recently relocated back to NJ after living in the Phoenix area for five years.

The studio that was trained at is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year and I must say that I both gained and lost my lust for dancing from those instructors. They gave me a firm foundation and I thank the director, Nadine, for this-She is an amazing woman. I often smile at myself in the mirror, in class, as I hear myself giving corrections in the exact same manner she gave me..ohh..20 years ago! I went on to college at IUP, in PA where I regained my passion for dance and performance-more to proove something to someone-but the outcome was the younger version of the woman I am today-A passionate teacher and choreographer! I actually taught my first classes on my own in the small town of Punxsutawney PA, where the groundhog festivities take place!! After college I landed a great first teaching job for a woman I forever thank for instilling in me tremendous leadership qualities and compassion-To this day I think back to advice she and her husband gave me and use it on a daily basis in the classroom with my pre-school students. I worked for Robin Horneff for five years before headed out to Arizona. (OHH I was in a crazy dance company for a while there-it was work but it ended up being performances for weddings etc and eventually getting oogled at and dancing with old men!! YUCK!! I was young...it was an experience to say the least!) This was a whole new style for me-but I grew to love it!! Students I worked with there were so focused and technically fantastic-I miss those girls. I was the director of a student company in Mesa. I now reside back in NJ where I work at two studios in the area.

My passion is lyrical and getting a student that can make the visions in my head a reality. I love to push the flexibility and cross that with the emotional contortions of the torso and arm extensions-it can be beautiful! Now to find those students, we all know that is the trick!!

I've worked for many people, both good and bad, and taught many students-both talented, and those you would rather see go play soccer-where they would be more sucessful...I am not being cruel-you know there are some bodies that just cannot understand what we are trying to instill in them...everyone is not a dancer!!...And I hope in the next ten years of my life I continue to teach and create passionate dancers-

Be Well-Happy Dancing! (A term I've certainly stolen from that wonderful teacher celebrating her 50th anniversary!:))