Faculty
Meet the 2024 - 2025 school year faculty & staff of North Jersey School of Dance Arts
Ashley Feyrer
Co-Owner/Co-Director
Contemporary & Choreography
Ashley Feyrer was born and bred in New Jersey and received her dancing training at NJSDA from Christine Taylor and Luba Gulyaeva. She also attended programs at Princeton Dance Theatre and Broadway Dance Center. Summer programs include scholarship to Point Park University.
An original company member of New Jersey Civic Youth Ballet, Ashley has performed principle roles in the Nutcracker, Peter and the Wolf and La Jeunesse. She has worked with Geoffrey Doig-Marx, Mark Morris, Kiki Lucas and Jennifer Deckert and has performed in a number of dance festivals including 2010 American College Dance Gala, Women in Dance-Alvin Ailey, Dumbo White Wave and West Fest Dance Festival.
Alex Thorpe
Co-Owner/Co-Director
Ballet, Pilates & Yoga
Alexandra Thorpe received her early dance training from NJSDA under the direction of Christine Taylor and was a founding member of the New Jersey Civic Youth Ballet. She attended numerous summer intensives including Cedar Islands with Suzanne Farrell, Boston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet School, New Jersey Ballet, and David Parsons Summer Intensive. In May 2009, Ms. Thorpe graduated cum laude from Butler University with a BA in Dance Pedagogy. While at Butler, she danced corps and soloist roles in Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, Giselle, Cinderella, The Nutcracker, and Balanchine’s Serenade. After graduating from Butler, Ms. Thorpe danced and worked with various contemporary ballet companies including Insight Dance Company, Nimbus Dance Works, and the Kennedy Dancers. Along with her dance training, Ms. Thorpe is certified in Pilates and Yoga.
Shanna Heverly Hingel
Ballet, Jazz and Musical Theater
Born in Colorado, yet raised in NJ, Shanna received her initial dance training at NJSDA under the instruction of Christine Taylor and Luba Gulyeava . Shanna was an original company member of the NJCYB! She received her BFA in Dance with a minor in ballet pedagogy at The Boston Conservatory. While in Boston, she also was a principal ballet dancer with the company Ballet Rox and found her love for musical theater while performing in regional houses there. Although, she continued to freelance with various companies, Shanna then shifted her focus full time into the musical theater world where she performed in the Broadway National Tour of CATS, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, White Christmas, Grease, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Beauty and the Beast, 42nd Street, Singin’ in the Rain, Swing, Annie Get Your Gun and Carousel. She also has had the privilege performing as a back up dancer for Ne-Yo, as well as appearing in various music videos and commercials. As a teacher, Shanna is extremely passionate about not only passing on her love for dance, but instilling clean, correct technique in her students, while building the confidence and grace needed to perform and thrive in or out of the performance world.
Ramona Kelley
Ballet
Ramona is from Berkeley, CA where she began her training at Berkely Ballet Theater. She went on to earn a BFA in dance from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Ramona danced the principal role of ‘Betsy’ in Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly Away and went on to dance with the Tharp Company creating new roles in addition to performing repertory works. She is a principal guest artist with Oakland Ballet and has performed with Christopher Wheeldon’s An American in Paris, Dance Lab New York, Minnesota Dance Theater, Claudia Schreier and Co, Post: Ballet, Sidra Bell, Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance, and Phantom of the Opera (25th Anniversary Tour) among other. Ramona has taught for Pacific Northwest Ballet, as well as master classes in Tharp techniques across the country. She is an adjunct ballet faculty at NYU’s Tisch Dance.
Sean Kelly
Ballet
Sean was a principal dancer with Houston Ballet for many years, where he eventually became the ballet master. He danced lead roles in many classical ballets including Swan Lake, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker to name a few. Most recently he was the Resident Director/Associate Choreographer for the Broadway show and national tour for An American in Paris. He also took a tour to Asia and Paris. And most recently Staged the Production in Australia. His other theater credits include Billy Elliot, Moving Out, and Swing.
He was awarded Best Partner at the International Ballet Competition in Helsinki, Finland.
