OUR STAFF
TEACHERS
Ms. Ashley
Ashley has been a dancer for as long as she could walk, she specializes in hip hop but teaches all forms of dance. She is celebrating 10 years with Central School Dance as a teacher, an assistant, and as an administrator. She also co-directed and co-choreographed Central School’s musical Shrek Jr. in 2019. When Ashley isn't working with the talented kids of Central Dance, she is working in the technical theatre world as a New Jersey based Stage Manager. Having always been involved in the arts, she takes pride in being able to not only work while doing what she loves, but to watch each dancer reach their full potential throughout our dance program!
Ms. Celina
Celina has been dancing since she was about 10 years old! Growing up her family unfortunately could not afford studio classes, so she first began dancing by watching YouTube videos and teaching herself the steps. As she grew older she was able to take classes in high school and has been dancing ever since. Celina graduated from Montclair State University with a theatrical degree in Stage Management. So when she’s not dancing, she’s stage managing plays, musicals and even live events! Some of favorite projects include Andrew Lloyd Webber’s BAD CINDERELLA, productions with INTAR Theatre, DEATH BECOMES HER, the VMAs and of course working with the students at Central School Dance.
Ms. Amanda
Amanda has loved dancing since she was three years old. Growing up, she took classes in ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop and always dreamed of being a dance teacher when she was older. When Amanda was in the second grade, her parents took her to see River Dance, a well-known Irish Step Dancing performance. She became interested in Irish Step Dancing and began to take classes in it. It quickly became her favorite style of dance because it is so fast paced and fun! When Amanda was in high school, she became a part of a traveling Dance Company with the dance studio she grew up learning at, and performed in various nursing homes, parades, and Disney World. Amanda is so excited to be able to come back to teaching dance after finalizing her career in becoming a third grade teacher. She cannot wait for another great dance year!
Ms. Nicole
Nicole started her dance career in the Central School dance program at five years old. She is very excited to come back and teach at the program which jump-started her passion for dance. She then trained at Art of Motion in Ridgewood and has continued dancing throughout her college years. Nicole has trained in jazz, tap, ballet, modern, pointe, and hip hop throughout her twenty-three years as a dancer. She studied at Ramapo College of New Jersey as a Theatre major and hopes to continue acting and dancing for the rest of her life. She looks forward to sharing her love for dance with the kids and hopes they will fall in love with the program like she did.
Ms. Jen
Jennifer has been dancing for over 20 years; she started taking ballet at age 3 and has taken classes in as many styles of dance as she could get her hands on. In high school, she started dancing with her local dance studio’s competition team and assisting dance classes, working with children from ages 4 to 8 years old. From there, she studied theater studies with a minor in dance and lgbtq studies at Montclair State University. During her time at MSU, she joined Montclair State Dance Company and was their Co-Dance Captain for the 2018-2019 school year. When Jennifer isn’t dancing, she is a store manager at a bubble tea store in Woodbridge, working with fresh fruit every day. Jennifer is excited to be teaching children again, helping young minds find their love for something that’s brought her so much joy for a majority of her life.
