Courtney Daniels, Artistic Director

Ballet Director, Ballet, Pointe 

Miss Vanessa has been on our staff for over 11 years and currently serves as our ballet director. 

Vanessa is a native to Southern NJ, where she began her early  dance training with The National Ballet of NJ (formerly Mt. Laurel  Regional Ballet), which she supplemented with summer studies at the  Joffrey School, NYC. Vanessa furthered her dance  education at the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College SUNY, where  she earned her Bachelors of Fine Arts in dance performance with a  concentration in ballet, studying with some of ballet’s finest masters  including Ted Kivitt, Richard Cook, Rosanna Serivalli  and Betty Jane Sills (a founding member of the Balanchine Trust).  There, she had the opportunity to perform the role of Waltz Girl  in Balanchine’s iconic Serenade. Under the mentorship of the late and  great Kazuko Hirabayashi, she also had the pleasure  of working with many of today’s established choreographers and company  directors including Megan Williams, Jonathan Riedel, and Jacqueline  Buglisi. Vanessa went on to perform in the International Dance  Festival of Burgos, Spain where she then joined Ballet  Contemporaneos for a national touring season. Upon return to the  states, she began to tour nationally with Nicholas Andre Dance  NYC, and Ballet for Young Audiences; with which she was involved in DRA,  awareness and education in the children's dance  community across the country, as well as making guest appearances as a  principal dancer in many regional ballet productions. Vanessa was also a  founding member, dancer and assistant director with  Jessicadanser/dansfolk, NYC where she did community outreach  with the Bronx Academy for Arts and Dance (BAAD). She has since taught  ballet and modern dance in many prestigious institutions throughout the  North East and Midwestern regions, and has earned an Associates in early  childhood development and education. Vanessa has been featured in Dance Spirit magazine and NY Times as well  as many local and regional press outlets. For over a decade Vanessa has  contributed to her southern NJ dance community as choreographer and  co-producer of the regional dance festival, Project  Dance; offering professional performance exposure to as many as 200  young dancers each spring season. Respect  and confidence play a key role in her classroom  environment, enabling children to grow and develop freely with a  healthy sense of self-esteem. Vanessa  is extremely honored to have the pleasure of inspiring  today's youth as they develop into creative and critical thinkers.

"Miss Vanessa contributes  tremendous value to our students and studio.  Students who find  themselves in her classes grow tremendously, not only in their technique,  but also in areas that reach far beyond dance." -Miss Courtney Daniels 

Modern, Adult Barre Fitness 

Christine was born and raised in El  Paso, Texas. Her love of dance led her to Philadelphia and University  of the Arts, where she earned a BFA in Dance with honors in 2015. She  has been privileged to have the opportunity to learn through workshops  and perform select repertoire from companies such as Doug Varone +  Dancers, Kidd Pivot, Sidra Bell, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, and  Batsheva. Her undergrad years allowed her to partake in a curriculum  that extended training beyond classical dance forms, crafting her into a  multifaceted technical artist. Christine has since worked as a  freelance company dancer and teacher in New York City, a group fitness  trainer, and has returned to the Philadelphia region through musical  theater. In her structured classes, she nurtures an environment where  students are welcomed to ask questions, to try and fail, then try again,  to build discipline while having fun, and remembering that the driving  force of dance is the love of the craft. 

Tap Director, Tap, Lyrical,  Adult Conditioning, Showcase Coordinator  

Kayleigh earned her Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2017.  Raised in New Jersey as a competitive and performance dancer, her dance career began at the age of 9,  performing in venues such as Madison Square Garden, Disney World and professional sports games.  Kayleigh has been performing professionally and teaching dance for over 10 years.  She has extensively trained and worked with choreographers and artists to expand her professional abilities in styles such as belly dancing, salsa and other Latin styles of dance, in addition to participating in many performance events with the dance company Bellies of the East. Kayleigh continues to perform with the Philadelphia based tap company, UCTT.    Her  unique combination of mental health therapist and professional dancer, allows her to teach students of all ages and abilities with compassion, patience, understanding and an appreciation for discipline.  Kayleigh provides her students with a knowledgeable and strategic development of the physical abilities needed for success in dance training in connection with the development of a healthy self-esteem, confidence and cognitive strategies for learning, comprehension, memory and working well and connecting with others.  Kayleigh is a staple of the Next Stage Dance Family and one of our most beloved teachers year after year.