Mr. Kelly is a regular Guest Ballet Master for Houston Ballet and Diablo Ballet.
He teaches Adult Ballet Classes at Ballet Academy East in NYC, as well as for the Metropoltian Opera.
He is a guest teacher at a variety of schools around the nation.
Mr. Kelly values the students and the positive but disciplined environment at NJSDA and is pleased to be a part of the Faculty.
Alexandra Limeburg
Ballet
Alexandra Limeburg was born and raised in New Jersey. She began training at the age of three at North Jersey School of Dance Arts under the direction of Christine Taylor and Luba Gulyaeva. Some of her performance highlights with NJSDA include Clara in “The Nutcracker”, Cinderella in “Cinderella”, and Swanhilda in “Coppelia”. She danced with NJSDA until the age of fifteen before moving to Miami to train in the pre-professional division at Miami City Ballet School under Arantxa Ochoa. While in Miami, she learned and performed many Balanchine ballets including “Raymonda Variations” and “Serenade”. She also had the opportunity to perform Balanchine’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” with the company while a student at MCB. She is now dancing professionally at New Jersey Ballet and will start her third season with the company this fall.
Sara Brians
Broadway Tap & Jazz
Sara Brians is an award winning, New York City based director, choreographer, and educator. She began her dance career as a Radio City Rockette, then, made her Broadway debut in the revival of 42nd Street. She has worked on six Broadway shows as a performer, resident and associate choreographer, including White Christmas, Matilda, Billy Elliot, The Terms of My Surrender, and After the Night and the Music.
Samantha Johnson
Tap
Sam began dancing at NJSDA in 2004 when she was in kindergarten and continued until the present day! Throughout her time at NJSDA, she has taken classes in all dance styles, but mostly rhythmic, rockette, and contemporary tap.
She has danced the roles of the Dormouse and John Pillar in North Jersey’s productions of Alice in Wonderland. In the fall of 2017, she began teaching her own tap classes at NJSDA. Sam choreographed and performed a tap dance that appeared in her high school’s marching band show in 2013.
She also played saxophone in her high school’s jazz band and pit orchestra playing in shows such as Shrek and 42nd Street. She recently attended Jersey Tap Fest in the summer of 2018. Sam currently attends Centenary University majoring in Environmental Science.
Kayla Beam
Jazz
Kayla has danced with NJSDA since 2012 and has trained in Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, and Cusical Theater. Her most notable roles with NJSDA have been Ursula in "The Littlest Mermaid", the Caterpillar in "Alice" and George in “Mary Poppins.” Kayla was also a member of NJCYB for seven years. She has performed as The Mouse King and a Russian Candycane in "The Nutcracker." In 2021 she began teaching Contemporary and Jazz and found a love of sharing her passion with the students.
Meredith-Lyn Avey
Modern Dance
Meredith started dancing at a very early age where she grew-up, on Long Island, New York. She holds a BFA from SUNY Purchase College, Conservatory of Dance (2006) and a professional career that involved: working for various independent choreographers and groups; performing in experimental site-specific spaces as well as traditional theaters in and around New York City; showcasing her own works at Brooklyn and Manhattan venues. Her tenure with Avodah Dance, introduced her to the mantra in which she lives by: if you can breathe you can dance. She is an experienced multi-generational dance facilitator with a unique history of facilitating movement classes for untrained persons seeking dance/movement as a medium of expression.
Her classes examine traditional and contemporary modern dance forms through an anatomical lens, and as a resource for healing. They aim to cultivate a positive learning environment where the individual can find their own meaning and enjoyment in movement. Meredith is also a visual artist, a local volunteer, a co-founder, and a mother.
Julianna Haluszczak
Ballet
Julianna Haluszczak received her early dance training at the Academy of Dance Arts in Red Bank, NJ under the direction of Jennifer James Church. There she was classically trained through the Royal Academy of Dance. At the age of 15 she continued her training in the pre-professional program at the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Where she performed with both the school and studio company. In 2007, Juliannagraduated with a BA in Dance from Point Park University under the guidance of Susan Stowe and Peter Mertz.
She has studied and worked with the Company of Dance Arts, DTH Studio Company, Arthur Mitchell, Laveen Naidu, David Howard, The Royal Danish Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet, Hubbard Street II, and the Syzokryli Ukrainian Dance Ensemble.
Julianna is also currently a teacher/ choreographer with the Roma Pryma- Bohachevsky Ukrainian School of Dance in Manhattan, NY. As well as their Summer Dance Intensive.
Emelia Belet
Ballet
Emelia Belet began dancing at the age of 3 at North Jersey School of Dance Arts under Christine Taylor and Luba Gulyeva. In 2014, she joined Ballet Guild of Lehigh Valley/ Pennsylvania Youth Ballet to further her training at the age of 12. While there she performed many roles including, Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Prayer and one of Coppelia's friends in Copellia, and Arabian Lead, Dewdrop, and Snow Queen all in Ballet Guild's annual production of The Nutcracker.
Upon graduating in the summer of 2020, Emelia was accepted as an American Repertory Ballet's Trainee under the direction of Adymara Cabrera and Ethan Steifel and remained there for three years. While in the program she performed with the school and company in many productions, including Snow, Flowers, and Marzipan Corps in ARB's The Nutcracker, Arabian Lead in Princeton Ballet School Nutcracker Suite, Willis in Giselle in the schools spring trainee production.
Student Teachers
Abigail Cagnassola
Musical Theater + Ballet
Abigail Cagnassola has been dancing at NJSDA since the age of 2. She has danced many different styles such as ballet, jazz, contemporary, tap, and hip hop. Abby attended Vaganova under the direction of Christine Taylor and Luba Gulyaeva. She continued training at the NJSDA summer intensive under the direction of Ashley Feyrer and Alexandra Thorpe. Other then dance, Abby is a part of the Warren Hills Drama Club and performed as Odette the Swan Princess in “Anastasia” and was nominated for a Freddy Award as Outstanding Performance by a Featured Dancer, and she performed the role of Mrs. Wormwood in “Matilda”. Some of her favorite roles NJSDA and NJCYB were Medlock in “The Secret Garden”, Columbine and French Mirlitons in “The Nutcracker”, the Step Mother in “Cinderella”.
Maya Papendick
Ballet + Tap
Born and raised in New Jersey, Maya Papendick took her first ballet class at NJSDA at the age of three, and since then has taken numerous classes in ballet, tap, contemporary, jazz, and pointe. Maya has been a company member of NJCYB for eight years. Some of her most memorable roles include those of Fritz, Clara, Dewdrop Fairy, Snow Princess, and Spanish in “The Nutcracker,” Mary in “The Secret Garden,” and most recently The Lilac Fairy in “Sleeping Beauty.” In addition to her twelve years of training at NJSDA, Maya has attended American Ballet Theater’s young dancers workshop in the summers of 2018 and 2019, The School of American Ballet Summer intensive in the summer of 2021, Ellison Ballet’s 4 week summer intensive in 2022, and Greenwich Ballet Academy’s Pas De Deux intensive in 2023. Maya has also competed in the Youth America Grand Prix Ballet Competition, where she placed first for her classical variation in 2020, top 12 for her contemporary solo in 2022, and top 24 for her classical variation in 2024. Maya is currently a sophomore at Lenape Valley Regional High School.
Sophie Parish
Ballet + Tap
Sophie Parish began dancing at the age of 2 ½. Her love of dance brought her to NJSDA at the age of 3 where she has taken classes in ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, musical theatre, and hip hop. Sophie spent two weeks at ABT’s Summer Workshop in 2019 as well as attending Vaganova workshops at NJSDA under the direction of Christine Taylor and Luba Gulyaeva. She has continued to train at NJSDA’s Summer Intensive under the direction of Alexandra Thrope and Ashley Feyrer. Sophie has competed at YAGP for the past 5 years in both the classical and contemporary divisions. Some of her favorite roles at NJSDA and with NJCYB include Dopey in “Mirror Mirror”, Sebastian in “The Littlest Mermaid”, Fritz and Spanish Chocolate in “The Nutcracker”, and Martha in “The Secret Garden”.